Dear Girls

If you're new to my blog, let me introduce you to my two beautiful girls.

Reese will be three in August and Rowen will be one in July. They are every bit as spunky and sweet as little girls should be. I love them to the moon.

Having five sisters myself, I know some of the challenges that girls face so I decided I'd start documenting some of the things I want my girls to know.

This first one is all about bullies.

The only thing that scares me more than my girls being bullied is my girls being that ones the bully others. So you'd better believe we are going to be talking about what to watch for and how to handle bullies. Goodness knows they're out there.

Dear Girls,

Words are really powerful. You can hurt people with your words or you can help people with your words. You may not be able to control how other people treat you but you can always control how you treat others.

Choose to be kind.

Even when people aren't kind back, choose to do it anyway. People will begin to appreciate your kindness and be drawn to it. Sometimes we think it'll make us feel better about ourselves if we point out the yucky things in other people, but that never works. It's a good idea to only talk about someone in a way that you would if they were sitting right in front of you. If you wouldn't say it with them sitting right there, don't say it at all.

I hope you'll have the courage to stick up for yourself if someone is unkind to you. I hope you'll have the courage to stick up for other people, too. You need to recognize that the people who are mean to others are almost always that way because they don't like something about themselves. Remember that a bully is someone who finds people they think are weak and choose to be cruel to them. Watch out for those people and be careful about spending time with them. But if you must spend time with them, remember that

"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1

But also remember that sometimes the biggest bully you might ever come across could be in your own head. It will tell you that you aren't smart enough, pretty enough, skinny enough, and on and on and on. You must remember that in the same way you should talk kind to others, you have to talk kind to yourself. If you look in the mirror and don't like what you see, focus on what you see that you do like. If you're going to make a habit out of looking for the best in others, it just makes sense that you'd do that for yourself, too!

So be kind. To others and to yourself.

I love you both so much!

Love,

Mommy

"Let no unkind words come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up."

Ephesians 4:29