The Thing About Modesty.

Hi there!  :)  It's time for Faithful Fridays!

Faithful Fridays is a weekly linky party hosted on my blog. I made it so that Christians could have one special day out of the week (Friday) to share something from their Christian walk on their blog. If you'd like to participate, write your post, grab the button from the Faithful Fridays page on my blog (so that it will link back here), and come link up at the bottom of this post! :)

*********************************************************************

Something that's kind of been on my mind and heart is modesty.

And not in the way you think.  I'm sure I've talked about modesty before in some way, and there are tons of posts about modesty in the way we dress and act.  So much so, that I think sometimes in our own little Christian circles, we feel more pressure and judgement on the side that's telling us to be modest in our dress than from the side that's pressuring us to dress skimpily for attention.  Do you know what I mean?

Different people have different ideas of modesty--kind of like how in the church, we have different denominations and variations of beliefs.

These things in the church aren't salvation issues most of the time.  But still, we get crazy over this stuff.  We get in fights, hold grudges, even split off into other churches because of these minor issues.

And within the circles of Christian girls and women, some of us do this over modesty.  We silently (or maybe not so silently) intimidate, belittle, and shame each other if we don't wear skirts or if our shorts are too short or if we don't wear a tank top under our blouses.  And it's not really that it's really immodest--we know when something is truly immodest.  It's that different people have different ideas of "exact" or "true" modesty, and we try to push them on each other.  And it results in people feeling judged and intimidated.

"Charm is deceitful and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

-Proverbs 31:30

I don't know about you, but sometimes I get so tired of people pushing modesty articles in my face and discussing hemlines and routines and rules.  And then there's the polls and the opinions and the videos where they get guys to come in and talk about how they can't stand it when a girl wears this or that.

Modesty IS important--that's for sure.  We don't want to be careless with what we wear.  But we also don't need to let these things divide us and rule us and get in the way of making Jesus first.  It doesn't need to be blown up into a big, over-the-top, life-ruling argument.  We have to keep things in proportion and keep our priorities straight.  We have to keep ourselves from getting a judgemental, "I'm-more-modest-than-you-are" attitude.

It all comes down to this: most of us know when something is immodest.  So if you think or feel it isn't, don't wear it.  Bottom line.  Get advice from your parents.  Beyond that, things like whether or not we wear skirts or earrings or shorts or whatever isn't really important.

We get so wrapped up in these issues that we forget what a big part of modesty is about--inner beauty.  And if we're too busy haranguing each other over what we wear, aren't we forgetting about that?

"Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."

-1 Peter 3:4

Girls, we have got to stick together.  Being a girl is hard.  Being a teenage girl is harder.  And being a teenage girl trying her best to follow Jesus with her whole being is the hardest.  But we can do it.  Just lean on Him and let everything else fall under that.

Don't let side issues distract you from keeping your eyes on Jesus.  He doesn't want us to let these things get first place in our lives above Him.  Lay away all the small, petty issues and seek Jesus--He has such a high plan for you!

God bless you guys and have a great day!  :)

Joy :)

Boys and Girls

My three year old little brother, Luke.  I think he's the most adorable kid ever known on earth...wait, no--I KNOW he is!  :)

Boys
Joy S.   9/22/11

Mud and bugs.
To the backyard they lug
Treasures of every sort.
Cars and trucks,
Big bear hugs.
Cheesy grins,
Boys. 



My cousin, Laci, on Easter 2010.  Boy, how she's grown since then!  She turned eight in August.  She is (and always has been) a beautiful little girl!


Girls
Joy S.   9/22/11

Sugar and spice,
Sweetness and fiest,
Girls.
Dolls and tea,
"Mama come see!"
Girls.
Tutus and dresses,
Radiant faces.
Girls.

**Boys and girls SO different, aren't they?

Faithful Fridays ~ Beautiful

Hi everyone!  I'm a little bit late on my Faithful Fridays post this week.  I started Faithful Fridays so that Christians could have one designated day (although we of course shouldn't limit ourselves to just one) of the week to share something concerning their Faith--a prayer request, praise report, something encouraging, something inspirational, etc.  If you participated in Faithful Fridays, please let me know in your comment and give me the link to your blog--I'd love to stop by!  Also, don't forget to grab the above button for your post! 
My mama has already posted her Faithful Fridays post on her blog, Country Girl at Home. 

********************************************************************

What is beautiful?  It's been determined in different ways throughout time.  If you google "define beautiful," you will see this:

"1. Pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically.

2. Of a very high standard; excellent."

 

Hmmm...I didn't quite understand the "aesthetically" part, so I googled "define aesthetically."  Here's what came up:

 

"in a tasteful way; 'this building is aesthetically very pleasing.'" 

 

In Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary, you can find beautiful defined like this:

 

"1. Elegant in form, fair,having the form that pleases the eye. It expresses more than handsome.
           A beautiful woman is one of the most attractive objects in all nature's works.

A circle is more beautiful than a square; a square is more beautiful than a parallelogram.

2. Having the qualities which constitute beauty, or that which pleases the senses other than the sight; as a beautiful sound."

 

In China, fair skin is considered beautiful. 

 

In America, we've come to consider beautiful as a girl whose skin color is as tan as roasted chicken, whose hair is long, thick, and lucious, and whose waist is about the size of your calf.  Note: She also wears itty bitty shorts and a tube top with gigantic pumps and loads of flashy jewelry with three layers of eyeshadow and five layers of eyeliner. 

 

At one time, plump girls were considered beautiful.

 

At another point, itty bitty, short, fairy-like peanuts were considered the "in." 

 

You see?  It changes.  It always will.  And not only does it change from time to time, culture to culture, country to country, but it changes also from person to person!  You could line up four people, and every single one of them might have different perceptions of beautiful. 

 

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
    So God created man in his own image,
   in the image of God he created him;
   male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26-27 NIV

God made us in His image.  He is beautiful itself.  He is all things good.  He is the one that made each and every one of us (not to mention, ahem, the entire universe and everything in it).  And if He made us, don't you think He knows what's best for us--how we should look?  And if we were made in His image, don't you think that we are beautiful?  God defines beautiful.  Not humans.  Not culture.  Not Hollywood. 

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7 NIV

That says it all, doesn't it?  We dumb humans look at the outward appearance--the shell.  God looks at the heart.  He looks at the inside.  I want you to remember--men are fallible, dumb, dirty, sin-filled, mortal, and unreliable, and God is infallible, wise beyond all, pure, perfect, immortal, and the Creator of All.  Men and their bodies will soon pass away--and if they haven't accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they will spend eternity in flaming d*ath. 

for like the grass they will soon wither,
   like green plants they will soon die away.

Psalm 37:2 NIV

And really, some of the people today in America's culture that are considered beautiful have filthy, dirty, yucky hearts.  And believe me--they feel it.  I know it.  Those bad things may see "fun," but they make you feel dirty and used.  When you live for God--even if it's hard at first--you feel good.  You feel pure and clean.  You can forget the bad things you've done and try to move forward in Jesus Christ. 

So girls--I encourage you to not worry about your looks.  We're girls, so we naturally tend to do that (especially with the pressure put on us by our culture and the girls around us that we need boyfriends).  I'm not suggesting that we let ourselves look bleh, and I think it is totally okay for a girl to get dressed up from time to time (like to church on Sundays, etc.) because I think that a girl needs to feel pretty sometimes.  BUT, there is a line that you have to draw.  You have to keep your priorities straight. 

Just remember--God looks at the heart.  We're supposed to be like Him.  So are we looking at our looks and outward appearance (and the outward appearance of others--this applies with others, too) or are we looking at the heart?