Dear Girl, This One’s for You

May 13, 2020  - By Taylor Cage

Well-Watered Women Blog | Dear Girl, This One's for You

Girls Who Love Jesus

If you have a teenage daughter, or if you mentor a middle or high school girl, then you know the teenage years are a particularly crucial time to cultivate a relationship with God. In their teenage years, girls are beginning to look for a place to belong, search for their identity, and deepen their relationships. As women of God, we are called to point our younger sisters in Christ to His Word for the answers to these big questions and encourage them on their faith journey. That’s why we are so excited about the brand-new resource releasing in the Well-Watered Co. today for teenage girls! 

Dear Girl is a 31-day devotional for middle and high school-aged girls. It is written by a diverse group of women from across the country who invest in teenage girls regularly. Dear Girl covers topics like identity, friendship, gossip, mentorship, grades, family, and more. The heart behind this devotional is to encourage girls to live for Christ in their teenage years and to learn from godly women who have gone before them. Most importantly, we pray that it encourages girls to fall in love with Jesus Christ and His Word above all else. 

Our Prayer for Your Girls

It’s our prayer that Dear Girl will be an encouragement to teenage girls as well as a helpful tool for moms and mentors to have healthy conversations around important topics in girls’ lives. We have a free digital guide for parents and mentors that you can download with encouragement, tips, questions, and additional resources. 

In addition to the new devotional, we’re also releasing a set of accompanying interactive verse cards! Each card in the set has an encouraging Scripture verse from the devotional on one side and questions to help you unpack the verse on the other side. They’re the perfect tool to help you memorize and meditate on God’s Word throughout the day. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Who Is Dear Girl for?

Dear Girl has been written specifically with teenage girls in mind! This is middle and high school girls, around the ages of 12–17. For graduating seniors we recommend Dear College Girl

Who Wrote Dear Girl?

Meet the 26 contributors of Dear Girl here! This diverse group of women is passionate about pointing teenage girls to Christ and they are all committed to the Well-Watered Women statement of faith.

What are the Topics Covered in DG?

    • A Letter to You by Gretchen Saffles
    • Belonging by Taylor Cage
    • Church by Rachael Milner
    • Discipleship by Mary Margaret West
    • Don’t Give Your Heart Away by Gretchen Saffles
    • Living Counter-Culturally by Heather Cofer
    • Self-Image by Georgia Brown
    • Social Media by Amy Jo-Girardier
    • Worship by Mariah Hollis
    • Bible Study by Caroline Saunders
    • Crippling Comparison by Amy Byrd
    • Emotions by Kate Downing
    • Modesty by Gretchen Saffles
    • Peer Pressure by Megan Gover
    • Selflessness by Taylor Hardy
    • Testimony by Lauren Sparks
    • Boldness by Rebecca Dotson George
    • Friendship by Kate Michaelsen
    • Identity by Jennifer Mills
    • Purpose by Brooke Davis
    • Serving Others by Marla Hollis
    • Unsinkable Integrity by Kim Whitten
    • Choices by Jessica Mathisen
    • Dating by Rachael Milner
    • Future Plans by Jaquelle Ferris
    • Quiet Time by Gretchen Saffles
    • Gossip by Taylor Cage
    • Kindness by Amy Smith
    • Leadership by Hayley Gaston
    • School and Grades by Nikki Tigg
    • Worry by Taylor Cage
    • Sharing the Gospel by Lindsay Cournia
DG Contributors

How can I Go Through This With My Daughter or Mentee?

We have a free digital parent/mentor guide that was created to help you walk through the study alongside your teenager. This guide includes encouragement, questions, and additional resources. You can find that free resource along with additional information on our Dear Girl webpage.

Can We Do it as a Group?

Yes! This devotional would be a great way to discuss significant and relevant topics with a group of teenage girls. Our parent/mentor guide also includes tips for leading a group through Dear Girl. 

Sample Devotion

Quiet Time by Gretchen Saffles

I haven’t always loved studying the Bible. As a matter of fact, I remember first attempting to study the Bible when I was in middle school and having no clue where to begin. I’d flip to the center of my Bible and hope I’d stumble upon the “right” verse for that particular day. When I came across a verse or section that didn’t make sense—like Jeremiah 39, for example—I’d start all over and search for a familiar Psalm or passage that made me feel comfortable. The rest of the Bible just didn’t seem applicable to me, and I felt I had so much to do already that the idea of having a quiet time was usually squeezed out of my “very busy” schedule (hanging out with friends, watching TV, homework, cheerleading practice, redecorating my room).

There was a girl I looked up to at church who loved Jesus fiercely, and I wanted to be just like her. One thing I knew was important to her: giving Jesus the first moments of her day—what most people call “quiet time” or “devotions.” At youth group we were encouraged to give Jesus five minutes of each day. Out of all 1,440 minutes of a day, surely I could handle giving Jesus five of them. I knew I needed to have a quiet time, but the desire just wasn’t there. I had been snacking on the “cotton candy” of this world instead of feasting on the delicious steak dinner just waiting for me in the Word. And to be honest, I felt pretty sick to my stomach.

One night after a basketball game at school, I plopped into bed exhausted from the day, but decided to ask God to help me wake up the next morning to start my day with Him. Knowing how tired I was, I highly doubted this would happen and drifted off to sleep. The next morning, fifteen minutes before my alarm clock, I was wide awake in bed. I sat up and opened my Bible, and God began to change my desires and my life. Instead of craving the “cotton candy” of this world that never satisfies, I started craving His Word that always satisfies. 

The more tasted the goodness of God in the Word, the more I wanted to spend time with Him. The Bible became less scary, and turned into my lifeline. Psalm 119 became a favorite passage of mine as I was falling in love with God’s Word. Reading how the psalmists craved God more than any other thing reoriented my perspective. I began to see that Jesus deserves much more than five minutes of my day—He deserves my entire life!

A quiet time is more than something to check off of your Christian to-do list. It’s more than something to make you feel good or tell you what’s in your future or what to do that day. It’s the heartbeat of God, His story of redemption through Jesus, and the only book on this planet that is alive (Hebrews 4:12). It never becomes outdated and, trust me, it is not boring. As I began to read and learned to study the Bible, my quiet time, or what I like to call “Word before world” time, became something I desired more than TV, more than social media, more than a few minutes of extra sleep. And I guarantee it will be that for you too, when you come to God’s Word with a hungry heart! 

If you’re new to the concept of reading God’s Word daily, here are a few suggestions to help you start: 

  1. Give God your first and best moments. Don’t give Him the leftovers in your schedule. Schedule your days around your time with Him. Pick a time when you can consistently meet with God, but don’t become so rigid that if you miss this time slot you don’t open your Bible! God is available at any time of day. Come to Him right where you are. (Isaiah 55:1–3; Matthew 11:28–30; Mark 1:35)
  2. Come to Him expectantly. Ask Him to teach you truth and show you Jesus in the Word. (Psalm 34:8; Psalm 63:3)
  3. Journal what you learn. Pray and ask how God is calling you to respond. God’s Word never changes, but it always changes us. Journaling your journey will help you to remember what God has done and enable you to see how He changes you over the years. (Hebrews 13:8)

Come to God hungry, learn how to study God’s Word, and enjoy the feast found within the pages of Scripture. 

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