She’s at an age where her peers want to blend in. They don’t want to stand out.
If one wears her jeans rolled up, the next day, rolled up jeans are the new fad.
It’s a struggle to fit in. It’s age old and it’s come knocking at our door.
I spent all summer prepping and pouring into my oldest daughter. She’s nearly eleven, not so little anymore. We talked and shared and the mother-daughter bond deepened at a crucial point. She came home the other day, weary from the world and the pressure.
“I feel like I’m different from other girls,” she confessed.
“You are!” I said proudly.
“I want to be different. Mom, I know we’re trying to make a difference in the world and I know not everything is about me.”
We snuggled under the covers and celebrated the difference. I did more pouring into and building up. “We are not supposed to be like everyone else. You are fearfully and wonderfully made….”
But I know the pressure. Sometimes, even I feel it. Different from the other moms. A heart yearning for Africa, on an isolated road. Weary from the world and the pressure to be like everyone else, building my own American Dream bigger and better.
I shared my thoughts with my girl-child. She poured into me and built me up. And together, we didn’t feel so alone.
She’s growing up, in more than one way. She chooses her clothes carefully, fixing her hair just right. Her room (OH! HER ROOM), often a source of contention, has becomes hers. It looks the way she wants it to and I’m learning to pick my battles. But the other day, I saw this piece of art that one my newest sponsors, Show Off Arts makes and they sent it to me as a gift:
Romans 12:1-2 has always been my favorite verse. This picture reminded me so much of my daughter and her desire to be different. It reminded me of me.
I took my little-big girl out on a date for a sinfully-delicious cupcake the other night. I gave her the picture for her messy room:
It’s hanging over her bed as a constant reminder.
For both of us.
“Don’t Be Afraid to Stand Out”
Some of my very favorite pieces of art in my house are from Show Offs Art (also sold through Dayspring). I simply love my walls to encourage those who live within them.
Show Offs is generously giving a $75 gift certificate to a reader for their very own piece of art or two. . .
Shop around and tell me what would encourage you or someone you know.
This giveaway ends on Friday.
I think that I would get the tree standard canvas and one of the clay cross necklaces. Some of this art would be perfect to put in our new home!
These are so beautiful! They are so encouraging; I love wall art with bible verses. I am a soon-to-be married bride and of course all the wedding things plus school plus life have put a little bit of busyness on my plate. So the Coffee Mugs with Psalm 46:10 on it really stood out to me. I need that reminder, and I know life is only going to get crazier once I get married. My fiance just got a job at a church as a worship pastor 2 hours away from home so I know life is really going to change, and that reminder is so needed. I would love to have it to put in my kitchen to be reminded to stop every once in a while and listen. And I need things to decorate my house!!
i love the tree canvas as well, with the verse about being strong and couragous. i also like the red heart witht he verse about loving from the center of who you are.
I fell in love with the Happy Camper canvas when I saw it at the (in)courage lounge last weekend. I would love it for my son and daughter in their shared bedroom.
I love the Tree Standard Canvas Joshua 1:9.
monk5 at charter dot net
I love the row of vases canvas, that you bought your daughter! We all need to be reminded of that!
Honestly, I like the one you gave your daughter best, but the Wildflowers one is pretty too! I would love to give the ‘stand out’ one to my 13yo!
I would love to win the
Daisy Standard Canvas (Jeremiah 29:11)
for my best friend, Charity.
Wow, that was inspirational.
Tree Standard Canvas (Joshua 1:9) is my fave. Oh, how I need to live that verse!
Oh my.. what great stuff! Loved your post. I had to share it on facebook.. thanks for sharing it with us. Now.. the show offs art things are so cute. it’s so hard to choose.. I love the child of the king crown.. the cross necklaces and of course the canvas that you shared with your daughter. But the one that really stood out to me is the topiary with the Psalm 121 verse. For generations my family has read this Psalm before we depart for any trip. We all pretty much have it memorized. This would make a great gift for my parents for CHRISTmas this year
What a great site. I’ve bookmarked it for Christmas presents.
But if it were me choosing for me, I’d have to go with the same canvas you got your daughter. I have a 9-year-old, and we are working on the same lessons. I love the fun message of the artwork. Different is good!
Definitely the one that you gave your daughter! I have an 11 year old girl too. Insecurity and inferiority are great tools of the evil one. That is why we need to encourage and arm them for the battle by keeping the word in front of them. May the world conform to OUR girls values instead!!
I’m right there with ya sister-My oldest turns 12 next week. It’s so hard to see them going down that all too familiar path.
Tree w/ scripture from Joshua, Bless this Food, Flowers with scripture from Isaiah, Houses… So hard to choose – but I think the tree is my favorite!
I think the Bless this Food is my favorite.
I love the Road Trip Canvas and the Daisy Standard Canvas (Jeremiah 29:11), What beautiful pieces! I have bookmarked these for Christmas gifts for friends.
my girl 13… and she says the same thing “I am different…” We talk lots…
Love the pic… reading about it all.
Hugs & love~
I love the “Bless This Food”- we all need to be encouraged to share our home and our table with others!
I am a student, I joined the blog to make friends with the lava away from the liver around the world. I want to learn many things about the country, people, life, culture … of your country.
The heart and globe and tree with Joshua 1:9 are probably my favorites! Thanks for introducing me to this site!
These are beautiful! I love the one with the three flowers…I am beautiful, I am wonderful, I am loved. What a great reminder for my girls. PS, Can I send you my daughters to raise?!!! You are so wise and I’m so scared that I’m going to screw mine up!!!
I love the Joshua 1:9 Tree canvas. What a great reminder of our Savior’s constant presence! Thanks.
I love the “houses” one for me. I love the “tree” one as a graduation gift. And I love the notecards and magnetic notepads. If I won, I just might have a hard time deciding which one(s) to get. Thanks for the give-away!
I didn’t even need to look at their website to tell you that I would pick the same picture you did.
I have HUNG on to that verse for many many years. Even if I don’t win the giveaway, I know that I will ask for the plaque for Christmas because I love everything about that picture…the saying and the “funkyness”.
My second choice would be a clay necklace.
Thanks for hosting this giveaway!
I love these pieces! I don’t have much real art, and would love some in my home. My favorites are the tree with Joshua 1:9 on it (a special verse to me) and the one with the flowers that you gave your daughter. Thanks for the chance to win.
I love Daisies so the Daisy Standard Canvas would be a top choice, but I also really like the Tree Standard Canvas and the Vase of Flowers Standard Canvas. Hard choices.
The daisy clay necklaces would be perfect for my girls too. Love the encouragement on each canvas. If I would win I will take a family vote. Awesome Art! Thanks again.
Love the “I am Loved” and “Row of Vases” artwork! So perfect for a girls room, and stands as a great reminder that we really are different, but that is not a bad thing! : )
I love the Vase of Flowers Standard Canvas. I think it would look great on the wall right inside my front door. Thanks for the chance.
These are all so wonderful, it’s hard to select just one. I love the John 3:16 one, but I think I’d go with the “Child of the King” crown picture. My husband and I are praying about opening a dance studio within the next year – a dream both of us have had for years, even before meeting one another. One of the things I work on with my ballet students is keeping their heads held high, and I always tell them to pretend they’re a princess, wearing a crown that they don’t want to fall off. This would be a great picture to hang on the wall for them to look at while they’re imagining – and to remind them that they really ARE princesses!
I would choose the Daisy standard canvas with Jeremiah 29:11 … when we were told we would never have a child, our hearts broke. And yet the Lord impressed on our hearts that He had a good plan for us and it was a plan of Hope! So, claiming that verse and living in confident expectation of what He would accomplish, we began the process of adoption. The day we received the paperwork, I had a positive home pregnancy test … and the faith we carried, the hope we have is a part of our daughter’s name … Casiday Hope. I can’t imagine a more beautiful way to remind her every day of that truth that God’s plan is always good and we have hope in Him always then with this beautiful piece of art.
This brings tears to my eyes. What a wonderful, nurturing mom you are!
I love that Row of Vases print of yours or the Coffee Mugs print for my kitchen. Be still and know that I am God is a good daily reminder to begin the day. Thanks for the chance.
Love the wildflower notecards. I send at least 5 notes of encouragment a week. These would be perfect. I also would love to have the heart of faith neclaces for my daughter and me. Love the story of you and your daughter. I’ve been pouring in for 16 years. I’m so thankful for the relationship we have.
I love the tree canvas as well, with the verse about being strong and courageous.
I like the tree> Psalm 1 is something I *attempt to live by…
Blessings
LIB
http://bit.ly/azXtae
I’d choose the daisy print, because Jer 29:11 has always been one of my favorite verses.
Dr. Laura
I like the Bless This Food standard canvas. Thanks for the giveaway.
I have to say, this story came right on schedule, except my daughter is 6! She started public school in kindergarten after attending a Catholic school for PreK3/PreK4. What a shock to her it was (and to me)! We were both now exposed to so many social issues at such an early age. Hence, kindergarten was not a happy time for us. However, we both feel more settled and able to handle first grade, which, to date, is going well. She is definitely standing out as different from her classmates…her style of dress is different (and it’s not my choice, it’s hers); her dialect is different; her interests are different; the stories she writes/draws are different and she has been teased about it. YES, teased in kindergarten and first grade! HORRIBLE!!! But I ALWAYS tell her it’s the best to be different and I support her difference every way I can! I totally know she would enjoy the I am Loved Standard Canvas as it would be a reminder to her that she is just fine the way she is!!!
All of these are beautiful! I love having scripture around as a constant reminder of Truth. I think any of these would be great encouragement!
Every year my girl friends and I have a Christmas party (this is the 11th year) with a themed chinese gift exchange. Let me tell you, it’s a great feat to find something worthy of fighting over
and this just may be it.
Our theme this year is the color torquiuse. That alone makes it tough but the green cross canvas with the Hebrews verse on it would be PERFECT!! I really hope I can win since we have a limit of $25.00 for the gifts. This way I could still give it and would not have broken the rules.
Heart and Globe standard canvas. It’s beautiful
I would love the Green Cross Standard Canvas. They’re all beautiful!
I love the Romans 12:2 picture with the vases too! It would be perfect for my daughter’s room when she gets older.
Wildflowers Standard Canvas
Luke 12:28, “If God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers, He will certainly care for you.”
So pretty and such a beautiful reminder.
I’m a huge fan of the Tree standard canvas and the coffee mug canvas! It was so much fun to see these in person at Relevant!
I too play the “fit in” game. I want to be a mom that fits in, that has the children to fit in and more and more through many different avenues, your blog included I am ok with not fitting the status quo and I reminded I’m not the only one who wants to stand out!
Thanks Kristen
I love the Food canvas and the sun one with phil 4:13. But my agnostic husband would never let me purchase them.
I love the heart and globe piece! But I also really love the piece you have for your daughter!
Oh my. How to pick? My girls memorized Romans 12 last year, so the one you picked is perfect. there was a Romans 12:9 one as well…the orange heart. But I gotta agree with your choice
I also liked the “I am a Masterpiece” one. But if I win…I am going with the one you picked 
Ooo, I’ve seen these at a bead shop and loved them. The Road Trip fits my life as a bit of a hippie. Not to mention, we travel often with my husband’s job. And of course, the verse is one I should have hidden in my heart. Beautiful!
Wonderful words in this post, momma…for your sweet girl and for your readers.
Many blessings!
I love the coffee mugs standard canvas. Also love the idea for your daughter. My girls need some art for their room as well
I like many including: “Child of the King” Crown wrapped canvas, *new* Sun wrapped canvas print and art plaque, and the “Faith” heart pendant are among my faves!
I love the one you gave your daughter……but all of them are beautiful!!
Oh my goodness, so many wonderful thins on this site! I would love to have the Jer 29:11 sign, and am probably going to order it for myself. I’ve got an awful lot of change happening in my life right now (not the kind that I chose!) and I find myself praying that passage almost constantly.
This made me cry, because I have very recently had a similar conversation with my daughter. I would absolutely love to get this same piece for her (also messy) room. What a fantastic reminder. If I don’t win, I might just have to make something along the same lines.
When I saw the flower and the words, “I am a masterpiece”, my heart skipped a beat. We have a daughter with special needs and I have looked for something with THAT verse on it. Thank you for introducing me to Show Offs!!!
Those look like such wonderful pieces! That would be a great addidtion to my eleven year old daughters room
What a fantastic picture!!! So girly….I live in a house with boys. My 12 year old son is going through the same things your daughter is. Trying to figure out where he belongs. Thank you for the inspiration.
I LOVE the Show Offs! They are my favorites.
Wow, I love all of these. Imagine living in a house with Bible verses all over the walls.
I’m saving my pennies to get the Daisy Canvas with Jeremiah 29:11. I am going through an unexpected life change and need to remember those wonderful words–God’s plan is better than anything I could plan. Thank you.
You find the coolest websites! I love all the canvases. I’m going to start saving for two of the Road Trip canvases. I have 7 and 9-year-old boys, and just like the Proverbs mom, I’m constantly talking to them about the right path.,
wow- these are wonderful! beautiful, and wonderfully point-driven. I love the tree and the wildflowers one.
They are all really great. I had a hard time picking, but I like the idea of giving them to your child. I think I”d have to pick the Road Trip ones for my sons. What a great giveaway!
I LOVE that print! I have a 15 year old daughter and we’ve had similar conversations. This print is a perfect reminder!
I love the print! What a perfect reminder for all of us trying to live as strangers/aliens in this world!!
The print in the picture!!! It is wonderful!!!
The question is more like which one WOULDN’T I buy! I already have 6 picked out for Christmas gifts, baby’s nursery, etc…. These are amazing! Thanks for sharing.