Book Review! Departures!

Departures by Robin Jones Gunn

I have enjoyed all of this author's book and this was no exception! The story of these girls was great and the writing draws you in with each word! I would reccomend reading the Cristy Miller and Sierra Jensen series before reading this, so that you don't confuse yourself with the events that take place in the book! A great book for teen/preteen girls!

The Bridge of Peace book review

The Bridge of Peace review

Book by: Cindy Woodsmall

Review by:Faith K.

I have always had such an interest in the Amish. This book does do them justice, but I suggest that you read some background info on the Amish and why they live like they do so you don't get confused while reading it. At times, the book was a little confusing, but for the most part I was able to understand what was happening in the story. Once you start this book I'm sure you will not be able to put it down!! There is alot of suspense throughout the book, and the conclusion of the book leaves you satisfied and happy. I highly recommend this! It's a great read and I think everyone who reads it will enjoy it!

Sweet Seasons Series book review!

Sweet Seasons Series review

By: Mary B.

Everyone has favorite seasons. Some people prefer the warmth of summer and the break from school. Others get excited for fall. The beautiful leaves and the anticipation of change. But what about learning to appreciate each season for what it has to offer? And learning to love each different season of life? This is what Candace Thompson is learning in the Sweet Seasons series. Decribed on the back as "alternative, God-honoring chick lit" that's really what they are. They are addicitive! I couldn't put them down. Maybe the story is slightly too idealistic. Yeah, life doesn't always work out as perfect as it does in this book. But it's a must read! The crazy insanity that almost seems impossible will you keep you on the edge of your seat! And there's life lessons to learn here too.

New Styles for Spring- Part one

New Styles for Spring- Part one

By Sarah Anne B.

New Styles For spring - Part One

As you see spring approaching, you may begin to wonder, "What styles will be in and what should I wear?" But fear not, for I bring to you the new fashions that will be seen everywhere, and if you don't see them, take my advice and start a new trend. Believe me, you can't be too embarrassed (this coming from the girl that wore a sewing tape measure as a scarf to church one time because I thought it would catch on. Needless to say, it didn't.) I can answer your dilemma in three parts: florals, army, and cowgirl.

o  Florals

Florals can be worn any way and in any style. Just make sure you don't wear a floral cardigan with 3 rings with huge flowers on them and clogs with a big ole rose on the top. Good judgment is necessary here. Here are a few examples of the correct usage of the floral:

Here is a cute pink top with a quaint rose on the front. With maybe a silver chain necklace with a matching silver chain bracelet, the flower would really pop.

This cute cardi is a different approach to the floral. It's a pattern, not a pin and it pops quite a bit more. The green cami under it is a beautiful choice that accentuates ONLY ONE part of the flower. Going overboard is not going to be attractive here, ladies. A long necklace with a pendant would be cute to complete this look.

These adorable earrings caught my eye. They have the right amount of flowers, neutral colors, and pretty orange to make them pop.

Of course, these bangles caught my eye. These pretty silver flowers come together and contrast with each other to create a pretty, classy look. If you know me, you know my saying, "Keep it classy!" This bracelet definitely accomplishes this task.

And last, but surely not least, for these cute florals, are the shoes. These wedged sandals are perfect for a party at the beach or maybe a ladies tea at your church. With a cute sundress, these shoes are sure to be the life of whatever part you're headed to.

Thoughts of a hopeless romantic! ♥

Thoughts of a hopeless romantic! ♥

By April W.

Everyone has one guilty pleasure. I have many. But I think my biggest is a bowl of Lucky Charms, no milk. I don't know why but it always gets me. I love them. So I have made my choice on what to do when Valentine's Day rolls around. I am going to curl up under a nice warm and fuzzy quilted blanket with about the most unhealthy meal I could choose (Lucky Charms and Hot Chocolate with extra marshmallows) and my favourite chick flick, Ella Enchanted.

You want to know something weird about me? I have my entire wedding planned out. Yes, that is what I just wrote. I have my entire wedding planned out. Most find me weird because of that. I tell them and then add that there is still one little detail that I have to think over. They always look at me for a second before they say anything. They always ask what part. I always answer, "The Guy" They seem to understand after that.

Thinking about that little quirk of my personality makes me think about my future. I wonder who I'll marry. It says in the bible that we are God's brides. We are married to him and He loves us more than we could ever know. So this Valentine's Day I think I will try writing a Valentine's card. No, make that two. One for my husband in Heaven and one for the man down here on Earth who will one day love me. I'll just have to give it to him on our wedding night. God will get his the day that I go up to spend my honeymoon with him.

April

The Greatest Love Story of All Time!

The Greatest Love Story of All Time!

By Mary B.

For Valentines i'm reviewing a story you all have heard of. It's the greatest love story OF ALL TIME! And guess what? You are a part of this story! And best of all, it's more than just a story, it's a reality. You are loved more than anything else on this earth. You are loved so much, someone died for you! His name was Jesus. He hung on a cross. Nails pierced his hands and feet. He was whipped and ridiculed, all for you, because He LOVED you! And even more amazing, He came back to life! He rose from the dead. And He still loves you even though he went through great pain and suffering. Even though you mess up fifty times a day. Even though you sometimes don't read His word or talk to Him, He loves you. So this Valentines Day, while the world is busy celebrating love between people, why don't you take even just five minutes to tell God how much you love Him! Write Him a song or poem, pray, find someway to express to Him that above all else you desire Him!

Matthew 27:11-66
 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
   “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
  When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.  Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?”  But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
  Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd.  At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas.  So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”  For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
  While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
  But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
  “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
   “Barabbas,” they answered.
  “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
   They all answered, “Crucify him!”
  “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
   But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
  When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
  All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
  Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

  Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him.  They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,  and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said.  They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.  After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

  As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.  They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.  When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there.  Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
  Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.  Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”  In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.  “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.  He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”  In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The Death of Jesus

  From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land.  About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
  When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
  Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink.  The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
  And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
  At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split  and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.  They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
  When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
  Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.  Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

The Burial of Jesus

  As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him.  Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,  and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.  Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

  The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.  “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’  So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
  “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.”  So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Bible Verse of the Week

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.  Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.--1 Peter 3:3-4

My thought: The world values fancy clothes and makeup. God sees beauty based on the conditon of our spirit!

It's All About Us series review!

'It's All About Us' series review

by Mary B.

I have to admit, I love curling up with some good chick-lit And these definitely qualify. The It's All About Us series follows five rich teenage girls through boarding school life in six books: It's All About Us, The Fruit Of My Lipstick, Be Strong and Curvaceous, Who Made You a Princess?, Tidings of Great Boys and the Chic Shall Inherit The Earth. Despite the slightly shallow sounding titles, all these girls are either Christian, or become Christian. And the plot isn't as mundane as you would think. There's an attempted Columbine, a disinherited almost princess, and a fiery Scottish temper or two! Also this series contains one of my all time favorite characters, Carly Aragorn. Seriously. She kicks butt. So if you're looking for something fun to read, these are great. If you're looking for spiritual instruction, look elsewhere. I can't help wishing these girls had higher morals. And if they spent more time with God, well, they (and us) might pick up a bit more. But overall, they're exciting, a good alternative to secular books, the characters are loveable, and you can't help secretly wishing you went to Spencer Academy with  all the celebrities and fashionistas.

Bible Verse of the Week

"LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."
Psalm 16:5-8

Beauty by Sarah Anne B.

Beauty By Sarah Anne B.

My first article is going to focus more on how God views beauty. I can get into what trends are hot and what's not later, but this is really most important. I want you guys to learn 3 things about beauty from me today:
         1. Beauty may seem important now, but it's not everything.
         2. The Lord is the most beautiful thing of all.
         3. We won't always have beauty.


Number one says beauty may seem important now, but it's not everything. In Esther 1:11, the Bible says, "to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at." The king wanted to show off his wife because she was beautiful, which I'm sure seemed great at the time. But do you remember what happened after this? Vashti was thrown out of the castle because of her disobedience to the king. Beauty didn't get her but so far. But when the king saw Esther, he was amazed by her beauty. This was a different kind of beauty, though. This kind of beauty was more of an internal-caused-by-God beauty that you can't get anywhere else. He saw God's light shine through her whether he realized it or not. At my school, the junior class has to take speech, and we got to pick a Bible story and teach it to an elementary class. I picked the story of Esther because I get completely immersed in her portrayal of real beauty. I really emphasized the essence of real beauty, even though they were only in fourth grade, because both the guys and girls really need to know what real beauty consisted of (which guys can have too). External beauty won't last so long before it wilts away. It gets us just as far as it got Queen Vashti, right up to the king's court, but we can fall just as fast as we rose if external beauty is all we count on to get there.

Number two is that the Lord is the most beautiful thing of all. "One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple." (Psalm 27:4) Our Lord and Savior is the most beautiful thing we could ever hope or dream to see. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to get to heaven and gaze upon His beauty day in and day out. Think of the most beautiful girl you know. It could be your mom, an aunt, or your best friend. Now I know it's hard to think of God as beautiful, because usually we think of God as a man, but being spiritual, He isn't male or female. God is even more beautiful than the girl you just thought of. As crazy as it seems, guys can be beautiful too. You would usually say that they are handsome, but that's just focusing on the outer appearance. I have some beautiful guy friends. Of course, I wouldn't just walk up to one and say, "Hey Cody, you're beautiful.", because, you know, that would make for a really awkward situation. But they can be just as beautiful as we are. If you were to put all the beautiful people (no pun intended) that you know together, God is wayyyyy more beautiful than them, so much that we can't even fathom His beauty. That is an awesome God!

Number three says we won't always have beauty. "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." (Proverbs 31:30) Beauty is fleeting. It's here like a whisper or a wave and gone within a few moments. But look what that verse says at the end there. A woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. That's what makes you beautiful. If you fear the Lord, your thoughts of beauty will be cast aside. I know it kinda sounds like I'm trying to deter you from reading my articles, but I really have one of the least important venues on this site. The most important thing is that you fear the Lord and beauty will come with it. I have recently become in love with the idea of falling in love. That's a very dangerous place to be, girls. I just can't wait for the day that God shows me the man who I'm going to marry and what not. I somehow developed this feeling that I can't serve God until I get married someday. But that's not true! If you fear the Lord, those things will fall into place. There are no worries about who you're going to marry and when. Teen dating relationships aren't even really necessary until you are ready to get married (hint hint, if you know what I mean). I understand that it's probably completely normal for a 16 year old to put a lot of thought into marriage, but I still need God to keep me on my feet instead of shoving my head in the clouds every day thinking about marriage. So girls, please live in fear of the Lord, and everything else will fall into place.

I want to leave you with a thought before I go. I'm sure many of you have heard Jonny Diaz's "More Beautiful You". Let me give you the chorus:

There could never be a more beautiful you.
Don't buy the lies, disguises, and hoops they make you jump through.
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do.
So there could never be a more beautiful you.

Thank you guys for reading my post. I hope each and every one of you will learn to fear the Lord.

Devotions

Devotions by Megumi H.

One can always reserve time each day for private devotions and prayer. It is important because through each quiet time we will grow in our relationship with God. Daily devotions benefit us on an every day basis, teaching us truths that deal with issues we face all the time. We can also learn about who God is, by deeply studying his word. Prayer is our way to communicate with God. For us to have a close relationship, we need to talk to him daily. Through prayer we can tell God how much we love him, things we are thankful for, ask him for forgiveness for our sins, ask him to let our leaders make wise decisions, pray on behalf of others, and lastly pray for our own needs. We should make quiet time a daily priority in our lives because it is important for our relationship with God. 



Breaking Barriers

Breaking Barriers by April W.

Breaking Barriers

Today I feel like breaking barriers in this world. Think about it. In your life how many barriers can you think of that are getting in the way? And what are they getting in the way of? If I think about it I can easily figure out what one of my many barriers is. Eating. If I'm feeling kinda down, I eat. If I'm feeling really happy, I eat. If I am feeling any sort of strong emotion, whether positive or negative, I eat. And eat. Until something feels different. Right now my mom is attending freedom sessions at my church and she has told me about it. Every person has some sort of barrier.

Freedom sessions are basically a way for people to learn about what way satan is holding them in his grip. And how to get rid of him. For the next little while I am going to be posting different songs, bible stories or verses, and information to help you (and me) get satan off your back, but this will only work if you put full trust in God and not in what I have to say. I'm just here to encourage you. This is one journey you'll have to take, with only you and God.

I have already had a major bump in my journey. This past Saturday, I decided to not trust God. I have been trying, unsuccessfully, to get Satan off my back for a few years. I gave up on God completely. But my mom helped and reminded me that Jesus loves me, no matter what I look like and that, even though I didn't think so at the time, he could help me in powerful ways. And he did. I had just started this blog and someone read my first post and sent me an idea for a song. It was "I refuse" by Josh Wilson. The chorus was what got me. It was God working in me and also how I knew I could put my trust in God completely.

Ask April advice column!

Hello everyone! We will be having an advice column on this blog, so please if you have any questions you want to send her and have her answer on the blog CLICK HERE and put 'Ask April' in the subject line! Thanks (: & our first few articles will be arriving at the end of this month!

Look for new posts coming soon!

Hey everyone! Our first few posts should start to arrive by the end of this month! Spread the word about Daughters of the King blog (:

Welcome to Daughters of the King (:

Hey guys! Im just getting started with this blog, so if you would like to become a writer or photographer please email me at daughtersofthekingblog@yahoo.com ! (: Thanks!