Lead on, leaders.

From Head To Foot was written for a group of girls in Marietta, Georgia.

The She-Ra girls.

Every Monday night, this group of high school girls would show up at my house [invited, of course] and they would eat cookies and drink coffee and they would spread out through my little house and read the assigned chapter. I think I teared up every week- there is just something sweet about the smell of coffee, the sound of worship music in the background, and the sight of teenagers highlighting pages in every corner of my house.

We would gather back up and chat through the sections that jumped out at the girls. We would talk about their thoughts and fears and the areas in which they were certain I did NOT know what I was talking about.

[I rewrote those sections. Just FYI.]

It was fairly easy for me to lead a small group using From Head To Foot because, well, I wrote the book. But for the rest of the small group leaders in the world who aren’t in my brain, it may not be quite so simple.

I really respect small group leaders. It takes a lot of work to be an adult- it takes a WHOLE LOT MORE WORK to be an adult who lives wide open in front of young women, disciples them through some of the more difficult years of their lives, and speaks into their heart space.

And then also? Small group leaders have to figure out what to teach the girls and give up one night a week and probably make cookies.

So when I wrote From Head To Foot, I spent almost as much time on the Leader’s Guide. There are just some nights when the girls show up and you haven’t had time fully prepare and it helps quite a lot to have a Leader’s Guide– the questions are there, there are activities and ice-breakers, and there are a few illustrations/diagrams because I’m a visual kind of girl.

I wrote the book for the She-Ra girls. But I also wrote the Leader’s Guide for that youth pastor in Colorado Springs who is leading a high school group for the first time. I wrote the Leader’s Guide for the camp director who is excited about new opportunities this summer. I wrote the Leader’s Guide for the mom who reads through the book with her daughter.

I want it to be easy for her.

The hard part shouldn’t be knowing what questions to ask when the girls are sitting around your kitchen table. That should be easy- so the Leader’s Guide is free for the taking. You can have it. Just head to this page and enter your email address and we’ll email it to you.

Free.

Those She-Ra girls? They are old now. I mean, seriously old. Like, mid-20s kind of old. A few are married, two are pregnant with their first kids, two are engaged. One just got accepted to a prestigious graduate school, a couple are actively involved in their university campus ministries, and three are on the mission field.

God is using those girls to change the world.

Trust me, there were hard days leading She-Ra. But I look back now and I know this- it was totally worth it.