As the title of this post implies, we’re serious about true womanhood around here. We’re passionate about showing women God’s vision for who they are and highlighting all that is possible when they live according to their God-given design.
Unfortunately, many young women don’t seem to share that passion. Social indicators such as decreased interest in marriage and motherhood as well as increased interest in choices and ideologies outside of God’s design among teens and tweens are sending a clear message—“Houston, we have a problem.”
Many young women don’t understand God’s design. As you mull that over, I’d like you to consider your daughters, granddaughters, nieces, and neighbors. Freeze-frame those precious faces in your mind because they need us to fight for God’s Truth on their behalf. They need to know what the Bible says about their identity and why it matters.
That’s why I’m pumped about a new book by Susan Hunt and Mary Kassian. It’s titled Becoming God’s True Woman While I Still Have a Curfew, and it’s chock-full of relevant Bible teaching about what it means to be a godly girl.
I picked Mary’s brain recently about the book and what’s at stake in the lives of young women. I hope her answers will inspire you to reach out to a young woman in your world with God’s Truth.
Erin: Who are the girls in your own world who inspired you to write this book?
Mary: I speak to thousands of women each year at conferences and one of the comments I often hear from them is, “I wish someone would have told me this when I was young.”
Last year, I met three girls, eighteen to twenty years old, who were attending a Girls Gone Wise Bible study at a live-in recovery center in Indiana. As we talked, one girl said, “I wish I would have known what the Bible says about how to make good decisions years ago.” The second girl agreed. With tears in her eyes she asked, “Why didn’t anyone tell us?” The third girl said, “I’m talking to my little sister about all this stuff. I hope you’re going to write a book for girls like her, to help them learn about how to be wise before they mess up like we did.”
So when Susan Hunt called me and asked me to write some devotions geared at young teens based on my Girls Gone Wise book, I jumped at the opportunity.
Erin: In your experience, what are the major misunderstandings young women have about gender and design?
Mary: One misunderstanding is that womanhood is a topic that they don’t need to think about until they’re older. They think that it’s only important for women who are engaged or thinking about getting married. They don’t see that it’s something that’s relevant to their lives right now—It impacts the way they think about their identity, guy-girl relationships, what they wear, how they talk and think, what they watch on TV, the books they read, their habits, their focus, and all sorts of other things. God’s design for womanhood has profound implications for their everyday lives, even as teens.
A second misunderstanding is that biblical womanhood means getting married and having kids, or that it insists that women only clean and cook, or that they can’t have a career, or that they have to forego their personality and fit into a stereotyped mold. There are so many misunderstandings about what it does and does not mean. Biblical womanhood isn’t about squeezing you into a cookie cutter pattern. It’s not about following a stereotyped checklist. Rather, it has to do with shining light on the Gospel story through who God created you to be as female. We all have different gifts and personalities. Our lives won’t all look the same. Biblical womanhood looks different in different women’s lives.
A third misunderstanding is that God’s plan for womanhood is boring. It’s not! It’s one of the most beautiful, exciting, and fulfilling things a girl can discover. Finding out who God created you to be helps you grow into who you are. You get comfortable in your own skin and become everything He created you to be.
Erin: What is the best way for moms and grandmas to address the issue of gender with the girls in their world?
Mary: It’s important that you’re intentional about teaching them the difference between the Bible’s and the world’s ideal for women. In this day and age, true womanhood has to be “taught”—it won’t just be “caught.” The best way to help your daughter or granddaughter is to start talking about biblical womanhood when they’re young. Help them evaluate the messages they hear on TV, in magazines, in music, and from friends. Read a book or do a Bible study on womanhood together. Take them to a True Woman conference. Encourage them to read blogs like LiesYoungWomenBelieve.com and PureFreedom.org. Ask questions. Listen. At a recent conference, Susan was so excited to see grandmas buying armfuls of Becoming God’s True Woman While You Still Have a Curfew books for their granddaughters. Passing on God’s truth from one generation to the next is critical, so it’s important for you to engage in the topic with her.
Erin: What will happen if the current generation of girls misses God's Truth about their design?
Mary: Many of the problems we see in our culture—like immodesty, promiscuity, revolving door relationships, STDs, teen pregnancy, marital breakdown, depression, addictions, eating disorders, hyper-sexualization and gender confusion—are happening because the current generation of girls have missed God’s truth about their design. If we don’t start to capture the hearts of our young girls with a vision for God’s amazing plan, things are only going to get worse.
Erin: What are some specific ways we can pray for the teens and tweens we know?
Mary: We can pray that God may open their eyes to see the need for wisdom, that the Holy Spirit may give them a love for truth and the ability to discern truth, that they may be able to filter out all of the lies that they hear every day about who they are and how they should live, that they may be able to resist peer pressure, that they may be wise in their choice of friends, that they may love Jesus and treasure the things of Christ more than things of this world, and that they may stake their identity firmly on Him and who God created them to be.
Do you have a young woman in your life who needs your prayers and encouragement? Leave us a comment and tell us about her. We will choose five of you at random next Monday morning, November 12, to receive a free copy of Becoming God’s True Woman While I Still Have a Curfew for the girl in your world.
Also, listen to Nancy’s conversation with Susan Hunt and Mary Kassian today on Revive Our Hearts about Teaching Biblical Womanhood to Teens.
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Comments
Amen.
on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 9:55 am
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on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 10:32 am
I pray that my sisters will be able to experience the same relief, amazement and freedom that comes from understanding and accepting God's purpose for their lives. They are 21, 23 and 25.
Thank you for being a blessing!
on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 10:32 am
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on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 11:23 am
I have been going through Nancy and Mary's study on true womanhood and it has opened my eyes. I had been thinking about going through the study with my girls when they are older, but this book would be great to go through together now.
on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 11:29 am
on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 11:31 am
on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 11:32 am
I mentor several teen girls who would benefit greatly from this book. In fact, I'd love to get a book study going with it.....
Thanks for providing godly resources for teen girls!
on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 11:33 am
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These young ladies are so precious! I am looking forward to reading this book and incorporating it into their lives.
on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 2:00 pm
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on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 3:37 pm
I think this book would be a huge blessing as this young lady's birthday is coming up.
on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 4:28 pm
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on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 4:45 pm
As a woman and mother it IS so difficult to really know if the way and words we speak to our children are truly being understood and heard, not only with their ears, but with their hearts!
Our eldest daughter is 11 years young, and is definitely in tween mode. Last spring and summer we had many conversations about dressing with modesty in mind, Gods design for her, and our desire for her to feel confident without taking part in the booty shorts and skimpy bikini trend.
Our most recent challenge is make-up and issues with her friends that are allowed to date - as these are 2 topics that are nonnegotiable in our home! She simply is not allowed.
Thank you revive our hearts for encouraging and sending out this message at one of the most challenging times!
on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 6:04 pm
Thank you for your desire to see this actualized in all of our "have a curfew" girls.
on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 6:40 pm
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on Friday, November 9, 2012 at 10:41 am
In Him,
Arlene
on Friday, November 9, 2012 at 1:45 pm
on Friday, November 9, 2012 at 1:59 pm
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on Sunday, November 11, 2012 at 10:46 pm
Congrats to Andrea, Vicki Bennett, Amy, Becca, and Jolene. Check your inbox for details on how to get your signed copy of "Becoming God's True Woman While I Still Have a Curfew."
on Monday, November 12, 2012 at 1:13 pm