About Us

The Herstory of Encouraged Girl
By Teri Ford, Proprietress

Encouraged Girl was founded literally by mistake – personal thoughts and emotions written by me to encourage and uplift myself during the darkest moments in my life. In those efforts however, I often found myself repeating my very words, sometimes verbatim - not only to myself, but to various women who were also going through difficult times. It was clearly through God’s love, mercy, and grace, that I was able to do so. He gave me the support of strong loving pillars to lean on and from that love; I too was able to uplift another.

I admit that I am broken and continually struggle to keep myself together and know that life can certainly be difficult at times; even more so when we make wrong turns. But know as I do, that you are not alone. God is still very much by your side, loving you and wanting you to seek Him to bring you through.

When I arrived at this personal realization, I felt my head rise and I looked toward God. Tears streamed down my face as I knew that I would not let false truths defeat me. My absolute truth is God is with me. My faith in God will cause me to brilliantly overcome all situations. It was then that I felt peace and the love of God moving and flowing through me.

I’m often told that I have a calming spirit - one of sensitivity, compassion, and love; a touchy-feely-emotional kind of girl, if you will. While some may consider those as weak traits, I embrace them and pray that they not only encourage and help you through a difficult moment but that in turn, you will be inspired to do the same for the next woman.

I truly believe that God can use our deepest pains and brokenness for what could be the greatest purpose of our lives ~ to meet other women in their brokenness and point them to Him. On that note, I want to encourage you to live life with passion and purpose; learn and move on from your pains and mistakes – claim your freedom; and don’t let anyone discourage you or steal your joy. I want to motivate you to be confident in yourself and know your value as God’s daughter and keep rising!

I hope you find comfort, share a common thought or emotion, have a giggle, shed a tear, have a “wow” moment, ignite that fire/vision within you and relate to the many faces of Encouraged Girl.

Be Encouraged and Be an Encourager!

Love,

Teri Ford

THE ENCOURAGED GIRL'S PROFILE

The Encouraged Girl may be both complex and simple but she is clearly defined. She admittedly has been through some things…some storms. She has had a bump in her life, been a marionette to her own strongholds, has broken some rules and may have taken a wrong turn at the moral crossroads of life.
 

  • She desires, however, to do better and is turning over a new leaf …

  • She is revitalized and determined to succeed …

  • She feels inspired, empowered and supported…

  • She has been deeply hurt but is motivated to press forward…

  • She is a survivor and a conqueror…

  • She seeks a deeper understanding of her purpose…

  • She loves her sisterfriends and is compelled to build even more friendships …

  • She has chosen to rewrite her story for the better…

  • The Encouraged Girl may also have her life together. She is driven, ambitious and confident and strives for the very best in life. She may be more spiritually astute than some but is NEVER judgmental . Rather than participating in gossip and glaring at her sister side-eyed, she not only acknowledges her own past transgressions but is mindful that “all” are flawed (Romans 3:23); (John 8:7). She prays for her sister and shares her own story of triumph in an effort to help her heal (Proverbs 12:18). She has a genuine desire to encourage her sister. (2 Corinthians 1:4).  Side bar: Encouraged Girls often refer to one another as "sis" or “sister-friend” which reflects our sentiment and sincere love and appreciation that we have for each other. We believe that no one is beyond redemption. When a "sister" is hurting, we make a collective effort to provide encouraging words, testimonies and applicable resources to help her through her difficult time.

MISSION AND VISION STATEMENT

The following is the Mission and Vision that God has given to us for this ministry:

MISSION STATEMENT:

Encouraged Girl exists to inspire, encourage, and uplift women in their brokenness, through spoken word, written poetry, song, testimonials, and by providing practical and Biblical resources through e-mail and our web site.

He comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble (calamity and affliction), so that we may also be able to comfort (console and encourage) those who are in any kind of trouble or distress, with the comfort (consolation and encouragement) with which we ourselves are comforted (consoled and encouraged) by God.

2 Corinthians 1:4 (Amplified)

VISION:

Through God’s leading, Encouraged Girl will endeavor to:

  • Provide an ever increasing number of free, practical and Biblically based resources through the Encouraged Girl web site;

  • Serve women throughout the world by sending periodic e-mail messages that will challenge and help them to apply God’s Biblical principles in their lives;

  • Collaborate with other like-minded individuals, ministries and organizations in order to broaden the scope and depth of our ministry to women who are struggling in their lives;

  • Help women to deal with daily issues and pressures so they will be inspired to reach out to help other women in need;

  • Encourage women who are questioning and struggling to always look first to God’s Word, the Bible, and other resources for the answers and solutions they are seeking;

  • Provide a fun, hip, sophisticated and inviting environment to increase your faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Christianity is not an outdated religion nor a boring or stuffy lifestyle by a relationship with our Creator meant to inspire an abundant life today.
     

Frequently Asked Question: Why use spoken word currently dominated by “worldly” artists?

An undeniable part of a woman’s DNA is being emotional and we at Encouraged Girl believe poetry, in general, is a beautiful art to express emotions and connect with other women that often suppress those very emotions and to know that they are not alone. I love to write so something as deep as a heartfelt poem or as simple as a few words on our Be Encouraged t-shirt not only encourages women that see it but has an impact for God so that they can see past their current situation and begin to think about their eternal future.