Surely this is a work that will be polished over time, but I think it's a close enough start that it can be a post. I was thinking today that before I know it the next few years will pass, and my daughters will all leave our home. What would I want to say if it was today? Something, I suppose, like this:

Words for My Daughters

Life is a great mystery. You are not alone. We are all lost, and struggling to understand.

Never believe the lie we have all told ourselves at least once; the one that says, "I don't care anymore."

We were born to care. It is the seed which gave us life.

Seek God, and you will find God—probably in a place you would have never guessed. Whatever that place may be, it is where your Joy awaits.

It is true that faith is sometimes blind. But this tells us nothing of whether our faith is right or wrong.

Being angry at God is acceptable, questioning God is constructive, blaming God is pointless.

Never love any person, including me, more than you love God. You cannot love any person well, unless you love God most.

Pride pushes God away. Humility allows God to touch you. Above all things, pray for your own humility.

If people were perfect, there would be no need for love. Such a world would be a horrible, horrible place.

Do not judge others, and pay no attention to judgments that others may cast upon you.

God created you to be you. You are not supposed to be anyone else. Don't waste your time worrying about what other people think of you.

Never let anybody tell you that you may not, cannot, shall not do some thing you believe to be a great good.

Your life, first and foremost, is between you and God. Cherish this freedom for yourself, and grant it to others.

Your life is not your own. The life you live, you live in God, and therefore you live for the good of others.

What is the good of others, and how do you work for it? The answer rests in a great mystery, between you and God.

The best way to understand evil is to understand that you never will—and leave it at that.

What matters is that God's response to evil is to build good things from the ruins it leaves behind. You can help God do this.

Everything you have, and everything you are, has been given to you for one reason, and for one reason only: to ease the suffering of other people.

The Kingdom of Heaven is not a place. It is the Heart of God. It is within you, and it is everywhere around you.

The Word of God is not a book. It is the whisperings of the Kingdom, all around us.

The Love of God is life's only Truth.

Let no one blind your eyes. Let no one harden your heart. Let no one quench your spirit.

You will fall. You will fail. You will hurt and you will be hurt. It is these things which bring you closer to God; and so they, too, are good.

And know this: that you to me will always be unspeakably beautiful—beyond what even tears will ever tell.

Know that I love you. No matter where you go, no matter what you do, no matter who or what you become, I will always love you. This I promise.

Now go. Be free. Shine.