The following is a guest post I did for my pastor’s blog, “truthful conversations”. I’ve included the first part of the post here, and then if you want to read the rest, the link is provided. This is really something that I continue to battle against in girls ministry. What about you? Share your thoughts below.

As a girls minister, self-esteem and body image are areas I see girls and women struggle with on a regular basis. As I was preparing to write today’s post, I thought a lot about how the world chooses to battle those topics and how the church does. Unfortunately, if we’re not careful, we may be sounding a lot like the world when it comes to talking with our girls about their self-esteem and body image.

For example, the overwhelming way that I hear women talk with women about their value is to remind them that they are princesses, and girls and women eat it up! “Once upon a time…” Those words often cue girls of all ages to settle in for a fairy tale. Girls love a princess story! If you don’t believe me, just think back to all the news frenzy fascinated with the recent Royal wedding that just happened. It may seem like a logical step and even appropriate to discuss our spiritual heritage as daughters of the King, but unfortunately we have allowed our mentoring with girls and women to become bedazzled with tiara talk so much that we’re losing the story of who we are in Christ.

To read what it is that we NEED to be sharing with our girls regarding their self-esteem, Click here for the rest of the article.