Nicole Johnson (1)

With wit and wisdom, Nicole Johnson leads readers in a journey of awakenings—first, to God as they respond to His tender, passionate love for them; second to readers as they embrace their identities as women, their gifts, and their dreams; and finally to others as readers learn to love and communicate in ways that bring joy and closeness.

One of three books based on Nicole Johnson's one-woman performances, Raising the sail is the short story of Maggie, a woman whose fear has turned her into a control freak and hurt her relationship with her daughter as a result.

What works really well in a live performance doesn't translate well to the page. In performance, Nicole Johnson conveys all the deep emotion and spiritual anguish that life can bring. On the page, even a 50-page long (with generous margins) narrative of one woman's show more thoughts seems overly long and preachy. I'll stick to watching my DVD, seeing her performances instead of reading them. show less

Nicole Johnson is a Christian performer whom I first saw when she traveled with the Women of Faith conferences. She gives short, emotional one-woman performances on various themes, and overall does so powerfully. So, one year I bought four of her books - this was one of them, her newest at the time. Keeping a Princess Heart in a Not-So-Fairy-Tale World sounds good, I thought. It could give me suggestions for right living or how to keep my identity as a child of the King in a world that tells show more me I'm not so special.

Unfortunately, it's less of a how-to and more of a feel-good book. I suppose my main hang-up is that most loaded word: princess. What, exactly, is meant by princess? In this day and age, it might mean anything from being a girly girl to a prima donna. That's not really what she means, but I would have gone along with much less resistance if she clearly defined "princess" in the beginning. But all she really says clearly is that it's our name because of what God calls us. What does God call us? Princess. Oh. Well, why not quote some of the Scriptures of what God does call us - like holy or "fearfully and wonderfully made." In all six (yes, I counted; I was bored) Scriptures that she does quote, not one of them have to do with what God names us. (And if you think that logic is bad, wait 'til you get to why postmodern thinking is bad...) An alright read that never seemed off-base, but could have had much more substance. show less

As little girls, we loved fairy tales. Once we reach big-girl status, we've either decided that fairy tales are entertaining, but ridiculous, or that there is a prince and a perfect life out there "somewhere" if we could just get past all the frogs. In Keeping a Princess Heart in a Not-So-Fairy-Tale World, Nicole Johnson tells us that fairy tales are essential. We are worthy of love and attention, and there is nothing wrong with believing that. We are daughters of the King, so we are show more Princesses.

We just have to strike a balance between dreaming of castles in the sky and locking ourselves in the dungeon of a heart that has given up. Johnson gives practical and Biblical advice on how to be satisfied and content with your life without giving up your dreams. show less