dear people who have heard of this living, breathing human called a teen girl

recently my heart has been aching for people who have heard of this living, breathing, human called a teen girl to know some really simple things, you would be surprised they actually did not know or maybe possibly has not even crossed their minds.

ever since sin entered the world, the devil has been doing everything he can to make us teen girls and every human believe any lie he can throw at us. and guess what? we have started to let in to them, believe them, and embrace them. and people have been speaking such negativity into those lies and into the priceless lives of teen girls and I am just not having it anymore.

I say this in the sweetest way possible, grasping your hand into mine: friends, if you really truly want girls to believe that they are not worthless, useless, lifeless, awful, ugly, unwanted, not needed, unnecessary, unloved, people. then you HAVE TO STOP posting all over social media and all over Facebook and saying things like, “teen girls are so confusing” or “this generation of teen girls are such bad influences.” or my favorite, “I am SO happy my daughter is not a teen yet.”

I. Get. It. we are emotional human beings that cry over walmart commercials, but fun fact: you are not making us feel any better by hammering us down with negativity and these horrible comments. I know some teen girls have made really not so great choices, but still, it really does not help to be a negative influence in their life.

not too long ago I was watching this super sweet author and blogger’s instagram live and I remember watching the comments and seeing one come up that said, “what is your opinion on teen girls these days?” my heart jumped. I wanted to leave the live because I knew that the answer probably would not be what I needed to hear, to my surprise this sweet person doing the instagram live responded with, “you know, teen girls are killing it these days.”

I never ever would have expected a mom of girls to say that, but those were the exact words that came out of her mouth and it lit up my whole face.

why? because she CHOSE to focus on the positive. to uplift and encourage any teen girls watching, and to let them know that they are indeed, very very loved.

so what can YOU do for us teens? wrap us in love.

if you are not a teen girl reading this, maybe a mom of teen girls, maybe a mentor to some teen girls, or maybe just a lady who so desperately wants to make a teen girl feel loved, I encourage you to maybe carry some small cards around with you with the love of Jesus written all through them, hand them to any teen girl you may see in the store or mall or anywhere. it seems awkward, I know, but I can promise you, coming from a teen girl, it would encourage and make me feel extremely loved, and I KNOW it would do the same for others.

speak life into theirs. oh it is such an important thing to speak life into life. to speak Jesus into the heart of a teen girl. to speak positivity into negativity. to speak light into darkness. do. it. I am so thankful for people like my mom, my dad, small group leaders I have, youth pastors, my youth pastors wife, sweet camp counselors and camp leaders, and mentors, who have spoken amazing life into mine. speak of the brilliant, fierce love of Jesus, and wrap any sweet teen girl in it.

PRAY FOR TEEN GIRLS. pray for us. pray for our hearts. pray for us as we go and make disciples. and pray for us teen girls, as we go and uplift and encourage other teen girls. pray that our relationships with the people we love would be strong, and pray that our relationship with our amazing Father would be never ceasing and so present. pray that we may just fall in love with who HE is and be strong and courageous while telling others about Him. oh and one last thing: pray for us and our love of pizza and food. it’s a problem.

we pray for you, we love you immensely. and no, i am not writing this blog post to hate on people who have made comments or say things like I mentioned previously. I’m writing it to let you know that you have a voice, a very loud one too in the lives of teen girls and in so many others, and I am begging you to let that voice be of Jesus and love. this blog post was written straight from a teen girl, I know I am not perfect and I know you aren’t either. we are human. we make mistakes, but please don’t let that be an excuse for you to continue being a negative influence in the lives of others.

we are so loved, shine that, be light and love so well.

-emma