Some Thoughts for Young Ladies...

Hey girls!  Today I would like to share with you some random bits of truth and advice and food for thought for young ladies.  These are just some things that I have realized are wise and helpful for girls to learn and think about.  This list is not complete by any means, and I’m not always consistent in following this advice, either.  This list is just to inspire you (and I!) to think about some of the things we should be doing as Christian young ladies. 

 Savor the teen years.  They are full of potential, growth, and so many opportunities!  Don’t waist these years.  They will be gone before you know it.

 Don’t go boy-crazy.  Becoming obsessed with guys is not only unhealthy and ungodly, but will cause nothing but heartache.  And do you want to know a secret?  The guys that are truly godly and worth waiting for will be attracted to a meek and quiet spirit.  They won’t be attracted to boy-crazy girls.

 Learn to write letters.  And I don’t mean the 3-sentence thank-you notes that your mom makes you send!  Learn to write thoughtful, hand-written letters.  If you have a faraway relative, that’s a good place to start.  Pen-pals are also a blast to have!

 Work on your handwriting and cursive.  Handwritten letters and excellent penmanship go hand-in-hand!

 Put your phone away.  Face-to-face conversations are meant to be face-to-face, not face-to-phone.  Give people respect when they are talking to you.

 Keep everything open with your mom.  She should be your best friend.  You should be comfortable talking to her about the things on your heart, and she should trust that you aren’t hiding anything.  Learn from your mother as well.  Ask her for advice.  You won’t always be able to run to your mother for help and advice.  Learn now.  She has much wisdom to share if you will just take the time to ask, listen, and learn.  Spend lots of time with her.

On an afternoon trip with my mom to Toccoa Falls last year.

Isn't she so beautiful??

 Sing.  Even if you think you sound terrible, do it anyway.  Decide to enjoy singing instead of despise it.

 Learn about Biblical womanhood.  Study God’s Word and read good books.  Choose to align your view of womanhood with God’s view.  I have found Girl Defined to be an extremely helpful resource in discovering and understanding the depths of God’s incredible and radical design for us as women.

 Have a go-to outfit.  This outfit should be completely modest, feminine, and simple.  Up until recently, my go-to outfit was a soft floral shirt, a black midi skirt, white flats, and a necklace my grandma gave me.  If I wanted to change it up, I’d do something different with my hair, but the idea is to keep this outfit as simple and fuss-free as possible.  Try to make sure this outfit is always clean and ready to wear.  It’s great for those early Sunday mornings when you don’t have time to throw something new together!

 Learn an instrument.  Most adults regret not learning or sticking with an instrument when they were younger.  Choose an instrument you like, and learn to play it.  You don’t even have to take lessons; with some creativity (and possibly a consultation with Google or Pinterest) you can teach yourself how to play!

I am self-taught on erhu.

 Support those you care about.  You may say that you genuinely care about certain people… but do your actions follow suit?  It can be discouraging when you are involved in different activities and no one outside of your immediate family ever makes an effort to come see you.  Find out when your friends’ sports games, competitions, concerts, and other special events are and make a sincere effort to show up.

 Read poetry.  This dying art deserves a revival!  My friend Grace over at Don’t You Know That I’m Singing writes lovely poetry.

 Get into the habit of listening to an audio Bible.  Cleaning your room?  Listen to the Bible.  Driving to work?  Listen to the Bible.  Making your family dinner?  Listen to the Bible.  I use the website Bible Gateway for listening to Scripture on my laptop, but you can also buy CDs with recordings of Scripture.

 Remember that ministry is a privilege.  Train your mind to be ministry-minded and always eager to serve.  There is, of course, a time and place to say “no,” but make sure you have a legitimate reason before you give such an answer.

 Invest in your siblings.  I know you hear this all the time as big sisters.  But really, this is a MUST!  Choose to become interested in at least one thing each of your siblings’ are interested in.  Play dolls with the 5-year-old.  Take an interest in cars for the 16-year-old. 

 Respect your brothers.  If they make a comment about your actions or dress or attitude, don’t snap back.  Instead, really listen to them.  Make a special mental note of their suggestions, and then make the change if it is a reasonable and godly change.  Respect is important to guys.  Don’t be the sister that tares down.

 Broaden your vocabulary and learn to express yourself with excellence and skill.  Cultivated phraseology is rapidly becoming a lost art.  Just recently, my mother read me an excerpt from an old book.  It was glorious!  The author had carefully woven a prize sentence.  Let’s explore the wonderful world of English and vocabulary, and learn to express with excellence!

 Be the godly “older girl” you needed when you were younger.  I remember when I was younger and craved the attention of the older girls.  I am still so thankful for the few older girls who chose to stop 

and talk to me and give me attention!  Choose to be that “older girl” for the little ladies you know.

 Always have a book to read.  This is something my mom says often!  Read everything from the classics to autobiographies.  There is an endless store of literature out there.  Explore it!

 Don’t worry about having many friends.  It’s much better to have a few close friends than many distant friends.  Always be friendly and kind, of course, but remember that you can’t build best-friend relationships with every girl on the planet.  If you don’t have a close, godly friend already, pray for one, by all means!  But don’t be greedy in your pursuit of new friends.  Believe it or not, it IS possible to become overwhelmed by friendships!

 Use Pinterest carefully.  Please don’t pin sarcastic, negative quotes and pins about your life, how miserable you are, etc. on your Pinterest boards.  It isn’t helping you become more grateful and it certainly isn’t building up your friends when they scroll through their feed and see those pins.  Pinterest is not a pity party.  Pinterest is a tool.  Use it right.

 Keep up with God’s work around the world through missions.  Grab missionary prayer cards and put them on your bedroom door.  Sign up for mission updates.  Write missionaries.  Connect with them in a deeper way by learning more about their country and culture.  Go on mission trips.  Develop a heart for missions!

 Limit the makeup.  Just, please.

 Ask questions.  I think this is one of the best pieces of practical life advice my mom has ever given me.  I see this lacking everywhere as I come into contact with different people.  Honestly girls, it’s hard to keep up a good conversation when one side never asks any questions!  Please, please, please make sure that you always ask questions in your correspondence with others!

-----

Additional resources:

> Some Random Bits of Life Advice.  Mykaela’s post actually first inspired me to write this post!  If you notice, it has been almost a year since Mykaela wrote it… so this post has been a long time in the making!

> Let’s Talk / List for Teenage Girls.

Also, I’d like to apologize for missing the Women of the Bible post this past week.  I hope to resume the series again next week.

*Listen to my new YouTube video --> here.