How to Host a Princess Camp, Day 3

The following post is part 3 of a 5 part series by guest blogger Aimee Mae Riley. Aimee held a princess camp for her church. Aimee used the Princess Parable Series in her camp curriculum and shares the details of the camp below for our benefit. Enjoy!

Wednesday- Princess Hope and the Hidden Treasure

Today, we started with our story.  Princess Hope, the eldest of the five princesses, finds her grandmother’s lost ring and is determined to buy it back.  She is willing to sell all that she has- even her pet lamb!- to reclaim it.  Once it is in the possession of the sisters, they discover a riddle inscribed on the band, which leads them on a treasure hunt through the castle.  The story is inspired by the parables found in Matthew 13:44-46.

Following our story, we embarked on our own treasure hunt.  We sent one table of girls at a time, while the girls at the other two tables remained and colored pictures from the story. Those hunting followed three, simple clues which led them to a special box (I just used a pretty photo box).  Inside, each girl received a “treasure”: a sparkly compact mirror (I bought them in pink and purple for $1.50 each at Michaels), a fancy plastic ring (like the ones in their sand dig from Monday), and a scroll featuring the parable verses (printed on plain paper and wrapped with ribbon).

The girls LOVED the mirrors!  I was truly surprised; in fact, I almost didn’t use them, thinking perhaps they were too young for such things.  I reminded them that when they look in that mirror, they would see one of God’s princesses, who is beautiful both inside and out.

We made ribbon necklaces for our craft, and again, our trusty glue gun saved the day.  The Mod Podge Acrylic Shapes did not all have holes to pull the ribbon through, so Caitlin (our summer camp intern) took the time to hot glue the ribbons to the back of the shapes while I took the girls outside to play on the playground. The necklaces turned out beautifully, and I am now in love with Mod Podge Waterbase Sealer, Glue and Finish (8-Ounce), CS15066 Extreme Glitz, although it did leave us with sparkly hands. :)

For snack, we made the most adorable fruit castles, which Kira (my other helper) assembled for me.  Unfortunately, I forgot to charge my phone, so I don’t have any pictures from the day, and Kira’s castles were even prettier than the one pictured here.  The girls ate them all up, along with pretzels and water.

Tomorrow, we will look at Day 4: Princess Charity’s Courageous Heart.

For more ideas, check out my Pinterest Princess Camp board.

Aimee Mae Riley is a mother of 5 children from Wisconsin. You can read her blog at Whispers of Worth. 

How to Host a Princess Camp Day 2

The following post is part 2 of a 5 part series by guest blogger Aimee Mae Riley. Aimee held a princess camp for her church. Aimee used the Princess Parable Series in her camp curriculum and shares the details of the camp below for our benefit. Enjoy!

Last week, I had the special privilege- and challenge- of coordinating and leading Once Upon A Time Camp at our church.  For two hours each afternoon, I welcomed fourteen adorable girls, grades PreK-2, to celebrate being God’s princesses. You can read about the theme and outline for our camp, as well as our first day’s activities here.

Tuesday- Princess Faith’s Mysterious Garden

Today, when the girls arrived, they received a small clay pot, a disposable plate dotted with paints like an artist’s palette, a cup of water, and a paper towel.  They then set about painting the pots with great enthusiasm.  Caitlin and Kira (my helpers for the week) helped to paint small flowers on some of the girls’ pots, while I oversaw the project, cleaning up inevitable spills and replacing paper towels.

Pre-painting set up as the girls began to arrive.

We left our pots to dry and headed over to our story time area.  First, we reviewed Princess Grace’s story from yesterday, which the girls remembered with alacrity, before beginning Princess Faith’s story.  The mysterious garden is a parallel to the parable of the seed and the sower found in Matthew 13:1-23.  We chatted throughout the story about our favorite animals (each Parable Princess has her own pet), flowers (roses were a clear winner), and other topics related to the story.  We finished by reading the corresponding parable, which several of the girls were familiar with, before heading outside for our activity.

Here’s a few of our princesses ready for story time.

Today, we played Pass the Magical Wand (aka: Hot Potato).  We used bubble wands (one for each girl), and when the music stopped, the girl holding the “magical wand” got to take it and make bubbles in the yard.  The music we used for the week was a beautiful CD that set the tone perfectly.  It is called … such stuff as Dreams: A Lullaby Album for Children and Adults – 2 CD Set; I was fortunate to find it at our library.  We played it everyday, and both the mothers and the girls commented on how lovely it was.

Once all of the girls had a wand and were joyfully running around the yard making bubbles, Caitlin entertained them further with her giant bubble maker.  The girls took turns making humongous bubbles, even dumping out their own wands for more bubble solution.

As they tired of the bubbles, I gathered them in groups of four or five and helped them plant flowers in their painted pots, in honor of our mysterious garden story.  They dug out soil with small, plastic shovels and selected a flower from the packs I picked up at Stein’s.

We then headed back inside, where we colored our story pictures for the day and ate snack.  After yesterday’s disappointing effort, I kept it simple with Pepperidge Farm Princess Cheddar Goldfish(they are pink), pretzels, water, and carrots (I coaxed the girls into eating carrots by reminding them of Faith’s pet rabbit who loves to eat carrots- they were sold!)

Soon after the parents arrived, and the girls went home with their potted flowers and pictures.  It was a wonderful day and went without a hitch, making it one of my favorites.

Tomorrow, we will look at Day 3: Princess Hope and the Hidden Treasure

For more ideas, check out my Pinterest Princess Camp board.

Aimee Mae Riley is a mother of 5 children from Wisconsin. You can read her blog at Whispers of Worth. 

How to Host a Princess Camp, Day 1

The following post is part 1 of a 5 part series by guest blogger Aimee Mae Riley. Aimee held a princess camp for her church. Aimee used the Princess Parable Series in her camp curriculum and shares the details of the camp below for our benefit. Enjoy!

Last week, I had the special privilege- and challenge- of coordinating and leading Once Upon A Time Camp at our church.  For two hours each afternoon, I welcomed fourteen adorable girls, grades PreK-2, to celebrate being God’s princesses.  Little did I know that ten hours of camp time equated to 30+ hours of prep time.  Basically, princess camp was my part-time job for the first two weeks of summer, but it was all worth it!

For those of you who might be considering such a camp for your own church or community, I thought I would share what I came up with, in hopes that it will help you save a little time on the preparation end of things.  So as not to overwhelm you, I will break up the post into five parts, each covering one of our camp days and the resources we used.  (FYI: There will be several affiliate items in these posts, all of which I used and highly recommend.)

The basis for our camp was a series of books our children’s ministry director came across months ago.  Called The Princess Parables, they feature five princess sisters: Grace, Faith, Hope, Charity, and Joy.  Right away, I loved that we would not be dealing with the standard Disney princess fare and that I could introduce the girls to princesses who embodied the character and beauty that comes from knowing God.

My general outline for each day included: a craft, story time (each book has discussion questions you can download off the site), an activity, a snack (of course!), and a coloring page from the corresponding Princess Parables Coloring Set.

Before I give you a daily review of camp, here are some pictures of the room I decorated for camp.  I found most of my materials at either Michael’s or on Amazon, along with a few scores from Goodwill. My budget was $325; each camper paid $25 to attend.

I ordered the princess tablecloths off Amazon. I found the poms at Michaels and the swirlies hanging from them at Goodwill.

This castle decoration was so pretty! It stands about 5′ tall and made a great backdrop for pictures. It is in two pieces that don’t align perfectly, so you have to line them up yourself. I used double-sided tape, which worked well.

Let Princess Camp begin!

Monday- Princess Grace and the Little Lost Kitten (The Princess Parables)

It was so fun that first day to hear the “ooh”s and “aah”s from the moms and girls as they arrived.  The decorations were a real hit and helped to create the right ambiance for princess camp.  Each girl sat at a table and decorated a name tag for their place.  I let them write their own names, in the spirit of Ramona Quimby from Beezus and Ramona, which we recently read aloud at home. In retrospect, I wish I had written their names on the cards (I just used pink and purple cardstock, folded in half lengthwise) ahead of time because some were unrecognizable, impeding my ability to remember the girls’ names quickly.

Then, we sat in our story area on the other side of the room, where I read Princess Grace’s story to them.  I stopped along the way to ask engaging questions, which they were all eager to answer.  At the end of each story, there is a personal note from the princess herself, followed by the scriptural parable the story is drawn from.  By the time I got to the scripture, though, interest was beginning to wane and it was hard to keep their attention.  We wrote down some of the words we learned to describe each princess on a dry erase board each day, and moved on.

Next, we decorated tiaras!! The girls had so much fun with this craft, and we had tons of jewels for them to glue on. I bought these tiaras, which are adjustable and come in pink, blue, and purple.  (One thing to note: the hot glue gun became our best friend this week; we used it almost every day.  Regular glue just didn’t do the trick keeping the gems adhered to the foam crowns.)

Here’s my little princess Skyler with her tiara and popcorn.

After the tiaras, we headed outside, where we played “Princess Says” (aka: Simon Says) and “Princess, Princess, Queen” (aka: Duck, Duck, Goose) and dug for treasure in a sand-filled basket (I added stickers, real coins, gems, and Fun Express Colorful Rhinestone Rings (6 Dozen)). The girls LOVED digging for treasures and asked if we could do it again.

Inside once more, we ate snack, which I was really excited about.  I made Princess Popcorn; it was so pretty and tasty! (I popped kernels on the stove, rather than using microwave popcorn- it’s one of the 10 worst foods you can eat.)  I also bought special juice (Ocean Spray 100% Cran-Grape and Cran-Raspberry).  However, I learned right away that simple is better than special.  Some of the girls did not like the sweet, pink popcorn, and even more of them did not care for cranberry juice- duh!  There is a reason the Sunday School teachers always serve apple juice and graham crackers: it works!  I still recommend the popcorn, though, as those who did like it, loved it (including me!)

We finished with the coloring sheets from the Grace’s story.

All in all, it was a great first day, but I have to admit, snack threw me for a loop.  Thank goodness for my amazing helpers: summer camp intern Caitlin and sweet, 12yo volunteer Kira.  I wouldn’t have survived without them this week!

For more ideas, you can also check out my Pinterest Princess Camp board.

Tomorrow, we will cover Day 2: Princess Faith’s Mysterious Garden (possibly my favorite day).

Aimee Mae Riley is a mother of 5 children from Wisconsin. You can read her blog at Whispers of Worth. 

Warrior Mom: You Are More Than a Soldier

We have been discussing being a warrior mom this week.  This concept has challenged me after reading the book, Girls with Swords, this year.  Am I a soldier mom or a warrior mom? 

First a warrior mom is called.

Second, a warrior mom is faithful.

Here are my last three observations as a warrior mom.

A Warrior Mom sees through God’s Eyes. 

As a warrior mom I have to focus on what God is doing.  I must desire to see the world through His eyes.  Am I following His plan or I am fighting it? There are only two choices.  When I spend time in God’s word, I know God’s heart, but it is impossible for me to know what He is doing if I am not connected to Him on a regular basis.  On the contrary, the soldier only sees what the enemy is doing and follows the General out of duty. 

When my kids were little, they wanted their own way.  Do yours ever what that? During these seasons, I could only see what I thought the enemy was doing. Yelling ‘no’ at the top of their lungs. Our child was being drawn away and lashing out at me.  I thought for sure I needed to “whip him into shape”. But if I took a moment to focus on what God was doing, I would have adjusted my expectations accordingly. Our child was just testing his boundaries.  All of our children are born sinners and it is my job to help them find truth and to help train them in righteousness. But if I can take a moment and see God’s perspective, then I could still be his mom.  Love him and not need to be his best friend.  He argues and that is not okay.  Setting boundaries and loving them is the best way to reach their hearts. Remembering God loves them and created them for greatness helps me see the my children through His eyes.

A Warrior Mom controls her thoughts.

I love the quote from Lisa Bevere, “All Warriors understand all victories begin in private.“ When we are all alone or just alone in our minds, here is where the true battle is fought and won.   Here is where our character is tested.

As a mom, if the evil one can get you to:

            Feel like a victim, instead of a mom

            Feel like a servant, instead of a mom

            Feel like a basket case, instead of a mom.

            Feel like a failure, instead of a mom.

            Feel like a prisoner, instead of a mom.

Then he has won.

I love what the books says, “Warriors learn to trust the whispered call deep within, while the soldiers feel pressure to respond to the noise that surrounds them.”

By capturing your thoughts and taking them captive, God voice comes through much clearer.  There is less of an attitude of looking around at what everyone else is doing or listening to the voices around us.  If we are taking our thoughts captive, then the small still voice comes through.  I often miss it!

It takes the heart of a warrior to live up to the character God expects from us.  What kinds of choices do you make in private?  Do they live up to our love for God?  Are we really sold out to him?

A Warrior Mom takes action in her home.

The book says “Warriors speak bold words of faith and take action; soldiers give status reports.”

I have a friend named Betsy who complains constantly about things that are happening in her home.  She is upset at how her four year old daughter talks to her and is disobedient; yet, she continues to spoil her without any discipline.  She complains about her marriage; how her husband doesn’t do this and doesn’t help her here; yet, she doesn’t spend her time taking care of him either.  She complains about her house, her family (or lack of), her marriage, etc.  She just gives status reports without EVER speaking words of faith or taking action.

I love mentors in my life that encourage me as a mom.  I am the MOM.  Say it with me. I am the MOM.  It means I have the power to do anything in my home.  I can make it life-giving or joy-sucking.  I can create an environment of love or of exhaustion.  I CAN.  Everyone, your husbands included, are looking for your direction, your plan. 

My dad used to always say.  “Happy wife, Happy life.”  While I agree that is a good saying for our husbands to adopted, we should be saying to ourselves “Happy Mom. Happy Home.”

I am also the protector of the home.  I am a warrior for my kids in this culture.  I am not always liked by them.  I protect them from culture, from food choices, from media, from pornography.  These are my areas to take action.  I am the Warrior Mom – changing the world one child at a time!

What are you doing to be a warrior mom?

*Ideas taken from the book Girls with Swords: How to Carry your Cross like a Hero by Lisa Bevere

~Jeanna Young

When Jeanna is not writing, speaking, event planning, or homeschooling, she can be found scrapbooking her life, redecorating her home, loving on her husband, planning fun events for her kids or eating healthy to stay cancer-free!

A Warrior Mom Is Faithful

We continue today exploring the idea of being a warrior mom versus a soldier mom. Yesterday, we dug into the idea of being called to be a warrior mom. Here is a fun story along those lines. . .

           Once upon a time, there was a little girl.  The youngest of five, she was the only girl.  Her family never thought of giving her too many girly things as it was easier to just let her run around “like one of the boys”.  Her mom had much to handle working full time as a single mom.  She didn’t realize her daughter was growing up with all things “boy”.  When she did stop and think about it, she thought it was easier to just let her play with balls and Legos.  Until her great Aunt Dorothy bought her a baby doll and the next year a princess dress.  This little girl felt a call, a longing for a world she didn’t know existed.

            One day her mom happened upon her, all dressed up rocking her baby doll and singing to her.  The scene would seem quite normal upon first glance; however, just behind the little girl, tucked into the sash of her princess dress, was her brother’s very large sword.  Her mom was startled and asked her, “Honey, why do you need the big sword?”  She replied in true warrior fashion, “Mommy, I have a job to do that only God could give me.  So I am taking care of my baby and am ready for anything”.

As I reflected upon this little girl in the story, I realized being a warrior mom comes from God.  We are called to be a warrior mom, not just a soldier mom who feels duty.  Here is another thought on the subject.   

A Warrior Mom remains Faithful.

In Girls with Swords: How to Carry your Cross like a Hero, the author explains soldiers are trained, but warriors are tempered.  And becoming tempered comes from living under pressure.

How do we stay faithful to our calling under pressure?

Having children has tempered me.  The definition of tempered is: to be made less intense or violent, especially by the influence of something good or benign.

Bruce and I attended parenting classes for 12 weeks before we ever had Christian, our first child.  While some would say this training was silly, we wanted to be prepared for our first attempt at parenting.  Once we had Christian, then Danika, and the rest, we began to realize even though the information we learned was good and useful, we could not just stick with the step-by-step plan.  We were trained, but what we needed was supernatural help. We were under pressure and we had to rely on God to give us insight on the children He had given us. 

We became tempered over time and trusted our kids and instincts to the Lord, which was more important than training. 

As true warriors, we have to take each lesson we learn on the path of parenthood.  We understand that the challenge in this last season was meant to build strength in our future and our kids’ future.  Cancer has been this kind of challenge for me as a mom.  Having cancer has taken me away from being a mom for hundreds of hours and has exhausted me for the days I have been available.  If I was not careful, I could become angry at God, distant from my kids or give up on the task of being an intentional mom for the sake of my health.  All of them have been tempting in one form or another.  However, I know the calling of being a warrior mom and I have accepted the call. I know cancer was meant to build strength in me and make me more like Christ.

Being tempered under pressure as a warrior mom has caused me to put my focus on prayer.  All the training in the world will not make my kids into Christ followers.  My parenting skills fail in many areas so I know they will need me to pray and be faithful to the calling I have as their mom.  Focusing on training and duty only makes me angry and bitter, but giving my children to God and praying for them helps me to be a warrior mom.  It does not mean I don’t train or take care of them, it just means I go beyond the things within my power and rely on the power beyond my own.  Relying on Christ to remain faithful to the call of motherhood.

In what ways do you remain faithful in times of pressure as a mom?

~Jeanna Young

When Jeanna is not writing, speaking, event planning, or homeschooling, she can be found scrapbooking her life, redecorating her home, loving on her husband, planning fun events for her kids or eating healthy to stay cancer-free!

Warrior Mom: You Are Called

I live in a house full of knights and princesses. 

All of them resonate with the idea of a hero.

 As we study kingdoms in history and in our own Princess Parable books, I am struck with God’s plan for warriors and heroes.  Soldiers have uniforms.  But real warriors have weapons and tools for the job they have been called to do.  There is a very distinct difference between a warrior and a soldier. 

Who are warriors in daily life or even in imaginary life?  I think of super heroes.  Each one of them has their day-to-day routine and outfit.  There’s Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker. Even Wonder Woman was Diana Prince.

And Jesus, whom they expected to wear armor and come to fight in this world.  Yet, he came as the most helpless into this world – a baby.  But he was a warrior, not a soldier.  He came to change the world and never picked up a sword, except God’s word.

Did you know you are called to be a warrior?

I love that we introduced our knights in the Easter book.  They are knights synonymous with honor, boldness, trust and faith.  Our princesses have the same character qualities because being a warrior is all a matter of the heart.

I want to take this idea of a warrior over the next couple days and reflect on motherhood.  What does it look like to be a warrior mom vs. a soldier mom? What does it look like to take the calling we have as warriors and place it in our day-to-day life – changing diapers and training up children?

A Warrior Mom knows she is Called. 

The difference between a soldier and a warrior is the soldier is drafted and the warrior is called*.  Not all moms feel a calling.  You can be a biological mom.  You can birth a child, suffer thorough baby stage and toddlers to just make it to school age.  Muddle through those teen years and send them off at 18 without ever feeling the call of being a mom – without ever seeing your position as one of honor and protection.  We have to accept the call from the Lord to raise them intentionally.  It is work!  But the truth is once you have a baby, God CALLS you to be a warrior mom. The easiest thing is to be the soldier mom.  Just doing the bare minimum, exasperated with your kids and waiting for them to be gone. 

I felt that way in the beginning.  I know I wanted kids but then the harsh reality of sleepless nights and postpartum depression kicked in for me.  I also didn’t have that instant heart connection.  I found I felt distant, but responsible.  I saw the weight of having a little eternal person, but I could see how easily it was encroaching on my plans, my time, my selfish life.

When I met Sally Clarkson 7 years ago, I didn’t own the calling of motherhood.  I felt a duty, but there is a drastic difference between calling and duty.  That is why I have continued to put myself around people who call me to a higher place of motherhood.  I read books that convict me to live intentionally as a mom.

Motherhood is not a hobby. 

It is a ministry and a conviction.

A warrior mom is sold out. 

She is not just waiting until her term is over.

She is in it for life.

Motherhood is her life calling.

Do you feel called or drafted as a mom? 

*Ideas taken from the book “Girls with Swords: How to Carry your Cross like a Hero” by Lisa Bevere

~Jeanna Young

When Jeanna is not writing, speaking, event planning, or homeschooling, she can be found scrapbooking her life, redecorating her home, loving on her husband, planning fun events for her kids or eating healthy to stay cancer-free!

Jackie's Journey: Chance or Choice?

“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving”.  Oliver Windell Holmes, Sr.

“I’m glad for the Bible.  It gives me a chance to see how other people chose…and the results.  There’s the contrast between Abraham’s choice and Lot’s choice before Sodom.  There’s Moses’ choice of his fellows rather than the riches of Egypt.  There’s Joseph’s choice in the prison house of Potiphar, and Daniel’s choice of the king’s vegetables rather than his meats.  Paul paid a glorious price when he chose his lot with the early Christians.  Christ made marvelous choices when he set his face toward Jerusalem, at the Garden of Gethsemane, and in the Judgment Hall.

Adam’s choice cost him Eden; Esau’s, his birthright; Achan’s his life; Lot’s, his home and herds; Absalom’s, his father’s throne; Saul’s, his kingdom; the rich young ruler, the companionship of Christ.  Judas lost his apostleship; Demas, his discipleship.  Pilate, Agrippa, and Felix chose wrong and missed immortality.  Ananias’ choice fooled no one but himself.  Caleb and Joshua chose well, while Jonah’s first choice nearly shipwrecked himself and the crew….” Robert G. Lee

As mothers, if asked how do we build the character into our children that is necessary for them to make right choices, would our answer prove we know how to choose the things that matter most?

“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”  William Jennings Bryan

Life is a continuous series of choices determined by our wise or unwise decisions.  The Bible gives us a pragmatic biblical principle that teaches us that we reap a life with purpose and blessing, if we sow wise choices.  We reap what we sow… The opposite is also true…if we sow unwise choices we will reap the consequence of destruction on our heritage and ourselves…

What are you sowing?  What is the pattern of your life?

 Decisiveness is the ability to finalize difficult decisions based on the will and ways of God.  We build decisiveness when we refuse to reconsider or rationalize a decision that we already know in our spirit is the right choice!  “Rationalization is

allowing my mind to find reasons to excuse what my spirit knows is wrong.”  Romans 2: 21

Are you a wise decision-maker?

The opposite of decisiveness is double-mindedness.   The mother who thinks she can ride the invisible and non-existent fence is fooling herself.   There is no middle or neutral ground.  “…That woman (man) should not think she (he) will receive anything from the Lord; she (he) is double-minded, unstable in all she (he) does”! James 1: 8

I have never been the fastest decision-maker, but I have a treasured friend who makes me look like the “Road Runner”!  She meticulously finds every pro and con to every decision.  Detailing its purpose, longevity, functionality, and preference in comparison to a multitude of other possibilities.  I, frankly, am honored I made the cut and she has chosen me for one of her closest friends for almost 40 years!  There is one area of her life, however, where she has absolutely no difficulty in making a decision and consistently makes the right one.  Her secret…she is bent on seeking the will of God, above all else, disregarding her own will!  She is single-minded!    

Meet my single-minded friend, Nancy Sanche

When facing a decision, check your facts, seek wise counsel and make sure your goals are clearly defined.  But most importantly, make sure that Matt. 6:33 is in play first…” Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (His Will!) and all these things will be added unto you”.

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

What Are Your "Tassels"?

"It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes . . . so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God.” Numbers 15:39,40

In the Old Testament, the people are ordered by the Lord to make fringes on the borders of their garments.  This distinguished them from their neighbors in dress, as well as in diet and other things.  The tassels were to stir up their minds by way of remembering.  If they were tempted to sin, the tassels would warn them not to break God’s commandments. 

As I was studying this verse, I was wondering what are the tassels in my life.  Something I can visually see.

Looking around my house, I saw the familiar verses on plaques and pictures frames with well-known scripture staring back at me.   

These are my tassels.

These reminders help me to follow after God with my whole heart. Filling our homes with God’s word is powerful and commanded by God.  He says in Deuteronomy 6:7–9 that we are to teach our children his commandments, but also “you shall write them on the doorframes of your house and on your gates”. 

In almost every room, there is a scripture quote.

Not only will our children learn the verses, but everyone entering our home will be able to read God’s word which never comes back void.

Just think of using scripture to decorate each room in your home.  How could we do this? 

I ran across a wonderful company called Mary and Martha that make home accessories to “style your home with a message that speaks”! You can find their link here.

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I love art, but nothing fills my soul and my heart like the writings of the creator of the universe. His words bring a piece of heaven down to earth.

Come to think of it, our books, the Princess Parables series, are like tassels for our girls.  Each story is based on a parable of Jesus right out of the Bible.  The princesses help little girls follow God’s commands and be more holy.  Having our books as part of their regular reading time or bedtime helps princesses remember to do what is right in God’s eyes.

What are the “tassels” in your life?

~Jeanna Young

When Jeanna is not writing, speaking, event planning, or homeschooling, she can be found scrapbooking her life, redecorating her home, loving on her husband, planning fun events for her kids or eating healthy to stay cancer-free!

Jackie's Journey: The Inspiration Effect

I recently received a letter from a missionary who went through the training with us before we left for the mission field.  My mind flooded with gratefulness as I remembered the influence she had had on my life and how God used her to bring us into a community that was entirely foreign and outside our comfort zone.  I am a city girl and although my heritage is grounded in the heartland, I was apprehensive of this small country town and its established culture.

Have you ever found yourself in a totally unfamiliar situation and are positive you will do or say the wrong thing?

We were in our last few days of language school.  We had successfully completed a year of boot camp and another year of language school. Our series of required injections for our targeted mission field were in process and our passports and visas had arrived.  We had been tested for tuberculosis, given yellow fever shots, tetanus shots, dengue fever inoculations, malaria pills and a small pharmacy had been accumulated for the specific needs of our remote area, etc.…and we were on a fast track to get into the jungles of Panama!  

My husband became aware of a need of one of the mission families and volunteered us to “stop by and check on a family of six children who had just lost their father” on our way back to California.   Christina was almost five months old and that little “stop” saw her celebrate her first birthday in that beautiful Nebraska farming community!

During our time there, God confirmed to us that he could and would use us on the mission field and our time there formed the basis of what we are still using to challenge, win, and disciple.  His faithfulness in building His character in us over those months prepared us for the years of ministry ahead.  Being adopted by this community allowed us the confidence to keep pressing on!

One of the valuable lessons that came out of this well-spent time was the fact that I am responsible for my influence, regardless of how I feel or how others perceive me!  My husband, children and now grandchildren, and not to forget everyone I come in contact with everyday, are observing and reading me.  “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone.” II Cor. 3:2   A Christian is a living sermon whether or not he says a word!

Will others speak well of my Lord because of me or

will I be someone’s excuse for a bad attitude or behavior?

The unfamiliar is a great proving ground for our “real” character!  Being conscious of my total dependence and need for Him to live the Christian life through me, rather than being pre-occupied with my failure or “will I say or do the right thing” was liberating. 

His fruit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith (not insecurity!), meekness, temperance…Gal. 5:22-23 When this is NOT my fruit I know He is NOT living through me!  We don’t always know what to say or do when “in the trenches” with our little ones (or big ones) but He does!  We often go to friends, counselors and self-help books, looking for answers, while the Bible sits dormant and contains the key!   

Could we, moms, really make a difference?

Is our influence the catalyst in the behavior of those entrusted to us?

Could our godly conduct control the spirit of our home and bring peace instead of turmoil?

“Let no man imagine that he has no effect.”  Henry George

This missionary has no idea how she influenced my life with hers.  We are never fully aware of our sphere of influence, but for better or worse…the influence of our lives carries power… either for the success or the destruction of others!

“The selfless person increases the value of every other person whom he influences.”

The selfish person becomes the excuse for the person following him. 

Which will you be?

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Everything I Needed to Learn in Life I Learned in Ballet Class Day 3: Never Give Up!

Today we are finishing up with my fourteen year old daughter’s inspirational speech she gave at a competition.  We are closing with her final point.  I can still remember her, just a tiny little girl, only three years old, slipping on her first pair of pink shoes.  I never knew the blessing she would be today and how she has grown and matured.  I feel blessed to be her mommy and grateful we found Ms. Kelly to train her not only in the things of ballet, but also in righteousness.  Here is what Danika writes:

Never Give Up

I want to encourage you to dance with me in this life. I don’t expect you to put on ballet shoes, but I encourage you to see dancing as an analogy for living.  Because all we really need to know about how to live for Jesus, we can learn in ballet class.

One of the most important sayings that I hear in my sleep is “Don’t ever give up!”  That means even though you are tired and worn out with nothing left to give, you still hold the position and SMILE!  Remember when I am on pointe the pain is invisible to you, but not to me.  I have lost a toenail, gained a bunion and have endure excruciating blisters and bruises.  But my love for dance has helped me endure through challenges! 

Described as a ballerina who defies the odds and never gave up, Misty Copeland is black.  She has the wrong body type, the wrong feet and too big a bust.  She was too old at 13 to start training for ballet.  Yet Misty never let the criticism get in her way, because she too loved ballet.  She kept on and today she is one of the most famous ballerinas and the first black principal dancer.  She never gave up! 

In the Bible, Paul encourages us to never give up either.  In 2 Peter 1:3, he says “God has given us everything we need for this life.”  How much of everything is everything?  EVERYTHING!   As Christians, we too must never give up and lose heart but rather keep trusting in Jesus and doing good.  Even if it hurts or is painful, we are encouraged to do this because we love Jesus.  I point out if I can stand on my toes with the joy of ballet. I know God gives me extra strength to endure, how much more we as Christian with the promise of glory to come and eternal life in heaven.  Stand with me and don’t give up!

Don’t forget while you are dancing that some day we will be standing at the foot of Jesus.  He will ask us “How did you live for me through your life? How did you show me through all you did?”  He will have seen your “spotting”, “your shine for him” and your “determination to never quit”.

In the words of Mercy Me,

“Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still

Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall

Will I sing Hallelujah will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine!” 

How do you “never give up” as you are dancing through your life?

Danika Young is fourteen years old and is the daughter of Bruce and Jeanna Young.  She is homeschooled and lives in Southern California. Not only is she a ballerina and a speech and debate enthusiast, she loves art, fashion and baking.  She placed in the finals and semi-finals in STOA speech competitions this year and hopes to continue competing next year.