By Jonathan Pitts

I’ll never forget Wynter, my late wife, telling me, “I think I’m supposed to write a book.” 

“Write a book about what?” I said somewhat dismissively.  We were 21 years old and dating and I had a bit of a self-righteous chip on my shoulder. 

“I don’t know,” she said with her head tilted away from me in somewhat of a dreamy state. Truth be told, she didn’t care because she knew she would know when she knew. Ten years later with a 7-year-old girl, a 5-year-old girl and twin 3-year-old girls, she would finally come to understand what her book was supposed to be about. It was supposed to be a story that told our girls who God is to them and who they can be in Him. It was a story she desperately wished was told to her in a compelling way as a little girl herself. She wanted to present a better story in the gospel, and it turns out she had a knack for storytelling in a voice that made each and every one of the girls she’d reach feel special. It was as if she were speaking just to them. Her secret was that she was speaking to the little girl in herself. God would give her voice projection, and she’d end up reaching thousands and thousands more girls in her life and many more now in her death. 

The book would start as a magazine and she would begin telling that same story through a lot of different ideas and themes. She wanted girls to see themselves in the girls that her magazine portrayed. She wanted regular little girls to know that they could do big things for God, just like the girls they were seeing.

That magazine would lend itself to a book and then another book and then several more, both fictional and non-fictional. Though Wynter passed away unexpectedly and suddenly at the age of 38, thousands of girls know who they are in Christ because of her commitment to bravely listen to and follow God’s prompting. And more will continue to find out because of her commitment to reaching them with a voice that they can relate to with a better story than the one girls often are told. But most importantly, her four daughters know and will continue to remember who God is through their mother’s voice and her urgency to reach them. She worked as if she knew her time to present them with truth and grace was limited. That should be the posture of all of us. 

I am excited to announce our newest resource, God’s Brave Girl, to help you reach the girls in your world with this better story. This six session study will introduce your girls to Christian values in a way that they are able to palate and digest, so they can walk passionately and boldly in who God has created them to be. The world is telling our girls a sad story. We have a better one. Let’s continue to share it with relevancy, excellence, and beauty. It’s worthy of all of those qualities and more. And so are our girls.

View a sample or pre-order God’s Brave Girl here.

Jonathan Pitts is an author, speaker, and executive pastor at Church of the City in Franklin, Tennessee, where he lives with his four daughters. Prior to pastoring, Jonathan was executive director at The Urban Alternative, the national ministry of Dr. Tony Evans in Dallas, Texas.

By Kayla Stevens 

Kids ask hard questions. The more time I spend with the kids in my life, the more amazed and grateful I am of their curiosity, inquisitiveness, and perspectives on the world around them. And if I’m honest, I’m also tempted to change the subject sometimes. 

Talking about the hard stuff is not always easy or comfortable, but if one thing is true about this year, it is that we are learning to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. Our current realities provide us with unique opportunities we can either shut down or lean into as we seek to engage kids with important conversations. As you have conversations with kids, consider these suggestions to guide your conversations. 

• Recognize opportunities. Notice the conversations your kids are having, the questions they are asking, and the information they are absorbing. Lean into the hard stuff and use these moments to point your child to the gospel. Someone is shaping your child’s view of the world—make sure that someone is you. 

• Help kids feel safe. Everything is personal for kids, from the toys they build to their dog’s names to what they are hearing from the media or friends. Remind your child that she is in an emotional safe zone as she asks hard questions and tries to understand what is happening around her. Be honest that you may not have all of the answers, but you are willing to find them together.
  
• Present facts in an age-appropriate and unbiased way. Share facts surrounding the conversation at hand with age-appropriate language. Try not to include your own biases at first, but allow your child the space and freedom to think critically. Recognize the message or messages that are being elevated and discuss those with your child. How does this information make her feel? How does she think God feels about what is happening? 

• Discern together. Next, coach your child on how to approach these situations from a biblical perspective. What are the core struggles surrounding this situation? What words are we hearing to describe what is happening? Do those words have the same meaning as what the Bible teaches? What parts of this issue does the Bible agree with? Are there any areas that the Bible disagrees? Help your child see how this situation points to Jesus and biblical truth. Open your Bible and read passages together that speak towards the topic at hand. Don’t merely teach what the answers are; teach your child how to find the answers.
  

• Identify what your family can do differently. “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22 As you talk about the hard stuff, commit to action, not only information. Can you institute family walks around your neighborhood after dinner to pray for the details surrounding the conversation? Can you continue your research and seek to be more informed? Is there something you can do in your community? Find ways to evaluate how your family can take steps towards change that actively trusts Jesus, humbly sacrifices, and engages in ways that honor God. 

Engaging in tough conversations with your kids isn’t always comfortable. It demands your time, attention, diligence, and discernment. And it is always worth it. Don’t be afraid to talk about the hard stuff with your kids. Pray for wisdom and discernment, and seek opportunities for your family to be a catalyst for biblical truth in a world looking for answers. 

Kayla Stevens has been serving in kids ministry for over ten years. She is a content editor for LifeWay Kids and a graduate of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Kayla lives in Nashville, Tennessee and enjoys teaching kids each week at her church.