I have a daughter. She is 4.
My daughter is a brown eyed beauty with a love of fun, drawing, and right now swimsuits :)
My daughter has a very strong will and is very stubborn.
Raising this cherub has proved a roller coaster road so far with her strong will and my compliant one. Her Daddy is much better at managing her than I am.
I want to raise a daughter who is beautiful, healthy, strong in faith, independent, kind and a lady.
When I look at the world we are raising her in it is enough to make one shiver in ones boots.
We have two boys too and since we learned a lot from the book "Bringing up Boys" by Dr. Dobson I decided I needed to read the book "Bringing Up Girls."
I have read the first six chapters now and just finished the chapter with this article in it. Embarrassing the Angels. The article was so good that I wanted to share it and was so happy to have found it online.
So what you doing about a culture that is embarrassing the angels?
How are you raising your daughter to be a lady in the crazy, modern world?
Showing posts with label raising girls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label raising girls. Show all posts
Monday, May 19, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
Understanding our Daughters- A Letter to my Daughter
My darling,
Now you are 3- but there will come a day when you will be a teenager. You will grow tall and even more beautiful and opinionated and then what?
Yesterday I watched a movie- Ice Princess. Perhaps when you get a wee bit older we can watch it together. It is about daughters following their dreams and mothers understanding their daughters and misunderstanding their dreams.
When I was growing up my Mom and I worked together, sewed together, cooked together, studied together, and grew together. But we did not dream together.
My Mom never seemed to understand my dream to live in a foreign land and serve as a missionary. From the time I was 12 my calling or passion was clear to me. I heard a missionary speak about the need of English teachers to Chinese students and I thought, "I could do that." Long before the seed of a servants heart had been planted within me as our Dad read us stories of great missionaries.
And so I grew up. I finished our family's home-school program. And I continued to dream. I knew I needed to study and I set my mind on attending a Christian college. I went against my Mom's wishes and will.
Four years were spent at that college preparing me with Bible classes and every other course required to get my B.A in Intercultural Studies. I spent my practicum in China teaching English one summer- and that dream came true.
Then I graduated and wanted to fly away to fulfill my dream. After a year of working 3 jobs and some help from a kind brother I was debt free.
And that is how I ended up here- as an English teacher.
Through 4 years of college and the years in between coming and teaching and finally marrying here I struggled with my Mom not understanding my dreams.
I know that she loves me- but I didn't feel we understood each other.
Now, as I raise you- my precious girl I want to be close you. I want to understand you and support your talents and dreams- no matter how different they might be than my own.
Last night your Daddy and I talked about your futures.
Some parents want their children to be famous musicians, or artists, athletes or actors.
We will never push you or your brothers to be that- unless you want it.
Our desire for each of you is that you are well educated, and well balanced in your learning. We will gladly give you music lessons and whatever else you need to understand your likes and talents.
We want you to be a woman who had a kind and loving heart, we want you to know that you are beautiful on the inside and to take good care of this body God has blessed you with.
We want you to pursue your dreams and talents in a healthy way and to do the things you love most.
We want you most of all to know what this life is about and to know where you are going when it ends.
We want you to live this life and this day to the fullest as you walk towards eternity one day at a time.
We want to understand you, to love you and to support you each day of your precious life- our dearest daughter.
- - - -
Note: I love my Mom dearly and in time we have grown closer. I know that she has wanted the very best for me and even though I have not done things the way she would have liked she loves me just as much as I love my dear girl.
Now you are 3- but there will come a day when you will be a teenager. You will grow tall and even more beautiful and opinionated and then what?
Yesterday I watched a movie- Ice Princess. Perhaps when you get a wee bit older we can watch it together. It is about daughters following their dreams and mothers understanding their daughters and misunderstanding their dreams.
When I was growing up my Mom and I worked together, sewed together, cooked together, studied together, and grew together. But we did not dream together.
My Mom never seemed to understand my dream to live in a foreign land and serve as a missionary. From the time I was 12 my calling or passion was clear to me. I heard a missionary speak about the need of English teachers to Chinese students and I thought, "I could do that." Long before the seed of a servants heart had been planted within me as our Dad read us stories of great missionaries.
And so I grew up. I finished our family's home-school program. And I continued to dream. I knew I needed to study and I set my mind on attending a Christian college. I went against my Mom's wishes and will.
Four years were spent at that college preparing me with Bible classes and every other course required to get my B.A in Intercultural Studies. I spent my practicum in China teaching English one summer- and that dream came true.
Then I graduated and wanted to fly away to fulfill my dream. After a year of working 3 jobs and some help from a kind brother I was debt free.
And that is how I ended up here- as an English teacher.
Through 4 years of college and the years in between coming and teaching and finally marrying here I struggled with my Mom not understanding my dreams.
I know that she loves me- but I didn't feel we understood each other.
Now, as I raise you- my precious girl I want to be close you. I want to understand you and support your talents and dreams- no matter how different they might be than my own.
Last night your Daddy and I talked about your futures.
Some parents want their children to be famous musicians, or artists, athletes or actors.
We will never push you or your brothers to be that- unless you want it.
Our desire for each of you is that you are well educated, and well balanced in your learning. We will gladly give you music lessons and whatever else you need to understand your likes and talents.
We want you to be a woman who had a kind and loving heart, we want you to know that you are beautiful on the inside and to take good care of this body God has blessed you with.
We want you to pursue your dreams and talents in a healthy way and to do the things you love most.
We want you most of all to know what this life is about and to know where you are going when it ends.
We want you to live this life and this day to the fullest as you walk towards eternity one day at a time.
We want to understand you, to love you and to support you each day of your precious life- our dearest daughter.
- - - -
Note: I love my Mom dearly and in time we have grown closer. I know that she has wanted the very best for me and even though I have not done things the way she would have liked she loves me just as much as I love my dear girl.
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