The Recent Uproar In Ferguson, Missouri

As we wait to find out what really took place, we, Christians need to be renewing our minds.

Here are a couple verses to meditate on.

1 Peter 2:13-14
Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.

Romans 13:1-7
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Let us also keep in mind that hating authority figures is rooted in the fall of mankind. Whether it's God, governments, our parents, or even...hmm...cops. We are wired to rebel against and despise those who rule over us or enforce rules. In light of this ongoing tragedy in Ferguson let us consider these truths lest we come to despise the authorities God has put in place purposely to mimic His own rule. And when they do not mimic Him, exhort them peaceably and pray all the more earnestly.

Don't let racial injustice or speculated racial injustice cause you to sin. The white man doesn't want to kill you...Satan does. Know the real enemy...and know that He is a defeated enemy and find your resolve in his conqueror, Jesus Christ.

Because when we despise them...we despise Him.

God Bless you all.

True Joy

Are you frustrated? Utterly discouraged because of how life is going? What did you expect? Did you believe the lie that life was all about you and your desires? ?Yes nowadays we are taught to indulge, be "ourselves" 

(whatever that means) seek pleasure at all cost but is that really what life is all about? Is it really pleasurable to live in such a manner or does living this way just rob us of joy? Being sinful, indulging in what seems pleasurable to us and seeking to fulfill our own desires only leads to sin and sin to death. So how are we to live then? The Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it simply 

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man? 

A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

So What is the point of life? How are we to live you ask? Scripture tells us that we ought to live for the glory of God. "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31) Instead of seeing all things through the lenses of whether or not whatever we are thinking about doing will be pleasurable for us, we ought to ask instead whether whatever we're considering doing pleases the Lord and will bring Him the most Glory. 

Life is hard, we live in a fallen world. We are constantly met with disappointments. We cannot live for the "pleasures" in  this life. Things in this life are fleeting and passing away. We must set our gaze on Christ and the things above. When we are self absorbed not only are we in sin but we rob ourselves of joy.

R.C. Sproul wrote a book Titled Can I Have Joy in My Life? in it he writes: "The enticement of sin is that we think it will make us happy. We think it will give us joy and personal fulfillment. But it merely gives us guilt, which undermines and destroys authentic joy."

This book has really helped me in my walk. It was extremely difficult for me to transition from living for my own pleasures to living for the Lord and finding my Joy in Him. The Lord has used this book to put everything in perspective for me and teach me to imitate Christ and lay down my life for others not to mention live to do the Will of my Father in heaven rather than doing my own will and whatever I perceive will bring me joy in this life.

Download for Free HERE

The Modesty Issue

Written by my wonderful husband :)

Yesterday, on my way home from work I saw a young dolled up girl with a questionable looking guy at the Branch Ave subway station having sexual intimacy with their clothes on. They groped each other, sat on each others' laps, and mimicked very sexual gestures for at least 20 minutes. They were off some way in the distance from where most of the travelers were seated, but very much in view. In fact, as many walked right pass them there seemed to be no indication that they were embarrassed or even took notice of those walking by.

I immediately thought to myself, "she has no shame." Well, he has no shame either, but that wasn't as surprising. I kept thinking, "She doesn't even understand how she's degrading her self...or how she's being degraded. This guy is basically parading her around as a whore...in public...in broad daylight. At least cover your shame" I thought to myself.

God's word tells me not to marvel, not to even look on such wickedness, though I found it hard not to be captivated by such a sight.

Before I was too deep in my own self-righteousness I was reminded of myself when I was a teenager...doing the very same things...in public even. I was no stranger to this and yet I couldn't help but wonder why this young girl was so ignorant, so careless of her own dignity. I mean, I do understand of course, how sin blinds, how sin doesn't actually make any sense, how when we become so deep in sin we are oblivious to how foolish it makes us look...even as one person noted that sin is "self inflicted nonsense" Yes, I know these things but I'm always surprised.

This guy was disgracing her in public...AND SHE WOULD PREFER IT THAT WAY.

You know, it's fitting that I should talk about the modesty issues that plague the church right now. It's really no strange thing that unbelievers would be so immodest in their conduct but when we have professing Christians engaging in such conduct or "wearing" the part is an entirely different thing. This girl was merely behaving as a prostitute. Is this not what a girl does when she dresses in clothing that brings attention to her body and not her character?

We live in a culture that prizes beauty and self-esteem. We find our value in how we look and appear to others. (HOW CHEAP). If we do not fit the image of the media woman then we are not confident in who we are. Instead of finding one's confidence in what Christ has done for us, we'd rather place that confidence in how we look. Christian women are caught in a stronghold here. Where scripture tells us ""Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised"(Proverbs 31:30), women would rather be praised for their good looks or their sexy clothing. And then other professing believers, some even in ministry would come along side them and praise them. THIS IS COMPLETELY BACKWARDS!

In our generation, what was considered ONLY the attire of a prostitute is now everyday wear. What was considered underclothes is now the casual bathing suit. Women find their glory in looking skinny, sexy, and showing off skin. Does not scripture tell women to find their glory in godliness?

"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious." (1 Peter 3:3, 4)

Sisters, are you disgracing yourself in what you wear just like that young woman I mentioned earlier?

"likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works." (1 Timothy 2:9, 10)

"And behold, the woman meets him, dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart. She is loud and wayward; her feet do not stay at home; now in the street, now in the market, and at every corner she lies in wait. She seizes him and kisses him, and with bold face she says to him,

With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him.

Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths, for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death." (Proverbs 7:10-13, 21, 25-27)

Are you dressing like the women who lead men to Hell? Let it not be so...let this not be said of you.

HUSBANDS!!! IS THIS YOUR WIFE??? Are you loving your wives? Are you caring for her purity on facebook and Instagram? Are you protecting her honor by not allowing her to post scandalous photos of herself? Or are you standing right next to her in those photos as she flirts with your brothers through her clothing...as she leads them down to Sheol? Are you smiling and liking her photos as many men also take delight in her?

Beautiful and Modest Outfits

I was online researching for modest apparel this morning and found a few more sites! Here you go guys ^_^

http://www.shabbyapple.com/ a bit pricey but here are some pictures of what they sell there.


http://putsomethingon.com/index.php/

http://www.jcpenney.com/ (Super Great Prices!) Great Sale going on!

http://www.womanwithin.com/

http://www.4evermodestapparel.com/ (Great Prices!!!)

http://www.expressiva.com/ (If you are nursing a baby you totally should check this out. It's pretty neat)

http://www.seraphine.com/us/

http://oldnavy.gap.com/ (Great Prices!!!)

Bible Study Tools

"Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness;" 1 Timothy 4:7

Do you have questions about marriage?

Do you want to understand what the gospel is?

Do you have questions about God's Character?

DesiringGod.org is a wonderful website that can help you understand the bible better

Here's a little video for some more information on what you will find on the site

Websites for Modest Apparel

One of my dear friends bumped into Erica's Blog page a couple days ago and shared it with me. Erica recently wrote an extremely helpful article on Modesty which included websites to purchase modest clothing!!!! I just had to share. I cannot wait to buy a few skirts, shirts and etc...

Here's the List she wrote but please take some time to read her entry. She covered a whole lot in it.

New Creation Apparel – long skirts, and maternity long skirts!

Meant To Be Modest – skirts ($10-17), bathing attire ($40-70).

Katies Mercantile – lots of things.

Ringger Clothing – dresses & jumpers ($50 average).

Practically Pretty Design – Nice quality, girls’ dresses $45.

Jumpin Bloomers -- ($12-16 each); nightgowns ($15-21 each); FREE shipping!

Works Of The Heart -- This appears to have great quality, too (seems finished with overlock serger) and has cute styles ($35/dress or so).

Hannah Lise -- Jumpers ($21), Dresses ($52-64) pretty & long.

April Cornell -- Dresses $54 each, but modest and pretty (I've heard a rumor that they're going out of business?)

Target – leggings ($6.99).

Laina Line -- Bloomers ($16-$22), and a few dresses.

Hanna Andersson -- Bloomers ($18); other dresses $42+ each.

Lands End -- Girls' Cap-Sleeve knit Jersey Dresses ($19.50)

The Kings Daughters -- Well made (seems finished with overlock serger), long, wide variety of dresses, pinafores, jumpers, slips, aprons, variety of fabrics to choose from ($29-39/piece -- mostly $30).  We've used this just for our younger girls sometimes.

Lilies Apparel – High quality, beautiful, huge selection of styles and fabrics, similar prices to above site, everything from dresses, maternity, jumpers, bloomers, socks, etc.  You can order their catalog to be sent to you.

Large Families on Purpose: Modest Dress: The Heart of the Issue Surrounding C...: Our family had always tried to dressed as modestly as we could in our pants, however I wondered why some Christian families had all of thei... READ MORE

Learning more about Modesty

So much has changed since our wedding day! There were things I use to wear that I can no longer wear because my body type has changed due to pregnancy. I've been praying and seeking God's word on what style of dress for me would glorify Him the most. My convictions are growing and changing. I'm learning so much about myself, my body type and God's will revealed through His word. Before I share what my current convictions are for how I feel the Lord desires for me to dress.

What do you do when your body type completely changes and 90% of the things you use to wear are now form fitting or draw more attention to your curves rather than your face?

It's been such a long journey. I'm still learning but wanted to share the little that I've learned so far.

My husband has also been a huge blessing through this process. His feedback on the many things I tried were very helpful.

So far, I've learned that Long Skirts are the best way to go 

The issues I ran into with the knee length skirts were that sometimes the front of the skirt would be way longer than the back due to now having curves. When I wear long skirts I don't have to worry about my skirt rising in the back or anything like that.

I've always worn Jeans growing up but if I must, I have to make sure I have a cardigan long enough to cover in the back. My husband absolutely loves it when I wear skirts so my ultimate plan to Lord willing one day only wear skirts. I just need to learn how to properly wear long skirts in the winter and what combinations I can pull off.

I use to think that I NEEDED to wear pants to be functional but I've also learned that I can do so many things in a skirt! I spent this past summer wearing skirts only and I managed to play various sports with my husband and really have a good time. I didn't have to be concerned when I had to bend over and pick something up or pull down on a cardigan every now and then to make sure I'm covered. It was freeing and I absolutely loved it  :) 

I'm looking forward to next winter to attempt to put various combinations together and glorify the Lord and serve my husband and the church by the way I dress. 

Here are a few quotes and bible verses that encourage/convict me and help me on this journey.

"Dress appropriately, modestly, and not to entice or flaunt." -John Piper

1 Timothy 2:8-10

I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.

"Women should dress in such a way that they draw men's attention towards their eyes, their face, and not towards the other parts of their bodies." -John Piper

"Clothes are not meant to make people think about what is under them." -John Piper

1 Peter 3:1-4 ESV / 59 helpful votes

Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.

“Modesty means propriety. It means avoiding clothes and adornment that are extravagant or sexually enticing. Modesty is humility expressed in dress. It’s a desire to serve others, particularly men, by not promoting or provoking sensuality.” -C. J. Mahaney

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV / 44 helpful votes

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

May the Lord give you wisdom and keep you as you seek to glorify Him in the way you dress. 

God Bless!  

Self-Discipline by Steven Lawson

This Article was extremely convicting and edifying.

http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/self-discipline/