"Daughter of the King"

So, a couple of weeks ago I was invited to be apart of leading a girls conference at my church. The invitation made me jump for joy inside, it could not have come at a better time. I have a passion for children and having this job here at G.L.A.M., has only fueled my fire even more for wanting to become a mentor. 

The conference is called CNC, which stands for "Confidence iN Christ" and let me tell you, it blew my mind. There were over three hundred lovely, young ladies between the ages of five and fourteen signed up; which also blew my mind! I arrived at church Saturday morning and the woman in charge asked all of the volunteers and teachers to get in a big circle and hold hands so we could pray before we got started. These women prayed some of the most beautiful words I have ever heard, which only made me ten times more excited to see what Christ was going to do throughout the day. The girls started arriving with the most precious, excited smiles on their faces as we put them into their groups. Once everyone was put into groups, we headed to the main sanctuary for greeting time and worship. Now let me tell you something, I have never seen anything as wonderful as hundreds of young ladies raising their hands in worship, praising our Lord and Savior. I literally got teary-eyed and could not continue worshipping. I could only stand in awe at the beautiful children of God singing to their Father. And then, I thought of something even more beautiful, God was with us in that sanctuary and was smiling at how much we adore Him. 

Later, we went on to sessions that consisted of a self-defense class, a friendship workshop, a true beauty class, and a relationship class. I think these classes were perfect for the conference because each allowed the girls to take something important with them whether it was self defense techniques, make up, or even encouraging scripture. My favorite class though was definitely the true beauty class.  The sweet lady who was leading it, told the girls personal stories about her life growing up and how accepting Jesus into her heart changed her life forever. I didn't realize how important stories were to these young girls until I saw how they reacted to them. All of the girls had questions following the class about everything under the sun and it was super fun being able to give them advice from my perspective.

In between sessions and closing we had lunch and this was my second favorite part. Not because of the food aspect, but because it was a chance to get to know the girls in my group on a more personal level. The room where we ate was decorated so elegantly with roses, pretty purple tablecloths, sparkles, and tiaras and flowers as centerpieces. We talked and laughed so much that we barely had time to finish our meals, but it was so worth it. After lunch we headed back to the main sanctuary where we worshipped some more, but this time it was different. There was a teenage girl on the stage with a canvas and as the music started she began to paint. While we all watched in amazement, dancers came out from behind the stage and danced along to the melody. All of this, plus the worship, was so powerful. It made me notice that not only did God create us, but He created us with unique talents. We can bring Him glory through dancing, painting, singing, anything! When the teenage girl was done painting and as the music started to fade out, she stepped aside. On the canvas was a young girl, in the middle of darkness, standing underneath a colorful wing with a crown above her head. WOW is all I could say. WE ARE DAUGHTERS OF THE KING! To hear those words is one thing, but to see it painted from a teenagers' perspective, brought a new meaning to those words. 

During the closing, the precious woman who founded CNC, Terra Tucker, approached the stage with a book in her hand. She grabbed a stool and sat down and began to read. This book was written by Terra about her oldest daughter, which made it all the more lovely. As she read I begin to tear up (again). This book applies to every single women of Christ and the words that are repeated are these:

"You are a daughter of the King, that makes you royalty. Nothing on the outside, but Christ on the inside. He is... your identity."

What a great reminder that He is on the inside and will shine through as our identity! The girls were completely silent as the book was read to them. I think they understood that it was made for them specifically. After she was done reading, she prayed over all of us and then the children's pastor came to speak. Following his words, he told each of the girls they were going to receive a gift and as he was telling them this, the leaders approached their groups holding shiny new tiaras for each of them. The girls faces lit up with excitement as they held their tiaras in their hands. Terra came to the stage again and told the girls to hold the tiaras above their heads and wait to put them on. In a sweet soft voice she said: "You are all daughters of the King" and told them to put the tiaras on. The joy that filled that room is indescribable. 

We are Daddy's little girls, we are cherished, we are adored, we are wanted, and above all, we are all daughters of the King. 

If you would like to read or learn more about CNC conferences and events, you can check out this website HERE.