Lynne Hybels wrote a great book called "Nice Girls Don't Change the World"- basically regarding the topic of how some Christian doctrine- doesn't follow God's biblical design and we end up making timid and fearful kids, who become passive, ineffective adults. I have really been trying to work on how I can empower my kiddos, so this book came at a great time. In it, Hybels covers so much- but I wanted to share a piece- food for thought. It's about the difference between a NICE Christian girl and a GOOD Christian woman:
"Whereas a girl of any age lives out the script she learned as a child- a script too often grounded in powerlessness- a woman acknowledges and accepts her power to change, and grow, and be a force for good in the world.
Whereas a nice girl tends to live according to the will of others, a good woman has only one goal: to discern and live out the will of God.
A good woman knows that her ultimate calling in life is to be part of God's plan for redeeming all things in this sin-touched world.
A good woman knows she cannot be all things to all people, and she may, in fact, displease those who think she should just be nice. She is not strident or petty or demanding, but she does live according to conviction. She knows that the Jesus she follows was a revolutionary who never tried to keep everyone happy.
That picture of a good woman made me want to be one. It made me want to grow up and trade the innocuous acceptability of niceness for the world-changing power and passion of true goodness. "
That was so good for me to read, and reflect on- because guilt is my one talent. :) I forget sometimes that Jesus brought the heat, and didn't regret it. Not everyone is going to like it if you choose to live your life for God, and not every Christian will like it when they see things about themselves that aren't so cool in the reflection of your life and words. And that is OK. I have been raising a daughter who is so "nice", and often at the expense of her own conviction. God, help me to live the life you designed, so she can see a model of a healthy self- concept, and a "good Christian woman".
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