ASHEVILLE, N.C. (BP)–Two years later, Clarissa Bacon and her daughter are still talking about the conference that changed their lives.
“I don’t even know how to express the blessings we received that weekend,” Bacon said. “In a world that devalues women, and especially the role of mother, it convicted me of my God-given responsibility. My daughter has not ceased to talk of our weekend. She enjoyed the time we shared, but more importantly she heard that she was important to God just the way he made her.”
That’s exactly the type of response Catherine Hickem was hoping for when she developed Butterfly Princess, a weekend conference for mothers and their daughters in grades one through four. Hickem will lead one of the Butterfly Princess weekends May 2-4 at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina.
“The creation of a loving and nurturing relationship between a mother and her young daughter lays an incredible foundation that they will joyfully build upon for the rest of their lives,” Hickem noted.
Butterfly Princess is one of several age-specific programs developed by Hickem, LCSW, a licensed psychotherapist. She spent 20 years working with scores of women who had church backgrounds and knowledge of God’s Word, yet lacked peace and joy in their lives. Hickem concluded that many of these women did not have a clear understanding that they are valued for who they are, not what they do. She also noted the mothers wanted to raise their girls to be daughters of faith, but didn’t know how.
In 1999, Hickem formed Kingdom Princess to enhance the mother-daughter relationship, a relationship she describes as “one of the most powerful on earth.” By strengthening the mother’s understanding of God’s unconditional love for her and the important role she has in her daughter’s life, Hickem believes the mother can in turn teach her daughter never to settle for less than God’s best.
Today Florida-based Kingdom Princess reaches thousands of mothers and their daughters throughout the nation. The ministry works with women and girls in five age groups: Butterfly Princess; Tween of Hearts (grades five through eight), Young Sophisticates (grades nine through 12), Designing Women (college & career) and Royal Ladies (adult mothers with adult daughters).
Registration information about the Butterfly Princess weekend at Ridgecrest can be obtained by calling 1-800-588-7222.
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