The Power of the Princess Perspective
By Lt. Gina Noble
Santa Clara Citadel, CA – Golden State Division
Note: This all-inclusive program is designed for teens and young adult women but can be adapted for women of all ages.
Scripture Passage: Zephaniah 3:17
Cross Reference: Proverbs 31:25 Jeremiah 31:3 John 15:13 2 Corinthians 6:18
Ahead of Time:
Announcement on Sundays and at other Women’s Ministries gatherings. Women receive an invitation in the mail to attend the ‘Royal Gala.’ CLICK HERE for a sample invitation.
Program: Theme & Opening
1. Décor: Tiara, wand, and mini flower bouquet in a vase with each participant’s name on it. Our dinner table is set fancy like a royal banquet, using the good china and the silver. We have candles and are served our meal in the dining room. We enjoy our meal and dessert and then we move into the family room for our learning time. Each participant wears their tiara, and bring their wand and bouquet.
2. Video Clips: Select Youtube clips from the Disney movies where the princesses realize their worth and power (suggested: Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Snow White, Rapunzel, Ariel, Pocahontas, Tiana, Aurora, Merida)
Some examples:
https://youtu.be/__cM7IFKFDk (Cinderella – the power of forgiveness; being seen as you are and loved for your true worth)
https://youtu.be/DbGQJ9xKx3M (Sleeping Beauty – true, pure love can conquer anything! With love you don’t need to question because there is total faith)
https://youtu.be/et-RnRZ9keA (Pocahontas – It is important and powerful to stand up for what you believe)
https://youtu.be/4tzs1gncsHM (Ariel/The Little Mermaid – there is power in being creative and thinking outside the box; your friends know your true worth)
3. Play Theme Song: “You Are Loved” by Stars Go Dim https://youtu.be/thSOeSduSDQ
4. Trivia Game: Disney Princess Movie Facts (divide into teams). Each team is given a scorecard (a piece of paper will do) and a pen/pencil and ten questions are asked. The team with the most correct answers gets chocolate kisses. CLICK HERE for the trivia questions.
5. Individual Game: Which Disney Princess are You? CLICK HERE for a colorful little booklet describing each princess. Allow ladies to pick which princess best describes them!
6. Questions for group discussion:
- What qualities do all of the princesses have in common?
- What qualities do we have in common?
- What qualities do the Disney Princesses have that we would like to emulate?
- What qualities do we see that we need?
7. Bible Study: Our goal today, as we study God’s Word, is to see that we are His beloved princesses.
Our study today deals with how God views His children. Our passage shows us how, as Daughters of the One True King we are princesses in the Lord’s eyes. As we learn from Zephaniah 3:17 we see our value as God sees our value.
(For the younger ladies) All the participants in the group are approximately the same age or in the same developmental stage of life as the characters from the movies – they are all in time of transition and seeking independence and acceptance into the world as young adults. Make modifications for women over 30 years of age–Home League and women’s group of middle-aged.
Questions for the Leader:
A. What do you want them to learn?
B. What do you want them to feel?
C. What do you want them to do?
A. LEARN to see how they are God’s beloved princesses / discover the dependable depth of God’s love, and learn through the Bible passage and cross-referenced scripture tangible ways to restructure their thinking to see themselves as God sees them.
B. Begin to FEEL unconditionally loved and treasured. Allow them to recognize how internal negative self-talk and reliance on other’s opinions really make them feel. Discuss their feelings in association with their identity, contentment, acceptance, joy, and love.
C. Experience a Change of behavior with a focus on getting rid of negative opinions and comments toward each other, put-downs and pointing out flaws, or making fun of someone. The action step is to positively encourage one another and honor themselves and God by making good choices with clothing, makeup, and accessory choices. Also, you can tie in the appropriate use of photographs and technology – texts, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, snap chat, and blogs/vlogs.
Bible Study text Zephaniah 3:17: “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”
a. Background to the Text:
The leader provides background for the main scripture passage, highlighting that Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of King Josiah, before the Babylonian exile (between 640-609 BC). The message of the chapter of Zephaniah is clear: God is for Israel. God has forgiven her iniquities. The prophet Zephaniah sets the tone for rejoicing over the restoration of God’s relationship with Israel.
b. Truth Unfolding-How God sees His people:
Participants each read Zephaniah 3:17 out loud and then in unison with the teacher (involves the ladies in the study). Participants give their reactions to what the meaning of the passage is. The teacher will begin to point out the exegetical idea (clarifies passage) and summarize what the participants have shared. Discuss the significance of the truth found in the passage.
c. Application:
The people have a God. He is their Lord. He is with them. They are never alone. He will save them and protect them. He will take great delight in them. He will not rebuke them but instead will quiet them with His reassurance and love. He rejoices and sings over them because of His love for them. God has the joy of being in a relationship with His people. Participants are led through these truths.
8. Group Activity:
Note: This activity is age-appropriate for girls in their late teens, but may be modified for other age groups.
- There is one large cut out of a crown with glitter for the jewels on the wall. Each participant has a paper crown sheet to write on and a purple pen (a simple crown template can be googled). They take a moment to individually list the ways the Lord God shows His love in the Bible passage on their crowns. Then the participants share their ideas and the group comes to a consensus, and those ideas are written on the crown on the wall, in sparkly pens.
- Participants take turns reading the supporting scripture verses and sharing what they believe they mean in terms of how God feels about His people.
- The details of these verses are added to the crown that is being filled with the ways that God loves his people.
9. Questions for Group Discussion:
- If God has this great love and acceptance of the people in ancient history, does this love apply to us too?
- What does God’s love look like or how specifically does He show his love for the people?
- What are the benefits of having a relationship with God?
10. Devotional:
Our relationship with God isn’t just something we talk about. It is not just what we focus on during the Holiness meeting on Sunday mornings. It isn’t a recap of the lesson during Bible Study, a moment of reflection during prayer, or a brief thought during our devotions It is not just what we do during our spiritual activities at the Corps or the service we do outside of the Corps. Our relationship with God is the foundation of our lives each day in every moment.
Even when we forget about God, He can’t forget about us. Have you ever forgotten to pay your cell phone bill? What happens? Your phone gets turned off. Communication with all the people you text is impossible now. You miss out on what’s happening after school. Your snap chat streak ends. You are cut off for not knowing what everyone is doing and everyone forgets about you. (Modify for older aged women) God never forgets about you. Communication is always available with Him. Choose to contact Him. He is always available and ready to commune with you. We can freely connect with Him at any time.
He not only loves us with an everlasting love but He “hovers over us” with loving-kindness. He is always with us. He saves us not only from our sins but from ourselves. The way He saves us is gentle, yet mighty. He stops at nothing to save us. Even laying down His life for us – this is our God, our Savior Jesus on the cross. He takes great delight in us, especially when we realize our need for Him. When we come to him in an honest confession of our faults and mistakes, He quiets us with His love. And not only does He forgive us, but He forgets our mess-ups. Unfortunately, we can forgive but we can’t forget.
Think of the last time someone said something negative about you behind your back. Did they mean it? Did they recognize how it hurt you? Did you talk about it after and, perhaps, you were able to forgive them but did you forget about it and never remember it again? We might be able to excuse what they have done but we remember what happened. We can forgive but we can’t forget. But God does forgive and forget!
God declares that He will be a Father to us and we will be His daughters. This is a promise from the Lord Almighty. We are Daughters of the King. Royal Family. Princesses clothed in strength because the Maker of everything is our Father. We are dignified in this relationship and protected and provided for. And because of this, we can be fearless about our future. Go for it. Be bold. No matter what comes, we are loved and valued and appreciated. We have the power and dignity to show this same love to each other. Just like when you go to each other’s art openings, plays, and volleyball games and root for each other, God is always rooting for you.
What if you could learn how to root for yourself the way God roots for you and you each root for each other? What would it look like to catch yourself when you are looking in the mirror and thinking you are ugly? Could you commit to only speak to yourself positively? Could you begin to have contentment with who you are and how you look? Would it help to make a princess pact with each other to only say encouraging things to each other? To agree to not put each other or anyone else down? What if we never thought negatively about others or made fun of them? Would people want to be around us because we make them feel good with our positive comments? (Modify for age group)
Spend some time answering these questions. Ask ladies to pay a compliment to everyone in the room. What does it mean to be “clothed in dignity”? As a group, look through magazines such as People, Us, and Star and pick out what we think is appropriate, classy clothing, makeup, and accessories. Ask ladies to look at the selfies and other photographs on their cell phones and discuss any that they think are too sexy or do not reflect dignity. Google images of the world’s current princesses. Talk about what is classy about them.
11. Take-Away:
Reveal the ‘PRINCESS PACT’ scroll and talk about the details of our Princess Pact that is available to sign. CLICK HERE for the ‘Princess Pact.” Print and roll like a scroll, and tied with a ribbon. Give one to each lady.
The Power of the Princess Perspective recaps how God sees us, how we can see ourselves and each other, and specifically what we will do to live by the details of our Princess Pact. Each Princess signs the Pact as a commitment to each other and God. (PRINT AN ADDITIONAL COPY OF THE PACT for everyone to sign along the margins, etc.)
12. Craft Options:
A. Make Disney princess keychain (laminate small photos of princesses-punch hole-decorate with beads and jewels) Include Zephaniah 3:17 on the ring.
B. Take a photo of each ‘Princess’, print them out, and make frames with foam, glitter, and jewels.
C. Princess Coloring. CLICK HERE for Scripture coloring pages that can be bundled together as a booklet and bookmarks that can be colored, cut, punched, and tied with a ribbon.
13. Closing:
Plan on a trip to the mall together at a later date; each princess will invite a friend to the mall. Or plan to include a self-spa half hour to start your next meeting to remind the ladies of this lesson. Each participant will bring facial masks, cuticle softening cream, and a good moisturizer for our hands to share. We can get excited about pampering!
Play Theme Song: “You Are Loved” by Stars Go Dim https://youtu.be/thSOeSduSDQ
Close in Group Prayer. Each woman prays for one other participant. Close in final prayer that reminds us of the commitment to live as God’s beloved princesses.
CLICK HERE for a printable version of this meeting outline.
