From the Hearts of Our Readers

---

Dear Abigail and Skye,

I was so touched by the first issue I received (Spring 1999). Thank you for printing all the letters about dresses vs. pants! I got a lot of good insights from them. I have been realizing more and more the importance of not just wearing dresses, but having a modest spirit and therefore wearing clothing that reflects your heart. It’s such a blessing to know that there are other girls studying on the same topic. I especially was encouraged by the letter from… Bethany C——. Also the letter from “A Brother In Christ” and “Excuse Me, But Your Attitude is Showing” must have been written just for me! And it went along perfectly with the theme of this issue (modesty). How much I have to learn in having the right attitude! It’s so sad that so many “Christians” are no different from the unsaved. They are grumblers, covetous, selfish….

Well, I must be going. Oh, wait a minute—I was glancing through DP and began reading “The Path of Purity,” which I had skipped over before. What an excellent article it is! What truth is in it! I thank the Lord that He has allowed you to be such a blessing to me (and many others)! May He richly bless you, my dear sisters!

Until He returns,
Miriam Leavitt
Lewiston, ID

---

Dear Abigail and Skye,

Greetings in our Savior’s precious name! I received DP in the mail today and just finished reading it. It is a very well-done magazine that is obviously Christ-centered. After reading it, I’m encouraged to keep heading up the narrow way. My cup overfloweth.

Thank you for sharing the poem, “Through Sunshine and Shadow,” in your editorial, Abigail. May our only request be to be like Jesus, to follow Him wherever He leads! May we give our all to Jesus so that then He may do His perfect work. I want to always say, “with me, Lord, have Thy way.” Oh, to trust in Jesus, to take Him at His word, then truly to go on rejoicing, for Jesus our Savior awaits at the end of the road! How wonderful it is to know that when we die we will go to heaven to be with Jesus for eternity.

Skye, I really appreciated the second-to-last paragraph in your editorial. Yes, we must allow Him to have full reign in our hearts. I think I will write that up and put it in a place where I can see it often. I need to remind myself of the reason our Lord gives us trials.

The words at the top of page ten were very good and true. We need to not focus on what we are missing out on down here, but on how more fully we can serve our Lord, King, and heavenly Father. “Let the pleasures of earth fade away.” Amen.

I also enjoyed “From the Hearts of Our Readers.” It’s interesting and nice to hear about other princesses who are also striving to live for the King of Kings! May we encourage one another to never give up on reaching “The Promised Land.” “Tell What the Lord Has Done for You!” is an excellent section! It is inspiring to read others’ testimonies.

I thank God for bringing this magazine into my life. Please keep me in your prayers; I’ll be praying for you both. May we always be heading onward, upward.

Love from an encouraged sister,
Michigan

---

…hopefully in the next couple of months I will have enough dresses to start wearing them all the time. One of the reasons that it is taking so long is that I can’t sew very well, and my mom doesn’t have very much spare time to show me. We have tried shopping, but had a hard time trying to find modest dresses. We only found one, and so we bought two of them. Please keep me in your prayers, dear sisters; this is all very new to me.

I’d like to warmly thank all of you who wrote something for the dresses vs. pants feature. What an encouragement to know that I’m not alone! Much thanks to each and every one of you! Keep on serving Him!

Striving to follow the King,
A sister in Christ

---

Dear Skye and Abigail,

Greetings in the name of our King! Thank you so much for sending me Dear Princess. I just received my first issue and am very happy with it. Your editorials were a blessing to me. I agree wholeheartedly with what you said, Skye. Oh, that we all would, like Mary, continually sit at Jesus’ feet to be taught of Him and given up to Him. I believe, also, that these early years of our lives should be spent learning to love God with our whole heart, mind, and soul and strength and to be Jesus’ true bride.

It is such an encouragement to know that there are other young ladies who go through the same or similar struggles and experiences and also desire Jesus and His ways above all else. May we never leave our first Love, my dear sisters.

“No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”* (Luke 9:62)

May God bless you and keep you!

With love,
Deborah Solum
Spring Grove, MN

---

Dear Sisters,

I have so enjoyed the summer edition of Dear Princess! It has been so encouraging at this point in my life and such a blessing to read about so many girls that are struggling with the same things as I am. Yet, we are “more than conquerers” through Him!

My family believes in courtship, and I made a personal commitment to not date many years ago. But it is so hard not to focus on such things, especially when everything in this world is geared toward the sensational pleasures. It has been good to hear of so many young ladies who are, with the Lord’s help, denying such temptations and putting God in entire control of their lives. This has become my earnest desire—that Jesus would be my all in all. I know that He has a precious plan for each of our lives if only we would submit to it, and lay aside our own desires.

Thank you, Abigail and Skye, for your commitment to the Truth. You are such an encouragement to me God bless!

In Christ,
Rebecca Anderson
Altoona, IA

---

Dear Skye and Abigail,

This, my second issue of Dear Princess, was wonderful, bringing the encouragement I needed today. As with many of you, I have struggled in giving up my dreams and hopes of marriage, and though in my mind I have given it over to Jesus, my heart still sometimes intensely longs to be married. This issue was a wonderful reminder of the love Jesus offers us, and that our hearts need not starve. He knows what each of us need, and the desire of our hearts to be loved, and He will not leave us cold and empty.

Skye, I have read the little book by C. E. Orr you sent me, and gained much by it. I still turn to it and read a chapter or two when I need encouragement. I thank you.

May you both continue in the work of the Lord!

My love,
Elizabeth Anne Lorenz
Techachapi, CA

---

Dear Skye and Abigail,

I was very touched with the testimonies concerning modest dress. (In the Spring 1999 issue.) I truly did read, and reread it over the weeks, praying to really know His will. This could be a very long story but to make it short, I have finally found peace again and am blessed with the firm conviction that God likes to have me be feminine and modest by wearing dresses. I realized that I needed that personal conviction in order not to waver after tasting the “freedoms” of pants and shorts once again. He has answered my prayers and I just simply know this is right. I cannot dress like the world without being tempted to slip into worldly thoughts and ideas. It has taken all summer for me to realize how worldly I had become; ideas from influences in my work situation had rubbed off on me, too. Dressing differently helps me to remember the goals I am striving for are different. Hopefully I will be able to redeem the lost time and be a better witness for Jesus.

I feel that your prayers and the prayers of those that contributed to the modest issue have touched my life. My favorite line was, “It’s not that important.” But it is. What is inside is manifested on the outside. It’s hard to find the right words, and I could share more lessons, but I’ll forebear; I just wanted to thank you and say, “God bless you for the influence you have had on my life!” Praise the Lord!

In Jesus,
Rebecca Aughinbaugh
Stewartsville, MO

---

Dear Skye,

I am the mother of three girls, ages 18, 17, and 13. My husband and I, by God’s grace, have always homeschooled them. Our family has gone through many changes over the years; most recently, we have moved to a rather remote location in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. This has caused our lifestyle to change rather dramatically… fewer trips to town, doing things the “hard way,” trimming expenses, and because our house is small compared to what we were used to, learning to love one another in close proximity! Miriam, Lisa, and Christina all share a room, which to our way of thinking is a special blessing to them, but of course creates challenges to deny self.

A friend of ours gave us a copy of the Summer ’98 edition of Dear Princess. Our entire family has been blessed by it, even my husband informed our dear friend that he had “been reading his Little Princess,” which made us all roar with laughter all the more because of the mistake in the name! But when Daddy recommends something, we know it is good and are all the more eager to check it out.

I was especially blessed by your article, “Forgetting and Reaching Forth.” So many of the trials you mentioned are common to us, and I appreciated your trustworthy recommendation to entrust them to the Lord and go forward on His strength. Recently I experienced an utter failure in my faith, which to be honest, was quite frightening, as I have known the mercies of the Lord in my life for over 20 years. Even now I cry to think of it, but your article was a great encouragement to leave it behind and go forward, trusting in God’s mercy in Christ. I can only hope that He alone will be the Comforter and Guide our girls need.

Again, I thank you for sharing and we are looking forward to future issues of Dear Princess! May the Lord bless you as only He can!

Love,
Mrs. Ernestine Koehn
Oregon House, CA

---

Dear Skye and Abigail,

Greetings!

I received the latest issue of DP and am enjoying it right now. The article by Brother Mark Spinks looks very good. My Daddy and Mom have a wonderful marriage, too, by the grace of God. We are so thankful for His mercy in our lives. My parents have had to come out of a lot of past generation sins, and we are still having to forsake the former things as the Lord reveals them to us. I am very thankful to have Daddy and Mom. They are always trying to point Hope and I to Jesus—I know it takes a lot of courage to set a good example to children. It is such a blessing to know they try their best…. And do a good job at it, too!

The Lord has been showing me to not repay evil for evil when I am wronged. It seems as though everything I’ve been reading has been talking about that. I often get “bugged” at others when I am asked if I’m a child, or if I’m my mother’s sister (yes, girls, it’s happened!), etc. I used to selfishly wonder if people thought I was older than I am [because of my dress]. Yet God has been showing me that I’m not! Oh, well, I need to learn to be happy with who I am and what I am. I want people to see Jesus in me, not myself, and in order to do that, I must not want to “clear things up” when someone says something that bothers me. I’ve been thinking about your editorials on that issue, and thank you for writing them.

The Lord has been showing me these Bible verses, and I’ve been mulling over them lately, also. Here they are: “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”* (Psalm 19:7-14)

I love those verses. The Lord is faithful; we must fear Him. I want all that I say and do be a reflection of Him, and not me. Myself is so ugly, wanting its own way, and wishing to be recognized. I sometimes want to “prove” to the world, that Jesus is the only way, that home education is best, etc. Yet, that is God’s job—not mine. He will prove Himself in His time. “Be not deceived, God is not mocked.”* (Galatians 6:7) What the world sows will eventually be reaped. All I need to do is trust my Savior, resting in His will and His timing.

God bless you, Skye and Abigail, as you serve Him with your hearts, minds, and souls. May He continuously become our all in all.

Reflecting His love,
Faith Hellikson, CA

---

May God bless you, Skye!

…I have just received the most recent issue of Dear Princess (Summer 1999), and was immensely blessed. God has been reminding me over and over lately, that He is to be my number one priority, and your wonderful editorial was just what I needed. How we need to be one with God. He should not be something to add unto ourselves or just another thing to fit in our schedule, but we are to “allow” ourselves to be embraced by God, to let Him take us unto Himself. He is to be our substance, our every heart beat should depend on Him. When we “allow” Him to take us, then He shall become our number one priority; when we “allow” Him to mold our heart, He will make us so that he will be our number one priority.

He is the only friend that we can trust our whole heart with, and our whole emotions to. We can be close to some earthly friends, but they can at time fail us, but God will never fail us. Praise and glory be to God! This is all so easy to say, but to do it can be so hard. We know that God loves us, and that Jesus died for us. We know that God is in control. But it seems so much easier to let the cares of this life embrace us, and take us, and to trust in our money, houses, or something other than God. Then, when this happens, we have another Ishmael. I find myself at times trusting in fences, houses, bikes, and cars, to keep me safe from bears, cougars, or any other wild animal. I know it is so wicked, and I would greatly appreciate prayer in this area. God wants me to trust Him with my whole heart, not just a part.

Trusting is part of becoming “best friends” with God. Once we have learned to trust Him, I believe it is much easier to communicate with Him. When we are in fear, there is something in between God and us. It just dawned on me that when we are afraid of something, or not giving God our all, we are making that something greater than God. Our dear Lord said so clearly in the ten commandments, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”* (Exodus 20:3) Skye, isn’t God so good to teach us all His ways, and to show us what He wants, then help us do so? He is so good, so loving, so perfect, so awesome. My heart cries, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him?”* (Psalm 8:4) How my Spirit wants to give all, too, but as I have said earlier, these are words, now the action.

Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

May God bless you and keep you my dear sister,
Linnae Joy Kreamer—God’s handmaiden in training
Moyie Springs, ID

---

Dear Princesses,

Greetings to all in the worthy name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope this letter finds you all growing closer to the “Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.”* (2 Corinthians 1:3)

I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of you dear princesses who took the time to remember our family in prayer and the lovely cards and letters. Each one was appreciated very much. It was such a blessing to realize that we are cared about by those who we have never met. Your thoughtful words brought comfort in this time of our loss—heaven’s gain. What a comfort to know that my dear brother, Brad, is in glory with his Savior—the place where he longed to be. I am so glad that we have no doubt that Brad is with Jesus. Brad was His faithful servant and is now experiencing the rewards of having had a godly Christian life and testimony. Anyone who knew Brad would say without a doubt he was living for Jesus. Brad experienced the joy of leading precious lives to Christ and three souls upon hearing of his entrance into heaven gave their hearts to Christ. It is my desire to live such a steadfast life. Since Brad’s passing, I have often asked myself the question, “How many people will be at my funeral?” Around 700 were present to witness Brad’s funeral and burial. In Brad’s short life of 23 years, he touched countless lives all over the world. He served as a missionary in the Ukraine, preached in state prisons, county jails, on street corners, passed out thousands of tracts, and was involved in relief work for flood, tornado and hurricane victims—everywhere he went, he spread the Word of God and shared Jesus with anyone who would listen. Oh, to have such a testimony for Christ!

When Jesus came for Brad, He found him hard at work and not unprepared. Just the week before his passing, he shared these words with a friend: “I’m not depressed or discouraged, but why should I want to stay here when my goal is heaven? My work in Montezuma is done.”

Heaven has never seemed so real to us. We look forward to the day when the clouds will open to reveal our Savior, arms open wide to receive His children, when we will go with Him to our eternal home to be reunited with Brad and those we love, never to part again. Why should we want to stay here when our goal is heaven?

Dear princesses, please continue to pray that God would comfort us with these thoughts and that we would live faithful lives for Christ. My brother left us a good Christian example and I am ashamed to see how negligent [in comparison] I am in my Christian life. But by God’s grace, we can triumph—He gives the victory!

“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”* (2 Timothy 4:8)

With joy in His service,
Emily Lester
Montezuma, GA