Sorry

Yeah I know that is way too long since I posted.  I am really sorry. Part of the reason was I got sick (fever, sore throat, ect...) The other part of that reason was I got a job and that made me busier. Although it is only once a week, Tuesdays from 1-5 as a mother's helper, it is a squezze on my schedule. And then over Thanksgiving I didn't have internet. This blog is important to me and now that I am well and hopefully caught up on everything posting will resume as usual.  Here is a poem for the road.

Lord Byron

CLXXIII. "She walks in beauty, like the night"

SHE walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies,
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meets in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellow'd to that tender light	5
Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress
Or softly lightens o'er her face,	10
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek and o'er that brow
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,	15
But tell of days in goodness spent,—
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent Do you think the author is talking about her physical beauty or her character? Just a thought.

Our Thought Life

Yay! I finally get to introduce this article Amy has been working on. I hope in encourages you on to higher things.-Melissa
Have you ever heard the expression “you are what you eat?” Even though we might laugh at this trite expression it has some truth. Whatever we take into our bodies can reflect on our health. God says something similar about our hearts in Proverbs 23:7 “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” This means that whatever we put our thoughts and attention to becomes who we are in our speech and actions. Christ has called us to be a light to the nations and we cannot let our focus wander from God. We are charged to be in the world but not of the world. What we watch on TV, read in a book, and listen to in the lyrics of a song are going to permeate our thoughts and can change us in ways we never expected. You might dismiss this and think that reading that book couldn’t possibly do any harm it’s just an innocent diversion. Remember you can never take back innocence once you’ve lost it and you can never undo something once it’s done.

But by no means let yourself get discouraged or downtrodden for “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9)”.  This isn’t to say that we are forever condemned for what we do; we can always seek forgiveness and mercy from God.   This also works in reverse if we think on “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, we should think on these things”( Philippians 4:8)
Is it too much to ask for us to abstain from the things of the world when we have heaven to look forward to? Here is a quote by Christina Rossetti; she perfectly describes the attitude we should have.

True, all our lives long we shall be bound to restrain our soul and keep it low; but what then?

 For the books we now forbear to read we shall one day be endowed with wisdom and knowledge.

For the music we will not listen to, we shall join in the song of the redeemed.

 For the pictures from which we turn, we shall gaze unabashed on the Beatific Vision.

 For the companionship we shun, we shall be welcomed with angelic society and the communion of triumphant saints.

For the amusements we avoid, we shall keep the supreme jubilee.

 For the pleasures we miss. We shall abide in the rapture of heaven.

It cannot be much of a hardship to dress modestly at a small cost, rather than richly and fashionably, if with conviction we are awaiting the white robes of the redeemed. (Christina Rossetti)

Wensday's Words: Pearl Maiden

Think Wednesday, not Thursday... did I mention we are busy? Anyway, Pearl Maiden.

Written by H. Rider Haggard this is a historical fiction about a young lady who grows to maturity during a tumultuous time in Israel.  She is a Jewish Christian whose parents have died, brought up my her mother's slave Nuhushta. Although a tad slow in the first few chapters, the rest of the book is like a rollar coaster ride. She is a maiden of great character; I love her example of dignity, grace and forgivness. She makes many friends and enemies along the way. It is so interesting to see her grow and mature through her different trials. I love this book for its action/adventure and the great example Miriam sets for me. There are some harsh scenes described in the book, so I would not suggest it for young readers.
Melissa

Masks

We Wear the Mask
by Paul Laurence Dunbar

WE wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be over-wise,
In counting all our tears and sighs?
Nay, let them only see us, while
We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries
To thee from tortured souls arise.
We sing, but oh the clay is vile
Beneath our feet, and long the mile;
But let the world dream otherwise,
We wear the mask!


You can tell I am the poetry girl here, huh? Well the reason I like this one is I think we all have a tendency to put up a mask hiding who we are. We hide from people in our effort to hide from hurt.  Sometimes the only person who can see us is Jesus Christ.

I don't think we do it on purpose it is a subconscious thing. Last fall when Mom had her surgery, people would often ask how she was doing and then ask how we were you doing. My pat answer is always "Fine." I really dislike telling people when I am hurt or just tired. Yet this is just pride. My pride doesn't want perfect strangers to pity me. I am not saying to burden a stranger with the knowledge that you moved across the country, and that your mother had major surgery, but when people ask, be honest. I am so preaching to myself on that.

What about your family? Can you hide from them? I know that I can't. It is to hard because they know me. You understand right? The kind of know that knows your favorite songs, your inside jokes, your strengthes and your weaknesses. That knows who we are and who we want to be.

The point is be honest about who you are and not to hide behind a mask made of pride.

Anyway the above poem then made me think of the below quote: (esp. the first four lines)

                                                                           credit
I have now given you (and myself) more than enough to chew on.

Melissa

Reasons...

I decided to name this post "Reasons" and not "Excuses" for a reason. Bear with me, it makes be feel less guilty for being behind. There have been many reasons that have kept me from posting, busy schedule aside my family caught the flu. I believe we have traced it from a friend who came to our house, after having it, who got it from her brother, who got it from another friend. Or they just caught the flu at some random place. I say "they" because as of yet, Praise the Lord I have not gotten it or prayerfully will get it. We'll see, I guess in the mean time here is the recipe, later today I will post the other posts for the week.

Eclair Cake
no bake!
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

3 cups milk

1 (16 ounce) package graham cracker squares

1 (16 ounce) package prepared chocolate frosting

In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend the pudding mix, whipped topping, and milk. Arrange a single layer of graham cracker squares in the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking pan. Evenly spread half of the pudding mixture over the crackers. Top with another layer of crackers and the remaining pudding mixture. Top with a final layer of graham crackers. Spread the frosting over the whole cake up to the edges of the pan. Cover, and chill at least 4 hours before serving. Enjoy!

What Our Country Needs

I was reminded of this poem recently and enjoyed afresh thinking how we all have a part in making our country.

What Our Country Needs
What does our country need? Not armies standing

With sabers gleaming ready for the fight;

Not increased navies, skillful and commanding,

To bound the waters with an iron might;

Not haughty men with glutted purses trying

To purchase souls, and keep the power of place;

Not jeweled dolls with one another vying

For palms of beauty, elegance, and grace.

But we want women, strong of soul, yet lowly

WIth that rare meekness, born of gentleness;

Women whose lives are pure and clean and holy,

The women whom all little children bless;

Brave, earnest women, helpful to each other,

With finest scorn for all things low and mean;

Women who hold the names of wife and mother

Far nobler than the title of a queen.

Author Unknown (taken from the book Daughters of Destiny)

House preparations

John14 1-3
    "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

This passage acurred to me and Mom in a new way recently, but first let me give you some backround. We have recently been finishing our basement, which was basically a cement floor and brick walls. So we were putting in everything drywalls, cuboards, carpet, flooring, lighting, anything we wanted ( and could afford :). We did hire a contrator to oversee the work, but even still we spent hours at Lowes, and Home Depot comparing prices and choosing what  we wanted exactly. Several times as well as we bought things like showers, cupboards, sinks, and tiles, we had to carry those things in to the basement...are you getting my point? It was alot of work.

Thankfully it has been completed now, but the other day as Mom and I were talking she shared something that I thought was pretty cool. She said that all the basement work made her think of how much work it would be to build and create a house from scratch and that she could never do it.( Are you seeing how this relates to the verse above? )It accured to Mom that this is what God does for us. He has gone to prepare a place for us. When we go to heaven it will be all ready! What a blessing! He is so thoughtful. So just think what a great job he is doing, afterall He's perfect, and you don't have to lift a finger.

Wensday's Words: Elsie Dinsmore

This Wednesday we are going to start a new tradition every Wednesday we will have a book review. Molly here absolutely loves the Elsie series so I thought she would really enjoy starting us off. -Melissa

The Elsie Dinsmore Series is a wonderful series for Christian young ladies to read.  This fictional series follows the life of a southern heiress (Elsie Dinsmore) before,during, and after the American Civil War.  This series pursues Elsie as she grows up, marries, and becomes a grandmother.  It is twenty-eight books long, but is neither a cliff-hanger, nor are the books very long.  It is also encouraging in your walk with the Lord.  I own and have read books one through fourteen.  I assure you that this is a series moms will love.  I  would not recommend it for younger girls, though, only because they might find it dry in parts.  These books are a timeless classic, though  I would recommend that you read the original, as they are much(can you tell that I really think that?:) )better than the abridged.  My favorite character is Violet, but you will not read about her until several books in.  Did I mention that I also like the character named Molly?  :))))))
Your Dedicated Friend,
Molly
P.S.  If you get really into the Elsie Dinsmore Series, try reading some other books by Martha Finley:  The Mildred Keith series. 

Monday Meals

Another muffin recipe, you must understand how many muffins our family goes through:) We need some variety. BTW this is for just one batch.

Banana Muffins
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup rip bananas
2 large eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cups mini chocolate chips
Bear butter eggs and sugar; add vanilla. Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chocolate chips. Add mashed bananas to wet mixture combine both. Bake for fifteen minutes at 350 degrees.

Catch-up

You haven't seen many new post around here, mainly due to the fact that I caught a cold. Nothing nasty just enough coughing and sniffling to keep me laid up about a week. I was talking to Amy and she said that she was just getting over something as well. It seems germs can fly across the nation. School has also been keeping us dilligent. While I was laying in bed on my computer, I came across how to make a poll on blogger. So I did! What do you think? Please way in! Anyway there are a few posts that are just about ready to go up so look for those later. Topics? well I guess I will give you a teaser. Masks, Houses, and Books.  In the mean time how are you all liking the blog? Can you think of things to change, add, or remove?

Chicken and Broccoli today's recipie share

Happy Monday! Here is our recipe for the week.
Chicken and Broccoli
2 package of frozen broccoli
4-6 chicken breasts
2 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup mayo
2 teaspoon curry powder
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup of sharp cheddar cheese shredded (or more too taste)
1 cup bread crumbs, or toasted day old bread

Cook broccoli and spread in a 13x9 inch baking dish. Place the chicken on top of broccoli. Mix the soup, mayo, curry powder and lemon juice together and pour mixture over the meat. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, sprinkle bread crumbs and cheese on top and bake additional 15 minutes.

Monday Meals

Good Morning! Hope your Monday is going well. Alright today's recipes it is one of our favorites. In fact we just had it on Friday. We first got this recipe from our friends sooo if you recognize it you know why:)
 Without any further ado here it is!

Potato Ham Bake

2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cup red pepper
1/3 cup green pepper
3 Tablespoons butter
3 cup cubed cooked potatoes
3 cup cubed fully cooked ham
1/2 cup flour
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1-3/4 cup milk

Combine the cheeses; sprinkle half into a greased 13 by 9 by 2 inch baking dish. In a large skillet, saute the mushrooms, onions and peppers in butter until crisp-tender. Sprinkle over cheese. In large bowl, combine the flour, parsley, salt, and pepper. Add the eggs and milk; mix until smooth. Pour over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Mainly alot of onions and peppers.

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Rules the World

I have often heard this saying, but only recently found the poem it comes from and I love it. Enjoy!

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Rules the World

From them souls unresting grow—
Grow on for the good or evil,
Sunshine streamed or evil hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Woman, how divine your mission
Here upon our natal sod!
Keep, oh, keep the young heart open
Always to the breath of God!
All true trophies of the ages
Are from mother-love impearled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

Blessings on the hand of women!
Fathers, sons, and daughters cry,
And the sacred song is mingled
With the worship in the sky—
Mingles where no tempest darkens,
Rainbows evermore are hurled;
For the hand that rocks the cradle
Is the hand that rules the world.

By: William Ross Wallace

What did you think? I really enjoy poetry, especially like this. Do you have any poems to share?

Melissa

Busy, busy, busy!

School has started once again. That means a few sad things and some exciting things mostly though it means being very, very, very busy! Do not fear though, I am working on posts ahead of time, so we don't have a week or two without anything. I am always bursting to the brim with topics and ideas, but I lack time to actually type them out. Today though we have some quotes to share with you! We stumbled upon these words of jewels and thought they were so precious and right on that we wantted to give them to you as well.

“Purity Is:

Passionate dignity
Resolved with an
Intelligent
Courage to withstand ungodly influence while
Elegantly upholding our Christ given
Liberty and maintaining precious and sensible
Emotion as an adornment of our
Submission to The
Savior” -Amanda Read, written for Priceless Purity.

“I intend to make myself fit to become a mother,
and being that in every sense,
I shall be fit for any destiny
which God may impose upon me." -Catherine Booth

“Most folks are about as happy as they
make up their minds to be.”

~ Abraham Lincoln ~

Hope your beggining of school is going well! 

Mondays Meals

Did I hear someone say that today isn't Monday? Well today we are using our imagination:) The recipe for this week is (drum roll please....)

GERMAN PANCAKES

This makes a great  breakfast or we have had it for dinner. It does require a lot of eggs so we look for sales. The trick with this one is to have really hot butter before you pour the batter in.

1 cup milk

6 eggs

6 Tablespoons butter

1cup sifted flour

With a blender or beater combine milk, flour and eggs. In a 9 by 13 inch baking pan melt butter in hot oven until hot and sizziling, but not burning. pour batter into hot pan and bake immediatly at 450 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve immediatley. Great with powdered sugar, butter and syrup.

Recipe Share Monday

As I was thinking of possible of possible post ideas, I had the thought, that every week we would post one of are favorite recipes. Today's recipe is Pumpkin muffins. We love these for breakfast, and they are very healthy. With five people eating them most every day with cereal we go through so many Mom makes four times the recipe. Unfortunately that is the only recipe so when you try it you many want to dived it by four.

Pumpkin Muffins(x4) makes 48

7cups
1cup sugar( 2/3cup honey)
10teaspons baking powder
4 eggs
3cups milk
1 1/3 oil
2cups pumpkin
2teaspoons cinnamon
2teaspoons nutmeg

Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Stir together just unit moistened. Bake 400 for 12-14 minutes for mini muffins( a favorite with little people:) about 10 minutes works well.
Let us know if you try it!

Re:Polished Cornerstones

  Okay, so I wrote the article about cornerstones.  Then Mom left to take Amy home.She made a Bible study for us to do while she was gone.  She has done this before, and we were anticipating it with relish.  She does it  on one of the New Testament letters.  This time we were studying 1 Peter.  While completing the study, I ran into some more verses about cornerstones, which I decided I should post. Instead of me writing everything  I think about the passage, I thought you  could study it on your own. Then feel free to post what you learned from the passage. So, without further ado, here is the passage:

1Peter 2 :4-9"

"TO whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed

d indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherfore also it is contained in the scripture,behold I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect' precious: and he that believe on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed,the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holly nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:"

Learners

Melissa here with some thoughts on Titus 2:1-5
"But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: ² that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; ³ the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— ⁴ that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵ to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed."

Most people have heard this passage before, but today it hit me in a new light. Older women have to admonish and if anything is to come from it we need to learn. It is our responsibility to be always ready to learn. Recently my family, including Amy went to Mount Vernon and toured it. The highlight for the girls on this trip was talking with Martha Washington. No, we aren't crazy. They were running a program where we could talk to a woman pretending to be her. She was great. We all felt like we had talked and learned from the real Mrs. Washington. She was kind and welcoming; she answered our questions graciously and generously. I have noticed older women love to share their experiences and teach me. It can be a joyous job learning from the best. All of us were inspired by listening to her reminisce and admonish. It also occurred to me that although I loved hearing advice from her, with others it can seem to go on and on. The novelty of speaking with Mrs. Washington, rendered the advice acceptable. We should always be teachable, no matter who is speaking.
As previously stated we should make use of our mothers, grandmothers, or elderly women at church that can be adopted, we should also learn from ladies who have gone before us. We should read their biographies, study their lives, and take hints from their mistakes. For though great examples, they were also human. Some of the best examples can be found in the Bible. They were put in there for a reason. God is instructing us to learn from them and all older women. As a side note, we are all older then  someone and little sisters are watching!
Speaking of learning do you feel like you have something to share? We would love to have your words on our blog! We aim to have two blog posts a week and frankly with our hectic schedules we would love others thoughts and opinions to help us out. In keeping with this, to save us time have your mom read it before you you send it in. Thanks! Hope to hear from you!

Challenge

I realize we have not updated you on the challenge as much as we would have wished to, our apologies from everyone here. Our schedule was as full as we could handle with all our sight seeing adventures, so now even though we have finished it, we thought that it would be nice to share some things that we did with it.
The first category was reading (my personal favorite). We were all able to complete this part, some of the books we read were: A biography of George Muller, Angels in White, Making Brothers and Sisters Friends, Start Here, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, endless fiction, and others I have forgotten.
Next category is health. Not much to say we all got our water in.
Alright exercise. I am pretty sure we all managed to go swimming for our various amounts of time. It was to hot for anything else here.
Last, but not least, Homaking. After Megan, Amy and Molly made their meal, we never really got back to making a whole meal by ourselves, but for myself it seemed better just to help Mom with whatever she was making. I still got the practice in, and she got the helper she needed.
Well that wraps up the challenge update, how did you do? Did you do anything we didn't ? Now one more matter of business. We recently  watched a great film found for free! Here is the link I highly recommend it. You can only watch it through august this free viewing ends in September.  That is all for now, Amy has once again left our house(and we miss her terribly), but she did say she had an idea for a article to be posted soon.

Polished Cornerstones

In family bible time, we have been studying Proverbs. Being in a family of 3 girls plus my mom and cousin, we were all excited to reach Proverbs 31. We went through the chapter, studying it in depth.  After we completed our study, Mom pulled out her copy of Polished Cornerstones, written by Pam Forster. If any of my readers own Polished Cornerstones, they know that it is setup by chapters such as “A Cheerful Woman” or “A Patient Woman”. Each chapter has verses and application activities. Mom recommended that we each choose an application activity from the chapter, “A Godly Woman”. I chose a study of cornerstones in comparison with Psalm 144, particularly verse 12, which reads, “That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as cornerstones, polished after the similitude of a palace.” (KJV)   

                I found that cornerstones are a foundational part of any structure. They connect two sides. They are often engraved, and sometimes contain a time capsule. In Psalms 118:2, Jesus is referred to as “the stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.” (KJV) This verse is quoted in Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, and 1 Peter. God knew that this was important. Jesus is mentioned again in Ephesians 2:20 as “the chief cornerstone”.

                From these facts and verses I have learned a few ways we as daughters can be “cornerstones, polished after the similitude of a palace.” First, if we are called cornerstones, then that means that we are a foundational part of our families, and ultimately the church. If we crumble, so will they. Secondly, just as a cornerstone is sometimes engraved with the builder’s name, so God has engraved his word on our hearts. Thirdly, a time capsule is meant to represent our time to another generation. God wants us as daughters to represent Him and be obedient to His commands for passing on God’s word and wisdom to the world. Finally, Jesus too is called a cornerstone, which means He is our ultimate example. What’s more, He is the author of the Bible, which means that the Bible is our ultimate reference book!

                Psalm 144:12 mentions cornerstones that are “polished after the similitude of a palace.” Think about Solomon’s palace.  The chosen cornerstone was probably sanded until it was perfectly smooth. Then it might have been overlaid with the finest and purest gold. In the same way, God chose us carefully and now sends us trials to make our character smooth. Someday in Heaven God’s holiness will overlay us.

                Recently I had the privilege to visit Washington D.C., our nation’s capitol. While we were there, we visited several memorials including the Thomas Jefferson memorial. As we were leaving we noticed a stone that was engraved. It was the cornerstone. Like the cornerstone, we can be overlooked, but God always sees us. He knew when He called us cornerstones that He was giving us a character description that would help us better understand our roles as daughters.  -Molly

A Discussion on Modesty: Part 2

Today we are posting part 2 of our discussion on modesty:

Q3: What is the line between fashionably feminine or gaudily beguiling?

Megan: First and foremost, I believe this is matter of the heart. I could have on the most conservative jean jumper in the world and still have an attitude that says I am fiercely independent. Whenever I start getting too obsessed with strict dos and don’ts of modesty, I have to go back and remind myself of the heart of modesty.

Taking this a step farther, I think the line is also related to our actions. No matter what we are wearing, we should have an attitude “…which is proper for women professing godliness…” (1 Timothy 2:10)


Amy: The difference between these two lies in what your heart attitude is and how you are perceived by other people. This doesn’t mean you can’t be fashionable, but you have to examine your heart and dress to make sure you are giving out the right image of a godly, modest young woman.“A girl is generally taken at her face value; that is she is thought to be just as she appears to be” (A beautiful Girlhood) When you are dressing fashionable feminine you are modest, dignified, and dress your age. People see this through your clothes and how you carry yourself.   Whereas when you are gaudily beguiling you are dressing to attract attention and can receive the wrong kind of attention.

1 Timothy 2:9-10 ~ In like manner also, that woman adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.

Q4: Do you have any resources that encouraged you?

Megan: Several :)… I've been engrossed in reading different opinions and visiting lots of online modest clothes stores. Here are some of my favorites…

The Modesty Survey This is an excellent resource that allows girls to see modesty (and immodesty) from a guy's perspective

Feelin Feminine This website stemmed from a group of girls who began holding monthly modesty challenges, where girls were challenged to wear skirts/dresses for 7 days. Now the website features articles on health and hygiene, hairdos, and modesty resources.

Swim Modest Melissa and I got suits here last year and really enjoyed them. They were very modest, but allowed us to move freely in the pool.

Matthew 5:14-16

 ¹⁴Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

 ¹⁵Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
 ¹⁶Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

Megan: These verses remind and encourage me that my goal in dressing modestly is not to fulfill a checklist. Instead, my goal is to be a light to the world. Dressing modestly should not be an end in itself, it should be just one part of an image that points people to Christ.

 

Amy: The most important thing about modesty is to remember that everything we do needs to glorify god. If we truly love him then we will obey him and he has made it clear that we are to dress modestly. He has called us to be cities on a hill so that others will see the hope within us and seek our heavenly father.

I hope we have encouraged you through our thoughts on modesty. Please comment and share your thoughts and resources on modesty with us. We love hearing from our friends!!  -Megan 

A Discussion on Modesty

Today, Amy and I are co-posting an article on modesty. We have put this in question and answer format. Due to the length of the article, we will post half of it today, and half tomorrow. -Megan

Q1: Describe your past struggles and victories with modesty?

Megan: Several years ago, I made the decision to go skirts and dresses only. Unfortunately I made this decision based on what I thought the typical Christian girl looked like. Over the years I struggled with this "conviction" for a few reasons. One of them being, that I was trying to wear outfits based on a human checklist, rather than scriptural principles. I found myself feeling bad if I decided to wear a pair of pants, but not feeling right about a skirt/dress outfit that just didn’t go, but had to do. 

Last November, while reading one of my favorite blogs, Joyfully At Home (by Jasmine Baucham) I saw two articles labeled In Defense Of Pants and Modesty Update. Always interested in modesty, I decided to check it out. I was surprised to see that similarly to me, she had made the decision to go skirts and dresses only, but recently had reversed that decision. This surprised me and I found myself agreeing with much that she had to say.

As I read the article I was very impressed. She talked about how she had built herself into box of only wearing skirts/dresses, and as a result had sometimes come out looking a little 'grandmotherly'. At this point I totally agreed! How many times had I settled on an 'old-fashioned' look, rather than don a pair of the 'dreaded' jeans, which I was 100% sure were an 'immodest option'??

She referenced that her mom, although not 100% skirts is the most modest and feminine lady she knows. Again this resonated with me! My mom always looks beautiful and feminine even though she never wears skirts during the week. It's her attitude more than dress that makes a point.

Another feminine picture which I will never forget was my friend, Emily. She was the oldest in another home school family at a bible study I had attended. She was quiet, but as I look back I see her quiet feminine spirit in contrast with my prideful and somewhat show-off attitude. While she wore cute jeans or feminine capris, I wore dresses that made me look like I stepped out of the 19th century.  It reminded me of something my mom has told me, "You can be so modest that you can affect people's perception of Christianity in a negative way. By dressing in a more neutral way, people will notice not so much my overboard modesty look or my really immodest dress, rather I hope they will notice something different about my life that comes from the glow of Christ.

            I have come to a new understanding of modesty.  No longer do I walk out of my closet feeling guilty for wearing jeans or knowing that this skirt outfit doesn't necessarily work, but out of creativity, I just choose to make it work. I have finally realized that modesty is truly an attitude of the heart.

            I know that some girls can wear modest skirts and dresses all the time and still focus on the attitude of their heart. But in my family the focus was too much on the outward look and less focus on the inside when I wore skirts fulltime. I also realize that there are some families where the Dad and Mom are fully committed to the ladies dressing in modest skirts. That's okay.  I may one day be at that point, if my husband feels that is what the Lord is calling for us to do.

            Although the Lord has given me the conviction that so long as they are modestly loose and feminine jeans/pants are okay and sometimes much more practical. I still enjoying wearing my many skirts often, but now freely without a feeling of obligation.

Amy: I can only thank God that I have grown up with a mother who has always encouraged me to be modest. I have always struggled with being able to look at myself and see that maybe this is too short, the neck line is too low, or I’m not looking the way I should. But mom to the rescue!! She has always set an example for me both in her own dress and by her gentle correction of my own dress. Moms are one of the best resources about modesty, so if you have questions or you’re not sure about something you’re wearing, just ask.  Another thing I struggle with is fashion. I am a very fashionable person. I love to put together an outfit and look good. I also go to public school, so I feel peer pressure to look fashionable and have new clothes. For me this is something that can easily become an idol when I care too much about how pretty I look instead of how modest I look. It’s easy to forget this when you lose your focus of how God wants you to look and focus on how everyone sees you. Now it’s hard to think of my triumphs when I have so many short comings. I would have to say one of the triumphs I have is making immodest clothes modest. When I go out shopping it’s hard to find nice clothing that isn’t too low or too short. For my last birthday I received a set of Cami Secrets. They are inserts of cloth you can put under your shirt to make the neck line higher. I am so happy I made the decision to use them because I feel more comfortable knowing that I am covered. I am also blessed when I go shopping and come away with the things I need that fit a modest criterion. It brings home to me that fact that God does indeed provide and all we have to do is ask him.

 Matthew 6:28-34

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

What are some ways that girls can stay feminine while still staying comfortable?  

Amy:I often see women and girls who wear long skirts all the time and I think, “I can’t do that, but how can I still be feminine and modest?” While my life style and comfort preferences exclude wearing skirts and dresses 24/7 and I can still be feminine. I wear shorts and pants( when appropriate) but try always to make sure my appearance does not look masculine, I am modestly covered, and I do not draw undesired attention. I think it’s important that girls look feminine, that’s the way God made us, and why would we want to look any different?

Megan: There are several ways. I would suggest that you evaluate areas where you may be tempted to wear immodest clothes because they are not readily available. Oftentimes, with a little research I have been able to find a modest solution.

One example is when I started to walk and jog for exercise, my dad requested that I wear a pair of jeans or exercise pants, instead of my skirts and dresses. My dad, along with my mom, helped me fine clothes that were appropriate for the sport while still modest. Now I wear capris, instead of short shorts and a t-shirt instead of a tank top.  

Another example is bathing suits. My mom has helped us to locate a few modest options online and then allowed us to pick. We have also done plain swimsuits with boardshorts. With a little searching, we have found that it is possible to be modest at the pool.

I would encourage you to evaluate your wardrobe with your mom or dad. They will be able to help you figure out what is okay to wear and what may be pushing the line.  

Deuteronomy 22:5 

"The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God."

Wasn't that excellent? Although Megan and Amy have different perspectives, they came together to write this insightful article. What do you think? Do you have any helpful hints?Please let us know! Oh, and check back tomorrow, because they will be answering more questions. -Melissa

Summer Challenge Update - Week 1

Today, I (Megan) am going to recap our first week of the challenge (June 27-July 3).

Reading:

• Melissa and Amy are trying to expand their horizons by reading books from different genres. Last week Amy read a historical fiction, Princess Adelina.  Melissa read a non-fiction book, We Band of Angels. 
•  Molly chose a fiction book, Elsie Dinsmore.
• I chose a non-fiction book to complete my 300 pages. I read Make It Your Ambition by John Notgrass. I really enjoyed reading this book because it challenged me to re-evaluate my priorities and life goals based on scripture, rather than the world’s ideas. It was a well-thought out book, which reminded and encouraged me to glorify God in every area of my life.

Health:

• We have all kept up with drinking our water. Personally, this is one of favorite parts of the challenge, because we often turn it into a race to see who finishes their daily quota of water, before the others J

Exercise:

• Due to the warm weather that we have been experiencing lately, we chose to go swimming everyday last week as our form of exercise.

Memorization:

• Melissa, Molly, and Amy challenged themselves to memorize Ephesians 6:10-17.
• I have chosen to memorize Colossians 3, and got through verse 4.

Homemaking:

• Megan, Amy, and Molly teamed up to try a new meal. We made Oriental Chicken, Fried Rice, and Steamed Carrots. The meal was pretty good (if I do say so myselfJ)

That’s our update. We hope this will encourage you to join us. It’s never too late to join us, even if you can only participate in a portion of the challenge, or for a shorter amount of time. Please comment and say hi, we always love hearing from our friends!

-Megan

The Challenge

Alright due to some uh, technical difficulties, we are showing you our summer project a few days late, but we still want you to join us! Our summer project is to set goals in five different areas in our lives. They are weekly goals that last for five weeks starting June 20^th . We wanted to use our time usefully during our summer months and as four girls fresh out of school, it can be tempting to waste it reading or sleeping. Without some structure the summer and all our big plans slip away before we even know what happened.

The categories

·         Reading

·         Home making

·         Exercise

·         Memorization

·         Health

·         Did we miss anything? (If you think we did please email us J)

Each of these will have different levels. We do not expect ten year olds for instance to do the same as seventeen year olds. Sooo we decided it would be fun to each make separate goals in these categories, but feel free to modify them to fit YOUR goals. I’m now going to give Meg her time to share the quiz she created for you.

Megan here. Welcome to the blog everyone J I’m here to give you the nitty gritty details of our summer challenge, including a fun quiz that you can use to develop your very own custom challenge.

QUIZ

Reading-

Describe your current reading habits:

A: I read 2 or more books a week →

Try Melissa and Amy’s Challenge

Read 1 book a week from the following categories: biography, poetry, informational, mystery, fantasy, historical fiction         

B: I read a paragraph of a magazine before falling asleep →

Take Megan’s Challenge

    Read 300 pages a week

C: I am somewhere in between the above →

Do Molly’s Challenge

    Read 100 pages a week from a variety of categories (see above)

Health-

Pick your age:

A: 13 and younger →

 Take Molly’s Challenge

    Drink 6 glasses of water a day                                  

B: 14 and older →

Try Melissa, Amy, and Megan’s Challenge

    Drink 7 glasses of water a day

Exercise-

Describe you current exercise habits:

A: I enjoy 30 minutes or more of exercise several times a week →

Do Megan and Amy’s  Exercise Challenge

    60 minutes of exercise 4 times a week

B: I take a leisurely walk occasionally →

Take Molly’s Exercise Challenge

    30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week or 20 minutes of exercise 4 times a week

C. I  enjoy as much exercise as I can get (often close to an hour a day) →

 Try Melissa’s Exercise Challenge

    1-1/2 hours of exercise 4 times a week

Memorization

For this one, pick a biblical passage, poem, or other work that you would like to memorize. Listed below are some suggestions: Colossians 3, Shakespeare, etc…

Homemaking-

For this one, all of us girls are working together to learn 3 meals this summer. We plan to prepare, cook, and clean-up the entire meal. If cooking is something you struggle with please join us. If you are already a master chef, ask your mom for suggestions on a homemaking skill that you should learn.   

I hope you’ll plan to join us this summer. The above challenges are based on 4 girls’ goals, so please feel free to modify the challenges to fit your family’s lifestyle and goals. We’ll be completing 4 weeks of this challenge beginning on June 27. If you have any questions please comment below. Also share your goals and progress, so we can encourage one another on to love and good deeds.(Heb 10:4) 

Welcome!Welcome!

Welcome to Ladies for the Light! In starting up this blog our purpose is to challenge godly girls in new areas, help others learn useful skills, and keep up with friends far away. It is very important to us that we are careful with our words. With that in mind I would like to introduce Mom (Mrs. Weber) who will be our comment moderator. She will decide what comments are posted and what comments will not, so please when commenting keep it to the point of the article and NOT frivolous. We welcome diverse opinions, but please express these with kindness and respect. 
Eph. 4:29-32
 "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
Thank you. We hope this place will be thought provoking blog and great outlet for our creative minds here at LFTL. We are working on a summer project that will inspire us to do more. And as they say, ”stay tuned for details.”