A Castle for the King

By Connie Gilbride

You might dream about being treated like a Princess...but do you ever feel like Cinderella...minus the gown and slippers? Then this women's devotional is made for you! Come along and take a tour of your castle and discover hidden treasures sure to encourage you every day.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jul 30, 2013
• ISBN: 9781304301925

Book preview

A Castle for the King

A CASTLE FOR THE KING

Copyright © 2013 by Connie Gilbride.  

All rights reserved worldwide.   Part of this publication may not be replicated, redistributed, or given away in any form without the prior written consent of the author/publisher or the terms relayed to you herein.

Connie Gilbride

Great Plains Ministry

5907 W Wren Place, Sioux Falls, SD 57107, USA

Great Plains Ministry

ISBN:  978-304-30192-5

Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®.  Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.  Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.  All rights reserved.

Verses marked (TLB) taken from The Living Bible © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL. 60189. All rights reserved.

A Castle for the King - Introduction

I pray you are blessed as you read A Castle for the King.  Consider keeping a few notes as you read.  Writing is much like saying it out loud; a method of cementing thoughts deeper into our hearts and minds.

Isn’t it a joy to know no matter how ragged and tattered we might feel, Jesus is the King Who holds our often weak and tired Princess hearts and says:    I will never leave you nor forsake you….

I’m right there with you, Girl, hanging on to Jesus for dear life when things get rough in my kingdom!    (P.S.- Look a little closer and you will see Jesus hanging on to my feet!  He will never let me go!)

Connie

Got dreams?  Come on...bring those dreams along and turn the page as we begin this adventure fit for a Queen!

Chapter 1 - The Princess and Her Dreams

When I grow up I want to marry a handsome prince

and live in a beautiful castle.

Growing up and marrying a prince!  Ah, yes, that was the stuff of dreams for many little girls around the world.  Her knight in shining armor would come rescue her from the prison tower.  He rode in on a white horse, ready to face any danger, just so she could be in his arms.  Ahhhhhh…..

Impossible?  Well, then you are way too young to have lived through’ the 50’s.  If you were there, you would have actually witnessed someone who had that type of dream come true.  She was actress Grace Kelly!  She fell in love with Prince Rainier and  they married in a fairy tale wedding where she became Princess Grace.

When I was a little girl, my sisters and I would hold frequent sessions of dress up.  I always wanted to be Grace Kelly (of course, so did they!!!)  We wished for that fairly tale life where the biggest dreams and most unbelievable wishes were never too large or unattainable.  We could picture ourselves in the jeweled crowns and sequined gowns for the ball.  We  envisioned a handsome prince riding in to sweep us off our feet and take us to his castle to live happily ever after.  That’s what Grace got and if Grace could get it, so could we!

Then, as we all must do, I grew up (and woke up) and came face to face with the ‘stuff of life’.  That’s when I  learned that life is less about magical dreams and fulfilled wishes than it is about the real stuff of life, namely commitment, sacrifice and hard work, along with joy, satisfaction and contentment. 

How about you?  When were you jerked out of a childhood fantasy world into real life?  It isn’t always an easy transition from ‘little, precious, perfect Princess’ to ‘normal, everyday, ordinary Woman’ - but ‘ready or not’ it will come.  Maybe we wake up one morning a few days into our marriage and are hit by ‘morning breath’ from the once dashing prince.  It can also happen one unsuspecting minute, when we glance into the mirror and wonder how our mother got in that mirror.   Yes, it can arrive ‘out of the blue’ at a staff meeting.  You quickly look around trying to figure out who’s being chewed out, only to realize it’s you!  Poof - no longer a Princess!

Time for the Princess

Do you have a dream you are still waiting to see or one that never came true?  Tell me about it:

When the Fairy Tale Ends

What happens when the bubble is burst and the perfect life in that perfect castle feels as if it is just an unfulfilled dream of a silly little girl?  That’s when you and I come face to face with the truth:  Life is not a fairy tale!

Whether your life has been filled with heartbreaks or a life of smooth sailing...whether you are still searching for that dream or believe dreams never come true...this devotional was written with you on my mind and in my heart.

As we turn these pages together, let’s remember to pray for each other.  No matter how confident and ‘grown-up’ we look on the outside, we all have times when we feel like little girls whose dreams have been shattered.  We come in all sizes and shapes but one thing I know, we don’t have to walk through life alone.  Let’s grab each other’s hands and begin our journey.  First stop, Ladies, a tour of our castles.

Chapter 2 - The Tour Begins...Under the Bed

She comes to the window of her castle tower wearing her perfect smile.  She lifts her hand for the royal wave as her imperfect subjects parade past her castle, hoping to catch a glimpse of her Royal Highness.  Yes, all looks flawless and perfectly royal but what does it look like behind closed doors?   Perfect?  Not if you listen carefully for the stomping of those dreaded Beasties she wants no one else to see. 

Are we any different?  Most of us want others to see only our best behavior and our admirable qualities.  We keep our Beasties hidden away, only to be viewed in private.  Admit it, ladies!  That’s why we put on our ‘Sunday morning plastic faces’ for all the world to see.

Life can be falling apart around us but once we put on our Sunday morning plastic face, we make sure all those Beasties are stomped and pushed under the bed so no one else can see them.  No one is allowed to see our flaws and problems, challenges and failures.  In fact, some of us become so expert at hiding  Beasties, no one would ever guess we have them. 

As a result, we become lonely and isolated behind our high castle walls, thinking we are the only Princess in the entire kingdom who is hiding Beasties under her bed.