If only someone could have peeked into my heart. If only someone could have known what I needed and planted seeds of His unconditional love and truth in my heart as a girl …
From the heart of my friend and amazing author/ministry teammate, Lynn Cowell:
All summer she’s been so free; so confident. Days of pony tails and swimsuits, my daughter wakes up each day to her carefree world. No worries about her make-up; she doesn’t wear any! No concerns about her wardrobe; gym shorts fit most every occasion.
As the first day of school approached, I watched her fight to hang on to her confident summer-self. Not wanting to go backward, she has struggled to stand in God’s love and embrace who He has created her to be. It’s been a daily fight as she counted down the days.
Confidence is a major factor in young people when it comes to how they feel about themselves and profoundly affects the decisions they make. Craving acceptance, approval, and affirmation, they’re tempted to make choices that will move them forward on the popularity scale or at least not cause them to stand out. Uncomfortable, miserable even, they don’t know they were made for more than fitting in.
I have found a major key in building confidence in my daughters: teaching them that Jesus is wild about them.
Understanding Jesus is the one who fills the love gap in their hearts, empowers them to not grasp at love from guys and girls alike. Truth that Jesus was wild for them (Psalm 45:11), He sees no flaw in them (Song of Songs 4:7) and He actually enjoys them (Zephaniah 3:17) transforms the way they see themselves. But before that transformation can start, they have to know this truth and that begins with hearing it every day.
Lasting confidence only comes from one source: knowing who they are. Only a foundation built on unconditional love stands. 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. This is the truth she needs every day to combat the lies the world tells her.
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ENTER TODAY’s GIVE-AWAY: What is one thing you would tell your 14-year old self or a teenage girl growing up today about God’s Love? Lynn and I would love to know. And she’s going to give one of you a signed copy of “Devotions for a Revolutionary Year,”. To enter to win, simply click on the word “comments” right below this post and type in the white box to share with us.
Do you want to help pour this truth into the young women in your life? On her website, Lynn is offering a FREE “Faith Builder” – seven devotions taken straight from her new book, “Devotions for a Revolutionary Year: 365 Days of Jesus’ Radical Love for You”. These devotions will build up the faith of the girl in your life, be it your daughter, niece and/or granddaughter so she can be filled with a confidence that is true and can stand the pressure of this world.
To celebrate the release of Devotions for a Revolutionary Year, Lynn is giving away over $75 in free contentwith each purchase! Simply purchase Devotions for a Revolutionary Year from September 4th – 11th and e-mail your receipt to [email protected]. You will receive in an email with a link to this free content on Lynn’s website at www.LynnCowell.com.
And the WINNER is…. Jennifer {announced September 19, 2012}
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I just heard your story about your daughter having Apraxia….mine does too and there is hope. My daughter was non verbal up to age 3, but with intense speech therapy for a few years, she’s now a very chatty 8 year old and I thank God for her everyday! Early intervention makes a huge difference! I pray you and your daughter make some wonderful memories as she starts this journey towards speech!
I just wanted to let Renee know that I heard her on K-LOVE today and when she spoke of her friend offering to pray for her I was moved. I propmptly grabbed my phone and texted several friends and asked ‘What can I pray about for you today?’. Everyone responded promptly and all had different requests. I don’t have the best work environment and after I prayed for each of my friends my mood was much improved. It just reconfirms the theory of how you can be blessed for putting aside your own issues and sharing the love of God with others. Thanks for the reminder Renee and God Bless!
I would say God loves you more than you’ll ever know and he wants a relationship with you , he has a plan for your life and the only way to know what that plan is to give your life to him like he died and gave his life for you. He wants to use you in a mighty and special way. H e created you for so much more than you can even imagine and wants to tkae you places that you can’t even begin to imagine or wrap your mind around. He loves you and he knows right where you are and all of yoyr hearts desires and he even knows your pain and the things you struggle woith and he has a desire to help you, heal , and make you into the women he has called you to be but you first have to yield your life to him and let him take the wheel of your life.
If i could go back and tell my 14 year old self anything it would be that God exists!! His love is unconditional and i was made in his image so therefore i am beautiful no matter what anyone else says!! i wish i would have known then all i know now. i believe i would have had more confidence and i would be sure that someone loves me.
One word – “unconditional”.
This book sounds wonderful and I would love to win a copy for my beautiful nieces, Peyton and Kiersten!
I would tell my former 14 year old self that God’s love for me is just as powerful and exciting as anything Hollywood could ever imagine! Bella (Twilight) and Katniss (Hunger Games) craved the attention from boys who would do anything to be near and protect them.
But God’s love? It never has a bad day, never gets moody or makes mistakes. He fights for us!! He is protective. And most importantly? He loves us, no matter what we say or do. His love is perfect, steadfast and unconditional. With Him, we can walk through our days with confidence that He is in control and will take care of us.
Blessings, Michelle
I would tell my 14yr old self that you are worth EVERYTHING! You are worth not settling for just some of your relationship needs. You are worth a guy stumbling over himself just to get to talk to you, let alone anything else. You are worth so much, that you don’t have to give yourself away (physically) for someone to love you; Jesus gave himself because He loved you so incredibly much.
I have a 14 year old niece and has no father in her life. I know her faith is strong but she is also a teenage girl. What I constantly tell her that God’s love will withstand anything she will ever encounter by a human being here on earth. I talk to her about this all the time but as much as I do that I pray for her as well that God’s love will surround her in every minute of every day for those times she feels like there is no true fatherly love here on earth.
No guy will fill that void…only God! Confidence through Gods love, not people.
Relax, it is natural to hyperfocus on yourself. You are God’s special creation and you don’t have to measure up to standards just because they are expressed in media. Seek to get to know the Lord and follow Him. He will lead you on a path of acceptance, joy, and purpose!
I would tell her God is the one person whom she can always count on and will never abandon her. God is the one person whom is always looking out for her best interest. When the world lets her down, God will always pick her up. When she feels alone, GOD is always with her. When she feels she can’t talk to us, she can always talk to GOD, he is always listening.
I have the first six days of The Seven Day Doubt Diet, which is great stuff. I can’t wait for that seventh day.
It has helped me so much each day. One day every time someone asked “How are you?” I wanted to say, “Confident”-instead I said “Wonderful”.