10 Things I Want My Daughters To Know

1. My love for you is not conditional. There is nothing that you can do to earn my love.

2. How delighted I am in you.

I take great joy and interest in every detail and nuance of your being and personality.

3. I will always be your biggest supporter and cheerleader. Encouragement, support, and kind words are the well-spring to live. I will choose my words to inspire and build-up, not tear down. This includes any future interest in meeting your birth mom. I will be there too, to personally thank her.

4. The reason why we discipline, train, correct and create boundaries is for your benefit and growth. As difficult as it may seem sometimes, we take the time to do this because God has chosen us to be your parents. That means that He has entrusted us to train you in the way that you should go.

-Proverbs 22:6

5. Communication is crucial. We will always encourage you to respectfully speak your mind and share your feelings. There are no secrets in our family.

6. God has a special plan for your lives. I pray that we can help you to cultivate your gifts, talents and desires to serve the Lord and help others in whatever you do.

7. We are privileged to be your parents. God truly outdid himself when He designed our family. This is the greatest example in our lives of how God gives us immeasurably more than what we can ever ask or imagine. -Ephesians 3:20

8. We do not seek anything in return for our devotion in parenting.

Our greatest desire is that you would grow up to be independent young women with a strong spiritual relationship and dependence on the Lord.

We want you to live your own life.

9. We are not perfect. Even though God thought that we would be the perfect parents for you, the fact is that we are all human- by nature, flawed. There will be times when we will say, "I am sorry." We will need forgiveness, wisdom, and grace.

10. We love each other very much and promise to be together forever. We will strive to create a warm and stable environment that you can trust and rely on. We pray that as you become an adult, home will be a safe place where you will not only look forward to visiting but also look back on with the fondest of memories.