It seems I’ve been on this princess kick lately.
First I read Captivating which basically says that we women want to know, and be told we’re beautiful and we’re worth fighting for. (AMEN!) From an early age we want our fathers to dance with us, we want skirts that twirl, and we play dress up and games that we are the heroine or the rescued damsel of the story. It’s no wonder Disney has made millions off the princess theme. (I’ll take that over Barbie any day!) And I absolutely loved The Princess Diaries and most other princess stories – especially Ever After with Drew Barrymore. I thought Ella Enchanted was dumb.
The theme was presented to me again at the Women of Faith conference. Nicole Johnson has an incredible skit about it, which made me cry, ofcourse. She has also written a book, Keeping a Princess Heart in a Not-So-Fairy Tale World. Sheila Walsh has a book for little girls about it. It’s called Gigi; God’s Little Princess. There’s a whole gift pack you can buy. It comes with the book, a pink princess t-shirt, a sparkly tiara with fuzzy pink trim, and a pink case to carry it all in. (Guess what Zoe is getting for her birthday this year.)
Then we watched Ice Princess as a family tonight. Zoe, at age 2 1/2 liked it, and Max decided he wants to go skating for his birthday :). (I hope it’s not THAT cold here in late September) jk
It seems to me the recurring theme is that the princess in all of these situations and stories has something to overcome. I can relate to that. I think most women can. I like knowing that I have overcome some difficult circumstances in my life. But I also like the thought of being rescued, whether it be by a knight in shining armor (mine came with cowboy boots and lariat), or by the God who created the universe and thinks of me as his beloved princess…a true daughter of the King of kings. I like the femininity of it. I like the vulnerability of it. I like pink. That’s been “my color” for the past two years, can you tell? lol
I’m puzzled by the number of friends I have who don’t like pink. A friend recently said to me that she was glad she had a boy and if she had had a girl she would have been wearing a lot of green and yellow. (???) She’s not alone in her tastes, and I just don’t get it. I love pink – it’s girly. I want my girl to be girly whatever color she’s wearing, but she sure looks cute in pink – which is her favorite color. More than once Benny has taken Zoe to the store with him with her dressed from head to toe in pink ballerina stuff, tutu and all. He is great at letting her know that she’s beautiful and worth fighting for. He’s great at letting me know that too.
I have some questions for you:
Men – do you let the women in your life know they are beautiful? Do they know how much you love them? Do they know you would fight for them? Be it wife, daughter, sister, or friend, they NEED to know.
Ladies – Do you know you are beautiful? Do you know how much you are loved? Do the men in your life know how much you love and/or adore them? Do you let them know that they have what it takes? Be it husband, son, brother, or friend, they NEED to know too.
Yep, there’s definitely something to this whole princess thing. I wonder if I’m hearing the message that is meant for me in it. I would assume there is one since it keeps popping up in my life. Maybe it’s just the reminder that I am one. What do you think?
With me being the ONLY girl in the house, I am definately a princess, and my favorite color is PINK!! My family of boys treat me that way and I like it 🙂
I have read Captivating also and I cried reading things that made me wonder why I was crying. It is a good, thought-provoking book.
Have a WONDERFUL day my fellow princess.
good thoughts… I started Captivating this summer, but due to the busy schedule of college kids, I’ve only made it a few chapters in. I’m looking forward to finishing it… thanks for sharing your thoughts with all of us, niki!
Now I am going to want to read this book too. I am definitely a princess — that is what my dad called me all the time growing up and it made me truly feel like that. Pink is the best, especially since I have only 2 little boys and I’m the only girl in the house (besides the dog that has a pink leopard print collar!). Enjoyed your post, princess!
Hey Niki! I just randomly came to your site this afternoon after school. Story time: Cassandra and I sit next to each other in personal finance this year. Yesterday on our test we had to fill out some tax jazz, and one of the individuals name was ZOE! It made our day just to think about the joy, love, and impact you and your family have blessed my life with. I love you guys so much, thanks for being a constant example of following God’s will for me.
i saw nicole’s skit at that year’s women of faith conference. pink is my absolute favorite. and my girls’ too! love your blog- will be back. xok8
I love pink!! My wedding was pink–and everything I can talk honeee into, is pink around the house.
I love your questions–thanks for the encouragement–it will be my weekend assignment!
Hope your weekend is blessed!
JB
Brock bought me Captivating for my birthday!!! I’m going to start it this morning!! (Thanks for giving away the ending…j/k)
Hope all is well with you.
I think you’re great!
Love,
Sarah P
I am the friend that recently had a boy and was glad to not have to dress a child in pink. I think it has come to represent girly-ness to me and not femininity. I think femininity is fabulous and a gift from God, something that we are deep inside despite what we wear or what job we hold. But girly-ness, well to me that’s toe-painting and giggling and gossiping and flipping your hair and discussing cute boys. Not that all of that is wrong by itself, in fact I enjoy giggling and painting my toenails (or at least having them painted). But I had a really hard time in school making friends with girls. They were cruel and back-stabbing in general. Besides, I had more important things to do besides decide who the cutest boy was. I know I’m associating a lot of feelings with a simple color. I also have bad associations with the word “princess”. The girls who called themselves that or, worse, whose Daddys called them that were spoiled and snotty. Recently though, God has been redeeming that word for me. I watched the movie King Arthur and saw Guinevere depicted in that not as a simpering, eye-lash lowering weakling, but as a warrior princess. She fought along-side Arthur and was ferocious. At the same time she was precious to Arthur and beautiful to him. That idea of princess appealed to me greatly. I’ll just be a princess that dresses in green.
Jennifer – I was giving you anonymity! lol I understand your viewpoint and agree that sometimes “princess” and “snotty” are synonymous. But Jennifer – I would give anything to hear my Dad call me that, or even to KNOW that he thought of me in that way…even at 33 years old! I never had a dad around to treat me special or make me feel pretty and worthy. I was also athletic back then and wasn’t very girly. I very rarely felt feminine. Sometimes those two things DO go hand in hand. So I tell you what -you be a princess in green and I’ll be the one in pink, and our red hair will tie us together – we’ll be a set, deal?
I know you were giving me anonymity. But I’m not going to comment without signing my name, and I don’t mind taking credit for my views. I will be a set with you though. and I didn’t mean to come across so harsh. I don’t demonize the color pink, it’s just not my favorite. But it was my husband’s favorite as a kid 🙂