A Woman's Manifesto with a Post Script
I watched a documentary on the misrepresentation of women through media just the other night. There's so much I want to teach the girls in my classroom. And when I look into the future, so much I want to teach my daughters. I want to teach them to chase their dreams and never, ever stop. And that it takes bravery and courage to always be kind and loving. It's not easy, but no good thing comes easy. And that there is only One who is faithful to the end and will carry us through, and for Him and with Him we can bust out of the mold and carve a new path. As I read through my blogger dashboard of recent blog posts I came across this inspiring entry from Emily T. Weirenga:
As a woman living in the 21st century I will live as though I have a thousand daughters, even though I have none, because every girl is my daughter and when she sees me, or engages with me, she's looking to me for how to live. So I will live, I will smile, I will laugh, I will speak, and I will pray as though their hearts and souls depend on it.
As a woman living in the 21st century I will not judge myself based on numbers. My worth will not be determined by my weight, by my height, by my social security number, by my Blogger followers or Google followers or by Facebook and Twitter. Only one number will ever matter to me, that is, the number One, who is God, who is my biggest fan, and all I will care about is whether or not I bring him glory.
As a woman living in the 21st century I will not depend on makeup or clothes to improve my self-esteem. If I am looking tired, I will take a nap, not put on foundation. If I am feeling sad, I won't buy a new outfit, but I will bow down and pray and ask the Holy Spirit to mend these broken ways in me and comfort me and be my closest confident. I do not need to purchase or accessorize; I need to recognize my emotional and spiritual needs, and allow my creator to recreate me, daily.
As a woman living in the 21st century I will not allow Hollywood or Dreamworks or YouTube or PlayBoy or any form of social media to define what it means to be a woman. I will define what it means to be a woman for myself and for my one thousand daughters. And maybe that means wearing cowboy boots and jeans or maybe it means running barefoot through a meadow or maybe it means cross-stitching naked. Whatever. I will be, whoever I will be, and no amount of social pressure will change that.
As a woman living in the 21st century I will not be defined by my relationship with men, but rather, by my relationship with ONE man, Jesus Christ, and because of him, I will not be afraid of a relationship 'status' because there is no such thing. Rather, there is relationship, pure and simple. And I will embrace mine with my husband fully, because it does not define me... Jesus defines me. My husband is my companion, not my competitor. His love is a gift, not a threat, and his role is defined by God alone, not by theology or doctrine or Homer Simpson.
As a woman living in the 21st century I will embrace motherhood and children fully, allowing them to grow and to flourish and to excel in whatever ways they want to. I will believe in them as not just physical or mental beings, but as spiritual and emotional ones, and their success in my eyes will not be rated by extra-curricular activities, but by the intimacy of their prayers and the poignancy of our conversations over the dinner-table.
As a woman living in the 21st century, I will wake each morning believing I am loved, knowing I am valuable, and celebrating my worth, not because of anything I have done other than the fact that I've believed in the only one who will ever give anyone worth: Jesus Christ.
Glory, hallelujah.
A Woman's Manifesto (and launching A Dare to Love Yourself)
As a woman living in the 21st century I will live as though I have a thousand daughters, even though I have none, because every girl is my daughter and when she sees me, or engages with me, she's looking to me for how to live. So I will live, I will smile, I will laugh, I will speak, and I will pray as though their hearts and souls depend on it.
As a woman living in the 21st century I will not judge myself based on numbers. My worth will not be determined by my weight, by my height, by my social security number, by my Blogger followers or Google followers or by Facebook and Twitter. Only one number will ever matter to me, that is, the number One, who is God, who is my biggest fan, and all I will care about is whether or not I bring him glory.
As a woman living in the 21st century I will not depend on makeup or clothes to improve my self-esteem. If I am looking tired, I will take a nap, not put on foundation. If I am feeling sad, I won't buy a new outfit, but I will bow down and pray and ask the Holy Spirit to mend these broken ways in me and comfort me and be my closest confident. I do not need to purchase or accessorize; I need to recognize my emotional and spiritual needs, and allow my creator to recreate me, daily.
As a woman living in the 21st century I will not allow Hollywood or Dreamworks or YouTube or PlayBoy or any form of social media to define what it means to be a woman. I will define what it means to be a woman for myself and for my one thousand daughters. And maybe that means wearing cowboy boots and jeans or maybe it means running barefoot through a meadow or maybe it means cross-stitching naked. Whatever. I will be, whoever I will be, and no amount of social pressure will change that.
As a woman living in the 21st century I will not be defined by my relationship with men, but rather, by my relationship with ONE man, Jesus Christ, and because of him, I will not be afraid of a relationship 'status' because there is no such thing. Rather, there is relationship, pure and simple. And I will embrace mine with my husband fully, because it does not define me... Jesus defines me. My husband is my companion, not my competitor. His love is a gift, not a threat, and his role is defined by God alone, not by theology or doctrine or Homer Simpson.
As a woman living in the 21st century I will embrace motherhood and children fully, allowing them to grow and to flourish and to excel in whatever ways they want to. I will believe in them as not just physical or mental beings, but as spiritual and emotional ones, and their success in my eyes will not be rated by extra-curricular activities, but by the intimacy of their prayers and the poignancy of our conversations over the dinner-table.
As a woman living in the 21st century, I will wake each morning believing I am loved, knowing I am valuable, and celebrating my worth, not because of anything I have done other than the fact that I've believed in the only one who will ever give anyone worth: Jesus Christ.
Glory, hallelujah.
P.S. I'm writing this blog from a table at Starbucks, it's 6:00 am. As I enjoy the company of regulars and greet those I haven't seen in a while, I'm reminded of my friend Emily and her regular attendance to study here with me. We'd spend the first half-hour talking and dreaming or until our friend, Mel, would make his way across the room to our table to pull us back down to Earth with a reminder to study. Finally, we'd pull out the computers, only to begin blogging about what we'd just babbled to each other. The steam to blog comes from this morning ritual with Emily. I miss her.
Oh Tinaaa, I'm so glad you went to that! I missed it :/. This is inspiring! Teach them girls! :) Proud of you
ReplyDeleteTINA I love this!
ReplyDeleteI want to read this everyday. What a way to start your day.
Its so easy to get caught up in what the world tells us to do and be.
When simply we just have to be. Easier said than done. But it is possible.
:)
As a man, I believe you will succeed.
ReplyDelete