Why I Made the "You Are Beautiful" Mirror

Despite the bazillion blog and website outages on Monday, some of you were able to see the "You Are Beautiful" Stenciled Mirror I made for my girls using some pretty awesome supplies from Martha Stewart Crafts (would love for you to check it out!). It was actually quite a bit different from what I had originally planned to do, but I bet I'm not the only one whose projects turn out differently than what I pictured in my head. I hope you'll forgive my rambling today, but with the project fresh on the blog, I wanted to share my heart.

Why did I use that particular wording for the mirror?

In short, I feel like it's something every woman and girl needs to hear regularly: that we are beautiful, inside and out!

I grew up in a wonderfully loving family. I knew without a single question or doubt that my parents loved me, even if I punched my sister in the nose (true story) or forced my brother to take "manners lessons" with me in the living room (sadly, also true). 

But I honestly don't recall receiving a lot of verbal encouragement or affirmation. Tons of hugs and kisses, yes. But I don't remember hearing "you look so pretty today" or anything like that. I'm certain they must have said it every so often, but I struggled a lot with my looks growing up. From the elementary and middle school years I spent as a shy, chubby girl...to the high school and college years I spent starving myself down to a bony obsessive person, worried over the calories I might consume in a rice cake.

Does hearing "hey, you're a cute girl" make or break your self-esteem?

No, it does not. But I feel like most women I know benefit from a compliment and encouragement, and we do care about how we look. (Or else the fashion industry would be irrelevant). Hearing "wow, you like nice today" can instantly lift my mood. There's a big difference between focusing solely on beauty pageant looks and instilling confidence upon your daughter, teaching them that they should be beautiful inside too. 

My oldest, Natalie, started first grade this year at a new school. She came home the first afternoon and said that a little boy in her class told her she looks like a boy. She didn't cry about it, but she did say that she wanted to wear a mask to school the next day.

My immediate reaction was that I wanted to go to the school and throttle the little cretin, but I kept my voice and face as neutral as possible. I know she's a really pretty little girl; why would that little %&^$$ tell her otherwise?! My husband (rightly) told her that boys are silly and he probably has a crush on her. She hasn't said any more about the incident, but it weighed on my heart.

If I, as a mom, don't consistently affirm my daughters, then who will? The world is out there, waiting to crush their spirits and keep them down. I do my absolute best to make sure my girls know that I think they are smart, kind, special, and, yes, beautiful. Call me crazy, but I don't believe that God makes junk. We're all special in our own ways!

My original inspiration for the mirror was a piece from Blessings Unlimited:

It says, "This is the face of someone Jesus loves"; and it has Jeremiah 31:3 etched onto the bottom.

I wanted to capture the idea of the piece without copying it, and I also knew I probably shouldn't include the Bible verse since it was a sponsored post. (Religious, political, etc. sentiments are really frowned upon for most sponsored posts, unless the sponsor requests otherwise)

So I chose to go simply with "You Are Beautiful." 

The mirror is cute and fun, yes. But as my children grow, I'm learning the power that words have, and how far a kindly spoken phrase can take you. If they should hear "you're stupid" or "you're ugly", I want them to know with complete clarity what utter nonsense those words are. Because I made sure they already know how special they are.

How do you instill confidence in your kids ?