When I wrote “What’s a Girl Worth?” on Monday I couldn’t anticipate the widespread, profound response it received. It resonated with women, and also men, who had struggled to believe their own worth; it struck men, and also women, who realized the impact of their attitudes; it stirred compassion and righteous anger across genders.

@tamaraoutloud Often when you tell your story, it mirrors mine. You give voice to my heart and I'm sure countless others. Thank you. xo

— Liza (@itslizawithaz) September 19, 2011

But my stories are not so terribly special. The biggest difference between mine and those tucked into the heart of the person next to you in line at the grocery store is that I tell them. I have learned silence is deathly to the heart– speaking truth brings life.

@tamaraoutloud re your post… you keep writing stuff like that and you're gonna start a Man revival. No joke. That was surgical.

— Seth Haines (@sethhaines) September 20, 2011

The comments, tweets, and blog posts that sprung up in response were treasures– but they were scattered. I want to invite you to help gather them together here. What you write may give voice to another wounded heart; it may finally give voice to your own. What you write may challenge someone to a personal revival; it may push you to begin your own.

This Friday I will put up a “linky” post so that you can contribute to and be encouraged by a collection of stories and thoughts that reflect on either of the original post’s questions: What’s a girl [or woman] worth? and Have you ever struggled to believe what you’re worth when God and the world disagree?

Please feel free to write from any honest perspective. Posts by women and men are equally necessary in this conversation; stories of feeling alone and stories of feeling defended are just as valuable; reflections on ways you have torn down others and on ways you can build them up are both important. You never know who might be challenged or encouraged by your particular point of view. (And neither will they til you tell it.)

If you’ve already written a response post, please be sure to come back to link up on Friday. If you don’t have a blog or your blog isn’t an appropriate forum for this topic, you will be invited to put your story in the comments section of Friday’s post. (If you prefer, you can post anonymously this way, too.)

Please use the Twitter, Facebook, or other share buttons at the bottom of this post to get the word out. The stories are out there– we need you to tell them.

Are you in?

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