With Book Giveaway!

How do young girls find friendships in today’s ever-changing world? Join in our lovely conversation full of wisdom and faith in Episode 5 “Beauty in Friendship” with mother and daughter writing team Calyn and Blythe Daniel.

Be sure to scroll down and enter our Book Giveaways of Let’s Be Friends A Tween Devotional on Finding and Keeping Strong Friendships by Calyn and Blythe Daniel. READ BOOK REVIEW HERE.

Calyn Daniel

“I started journaling about what was wrong with the world of like finding friends and stuff and how I wanted to change that.” – Calyn Daniel #friendship #tweens #beauty

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Episode 5: Beauty in Friendship with Calyn and Blythe Daniel

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Episode Summary:

“It’s first important to get to know God and be a part of His kingdom so that you can have the very best friends that He would have for you. If we go out and find friends on our own, we might end up with friends that aren’t God’s best for us. Once we know who God is and what it looks like to be a part of His family, and developing our relationship with God, it’s really going to help us make good choices for friends.” -Blythe Daniel

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Blythe and Calyn discussed their book “Let’s Be Friends” with host Deborah. The book focuses on navigating and developing beautiful friendships, particularly for girls, in the current culture. God is our number-one go-to when it comes to friendships.

Friendship Challenges in Current Culture

Calyn and Blythe discussed their book titled “Let’s Be Friends”. They shared their experiences on navigating friendships, particularly for girls, in the current culture. They highlighted the challenges posed by social media and the pressure to conform to certain expectations. The book aims to prepare the next generation for strong and lasting friendships. They also addressed the importance of maintaining one’s identity in Christ amidst these challenges.

Friendship Journey: Writing and Sharing

Calyn shared her experience of making new friends in middle school by actively reaching out and connecting with classmates. Calyn and Blythe also reflected on how writing their book, “Let’s Be Friends,” helped them improve as friends, especially in managing difficult relationships and pursuing friendships. They concluded that the book serves as a helpful guide for anyone navigating friendships, regardless of age.

Embracing Individuality: Shining Your Light

They encouraged the group to shine their light and stand out, rather than trying to blend in. There was also a focus on rejecting societal pressures and embracing individuality. They emphasized that God’s opinion is the only one that truly matters.

Friendship Rejection Discussion

Deborah, Blythe, and Calyn discussed rejection within friendships. They highlighted that rejection is a normal part of life and that friends can change over time. They pointed to Jesus’ experience of rejection as an example of how to navigate such situations. Deborah also raised a question about how to treat a friend who is rude, leading to a discussion about the importance of treating others with compassion, kindness, gentleness, and patience.

Princess Diaries: Confidence and Identity

Calyn shared her experience of watching the movie “Princess Diaries” and how it influenced her confidence. The group also explored the concept of being God’s masterpiece, as mentioned in Ephesians 2:10, and how this understanding can give individuals confidence in their identity and relationships. They concluded that focusing on God’s perspective of individuals as masterpieces, rather than external opinions, can foster confidence and strong relationships.

Friendship and Body Positivity

Calyn, Blythe, and Deborah discussed the importance of confidence and body positivity in forming good friendships. They highlighted the value of embracing differences and not feeling embarrassed by them. They also talked about using body confidence as a way to test the quality of potential friends, indicating that those who appreciate and value differences are likely to be good friends.

Honesty in Friendships

Calyn, Blythe, and Deborah discussed the importance of honesty and truthfulness in friendships, emphasizing that good friends will draw you closer to Christ. They acknowledged the challenges of navigating relationships, particularly in mixed environments of believers and non-believers, and the need for discernment in choosing friends. They also highlighted the importance of being able to recognize when a friendship is unhealthy and needs to end. The consensus was that it’s crucial to be open and honest with friends about the reasons for distance and that it’s okay to step back from a friendship if it’s no longer beneficial. They concluded by emphasizing the importance of developing the skill of being open and honest with others.

Respectful Friendships: A Guide from Jesus

The discussion centered around how Jesus’ treatment of others can guide us in building respectful friendships, particularly with those who are different from us. They emphasized the importance of listening to others, understanding their perspectives, and respecting their values, even if we don’t agree with them. Diversity in friendships enriches the group and respecting others’ choices can help maintain healthy relationships. The importance of knowing one’s values and not compromising them in the pursuit of friendship was also highlighted. Towards the end, the conversation touched on the role of faith in building strong relationships, using the metaphor of a cookie recipe to illustrate the importance of a firm foundation.

Authenticity and Faith in Friendships

Calyn, Blythe, and Deborah discussed the importance of authentic relationships in life and the role of faith in strengthening them. They emphasized the need for a strong foundation of faith in friendships, which helps navigate through the ups and downs. They also addressed the question of standing up for one’s faith when questioned by a friend. Calyn suggested asking the friend about their own perception of their faith and values and asserted the right to find a different friend if they don’t share the same beliefs or if they are toxic.

Sharing Faith: Fulfilling God’s Kingdom.

They emphasized the significance and fulfillment of contributing to God’s kingdom by sharing their faith with others.

Faith Warriors Book Discussion

The discussion centered around the concept of girls being warriors in their faith. The conversation concluded with a mention of their book and plans for potential future developments, including an online group for further discussion and exploration of the book’s themes.

Mothers and Daughters Friendship Book

Calyn and Blythe discussed their book aimed at encouraging mothers and daughters to navigate friendship struggles. They emphasized the importance of understanding one’s place as a friend and God’s design for us. The duo expressed their hope that the book would help readers feel less alone and lead them to Christ. They also mentioned their social media presence where they would love to connect with readers.

Book Giveaways –

Favorite quotes from our conversation with Calyn & Blythe –

Quotes:

With technology girls have more access to social media and having the ability to look at other girls online and see how they are compared to their friends. They just see how  everybody, because on social media, most people glamorize their lives and just make it seem like their life is perfect.

Calyn Daniel

God sees you as a beautiful creation. You know there’s so many billions of stars in the sky, but each one of those stars is named. And God knows those stars and the billions of galaxies that are out there.

Blythe Daniel

We don’t always have to try to fit in with other people. We want to be those people that stand out. Sometimes fitting in doesn’t always look like us trying to fit into someone else’s situation or someone else’s friendship circle. It means let’s stand out and let’s invite people into where we are and not try to just fit in with where other people are.

Blythe Daniel

 

Just ask God how, just honestly ask Him. And I think He would respond with, “You are exactly who I made you to be. I made you for a purpose. You are not just somebody I forgot about because God never forgets about His children.

He treats you like royalty. He treats you like even greater than anybody else in this world,

Calyn Daniel

I’ve realized how I was seeing myself versus how God was seeing me. I knew that He saw me as a person who could reach out to people and was really caring about people. So I just tried to grow in that type of way, and I saw how much I gained out of that experience.

Calyn Daniel

It’s really turning around our thoughts towards what are the things that God has said about us? And He says that he’s made us a masterpiece and that He loves us unconditionally.

Blythe Daniel

I think it comes down to how do we, how do we show respect as Jesus did, but how do we also know the best path that we’re supposed to take and how to treat people well, even if we don’t agree with them a hundred percent.

Blythe Daniel

It just feels like a really good feeling because I know that God just got a new  warrior in His kingdom and that person is now going to start defending the kingdom.

Calyn Daniel

Girls should be warriors. We love heroes. We love the people that fight battles and come out with victory. The reason that we need to be warriors is because God has given us the ability to live this life with Him. If we don’t embrace what He has given us as a warrior, we’re going to find ourselves not knowing who we are or knowing where our place is.

Blythe Daniel

I’ve gotten a little bit more humble about things because of the hard things that I went through.

Calyn Daniel

We want to continue to pray and encourage moms and daughters who are walking through some difficult friendship struggles that you are not alone and that there are ways that God can show you more about yourself and you as a friend than sometimes we might expect.

God has such a good plan for you as a friend and how He’s going to grow you. Perhaps you are going to be the one that’s going to lead other girls to Christ. A friend group that you’re going to lead that would not have happened had you not really understood your place as a friend and the way that God’s designed you and how much He loves you.

Blythe Daniel

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Scripture References:

Colossians 3:12 NIV: Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Ephesians 2:10 NLT: For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Book of Esther

Warrior – Jeremiah

References:

Princess Diaries

MEET THE AUTHORS CALYN & BLYTHE DANIEL

Blythe is a coauthor of Mended and I Love You, Mom!, which she wrote with her mother, Dr. Helen McIntosh. She worked for Harper Collins Christian Publishing in marketing and publicity and now enjoys her work as a literary agent. She lives in Colorado with her husband and three teenagers.

Calyn is a middle schooler and loves spending time with her friends and family, including her older sister, Maris, and twin brother, William, who is also an author. She is a competitive gymnast and enjoys cooking. Calyn believes girls need to know who they are in Christ, how to navigate friend groups – especially when they change – and how to not lose sight of who God has made them to be.

Check out the “Let’s Be Friends” website HERE with endorsers (Sissy Goff, Lisa-Jo Baker, and others!) You can connect with Blythe and Calyn in the Facebook group HERE or follow them on social media: Facebook: Blythe and Calyn, Instagram: Blythe and Calyn.

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Remember, you are Beautiful!

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How does God see you?

Behold-Her Beauty seeks to help women see themselves as God’s beautiful daughters. 

My whole life changed when I realized God sees me as His beautiful daughter. Not the distorted, flawed images I perceived, nor what others thought of me, especially not what the world told me.

The benefits of seeing ourselves as God’s beautiful daughter are revolutionary and freeing. We no longer find our worth and approval in the world because God values and loves us.

Today, right now, know that you have permission to be beautiful as you embrace your already God-given beauty and live as God’s beautiful daughter.

• We are God’s masterpieces. God created each of us, His work of art, in Jesus Christ for good work, which God prepared beforehand (Ephesians 2:10).

• God made you in His image. “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27 NKJV

• God chose you; you are His treasure and the apple of His eye. “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.” 2 Thessalonians 2:13 NKJV

Embrace your God-given beauty and live without shame, bitterness, and self-condemnation.

I have put together 10 ways to reclaim your God-given beauty.

Start today by meditating on the Scripture in each declaration section. I like to write the Scripture verse in my journal and then pray about what God is teaching me. Then, do one of the action steps in each section.

You have permission to be beautiful. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and our Beholder is God.

I would love to connect more with you and give you my FREE gift – The Behold-Her Beauty Manifest: You Have Permission to Be Beautiful. You can also sign up HERE for my newsletter and receive the FREE Manifesto, recent blog posts, book reviews, giveaways, and personal details only delivered to my lovely email tribe.

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