on what I want the younger (and older) girls to know...

I want you to know that you are both beautiful. You and the girl you are comparing yourself to; you are both worthy and lovely and absolutely amazing in very specifically different ways. 

I want you to know that it is okay to think boys are cute and fun, because they are cute and fun, but they aren't meant to consume your whole life. You are a whole person, whether you are in or out of a relationship. 

I want you to know that the list of things you want in a future husband changes, and praise the Lord for that because the most important things are not that he loves dogs, plays football, has brown hair, and listens to country music. 

I want you to know that a Jesus centered life is better than a Pinterest worthy life.

I want you to know the power of Jesus, the true power of who He is and what He does with our lives. He died for your sins and three days later rose from the grave, conquering death and claiming victory for humanity. He can redeem, restore, provide, prepare, lavish grace, love, and truth. He can take everything you have done and turn it into something beautiful, even the ugliest of things. 

I want you to know the power of dancing and singing and laughing.

I want you to know that God is big enough for your emotions. You are allowed to be mad, sad, excited, frustrated, confused, messy, and wild. 

I want you to know that you should eat the fries, buy the dress, say the nice thing, smile at the boy, read the book, go to the beach, buy yourself flowers, take a trip.

I want you to know that life is too short to be uncomfortable in your own skin.

I want you to know how important it is to find a mentor, for someone to show you how to live for Jesus in the middle of the mundane. Invite someone into your life to keep you accountable, to be a shoulder to cry on, a person to laugh with, a sister to encourage you in truth, and someone to come over on a Friday night with pizza and ice cream and a chick flick (preferably written by Nicholas Sparks, amen?).

I want you to know that the way you treat people matters. 

I want you to know that life is full of really good things. But there is a difference between good things and godly things, learn to discern the difference. 

I want you to know that we were never meant to "have it all" and "do it all".

I want you to know that there are worse things than gaining weight, a bad haircut, not having a boyfriend or a husband or kids, not having enough "likes" on Instagram, or not being invited to the party. It is far worse to be unkind, ungrateful, ungodly. 

I want you to know the value in having fun and not taking yourself too seriously. Give yourself some grace. 

I want you to know that life is hard, but God is good. Seriously. He is the treasure.

I want you to know that the church is powerful and is the most beautiful source of encouragement and community.

I want you to know that you are loved. SO FREAKING LOVED. Just because you aren't loved by the people you want or in the ways you want, doesn't mean you aren't. 

I want you to know that I am cheering for you, don't give up, you've got this.

on soccer moms & championing your people...

Confession: I can't wait to be a soccer mom. Or a football mom. Or a baseball mom. Or a ballet mom. Basically, my future children have no choice, they will be in sports. 

The foam fingers, pizza parties, uniforms, practices, the wins and the losses... Give me all of it, please and thank you. (Except injuries, I could do without those. Dear Jesus, please protect my future babes from such evil.) 

You guys, cheering is my jam. My spiritual gift is encouragement (which sometimes translates into very long text messages, handwritten notes, cups of coffee, large posters and cardboard face cutouts). My personality oozes championing and cheering, just ask my high school girls. And really, anyone else in my life. When I am a fan, I am a fan. Championing and cheering on others is something our culture desperately needs. We often let fear and sadness reside in places that are meant for expectancy and joy. We should be willing to climb into those places with a shovel, digging out the fear and planting hope for our people. 

What if we decided to do this daily? What if we decided to grab a shovel and a foam finger and cheer people on in the everyday moments? I think that we need to channel the spirit of the soccer mom off the field; we need to champion our people, in the big things and the small things. There is so much power in letting people know they are being thought of, prayed for, championed. Sometimes, that's the only thing that keeps people going. During a season in my life, the only thing that carried me through was the excitement and the hopeful expectancy that my community had for me. I was used to rejection and denial, I couldn't see past that cycle, past my experiences, past those lies. My people came beside me, they prayed for me, loved me, and championed me in ways that I needed. Because of their excitement and hope, I was able to have excitement and hope. They grabbed their shovels and foam fingers and said, "Girl, God's got this, you've got this."

I want to stand on the sidelines of my people with a foam finger and tell them they can do the hard things; as they enter into battlefields and new seasons, I want to be the one who calls, who sends the text, who buys the cups of coffee, who sends the flowers. I want to grab the shovel and climb into those places with them now so that I can rejoice with them later when the trophy comes. 

If Scripture tells us that God is for us, why would we not model that to the people in our lives? Why would we not be a constant source of strength and courage for them, serving as a reminder of how much God is for them? Fill your people, breathe joy and life and hope and expectancy into them. Give them big pep-talks for the big things, and even the small things. Let them borrow your confidence, and most importantly, remind them of their confidence in God. Champion them. 

Who are you championing today?