“
Hide yourself in God, so when a man wants to find you he will have to go there first.
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Shannon L. Alder
“
Chasing a person doesn’t give you value or build values in you. You earn your value by chasing morality and practicing dignity.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
I don't understand women that call themselves a "bitch". It doesn't empower a woman. Rather, it reveals to everyone that you were deeply hurt at one time. Because of the pain your still carrying, you will continue to hurt anyone that reminds you of those moments when you let your guard down and were fooled. Sadly, it sends a clear message to the observant that you are still hurt. If only women would realize that "we all" have moments of stupidity then they would stop comparing themselves to the masses.
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Shannon L. Alder
“
Lice breeds lice, and sin breeds sin.
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Gina Buonaguro (The Virgins of Venice)
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We gotta start teaching our daughters to be somebodies instead of somebody's.
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”
Kifah Shah
“
The people that truly love us in life don't fight for us to remain a doormat for others.
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Shannon L. Alder
“
Kids can always tell the difference between adults who want to empower them, and adults who want to overpower them.
”
”
Ashley C. Ford (Somebody's Daughter)
“
Dear Child,
Sometimes on your travel through hell, you meet people that think they are in heaven because of their cleverness and ability to get away with things. Travel past them because they don't understand who they have become and never will. These type of people feel justified in revenge and will never learn mercy or forgiveness because they live by comparison. They are the people that don't care about anyone, other than who is making them feel confident. They don’t understand that their deity is not rejoicing with them because of their actions, rather he is trying to free them from their insecurities, by softening their heart. They rather put out your light than find their own. They don't have the ability to see beyond the false sense of happiness they get from destroying others. You know what happiness is and it isn’t this. Don’t see their success as their deliverance. It is a mask of vindication which has no audience, other than their own kind. They have joined countless others that call themselves “survivors”. They believe that they are entitled to win because life didn’t go as planned for them. You are not like them. You were not meant to stay in hell and follow their belief system. You were bound for greatness. You were born to help them by leading. Rise up and be the light home. You were given the gift to see the truth. They will have an army of people that are like them and you are going to feel alone. However, your family in heaven stands beside you now. They are your strength and as countless as the stars. It is time to let go!
Love,
Your Guardian Angel
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
I wanted to share with Black Americans the beautiful and empowering aspects of Africa.
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”
Maria Nhambu (America's Daughter (Dancing Soul Trilogy, #2))
“
Some women are built by the fire. Yet, there are some that are the FIRE!
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Shannon L. Alder
“
A person that doesn't know their worth will never know yours. Therefore, the longer you hang onto hope that they will finally see your worth is the moment you start to depreciate in value.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
Young girls today are very mistaken to be thinking that their sense of self-worth and their acknowledgment of their beauty depends on whether a man will give that to them or not. Such naïveté! And so what will happen when the man changes his mind about her? Tells her she's not beautiful enough? That she's not good enough? Cheats on her? Leaves her? Then what happens? She will lose all her self-worth, she will think she is not good enough, she is not beautiful enough, because all of those feelings depended on the man in the first place! And along with the loss of the man, it will all be lost as well! Mothers, teach your daughters better. It pains me to see such naive innocence right under my nose! Such naïveté does no good for any girl. It is better for a girl to be worldly-wise and have street-smarts! That's what a girl needs to have in life! Not wide-eyed delusional innocence! The sense of self-worth and acknowledgment of being beautiful must not come from a man, it must come from inside the woman herself, men will come and men will go and their coming and going must not take an effect on the woman's sense of worth and beauty.
”
”
C. JoyBell C.
“
After we become a daughter, we become a wife to our husbands and a mother to our children. I believe that is why a woman smiles through the pain because she was always told what she couldn’t or shouldn’t do. Regardless of this, she believed in herself and made it happen.
”
”
Charlena E. Jackson (A Woman's Love Is Never Good Enough)
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You will never overcome your self righteousness if you continue to believe that God prefers you over other people. The moment you feel entitled is the moment you feel superior and distance yourself from a humble heart that believes God knows what he is doing.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
The only love you have to prove in life is your love of God and helping others. Anyone that can't see that has proven themselves to be unworthy of your time because why would you spend your life with someone that can't tell the difference between a diamond and dirt?
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
Today in the US, we’re sending our daughters into a workplace that was designed for our dads—set up on the assumption that employees had partners who would stay home to do the unpaid work...
”
”
Melinda French Gates (The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World)
“
A daughter of God knows that insecurity is not an excuse for doing evil to others, nor will God rest until caring for everyone is a lesson you learn.
”
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Shannon L. Alder
“
I will never be someone's last choice, second option, narcissistic supply, doormat, ego booster, sidekick, secret, last time or after thought. I am a Daughter of God that stands for truth. I know my beauty, my talents, my accomplishments, what I have to offer and who leads my life purpose: my Heavenly Father. But, most of all I know my value and I will never let any man define my worth.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
Fighting is easy. Tranquility is hard.
”
”
Tori Eldridge (The Ninja Daughter (Lily Wong, #1))
“
You will never be able to end any battle if the people involved are unable to see their own hypocrisy, or how their insecurity contributed to their problems. Wounded people often choose to play the victim, so they can restore their dignity in unhealthy ways. Sadly, they do this through feeling justified, by making bad choices or actions (that honestly no diety would want them to do). This inability to accept their part in their unhappiness keeps them from growing. They need your prayers more than your anger. Just walk away. Let it go and pray that one day they will understand your pain, as much as you do theirs. Remember: The sexiest woman alive is one that can walk away from a place that God doesn't want them to be. Do so with your head held high and forgive yourself and others. When you can do this, you will know what God's definition of class is-- YOU!
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
I never understood why a woman’s strength, character and hard work are underestimated. A woman has to prove herself to be worthy in just about everything she does. When it comes to her relationships such as friendship, marriage, being a mother, daughter, sister, and a co-worker, someone will find fault in what she does because nothing is ever good enough.
”
”
Charlena E. Jackson (A Woman's Love Is Never Good Enough)
“
There is nothing left for you to try. It is time for you to walk away, to concentrate on your healing (of which more below) and to create your own life in your own way, to create the life you deserve. It is time for you to put your energy into finding and creating healthy mutually-empowering relationships and not to waste time banging on a door that will never open.
”
”
Danu Morrigan (You're Not Crazy—It's Your Mother: Understanding and Healing for Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers)
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Was religion an empowering force for women who otherwise had limited power in a society designed for and by men, or was it yet another tool for facilitating their submission?
”
”
Elif Shafak (Three Daughters of Eve)
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If a father shows his daughter love, respect, and appreciation for who she is, she will believe that about herself as a woman, no matter what anyone else thinks. Girls deprived of this father love and affection make poor choices in
”
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Rick Johnson (That's My Girl: How a Father's Love Protects and Empowers His Daughter)
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Defeating lust is not about limiting a man’s encounters with women; it’s about empowering men to treat the women around them as whole people, daughters of Christ. The key to defeating lust is not to avoid looking at women; it’s to actually see them.
”
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Sheila Wray Gregoire (The Great Sex Rescue: The Lies You've Been Taught and How to Recover What God Intended)
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Empowered Women 101: Empowered women never live the life they wouldn't want for their daughter. They teach them what self respect looks like.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
Lonely girls don't ask for attention,
They're quiet with their intentions,
They walk through halls of mirrors
With no reflection.
”
”
D.C. Thomas (Her Suns And Their Daughters: Daughters Of The Universe Seen)
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Perhaps the greatest gift you can give your daughter is to show her how a man loves a woman—model how she should expect to be treated and loved by a man.
”
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Rick Johnson (That's My Girl: How a Father's Love Protects and Empowers His Daughter)
“
If you think that educating your girl is enough for her to tackle the boundaries of tradition, then you are wrong. You have to ensure that not only you empower her with education, but also make her strong enough to resist the evils of societal pressure under which she often buckles. Her life and honour are far more important than "What will people say?" A little emotional support from the parents can make the life of a daughter abused by her in-laws beautiful.
”
”
Neelam Saxena Chandra
“
Hi there, cutie."
Ash turned his head to find an extremely attractive college student by his side. With black curly hair, she was dressed in jeans and a tight green top that displayed her curves to perfection. "Hi."
"You want to go inside for a drink? It's on me."
Ash paused as he saw her past, present, and future simultaneously in his mind. Her name was Tracy Phillips. A political science major, she was going to end up at Harvard Med School and then be one of the leading researchers to help isolate a mutated genome that the human race didn't even know existed yet.
The discovery of that genome would save the life of her youngest daughter and cause her daughter to go on to medical school herself. That daughter, with the help and guidance of her mother, would one day lobby for medical reforms that would change the way the medical world and governments treated health care. The two of them would shape generations of doctors and save thousands of lives by allowing people to have groundbreaking medical treatments that they wouldn't have otherwise been able to afford.
And right now, all Tracy could think about was how cute his ass was in leather pants, and how much she'd like to peel them off him.
In a few seconds, she'd head into the coffee shop and meet a waitress named Gina Torres. Gina's dream was to go to college herself to be a doctor and save the lives of the working poor who couldn't afford health care, but because of family problems she wasn't able to take classes this year. Still Gina would tell Tracy how she planned to go next year on a scholarship.
Late tonight, after most of the college students were headed off, the two of them would be chatting about Gina's plans and dreams.
And a month from now, Gina would be dead from a freak car accident that Tracy would see on the news. That one tragic event combined with the happenstance meeting tonight would lead Tracy to her destiny. In one instant, she'd realize how shallow her life had been, and she'd seek to change that and be more aware of the people around her and of their needs. Her youngest daughter would be named Gina Tory in honor of the Gina who was currently busy wiping down tables while she imagined a better life for everyone.
So in effect, Gina would achieve her dream. By dying she'd save thousands of lives and she'd bring health care to those who couldn't afford it...
The human race was an amazing thing. So few people ever realized just how many lives they inadvertently touched. How the right or wrong word spoken casually could empower or destroy another's life.
If Ash were to accept Tracy's invitation for coffee, her destiny would be changed and she would end up working as a well-paid bank officer. She'd decide that marriage wasn't for her and go on to live her life with a partner and never have children.
Everything would change. All the lives that would have been saved would be lost.
And knowing the nuance of every word spoken and every gesture made was the heaviest of all the burdens Ash carried.
Smiling gently, he shook his head. "Thanks for asking, but I have to head off. You have a good night."
She gave him a hot once-over. "Okay, but if you change your mind, I'll be in here studying for the next few hours."
Ash watched as she left him and entered the shop. She set her backpack down at a table and started unpacking her books. Sighing from exhaustion, Gina grabbed a glass of water and made her way over to her...
And as he observed them through the painted glass, the two women struck up a conversation and set their destined futures into motion.
His heart heavy, he glanced in the direction Cael had vanished and hated the future that awaited his friend. But it was Cael's destiny.
His fate...
"Imora thea mi savur," Ash whispered under his breath in Atlantean. God save me from love.
”
”
Sherrilyn Kenyon (Dark Side of the Moon (Dark-Hunter, #9; Were-Hunter, #3))
“
Males have an internal radar that can detect female sexual availability or vulnerability. This exposes young girls and women to predators who prey upon them and manipulate their unconscious desire and yearning for father-love. Combine this with a girl’s natural longing for an older male’s physical and emotional affection, and we see an increase in unwed teenage mothers, perpetuating the cycle anew. Many fatherless girls fall for the first male who shows them any kind of affection or attention that they crave.
”
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Rick Johnson (That's My Girl: How a Father's Love Protects and Empowers His Daughter)
“
Way beyond the calls for equal pay, self-sovereignty, choice, political, legal and educational equality, as woman we each need to search our souls, grieve the enormity of what has befallen us, then find new ways to step outside the shame, to channel the outrage into outlets for progress. We need to cease identification with our oppressors so that we may lift up other women and learn the powerful word that means "no.
”
”
Christina Crawford (Daughters of the Inquisition: Medieval Madness: Origins and Aftermath)
“
As a parent, I repeatedly find myself presented with opportunities to respond to my daughter as if she were a real person like myself, with the full range of feelings I experience—the same longing, hope, excitement, imagination, ingenuity, sense of wonder, and capacity for delight. Yet like many parents, I tend to become so caught up in my own agenda that I often miss the opportunity afforded by these moments. I find myself so conditioned to sermonize, so oriented to teaching, that I am often insensitive to the wondrous ways in which my child reveals her uniqueness, showing us she’s a being unlike any other who has ever walked this planet. When
”
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Shefali Tsabary (The Conscious Parent: Transforming Ourselves, Empowering Our Children)
“
She might hate your partner. But she might not … Here’s the thing. She wants you weak and scared and isolated and vulnerable. She does not want you to be strong and empowered. So if you get together with a partner who empowers you and supports you and is good to you, she may well hate that, and may do all in her power to sabotage that relationship. Get together with a narcissist or other abuser though, and she’s quite happy …
”
”
Danu Morrigan (You're Not Crazy—It's Your Mother: Understanding and Healing for Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers)
“
...if I have a daughter I will tell her she can do anything, and I will mean it, because I have no other intention of informing her otherwise. As my mother did with me, and my mother's mother before her, I shall simply hide the truth from her. I will tell her that despite what others may whisper, there is no difference between her and any boy. I will tell her to work her hardest and try her best. And that if one day she looks around and finds that, despite her very best efforts, lesser men have superseded her, then she probably could have done better. These words may not be true, nor will they be fair, but I would hope that they ensure she never becomes a victim of her own femininity. I hope she will be empowered to pick herself up, study harder, work longer, and exceed her own expectations. I don't want my daughter to break any glass ceilings. I'd rather she never even contemplated their existence. Because glass ceilings, closed doors, and boys clubs are notions, they're ideas, and they're not tangible. You can't see, touch, or feel them. They can only exercise power over us if we choose to believe in them. So why lay down your own gauntlet? The cliche rings true, if you reach for the moon, you might just land on the stars. Throw a glass ceiling into the works, and it can only get in the way. And I suspect that deep down, every woman who ever truly excelled thought exactly this way. I doubt they ever gave much thought to the fact that they are women. I think they just really wanted to rock out. And they did; louder, harder, and better than anyone else around them. And at some point down the line, enough people took note.
”
”
Amy Mowafi (Fe-mail 2)
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Defining yourself in terms of how you rank is always dangerous and ultimately immature. It doesn't matter whether the rank has to do with your grades, your weight or where you finished in the 800 meter race. Becoming a mature adult means, among other things, that you define yourself relative to your own potential, not relative somebody else's standard.
”
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Leonard Sax (Girls on the Edge: The Four Factors Driving the New Crisis for Girls: Sexual Identity, the Cyberbubble, Obsessions, Environmental Toxins)
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Oh! You are a woman! You are the pure reflection of my mother, sister, and daughter. I can never hurt you.
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Debasish Mridha
“
The best thing you can do to shape your daughter’s view of men is to treat your wife like you want your future son-in-law to treat your daughter.
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”
Rick Johnson (That's My Girl: How a Father's Love Protects and Empowers His Daughter)
“
Our stories hold unique inspiration for one another.
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Lailah Gifty Akita (Think Great: Be Great! (Beautiful Quotes, #1))
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Honor your spirit. Love yourself
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Angeline Boulley (Firekeeper’s Daughter)
“
When dad is not around to provide a model of masculinity or to nurture his daughter’s soul, the consequences can be devastating to girls and young women.
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Rick Johnson (That's My Girl: How a Father's Love Protects and Empowers His Daughter)
“
Without a father, a girl must learn about boys without a man’s perspective. She is like a lamb without a shepherd.
”
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Rick Johnson (That's My Girl: How a Father's Love Protects and Empowers His Daughter)
“
Neglect and a man’s empowering presence were muddy waters for her.
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Soroosh Shahrivar (Tajrish)
“
Ask yourself, Isn’t she worth the fight? Your daughter needs you to fight for her. If you don’t, she will look for someone who will—someone who may not have her best interests at heart.
”
”
Rick Johnson (That's My Girl: How a Father's Love Protects and Empowers His Daughter)
“
We should look at every woman as we look to our daughters. It is then we find the will to empower, a love that adores & the courage to protect. It is then & only then - we give all women true respect.
”
”
Robert Vanleeuwen
“
There isn’t an equation that can confirm something as self-evident (to us humans) as “muggy weather is uncomfortable” or “mothers are older than their daughters.” There has been some progress made in translating this sort of information into mathematical logic, but to catalog the common sense of a four-year-old child would require hundreds of millions of lines of computer code. As Voltaire once said, “Common sense is not so common.
”
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Michio Kaku (The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind)
“
When she corrected me, she did so with obvious care, and that counted for a lot with me. Kids can always tell the difference between adults who want to empower them, and adults who want to overpower them. She was the former.
”
”
Ashley C. Ford (Somebody's Daughter)
“
You will quite likely encounter the notion that we create our own reality. This can be an empowering idea and also true is so many ways. But it is also entitled and arrogant and can quickly move into a dangerous form of gaslighting. When this happens it is an act of shaming and a violence done. Because fucked up things happen. Fucked up and violent things. And to say that we create the entirely of our own realities is a way this world will have people- especially marginalized groups of people – hold responsibility for the circumstances in which they were without power. Guard yourself against perpetuating this, and hold yourself tenderly and solidly if it is ever pushed upon you.
”
”
Jeanette LeBlanc
“
Like seeds planted in the depths of our souls, our dreams are at the center of who we really are. Our mission and our right is to nurture them and to allow them to grow. To follow your dreams takes courage, action, persistence, time and patience, but most of all, you must first believe in them. Believing in your dreams means that you trust your aspirations exist for a reason and the reason is your calling. Believing in your dreams means that you hold true that everything is possible and you can manifest the life and experiences you desire.
We know that dreaming is a form of planning. We know that everything we enjoy and appreciate around us – every advancement and contribution to society – developed from the commitment, perseverance, and belief in our dreams.
”
”
Melia Keeton-Digby (The Heroines Club: A Mother-Daughter Empowerment Circle)
“
It’s universal. The mother-in-law respects the daughter-in-law because her income has improved the life of the family. When we women can use our talent and energy, we begin to speak in our own voices for our own values, and that makes everybody’s life better.
”
”
Melinda French Gates (The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World)
“
A 'woman on the loose' is a woman who leaves the woods where she has been growing strong all these years. She swoops out of trees, ringing her bell. She is saying, I am here now. And I am not going away.
The motto that the women on the loose adopted is: 'To improvise, surprise, and come uninvited.
”
”
Sue Monk Kidd (The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine)
“
One of the longest-running public health studies dates from the 1970s, when half of the families in a number of villages in Bangladesh were given contraceptives and the other half were not. Twenty years later, the mothers who took contraceptives were healthier. Their children were better nourished. Their families had more wealth. The women had higher wages. Their sons and daughters had more schooling.
The reasons are simple: When the women were able to time and space their pregnancies, they were more likely to advance their education, earn an income, raise healthy children, and have the time and money to give each child the food, care, and education needed to thrive. When children reach their potential, they don’t end up poor. This is how families and countries get out of poverty. In fact, no country in the last fifty years has emerged from poverty without expanding access to contraceptives.
”
”
Melinda French Gates (The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World)
“
As a girl gets older, father-connectedness is the number one factor in delaying and preventing her from engaging in premarital sex and drug and alcohol abuse. Girls with involved fathers are more assertive and have higher self-esteem.[25] And girls with involved fathers also have higher quantitative and verbal skills and higher intellectual functioning.[26]
”
”
Rick Johnson (That's My Girl: How a Father's Love Protects and Empowers His Daughter)
“
The kjerringsleppet were a marvelous image for the empowered self. A “woman on the loose” is a woman who leaves the woods where she has been growing strong all these years. She swoops out of the trees, ringing her bell. She is saying, I am here now. And I am not going away. The motto that the women on the loose adopted is: “To improvise, surprise, and come uninvited.” That’s not a half-bad motto.
”
”
Sue Monk Kidd (The Dance of the Dissident Daughter: A Woman's Journey from Christian Tradition to the Sacred Feminine)
“
Queen, our daughters should NEVER have to wonder what they have to fix for a man to love them. Even more?...Nor should you! Love yourself, teach self-love and end that toxic relationship. If you're "working" on allowing a man to walk all over you, giving multiple chances and not giving that one chance to yourself to WALK AWAY permanently it's time for self-reflection. When you love yourself you KNOW some things you must walk away from and not waste another moment investing in someone who doesn't even invest in themselves!
”
”
Maria Lemmo
“
Today in the US, we're sending our daughters into a workplace that was designed for our dads, set up on the assumption that employees had partners who would stay home to do the unpaid work of caring for family and tending to the house. Even back then, it wasn't true for everyone. Today, it is true for almost no one, except for one significant group: the most powerful positions in society are often occupied by men who do wives who do not work outside the home, and those men may not fully understand the lives of the people who work for them.
”
”
Melinda French Gates (The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World)
“
Stillness pooled like blood and Devon sat, stunned and terrified to move in case her universe tilted again. The aunts were already cleaning up: wiping blood off her legs, changing the sheets around her as best they could. Someone carried the placenta away.
“Your milk will be black, when it comes in,” Gailey said. “Don’t be alarmed by that. All perfectly normal.”
Devon just nodded, too overwhelmed to speak. Perfectly normal? How could anything be normal ever again? Her life had been a series of twisted fairy tales in which she had imagined herself the princess, but this, here, living and breathing and snuffling in her arms, had more truth than all of her swallowed stories combined.
She was her daughter’s whole world, a realization both humbling and empowering. Devon had never been anybody’s world before—had never been anything at all, in fact, except the sum of paper flesh she’d consumed without thought.
”
”
Sunyi Dean (The Book Eaters)
“
I didn’t think of myself as a feminist. I’m not sure I knew then what a feminist was. That was when our daughter Jenn was a little less than a year old. Twenty-two years later, I am an ardent feminist. To me, it’s very simple. Being a feminist means believing that every woman should be able to use her voice and pursue her potential, and that women and men should all work together to take down the barriers and end the biases that still hold women back. This isn’t something I could have said with total conviction even ten years ago. It came to me only after many years of listening to women—often women in extreme hardship whose stories taught me what leads to inequity and how human beings flourish. But those insights came to me later. Back in 1996, I was seeing everything through the lens of the gender roles I knew, and I told Bill, “I’m not going back.” This threw Bill for a loop. Me being at Microsoft was a huge part of our life together.
”
”
Melinda French Gates (The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World)
“
I am thirty. I made two girls within my own body, felt the rush of bringing them into the world, and when I saw their bodies, I saw a miracle. Their skin and eye lashes perfect. Tiny lips, tiny fingernails, eyes embodying innocence and awe. They grow and run around my house naked and scream wildly without self-awareness or social concern. I teach them about our culture and what is and isn’t acceptable. But what I will not teach them is shame of their body. It was beautiful from moment one, and that will not change - not with age, not with anything. One daughter looks at her body in the mirror, we talk about the organs and skin, how her body will change. She is beautiful on every count. I remember when I was six, and I know I have to warn her. Not shame her, but tell her how some people were not taught to love, but take for themselves and she must be brave and aware. It pains me as I tell her, her innocent mind not know why one person would hurt another in such a way. “Do not be afraid,” I tell her. “But this is our culture, so be smart and be aware my brave girl.” Shame teaches us, but I will not teach my daughters in this way. I will empower them to be proud of their bodies, respectful of their bodies, in awe of how miraculous it is and what it is capable of.
I will tell my daughter that to be a woman is not to be lesser, not object, not the bed in the red light district, nor the “bitch” in the hotel. She is not the body to exploit or product to consume.
“She” is not shame.
“She” is beautiful woman with beautiful body, capable of cosmic realities. Holding someone close, experiencing love, making love, creating life, accepting another human life as her own, feeling pain, joy, giving strength, healing with a kiss, wholeness with a touch; giving physical and mental nourishment with her own body.
“She” is grounded enough to follow, still capable to lead from a child to a nation. The woman’s body is made in the image of Love, from Love herself, Life herself, so she herself is of God.
For my Grandmother, for my Mother, for my daughters, my friends, and as a reminder to myself: be proud, beautiful woman, your body is intrinsically good, perfectly good.
Perfect from moment one.
”
”
Lisa Gungor (The Most Beautiful Thing I've Seen: Opening Your Eyes to Wonder)
“
a candid account of this exchange with Bill to make an important point at the very start: When I first confronted the questions and challenges of being a working woman and a mother, I had some growing up to do. My personal model back then—and I don’t think it was a very conscious model—was that when couples had children, men worked and women stayed home. Frankly, I think it’s great if women want to stay home. But it should be a choice, not something we do because we think we have no choice. I don’t regret my decision. I’d make it again. At the time, though, I just assumed that’s what women do. In fact, the first time I was asked if I was a feminist, I didn’t know what to say because I didn’t think of myself as a feminist. I’m not sure I knew then what a feminist was. That was when our daughter Jenn was a little less than a year old. Twenty-two years later, I am an ardent feminist. To me, it’s very simple. Being a feminist means believing that every woman should be able to use her voice and pursue her potential, and that women and men should all work together to take down the barriers and end the biases that still hold women back.
”
”
Melinda French Gates (The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World)
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I had an opportunity to have two careers and the family of my dreams—because we were in the fortunate position of not needing my income. There was also another reason whose full significance wouldn’t become clear to me for years: I had the benefit of a small pill that allowed me to time and space my pregnancies. It’s a bit ironic, I think, that when Bill and I later began searching for ways to make a difference, I never drew a clear connection between our efforts to support the poorest people in the world and the contraceptives I was using to make the most of our family life. Family planning became part of our early giving, but we had a narrow understanding of its value, and I had no idea it was the cause that would bring me into public life. Obviously, though, I understood the value of contraceptives for my own family. It’s no accident that I didn’t get pregnant until I had worked nearly a decade at Microsoft and Bill and I were ready to have children. It’s no accident that Rory was born three years after Jenn, and our daughter Phoebe was born three years after Rory. It was my decision and Bill’s to do it this way. Of course, there was luck involved, too. I was fortunate to be able to get pregnant when I wanted to. But I also had the ability to not get pregnant when I didn’t want to.
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Melinda French Gates (The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World)
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A woman from the audience asks Kelly how her belief in the Heavenly Mother informs the work she does now, and Kelly takes a while to answer. She’s kind of deflated now, but also incredulous, like, I don’t have time for this kind of thing anymore, I just don’t have any patience. She says finally, sharply —“ It wasn’t empowering at all because no one talked about her.” I’m waiting, as I always am, for a religious feminist to say that the moral framework of Christianity fundamentally compels her to support women, to dismantle the patriarchy as Christ did, or whatever, just to do the thing that the Religious Right does and say something like, “I just know that I am fulfilling God’s will, and anyone who disagrees is a heretic.” Instead she says, “Does the woman down the street have enough to eat? Can women control their own destinies? Those are the things that matter to me. And so I actually don’t think about God that much at all.” She presses her lips together, looks directly at the questioner, and nods. But I guess this is the thing—is that God? That is God. That is thinking about God. That is a life in service. That is everything Jesus/ God was talking about. And once you’re doing it, once you’re actually doing it, you’re like, whatever, middle fingers up—God, no God, I’m gonna make sure that lady has enough to eat, and that that other lady can control her destiny.
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Adrian Shirk (And Your Daughters Shall Prophesy: Stories From the Byways of American Women and Religion)
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Parents always have the best of intentions when they wish not to impose too much on their children, but in the absence of a normative standard, something else always fills the vacuum. Today, for instance, we flatter ourselves that we are morally neutral, that we can’t comment on a girl’s behavior for fear of crushing her “sexuality,” and yet we are constantly negatively judging a girl’s body rather than praising her internal qualities. The reality is that we haven’t moved away from judgment at all; it’s just that we judge girls now for their superficial “deficiencies.” Think of the alarming increase in the number of parents who buy their thirteen-to-eighteen-year-old daughters breast implants despite the high risk of surgical complications, or consider eleven-year-old Lilly Grasso, an athletic girl of normal weight who came home from school toting a so-called “fat letter” warning her mother that her BMI put her at risk. (Twenty-one out of fifty states now mandate BMI testing in schools, with dubious results.) Then there is the large number of boys who report that they are “revolted” by girls whose privates do not resemble those of the porn stars they view online, and in 2013, a student body president at the University of Texas–Austin even felt free to share his views about how to judge a woman’s private parts, and whether they will prove to be “gross,” based on her general appearance. Is encountering such negative judgments directed against a young woman’s body and most private areas empowering? Is such an attitude enlightened for either party? Or is it more empowering to praise a young woman for her internal qualities of character? I personally feel that it is the latter.
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Wendy Shalit (A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue)
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Unfortunately for Henry, Pope Clement VII was at the time imprisoned and under the direct control of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who was Queen Catherine’s nephew and unsurprisingly was ardently opposed to Henry’s attempt to dissolve the marriage with his aunt. Henry was now compelled to ask Wolsey to effectuate a solution, and Wolsey obliged by convening an ecclesiastical court to resolve the annulment question. It remains unlikely that the papal legate ever was empowered by the Vatican to grant the annulment. The Pope rejected the authority of such a court to grant Henry his annulment and ruled that a decision would be given only in Rome, where Henry’s hand-picked jury could not pre-ordain a result in his favor. But before the Pope issued such a decision, Queen Catherine’s polite, respectful, formidable and defiant plea before the court secured for itself a place in the legends. She played deftly the part of a woman wronged and scorned by a philandering, lying husband. It also earned Catherine permanent isolation from the King and her daughter Mary. Henry VIII’s means of extortion were that only if Catherine would accept that her marriage to the King was invalid, she might regain her access to Mary and vice versa. Both refused. Catherine died in 1536, probably of cancer.
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Charles River Editors (Bloody Mary: The Life and Legacy of England’s Most Notorious Queen)
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Our society needs to be empowered with the truth that women contribute to each and every person in one way or the other , as a mother, as a sister, as a daughter, as a wife.She is the first source of wisdom to her child after God. Her strength needs to be fortified and not stifled and education is a powerful tool in this area.
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Henrietta Newton Martin-Legal Professional & Author
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This battle that rages around us is not going to get any easier. It’s not going to just go away. And even if every single man of God were to step up into their roles, fully becoming all that God has called them to be, it would still not be enough because it’s only half of the church.
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Becca Ramirez (Skull Crushers: Empowering God's Daughters To Be The Warriors He Created Them To Be)
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The enemy is less concerned about whether or not we believe in God; he wants to make us ineffective.
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Becca Ramirez (Skull Crushers: Empowering God's Daughters To Be The Warriors He Created Them To Be)
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It sounds odd to stop being the guiding hand in our children's lives, but I promise it helps. Thanking your son or daughter for sharing sends a great message. I'm not here to judge you. I'm here to help.
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Elizabeth N. Jacobs (Parenting Strategies for Raising Anxious Children: Encourage Stress Management, Build Self Esteem, Coping Techniques for Social Anxiety and Empower Them to be Confident Kids)
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The Holy Spirit is the One who empowers us to accomplish the will of God and to become a son or daughter of God. The Holy Spirit discloses the personal presence of God and His Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, to us.
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Chuck D. Pierce (Restoring Your Shield of Faith)
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A man who seeks to burden his daughter with responsibilities, rather than empowering her with opportunities, not only limits her potential but also weighs her down with the weight of his own expectations. Let us instead nurture our daughters to soar with freedom, support their dreams, and guide them towards independence, for only then can they truly flourish and make their own mark on the world.
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Shaila Touchton
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Empowered Women 101: If he has to destroy other people to raise your self esteem and level of trust then he is not a son of God and guess what your not a daughter of God for letting him do it.
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Shannon L. Alder
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Now I am standing in the shoes God put on my feet to share my story to help redirect someone else. To empower someone's daughter, granddaughter, mother.
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Stevii Aisha Mills (Cultivating Your IT Factor: 14 Must Haves to Discover, Define and Refine Your Signature Brand)
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Swicord is not a New Age nut; she's a writer. And even after mega-wrangles with Mattel's management—the musical was sketched out but never produced—she is still a fan of the doll. "Barbie," she said, "is bigger than all those executives. She has lasted through many regimes. She's lasted through neglect. She's survived the feminist backlash. In countries where they don't even sell makeup or have anything like our dating rituals, they play with Barbie. Barbie embodies not a cultural view of femininity but the essence of woman." Over the course of two interviews with Swicord, her young daughters played with their Barbies. I watched one wrap her tiny fist around the doll's legs and move it forward by hopping. It looked as if she were plunging the doll into the earth—or, in any event, into the bedroom floor. And while I handle words like "empowering" with tongs, it's a good description of her daughters' Barbie play. The girls do not live in a matriarchal household. Their father, Swicord's husband, Nicholas Kazan, who wrote the screenplay for Reversal of Fortune, is very much a presence in their lives. Still, the girls play in a female-run universe, where women are queens and men are drones. The ratio of Barbies to Kens is about eight to one. Barbie works, drives, owns the house, and occasionally exploits Ken for sex. But even that is infrequent: In one scenario, Ken was so inconsequential that the girls made him a valet parking attendant. His entire role was to bring the cars around for the Barbies.
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M.G. Lord (Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll)
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In the end I came to believe that many of the world’s ills cannot be solved solely by outsiders who believe that their wealth and degrees make them the most qualified. The most respectful, practical and efficacious approach to improving the lives of others is for wealthy nations and individuals to use their resources to empower people to help themselves.
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Mary Williams (The Lost Daughter: A Memoir)
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He is the hero of her childhood and often a wall she pushes against during her adolescence. He is often both the rule-maker, laying out laws of discipline and competence, and the rule-breaker, helping his daughter take risks, push the envelope, and explore uncharted worlds. —Michael Gurian, The Wonder of Girls
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Rick Johnson (That's My Girl: How a Father's Love Protects and Empowers His Daughter)
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Motherhood By Christianna Maas My willingness to carry life is the revenge, the antidote, the great rebuttal of every murder, every abortion, and every genocide. I sustain humanity. Deep inside of me, life grows. I am death’s opposition. I have pushed back the hand of darkness today. I have caused there to be a weakening tremor among the ranks of those set on earth’s destruction. Today a vibration that calls angels to attention echoed throughout time. Our laughter threatened hell today. I dined with the greats of God’s army. I made their meals, and tied their shoes. Today, I walked with greatness, and when they were tired I carried them. I have poured myself out for the cause today. It is finally quiet, but life stirs inside of me. Gaining strength, the pulse of life sends a constant reminder to both good and evil that I have yielded myself to Heaven and now carry its dream. No angel has ever had such a privilege, nor any man. I am humbled by the honor. I am great with destiny. I birth the freedom fighters. In the great war, I am a leader of the underground resistance. I smile at the disguise of my troops, surrounded by a host of warriors, destiny swirling, invisible yet tangible, and the anointing to alter history. Our footsteps marking land for conquest, we move undetected through the common places. Today I was the barrier between evil and innocence. I was the gatekeeper, watching over the hope of mankind, and no intruder trespassed. There is not an hour of day or night when I turn from my post. The fierceness of my love is unmatched on earth. And because I smiled instead of frowned the world will know the power of grace. Hope has feet, and it will run to the corners of earth, because I stood up against destruction. I am a woman. I am a mother. I am the keeper and sustainer of life here on earth. Heaven stands in honor of my mission. No one else can carry my call. I am the daughter of Eve. Eve has been redeemed. I am the opposition of death. I am a woman.
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Kris Vallotton (Fashioned to Reign: Empowering Women to Fulfill Their Divine Destiny)
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Parents aspire for their children to excel academically and develop their talents, but mainstream celebrities often encourage them to prioritize drug consumption and mindless entertainment over educational pursuits. Parents hope for their daughters to maintain their purity and innocence, yet idols continuously promote looseness and self-objectification as virtuous behaviors.
Parents also want their children to prioritize their health and to lead a wholesome lifestyle, yet modern music celebrities often glamorize drug use, portraying it as a masculine and cool pursuit. Alternatively, parents often aim to instill a growth mindset and a strong work ethic in their children. Yet, the musical icons often glorify hedonist pursuits and short-term gratification.
In light of these toxic messages incessantly inundating the airwaves, it is hardly surprising to see so many individuals leading self-destructive lives or harboring toxic misconceptions about life’s true essence. They have unwittingly followed the wrong role models, heeded the wrong idols, and are now grappling with the consequences of such misguided influence.
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Enric Mestre Arenas (THE MODERN WORLD AGAINST THE HUMAN SOUL: Exploring modernity's impact on the human spirit and well-being)
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Wealth, generational COIN is teaching, explaining why you do what you do, so children can repeat the cycle or become empowered to choose another path.
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LaShonda C. Henderson (Daughter of the Culture: Radical Prose, Conversation, And Action)
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In my mind, there is no greater tool for empowering children than good teachers and parents. For my family, the freedom to learn and study has led to a dismantling of sexist traditions, and I hope that my son and daughter will grow up in a more just world as a result.
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Eve J. Chung (Daughters of Shandong)
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Parents know that it can be hard to forgive or move on when there is little or no accountability from their kids or genuine apologies. Their kids want to get it over with, say a quick sorry, and move on. The best option for you is to have a conversation with your son or daughter in a quiet moment, within their twenty-four-hour memory window, about what happened. Say what you need to say, see that it is heard, and ask for some accountability. When the conversation is over, you are finished; you reset and move forward. Compassion creates alliances that are the heart of successful parenting. Drs. Edward Hallowell and Peter Jensen, in their book Superparenting for ADD, emphasizes its importance
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Sharon Saline (What Your ADHD Child Wishes You Knew: Working Together to Empower Kids for Success in School and Life)
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Kids can always tell the difference between adults who want to empower them, and adults who want to overpower them. She was the former.
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Ashley C. Ford (Somebody's Daughter)
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Great leaders can never go to the grave without empowering others. They empower others to lead before their time on earth is over, because they understand that leadership is a baton that needs to be handed over.
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Gift Gugu Mona (The Effective Leadership Prototype for a Modern Day Leader)
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Mothers used to instruct their daughters, “This one has potential. If you work with this one, you’ll have a winner on your hands.” Well, that certainly doesn’t happen anymore! Women today want their men to arrive camera-ready! But who said you were perfect? Don’t think about changing or rearranging him. Concentrate on inspiring him and empowering him to rise up and be all that God has ordained him to be. Some women I know have initially passed right by their [future] husbands because he wasn’t perfectly polished. You don’t think all these successful men in the world started off that way, do you? Of course not! They climbed and climbed until they reached their goal. And most likely some woman was right there beside him all the way. Now those women get to reap the rewards. And that reward is so much greater if he’s a man of God.
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Michelle McKinney Hammond (Secrets of an Irresistible Woman: Smart Rules for Capturing His Heart)
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powerful self spoke up. But when I reacted from ego instead of from the calmness of my own empowered essence, this triggered her ego, and so we became locked in a battle of egos. In the heat of the battle, it didn’t occur to me that my daughter wasn’t behaving in a particular manner because she was “bad,” but because of a healthy need to defend herself from my ego. So wrapped up was I in my ego that I had failed
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Shefali Tsabary (The Awakened Family: How to Raise Empowered, Resilient, and Conscious Children)
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Dear Daughter,
Things may not go the way you want them to, but you should remain uplifted, empowered, and encouraged regardless. Focus on the positive aspects of life.
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Gift Gugu Mona (Dear Daughter: Short and Sweet Messages for a Queen)
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Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.” At once the woman was made well. (Matthew 9:20-22) The woman was healed because Jesus Himself is healing.
She had faith in Him.
It is Christ who “dwells in our hearts through faith” (see Ephesians 3:17). He provides us with the strength, healing and wisdom that enables us to make ongoing healthy choices. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, God reminds us of His imparted strength: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” We find it is not our own strength, but His strength that enables and empowers us."
Excerpt From: Danielle Freitag. “The Garden Keys: 22 Keys of Restoration, Volume 1 - The Beginning to Israel.” iBooks.
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Danielle Freitag
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My child, I love you! You are exceptional. You are a gift and treasure from God. I thank God for permitting me to be your mother. I bless you with the healing of all wounds of rejection, neglect, and abuse that you have endured. I bless you with bubbling-over peace—the peace that only the Prince of Peace can give, a peace beyond comprehension. I bless your life with fruitfulness—good fruit, much fruit, and fruit that remains. I bless you with the spirit of sonship [or daughter-ship]. You are a son [or daughter] of the King of kings. You have a rich inheritance in the kingdom of God. I bless you with success. You are the head and not the tail; you are above and not below. I bless you with health and strength of body, soul, and spirit. I bless you with overflowing successfulness, enabling you to be a blessing to others. I bless you with spiritual influence, for you are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. You are like a tree planted by rivers of water. You will thrive in all your ways. I bless you with a depth of spiritual understanding and an intimate walk with your Lord. You will not stumble or falter, for God’s Word will be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. I bless you with pure, edifying, encouraging, and empowering relationships in life. You have favor with God and man. I bless you with abounding love and life. I bless you with power, love, and a sound mind. I bless you with wisdom and spiritual gifts from on high. You will minister God’s comforting grace and anointing to others. You are blessed, my child! You are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. Amen!6
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Marla Alupoaicei (Prayer Warrior Mom: Covering Your Kids with God's Blessings and Protection)
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They knew their daughter well enough to know that she hadn’t behaved in this way merely to satisfy her curiosity. Instead, out of insecurity, she was trying to impress her friends. If she was willing to go this far to do so at this age, how much further would she go down the line? With Carly, the work was to help her build her self-confidence and security, which would empower her to have healthier boundaries and make better decisions.
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Jeffrey Leiken (Adolescence Is Not A Disease: Beyond Drinking, Drugs, and Dangerous Friends: The Journey to Adulthood)
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And you see it happening more, it’s crazy to watch. Whether in politics, or corporate, or even sports lately… women being expected to answer and even apologize for over achievement or wanting equal pay.
But what message are we sending?
Win, but not too much.
Celebrate, but not too much.
Be empowered, but not too much.
Own your body, but not too much.
Show emotion, but not too much.
Question, but not too much.
Report injustice, but not too much.
Love yourself, but not too much.
If we want to flourish as a society, then we need to recognize this about ourselves and change it. Let’s break free from the psychological prison of inequality. And of course some people will fight to keep things as they’ve always been, but we can expect that. The warden is never happy when the prison closes. Regardless of the resistance, let’s stand up for this change anyway. Our daughters, our sisters, our moms, our neighbors, all the women in our society deserve better than that, and we are better than that. Outdated ideas inevitably lead to outdated behaviors, it’s time for an update.
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Steve Maraboli
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Kids can always tell the difference between adult who want to empower them and an adult who want to over power them.
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Ashley C Ford (Somebody's Daughter: A Memoir)
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A daughter is a gift from God and needs to be treasured, nurtured, and even protected by a father until another man comes along who is qualified to take over that role or until she is mature enough to take over that role herself.
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Rick Johnson (That's My Girl: How a Father's Love Protects and Empowers His Daughter)