We at enLIVEn Devotionals have published our 7th anthology, entitled, Daughters of the King: Revealing God’s Royalty in the Midst of Peasantry! The mastermind behind the amazing book by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is Teresa Ann Criswell! She is the newest editor of the enLIVEn Devotionals Team. ย Proceeds of this encouraging reminder of who you are in Christ go to support the fight against human trafficking via Reflection Ministries of Texas.
1. The title of the anthology is Daughters of the King. What does that title mean to you and your ministry?
There is a story behind every story.ย Often times – struggles, difficulties, pressures of life, unseen sorrows that are coupled with victories, redemption, transformation of the heart are part of them.ย ๐ฟ๐๐ช๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ first began,ย as a couple from the church I gathered withย were persistent about me starting a small group at the church. When I asked the Lord if I should, and if I was supposed to, then what I should name it. That was when I saw the following words, ๐ฟ๐๐ช๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐. I got so excited and then prayed, “Lord, I want a tagline like “Nike.” Then soon after that prayer, I saw these words, ๐๐๐ซ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐โ๐จ ๐๐ค๐ฎ๐๐ก๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐ง๐ฎ. I loved it and thought it was so โcute.โ Not knowing the revelations that would unfold of Godโs goodness in the midst of trouble and heartache.
So, our first gathering was in September of 2011. Four ladies arrived. One of them being Katherine Haynes, who is one of the contributing writers of this book. It was so awesome as Terry Pruett trained us as facilitators of every small group of how to ask questions and to make sure NOT to โrescueโ people when there was silence amongst the group. Fast forward, that evening my icebreaker question was, โWhat does it mean to be a daughter of the King?โ Of course, the answers were good, but as Terry taught, he would encourage us to say, โThatโs good, but letโs go deeper…โ The answers to that question were, โTo be a daughter of the King is to be Godโs childโ and answers as such. As I said, โLetโs go deeper…โ There was about two minutes of silence that seemed much longer. That was the moment the Holy Spirit used the silence to do His great work. In those moments, divine quietness was divinely interrupted with an answer that enlarged my awe of God forever. Katherine answered something like these words, โ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐ ๐๐๐ช๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐, ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐จ๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ข๐ข๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐. ๐๐๐๐จ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐๐ก๐ก ๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐๐๐ก๐ข๐๐ ๐ข๐. ๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ช๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ค๐ฃโ๐ฉ ๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ฉ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ, ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ก๐ค๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐จ๐๐ I was His daughter.โ
That was the moment when I realized the “tagline” toย ๐ฟ๐๐ช๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ was much more than a cutesy saying. It was TRUTH of who God is. It was the annihilating covering of light in the midst of tragic darkness. In the midst of life, at every turn, we can realize that God is in the midst.
2. The painting on the cover was created by you and several friends. How did that come about?
3. The proceeds of this book go to a ministry that helps women who have come out of the evils of human trafficking. Can you tell us about the ministry you chose and why?
4. The devotionals are written by diverse women who all want to find their identity in Christ as a daughter of the King. How did you gather these anointed writers together in order to unite as one powerful voice?ย
5. You are now one of the co-editors of enLIVEn Devotionals, a writing ministry that supports mission work around the world. What excites you most about this new possibility to write and change lives for Christ?
I love how this is evidence of God’s glory to glory adventure. He has invited me to do this with Him and He has utilized you, Alisa, mightily through this incredible process. I believe what excites me the most is following Him and witnessing all He has planned from long ago. I even get to witness Him through my life in this and that is beyond the ability to comprehend with such joy.
6. Your daughter, Tristin, may be the youngest writer in this anthology. Is this her first publication? Where else can we find what sheโs up to?
Tristin is healing physically as God’s wisdom and understanding increases in her life. After the car wreck from last year, she is doing awesome things. Tristin has social media via Instagramย @Tristin.Criswell and you can see her funny and encouraging posts, especially on her stories. Tristin (a.k.a. Paris Keelea) has also appeared on one of our other contributing writer’sย podcasts, She Walks In Truth. She appeared on the show a couple years ago, but it’s so encouraging and a now word for every season: Tristin’s Episode.ย
7. Is there anything else you would like to share?
More videos revealing the heart of Daughters of the King.
Teresa Ann Criswell is first a daughter of God who loves her family and enjoys writing. Sheโs been writing since 2003 and desires to write the praises of God and all that He has done. She is also the author of several books; her most recent books are:ย Heavenly Wit: Seeing Mission Fields in the Midst of Battlefields and 5-Minute Devotions for Mom. Teresa has been a contributing writer to several anthologies with Enliven Devotionals. She also has a YouTube Channel, Letโs Talk with Teresa Ann, as well as a podcast, which she co-hosts with her daughter, Tristin, titled, OHโฆTeresa and Tristin.
Teresa resides with her family in Austin, Texas.
I am in awe of God! What?! I get to do this with Alisa?! This freaks me out in the most joyful way!!