Authentic Femininity

 

Many of us were raised in the early days of the women’s movement. I can still hear the perfume commercial in my head popular when I was a teen:

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(Just click here if you don’t see the video)

“I can bring home the bacon; fry it up in the pan…and never, ever let you forget you’re a man!”

How did that 31 second commercial affect many of us as little girls?

The message hasn’t changed 30 years later; only gotten stronger. “Use your influence for success at work and success with the man.”

Wrong message.

Our girls are missing it when it comes to authentic femininity because we haven’t seen what it means to be the type of woman God created us to be. Our culture teaches our daughters to use their bodies and femininity to manipulate. There is a power trip that a woman can create…and our world encourages it.

Beth Moore says: “For reasons we may never know, God entrusted to womankind a most wonderful and terrible gift: the power of influence.”

God is the One who invented true “girl power”. True girl power, true femininity is a girl who demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. That is true beauty!

Friend, model for your girl and teach your girl, that influence and true femininity is a gift given by God. It is not a toy to manipulate men; nor is to wield control over other women. Influence is given to us for the purpose of encouraging, teaching, evangelizing and loving this pain-filled world so they can see our Jesus. We must, daily, live out this life we have been given, by being led by the Holy Spirit, continually keeping an open ear and obedient heart to Him.

As we use our influence for good and point this out to our girls, we can empower those coming behind us to be world changers. We need to raise them up to use their power of influence to lead others to Christ and always to honor Him.

“‘Cause they’re a woman!”

Lynn

8 Comments

  1. This post dear, is being printed out… and kept close by. Thank you for allowing God to use you in the way that He does.

    1. Lynn Cowell says:

      Thank you for the encouragement, Angel! I appreciate you 🙂

  2. Thank you Jesus for Girl Power and how to use it wisely! Lynn….yooooooooou ROCK!!!

  3. Thank you Lynn. I too have that record stuck sometimes in my head. When I was doing all that I thought I was doing it right. That mentality has caused young men to not take their rightful place as head of the household., just as Father Adam took the fruit. We all need to spend some time in Gen. 3 and pray for guidance. I found some help for my girls and their boyfriends in watching Mark Driscoll’s Youtubes on Marriage and Men & Marriage and Women. Hope for the next generation.

  4. hi Lynn

    i really want to say again and again i am so blessed that i have discoved your mininstry your comments and what you write about only takes me to a place of empowering me to be a better mom to my teen.
    the conferace you have just had about ‘ I AM ‘ enspired me to do something for my teen and that was to get a wall in our home or plian paper to put up on the wall in her room with scripture of who she is in God. What a blessing to have as a reminder or who she is to God daily and this is thanks to you.

    May God richly bless you

  5. So well put Lynn! I also think that commercial expresses the fact that women are supposed to be and do everything. I think of any person of influence…the influence can be used to lift up and empower others or manipulate and use for selfish gain.

    1. Lynn Cowell says:

      Thanks Elise! We can make a difference and teach our daughters God’s idea of femininity!

  6. I can’t wait to tell my girls how God created girl power! Thank you for that.

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