In the dedication of my book It's No Secret I wrote: "For my daughter Alaina. My love for you fuels my pursuit of these "secrets" to godly womanhood. Don't reject them just because Mom wrote them."
So, take it away, Lynn! ...
How would your life have been different if you had been a confident teen? Would it have empowered you to make wise choices?
I was blessed enough to have a mother, youth pastor and older sister who all poured into me the truth of my identity: that I was a daughter of the King of the Universe. After high school, God blessed me with some women just a few years older than me, but light years ahead of me in their faith. The consistently taught me that Jesus was crazy about me and could fill every love gap I had in my heart. The confidence that this truth instilled in me gave me the confidence to say no to drinking, drugs and guys. It gave me the confidence to purpose God’s purpose for my life and begin to walk in His calling for me right out of high school.
Confidence is a major factor in young people when it comes to the paths they choose. Those craving acceptance, approval and affirmation to an unhealthy degree find themselves trapped. Caught between what they know is right and what they believe will win friends, they find themselves confused. They are uncomfortable, miserable even, but they don’t know how to navigate themselves back to what they were made for.
The amazing women in my life revealed to me some passages in God’s word that I needed at just the right time. I had never seen some of these truths before, it were as though I was slipped hidden love notes from Jesus. The truth that Jesus was wild for me (Psalm 45:11), that He saw no flaw in me (Song of Songs 4:7) and that He actually enjoyed me (Zephaniah 3:17) transformed the way I saw myself.
LynnDo you want your daughters, nieces and granddaughters to be filled with a confidence that is true and can stand the pressure of this world? “Girl power” just doesn’t hold up; it can only take our daughters (and us) so far. True confidence only comes from one source: knowing who we are. Only a foundation built on unconditional love will provide that.
Do you see a girl struggling with low self-image? Can you read in her eyes, “Won’t someone love me the way I am?” She needs to know when Jesus looks at her, He is not disappointed in her. She needs to know that love from a guy, be it a dad or a boyfriend, can never fill the love gap in our hearts…but He can.
Maybe you’ve thought about investing in a young girl, but you don’t know how. On my website I am offering a free leadership guide for my book “His Revolutionary Love”, a study for girls ages 13 - 17. Filled with practical how-to’s and thought provoking questions, this guide provides every step you need to do just that.
What young woman can you begin to pour truth into? Ask Jesus to show you one girl that you can make a difference in; one girl that you can begin to change the world through.
Let’s start a love revolution! A radical movement to spread the truth of real love!
I am happy today to give away a signed copy of “His Revolutionary Love.” To enter simply share what truth - divine or practical - you wish someone had told you when you were a teen.
~ Lynn Cowell
Do you see a girl struggling with low self-image? Can you read in her eyes, “Won’t someone love me the way I am?” She needs to know when Jesus looks at her, He is not disappointed in her. She needs to know that love from a guy, be it a dad or a boyfriend, can never fill the love gap in our hearts…but He can.
Maybe you’ve thought about investing in a young girl, but you don’t know how. On my website I am offering a free leadership guide for my book “His Revolutionary Love”, a study for girls ages 13 - 17. Filled with practical how-to’s and thought provoking questions, this guide provides every step you need to do just that.
What young woman can you begin to pour truth into? Ask Jesus to show you one girl that you can make a difference in; one girl that you can begin to change the world through.
Let’s start a love revolution! A radical movement to spread the truth of real love!
I am happy today to give away a signed copy of “His Revolutionary Love.” To enter simply share what truth - divine or practical - you wish someone had told you when you were a teen.
~ Lynn Cowell
Beautiful picture of you two!!!
ReplyDeleteMy kids are still young but I too think that this is the biggest challenge I will ever face, raising my children in such a way that they will come to love and serve the God of their parents.
If only I had really believed I was loved and worthy of God.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had truly believed that inner beauty is so much more important and so much more attractive in the long term than physical beauty; and I hope I am successfully convincing my lovely (inside and out) daughters of this truth!
ReplyDeleteOh there are many...if only the head knowledge I received had entered the depth of my heart. Continually encouraging young woman is such an important role!
ReplyDeleteI wish I had understood then that God has A plan and purpose for me!
ReplyDeleteAhhhh - so many things I wished I'd known then. #1 - No Helen, you're not ugly! LOL I grew up thinking the things that troubled me weren't worth bothering God with, so I carried them myself. If I'd known that God DID love me, no matter what, no matter how dirty I got, I'd have gotten off to a better start in adulthood. BUT - Praise be to God - He really DOES work all things together for good to those that love Him and are called according to His purpose! And praise be to God - He really DOES take what the enemy means for descruction and turns it all around for His glory and our good! I'm alive - really alive, and He really does LOVE ME!
ReplyDeleteThat God really delights in me!
ReplyDeleteI wish my teen self had known about God's unconditional love for me. Not being raised in a Christian home, I thought that being loved came with conditions-making good grades, being "perfect", being involved in school, etc. My prayer is that my two daughters will know that being loved doesn't come with conditions.
ReplyDelete...the two things that leapt and squeezed my heart were...
ReplyDeleteI wish my teen-self had been told..
You are beautiful!
and...
I love you.
Sad but true. Yes, I came from that family! And my kids...they are told they are great, and loved, and beautiful and worthy...because we are NOT that family!
Thank you.
Blessings,
Looking back and thinking hard, I think my teen self needed to hear "You are loved no matter what size you are." I still need to hear that in my 40s.
ReplyDeleteI wish someone had told me I was a beautiful creation of God and He loved me just the way I was - fat, acne, and all. Instead, I was put on Weight Watchers at age 9 and was made fun of my entire childhood because I was overweight. It has taken me years to overcome the comments made by both family and "friends".
ReplyDeleteNow I have 2 teen daughters of my own. Because their father has chosen not to be involved in their lives, they have never known a father's love. For this reason, I pray constantly that they will know their Father's love and fully realize how precious, beautiful, and simply priceless they are to Him - and to me.
I needed to understand grace better. That it was God's grace that brought me faith not my own intellect. I was pretty judgmental in those days. Now God has and is showing me how desperately I need grace and thus I am able to extend His grace to others.
ReplyDeleteI grew up in a Catholic home and I prayed and went to church. But as a teen, I wish I had known Jesus as my constant companion. I wish I had known I could cry out my innermost thoughts and feelings to Him, and He would be there to comfort me. I want my daughter to grow up with the confidence that He loves her more than I can and that He will never forsake her.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless,
Laura
I wish someone had helped me come to know the difference between walking in the flesh vs. the Spirit. It would have helped me in countless ways (resisting temptation, tolerating difficult people, living to serve God and others,knowing that Christ loves me and sees me as beautiful etc.). Your book sounds phenomenal! If I don't win, I'll buy a copy.:)
ReplyDeleteYou are loved as a child of God - you don't have to prove anything to anyone. mheard11@frontier.com
ReplyDeleteI wish I had grown up with confidence. I was SOOOO insecure, fearful, anxious. I made so many wrong decisions wanting to be loved and accepted. To this day, I grapple with feelings of depression, inadequacy, anxiety, fear, failure. This book should be available for young girls at school because you don't necessarily get what you need at home.
ReplyDeleteI wish someone had told me that I was special, that I was a unique creation and not just another face in the crowd. I wish I had known how God saw me. I am blessed now to be able to share with my daughter that she is unique and a beautiful creation ~ special in God's eyes as well as mine.
ReplyDeleteI named her Rachel "the beautiful one" knowing she would be beautiful inside and out. And she is.
I wish I had been told that God loved me, well, I wish I had believed it. I *knew* it mentally, but not in my heart.
ReplyDeleteThat I was loved by the King of the Universe. That He considers me worthy of love.
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ReplyDeleteI believe that knowing this truth would have helped greatly in my battle to save myself fo marriage. Thank you, Jesus, that you died so I may be forgiven!
ReplyDeleteLynn mentions a free resource for to help with older women interacting with teen girls that's on her website. Can you provide a direct link to this? I can't seem to find it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHere is the link to the free leader's guide:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.standardpub.com/Products/025451111/his-revolutionary-love.aspx
Lynn doesn't have it on her blog yet (and she is traveling right now). But her publisher has it on theirs.
If only I knew that no guy whether it be my father, boyfriend could ever fill that void in my heart only Jesus can then I would have made wise choices and would not be looking for love from men. If I only knew then, it would have made a difference in my life.
ReplyDeletedixoname@msn.com
That the love of God is real, and we can depend on him ALWAYS!!
ReplyDeleteI wish that I had believed that I was beautiful inside and out, and loved unconditionally. I might not have made the mistakes that I regret deeply.
ReplyDeletebagmic@aol.com
I wish I had known that God could fill all that I was and all that I needed...not by trying to go along with the crowd...to fit in...He loved me just as I was...I am trying to instill that in my 14 year old granddaughter, Ashley.
ReplyDelete