By Lisa Rowell
Ouch!
That old nursery rhyme lied. Sticks and stones AND words can hurt, after all. Your daughter won’t need to look very far to encounter examples of unkind and discouraging words. Our world seems to thrive on saying hurtful and mean things to each other. And she won’t escape the powerful pain of words.
But there’s good news:
Your kind, nurturing words, have more power than the lies of her peers or the world.
Take time this week to use your words to win the battle waged against her heart. The words you say to her impact how she views herself, God, and her relationship with you and others. Your words matter to her. They matter to God too.
In Proverbs, God tells us that words can be sweet to the soul and life-giving. He even compares wise words to a satisfying meal and deep waters and gentle words to a tree of life.
Yes! God cares about your words and how you use them. Be sure to use them wisely as you raise that sweet girl!
In order to plant seeds of kindness on your daughter’s tongue, you have to set an example by using kind words yourself! So, to get you started, here are fourteen powerful things you should say to your daughter almost every day:
- I love you.
- Here’s one thing I love about you today...
- I’m glad you’re a part of our family because you...
- You make a difference.
- I trust you can handle this.
- What do you think? Your opinion matters to me.
- What do you want to do differently next time?
- Thank you for apologizing. I forgive you.
- I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?
- I believe in you.
- I’m listening.
- You are a helper.
- I enjoy spending time with you.
- My life is better because God put you in it.
Ahhh! Didn’t it feel good to read those words? Imagine how they will feel when your daughter hears them coming from your mouth!
Teaching your daughter how to speak kind words doesn’t stop here! This is only the first step!
Want to help your daughter understand the biblical truth about the power of her words?
Our March True Girl Subscription Box includes a printed Kindness Poster and Kindness Cards—tools to turn a home into a hub of kindness. But if you’re not a subscriber, you can get these this month as downloadables—our free gift to you when you make a donation of any amount to support the ministry of True Girl. $10 or $100. Doesn’t matter. Any amount…we’ll email you the downloadables! Make a donation of $40 or more and we'll send you the book that inspired it all by best-selling author Shaunti Feldhahn plus printed versions of these kindness tools. Get your kindness kit today!
The True Girl subscription is your toolbox to teach her to love her Bible! Every month your inbox can be filled with a coaching video on important topics and tools to draw your daughter into the Word. And our ultimate option includes a box delivered right to your door! We selected age-appropriate, Christ-centered themes for each box and fill them with ALL-NEW items that build the habits of spiritual disciplines. Here’s what one mom is saying:
The daily devo book is so easy to use, and gets my daughter curious and more excited about God’s Word. It’s getting me in the Word more, too!”
- Shermie, A True Girl Subscription Mom
Our True Girl theme verse:
"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'” John 8:31,32
Mom, the best way to teach your daughter to live like an authentic True Girl is to live like an authentic True Woman. And to do that, you have to get your life lined up with the Truth of the Bible. Listen to Dannah Gresh every weekday on Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth's Revive Our Hearts podcast. The program features biblical teaching, interviews that offer godly advice, and other opportunities to abide in God's Word.
