Where the Rubber Meets the Road--Part One

Thank you.
No, I'm not thanking you for following us.  (Although if you did, thank you for that too! ;) )  We ladies have never emphasized that much....  It might be because this is a private blog, and we're really not here just to have our posts read.  We're here to encourage young ladies like ourselves to stand firm in your faith and defy our culture when it turns us away from God.  (To know more about our purpose, you can look at our mission statement here or email us at ladiesforthelight@gmail.com.)
So why did I thank you?  I thanked you because you made me do a double take one evening several, ahem, months ago (sorry for the delay in posting....).  I'd just been on a website I really like, and they had a link to some things to print.  (I'll call them printables).  I thought I'd take a look, because although I try to conserve on printing in color, I do occasionally splurge. :)  There were multiple links, and one of them took me to a website that was trying to sell me a printable.  That's right, sell me.  As in the printable was for sale.  Meaning that you had to pay for the printable and then pay for the ink and stuff to actually print it.  I'm getting off topic though.  What I failed to say is that there was another link to a similar printable that was free.[:)]  Instead of being happy that there was a really cool printable for free that I have the ability to print off because God has given me access to a printer, computer, and internet, I instead grumbled to myself about people trying to sell printables.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I wasn't really grumpy, just a little irked.  My mom asked me to do a salad for dinner that night, though, so I got up started to work on it.  And as I bustled around in the kitchen, I thought amusedly that if I had a blog, I would get on and rant about this. And then, as I laughed inwardly at the idea, I suddenly thought about all of you, and realized that I did have a blog.  And I certainly shouldn't like to rant on here, where we like to talk about honoring God with our attitudes, words, and thoughts.  Yet my attitude, however lighthearted, was not honoring God.  Wow.  This is where the rubber meets the road, you'd say.
Well, all that to say two things:

1. We at Ladies of the Light are not perfect.  Just in case you weren't sure before. ;) Just because we write articles on this blog in order to help other young ladies doesn't mean we think we have it all taken care of!  Even the things we talk about being in our articles, we're not perfect at.  In fact, we try to use our articles to encourage ourselves to look at things a little deeper.  For example, do you remember way back when we did the Cornerstone articles?   (You can find the first one here, the second one here.  Can you believe that was two years ago?  Wow! :O )  That study really helped me understand what God was saying more than just reading it or even thinking about it a little.  The study encouraged me to find other references of cornerstones and consider how they relate to Psalm 118.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. We (meaning all Christian ladies, or rather all Christians in general) need to be constantly looking at ourselves and analyzing our thoughts and feelings to be making sure that they honor Christ.  You see, it's not just because we have a blog.  It's because the attitudes and thoughts that we have are reflected in our interaction with others. 

The Bible says, "For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh." --Luke 6:43-45

In other words, if we just try to say and do all the right things, but aren't asking God for helping and rooting out sin in our hearts, then we are going to mess up BIG TIME.
So, basically, it's time for some self-reflection. ;) But analyzing ourselves isn't enough.  We need to act on what we discover about ourselves, meaning we praise God for the good stuff we find--because it's only because of Him that we have any good traits at all--and repent before Him for the bad stuff.

Repentance=NOT as Dictionary.com says "Regret for any past action"; it IS not only being sorry, but also conforming and reforming our actions to fit those feelings.

And one more thing: We should never excuse our sin on the plea that we were "only joking."  Proverbs 26:18-19 states, "As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death, So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?"  That means those people are dangerous!  I know that I have been guilty many times of saying things that shouldn't have been said even in jest.  Says James 3:5, "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell."
I have heard that verse many times before, but I think I should ponder it some more.  Check back for Part Two tomorrow.
~Molly :)
P.S.  Don't worry, I haven't forgotten our Lessons from the Fire series, but I have to dig out my notes for that. ;)

Lessons from the Fire~Part 1

Hello Ladies,
I am super sorry for not posting!  I'll try to do better--especially with this series--over Christmas break.  Here you go! :)

The weekend of July 7-8, we Webers went camping. We have an R.V. as most of you know, and we love to take little weekend trips. This time we went to Greenbrier State Park, which is about 45 minutes away-thus really convenient. Greenbrier has a lake and several trails so we had fun spending time at the lake, and Melissa, Dad, and I also went on a 5 mile hike. It was a beautiful reminder of God's creative design as well as His goodness to us.

Late Sunday morning we headed home. We had only a gone a few miles at most when Dad spotted a car on fire. He immediately pulled the r.v. off to the side of the road while Megan grabbed one of our two fire extinguishers. Dad took it and raced across the road to help the two men trying to put out the fire. They were using water bottles in attempts to put it out, but it was really only feeding the fire, which sprang from the open hood. Dad aka Mr. Weber sprayed the fire vigorously, but since he could really only safely spray the top of the fire (in case the engine exploded), he succeeded very little. We ladies watched breathlessly.

Dad raced back across the street, after checking for cars(it was a busy highway), and called for our second fire extinguisher. Megan once again grabbed it, handed it to Melissa. Melissa was about to hand it to Mom who was now stepping out of the R.V. to call 911, when she remembered Mom's bad back and handed it to Dad instead, who raced back across the street with it.

This second extinguisher put out the rest of the fire to everyone's relief. Still Dad went and grabbed some gallons of extra water we had and poured it on the fired-singed area. I snapped some pictures with my phone, which I attempted to recover, but unfortunately was not able to do this in time for the posting of this article.  If demand calls for it, I will add it into a future post.

I have thought a lot about this incident these past months, and I drew some conclusions, which I wanted to share with you. I will do this in a series, posting one every few days or so. (It depends on when I can get it approved by the LOTL team.)


1. Although we often take this for granted, life is so fleeting. I quote from Jonathan Edwards' famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". " "There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God." -- By the mere pleasure of God, I mean his sovereign pleasure, his arbitrary will, restrained by no obligation, hindered by no manner of difficulty, any more than if nothing else but God's mere will had in the least degree, or in any respect whatsoever, any hand in the preservation of wicked men one moment. -- The truth of this observation may appear by the following consideration. 1. There is no want of power in God to cast wicked men into hell at any moment..... 2. They deserve to be cast into hell..... 3. They are already under a sentence of condemnation to hell...... 4. They are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God, that is expressed in the torments of hell......" (all original to quote, including emphasis)

There is nothing holding us from eternity but God's upright hand. There is a song "Live Like You Were Dying"; we should and must do this each and every day. Note: I am not recommending the song to you. For our readers still under parental authority I would suggest asking your parents before listening to new music. Also, when you listen to a new song, ask yourself whether it is God-honoring AND God's best for you.

We must first give our lives in submission to God, and then live every day for Him. Only in this way will we have no regrets. If you haven't accepted Jesus into your heart, please do so today! If you don't understand what that means, or have questions, then please email us. Until you dedicate your all to Jesus, you are in danger of going to Hell on Judgement Day. Besides, you are living without the joy and peace Jesus offers abundantly. Thankfully, no one was hurt in the car fire we witnessed, but someone easily could have, or the fire might have caught onto the grass nearby and burnt the local homes. Praise the Lord everyone was okay, and let me not forget this!

~Molly :)

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)

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

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.

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!

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