Today I am sharing the last 7 skills in the list I created of 14 skills I think teenage girls should consider making time to learn! These are generally even more unique skills than last week's.
I want to encourage you to go check out the comments section from last weeks' post. We had a great and very relevant discussion down there!
Be encouraged!
#8: Herbalism & First Aid
Bug bite...................plantain tincture or charcoal poultice
Headache................lavender EO steam bath
Common cold.........lemon, cayenne, & apple cider vinegar
Stomach flu.............activated charcoal & ginger, raspberry leaf tea
Disclaimer: The examples given above are purely for illustration purposes. Because of dosing dangers especially, please do not just try to interpret and create your own tonics and remedies. Make sure you know what you're doing before you try experimenting with health remedies!
These are the types of things it is helpful for a teenage girl to know, especially one preparing for her own future household. In fact, I think it is not very wise for anyone to get married without having studied how to naturally treat common illnesses and boost general health the way that God intended.
Another important aspect of health to study is first aid. It is prudent to have experience in CPR and other first aid measures if you are ever going to be responsible for people under your care.
How To Start: A stellar starting book for herbalism is called 10 Essential Herbs by Lalitha Thomas. At cpr.heart.org, you can find a CPR class nearby you and then go take it. Also, I believe that most hospitals offer seasonal CPR classes. Find their website and look it up!
#9: Apologetics
When we were first creating our Online Farm Markets business, daddy called us all for a meeting to develop our 'elevator speech.' We each had just received a T-shirt and a hat of our choice with the logo on it, and in all seriousness, daddy told us that we were all now ambassadors for the business. "Okay, let's do some role play," he said. "Pretend I'm a stranger getting on an elevator with a large family who are all wearing T-shirts with an Online Farm Markets logo on them. I'm curious and I ask, 'What is Online Farm Markets?' What would you all say?'" We each took turns trying to define OFM in one or two sentences. That day we developed our 'elevator speech' that we all memorized for when we are asked to explain what Online Farm Markets is.
I had been passing out tracts for several hours. Most of them were being collected in a pile about 15 feet away from me. When the traffic slowed down, I collected them and handed them out again. I had fallen into the rhythm of trying to stand in the most strategic place and telling people "Here you go!" as I handed them a tract when the waves of traffic came through. To be honest, I was kind of getting a little bored. Someone walked by. "Here you go!" I said, and I and handed out a tract to him. He stopped, looked at what I'd given him, and said, "What is this?" "It has the gospel on the back," I replied, expecting him to shrug his shoulders and walk away like normal. "What is the gospel?" he asked. Is he really asking that? I thought. He doesn't know what the gospel is? Wow! I get to tell him for the first time?! But then I wondered, What is his motivation for asking? Is he going to get into an argument with me? Ridicule me? But then I was infused with a desire to tell him, no matter what he thought, and I smiled real big and told him, "It's that the God who created the world stepped down from His glory to give up His life and rescue us from the condemnation we deserve for breaking His laws!" That was my elevator speech, even though I didn't know it. Since we were not in an elevator, the guy hung around for about twenty minutes and we had a conversation about the gospel, the authority of Scripture, predestination and the sovereignty of God. It was definitely not 'perfect' on my end of things. But I was ready, and had shared the gospel.
The Bible says that we are ambassadors for Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:20-21.) It tells us to be ready, at all times, to give a defense for the hope within us with meekness and fear. Getting to the point where you know enough to answer skeptics' arguments can seem daunting, but while that can be helpful at times, the main goal is not to win a debate, but to share the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation. Do you know the gospel well enough to accurately summarize it and share it when necessary and expound upon it usefully when appropriate?
How To Start: Write your own gospel tract (a piece of paper that you can hand out that shares the gospel in an engaging way) and then re-write it every so often as you learn more about the truths about the gospel. Try to be more concise each time. I did this, and it helped me tremendously. I want to know the gospel inside and out and frontside and back so that I can share it effectively and confidently, not having to stop and think and say "You see, it's kind of like," or use 2,000 words to explain it.
One of the most helpful and important things that I have done is follow Living Waters on YouTube and watch their videos. Last summer I listened to them pretty much constantly for several days in a row (while I was doing other things.) Mr. Comfort's conversation method kind of worked its way into my head, and now I am much more confident in sharing the gospel.
If you are not confident about defending creation or the authority of the Bible, I recommend these resources:
- It Couldn't Just Happen by Lawrence O. Richards (Note: For some reason, the author doesn't use the genealogies in the Bible determining the age of the earth, so he claims he doesn't know exactly how old it is, but he is definitely a Bible-believing creationist and has very helpful objective and rock-solid proofs for creation provided in a very digestible format.)
#10: Public Speaking
Why focus on public speaking? Because most likely this is a skill you will be obliged to use not a little. From giving meal instructions to your guests to speaking at your children's graduation celebrations to leading a homeschool class to reciting Scripture or speaking at a woman's meeting, etc., etc., et CETERA, public speaking is not a skill we can afford to neglect.
Conquering The Fear: When I can match my gratitude level for the opportunity to get to speak to so many people without being interrupted to the amount of minutes collectively that each person in the room is giving me, I generally find that I get really enthusiastic.
Enthusiasm will help you overcome fear.
~ Frank Bettger ~
Say yes to the next opportunity you get to speak in public! If you're freaking out, one of the best things you can do is admit that you're nervous. You'll be amazed at how much is it calms you down and warms your audience to you. Here is a story from Frank Bettger's Book, "How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling."
During the war, I heard a U.S. naval officer speak at a war bond rally luncheon at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. Here was a man who had distinguished himself by his courage and bravery in the Solomons. The audience anticipated a speech filled with excitement and blood-curdling experiences. As he rose, he took some papers from his pocket, and, much to the dismay of the crowd, began to read his speech. He was extremely nervous, but was trying to hide it from his audience. His hand trembled so badly that he read with difficulty. Suddenly, his voice faded out. Then with embarrassment but with sincere humility, he said: "I'm much more frightened right now, facing this audience, than I ever was facing the Japs at Guadalcanal!"
After this honest confession, he ignored his notes completely and began speaking with confidence and enthusiasm. He was a hundred times more interesting and effective.
If you are ever put on the spot or don't know what to say, you can always ask the Lord and quote a Scripture verse while He gives you the words.
How To Start: Every Friday used to be Presentation Night at our house. Our parents would grade us on poise, eye contact, gestures, posture, inflection, enthusiasm, the three-second-rule (pausing for at least three seconds before beginning) and content, etc. Even though it was only in front of my family, and I have had presentation classes with friends before, that season in my life was when I gained the most confidence speaking in public.
In the acting course in Tomorrow's Filmmakers, Bruce Marchiano gives a helpful drill you can do to gain confidence. Time yourself standing with your hands by your side and gazing at your audience - perhaps your family - for as long as you can last! :D It's surprising how much of speaking in public is just accepting that people are looking at you and getting past that. This is a great drill for that!
#11: Communication
My mom won the speech banquet when she was in college. At first we thought she had done it just through her sheer natural ability to speak... until she told us she had literally edited her speech 40 times!!!
When we do not communicate well, we should not expect charm to come to our rescue. Communication is an essential skill if we want to get any work done, have (and keep) good relationships, and be respected.
What do I mean by "communication"?
- Correct grammar, punctuation, and capitalization... excellence.
- Being able to get to the point and not include unnecessary information... brevity.
- Communicating with humility and preference to others... respect.
- Profitable speech... gravitas. We may have all of the above and not get any good work done as a communicator unless we communicate about things that are profitable. (Ephesians 4:29.)
She opens her mouth with wisdom and on her tongue is the law of kindness. ~ Proverbs 31:26
How To Start: When I wrote my first email at the age of eight, I asked my parents to proof-read every email, text, letter, and phone call (I wrote them out first) that I sent from then on. At the age of thirteen, I started sending non-important messages without them proof-reading it, using the guidelines they had taught me, but to this day I still ask them to read all my blog posts, theological discussion messages, all communications with adults, and various other things. If it's short, I read it out loud, but if it's longer, I print it out for them. I often read these things to mama while we're running errands.
These are the benefits I currently see:
- They are passing on all their wisdom and communication skills to me this way. I know for a fact that they have saved me several headaches already.
- They often find out what I have been thinking about and what I believe this way. It helps OUR communication, keeps us on the same page, and has really strengthened our relationships. It is perhaps the #1 thing that has made getting through my teenage years and having a strong relationship with them easy for both of us.
- They are my own personal editors. :D
- It gives me great peace of mind knowing that my parents approve of what I have written before I send it.
#12: Womanhood & Manhood
What are God's desires, plans, and purposes for womanhood? What specific things has He asked her to do? How should a woman's Creator's designs for her life inform her life goals, plans, and actions?
These are questions that it is vitally important for each woman to have answers to. We need to know that we are not wasting our lives in God's eyes, nor are we preparing for things He hasn't asked us to do and NOT preparing for the things He has, specifically, asked us to do.
Am I following God's will for my life right now?
It is also important that a woman also know God's design for manhood. Not so that we expect them to be perfect, but so that we can encourage and affirm them in it, help them to be the best men they can be, and give them biblical wisdom when they need it. Also, as my mother recently pointed out, knowing God's design for manhood can sometimes be helpful in knowing what we as women were not designed for, and knowing some things that we don't need to be doing.
How To Start: God has already created a life-map for the role He wants women to play, and He lays it out in Scripture. (Ephesians 5:17.) Great places to start by pondering are: Genesis 2, Ruth, (the Proverbs 31 Woman) Psalm 45, Proverbs 31, Titus 2, and Revelation 19:7-8. Why did God create woman? For what purposes does she exist? What specific tasks has God assigned to her, specifically? What are some 'themes' or 'characteristics' that stand out about these women?
Also, you can read most of those passages above and derive answers for manhood, too.
Three books that have personally changed my life are:
#13: Personality Types
This one is so fun!!!! Not only fun, but studying personalities and knowing the personality type of each of the key figures in my life has REALLY improved my relationships a LOT, especially knowing how to relate to/comfort/console feelers confidently and not aggravate them unknowingly and unnecessarily. In fact, that knowledge has already saved me two very important relationships. And it is so fascinating and fun!!
How To Start: 16personalities.com offers a free personality test that I love and recommend. If you sign up for a free account, they walk you through a personality course that I am taking and think is very helpful! Other favorite resources are:
- Building Blocks Of personality (book)
- Psychologyjunkie.com (this is SUCH a neat website!)
Please don't leave without commenting and letting me know what your personality type is!! And you get points for guessing mine if you don't already know it. :D
#14: Scripture Memorization
I once asked a girl if she liked to memorize Scripture. She said it was really hard for her, so she didn't do it that often. I even got to watch her try once. She was right, but all she needed was some more practice. So I asked her what she liked to do instead! Her eyes lit up and she told me about a play she was going to be in. The next time I saw her, I asked her how it went. She almost recited the entire play to me, including several other actors' scripts word for word! I was impressed. I left thinking, "If that girl had as much enthusiasm for the Word of God as acting, I am sure she could have a couple epistles memorized by now."
It's all about priorities.
The value of having large portions of Scripture memorized is hard to describe. You cannot fully understand or appreciate it until you have been awakened out of sleep and have enjoyed hours of sweet communion with God, meditating on and praying through His Words, or have been saved from making the decision to sin because of a couple verses the Holy Spirit brought to mind that made you fall down in repentance, or have discovered several gold mines of truths you desperately needed to learn that you would have missed had not the process of memorization forced you to think on them, or have had a passage become so much a part of you that it radiates out of your countenance and you - and others - know you are not the same. What better skill could you have?
The process of memorization forces you to consider the meaning of each word. Passages you have read and reread, memorized and quoted several times sometimes suddenly come to life after the tenth time you have recited them to yourself.
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
~ Proverbs 31:30 ~
How To Start: I have found rote memorization - just saying a verse over and over again, perhaps 30 or so times, then moving on - to be the most effective system for me.
Perhaps the number one thing I would encourage you to do is to stop memorizing one verse here and another from another part of the Bible, and start memorizing passages and chapters instead.
1) You will spend less time searching for something to memorize and more time memorizing.
2) The motivation to finish is used more efficiently, because you are using the same motivation to finish that you would have anyway, except you're using it for several verses instead of just one. More bang for your buck, I say.
3) You will get context memorized, which is so helpful spiritually.
4) You had better believe that if I am going to meditate on Scripture, I am not going to pull one verse from my mind from one side of the Bible and another from another side of my brain and Bible. I find that it is much easier to quote passages or chapters to myself and meditate on them, than several different verses throughout the Bible. And the passage comes along with the context!
5) If your goal is to memorize 100 verses in a year, you are way more likely to make that goal if you memorize Philippians as opposed to 100 verses scattered throughout the Bible. Find yourself a project passage to memorize, and then hack away at it!
How I find time to memorize:
- I always try to memorize two verses in the shower.
- Whenever I go walking, I try to memorize one verse per lap.
- Whenever I go shopping with mama, I always push my own cart, put my Bible in the place where you can put a child if you have one, and memorize away! I don't know why, but I always remember the verses I memorize in the grocery store better than the ones I memorize anywhere else. :D
- On my way to and from choir, I always tried to memorize three verses.
- In between volleyball games, I had the habit of "grabbing a verse" and then memorizing it while I played.
"Grabbing a verse" = looking at my Bible, repeating the verse about 5-10 times to myself until I am familiar with it, then walking away and doing on of the projects above, repeating it to myself until I have memorized it and it is firmly in my head.
We could talk tips all day long, but the best idea is just to start. Don't forget to seek to understand each word, pray through each passage, and ask the Lord to teach you as you submit in humility to His Word. (Psalm 25:9.)
~ To The Utmost Glory Of God ~
P.S. I have some ideas for a part three for this series, which I may end up writing/posting. If these last two posts were helpful for you, I would really appreciate it if you would let me know! :D
Reminder: Please don't leave without letting me know what your personality type is! (16personalities.com.)