Saturday, February 27, 2010

Modesty...


Having a little down time today, and I was browsing The Modesty Survey Results from the Rebelution blog. Very interesting reading!

I found the comments from a 22 year old man to be full of great wisdom! He referenced Deuteronomy 22:8 When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.

He made the correlation between the battlement around a roof top and the way a woman dresses.

A battlement is simply a fence or rail around the edge of a rooftop to prevent people from accidently falling off. Being the roof tops of that day were flat, one could see the necessity of this. If this was neglected, the home owner was guilty of the blood that was shed should someone actually fall and die.

Now the battlement was large enough to prevent accidental falling, but should one choose, they certainly could jump off by choice. Also It was also not so tall that it actually created another floor to the home that had no roof, or that the roof was no longer even recognized for what it was. Big enough to get the job done, small enough to allow it to remain a roof top and not another floor.

His correlation was made this way. Ladies have the responsibility to dress modestly enough to prevent someone from "falling" or being caught off guard. Not that women and girls should dress in burlap sacks and heavy parkas, equivalent to a new floor, and not a battlement. Actually some battlements are quite beautiful and very effective in doing their job. I have seen women who understand this, and they are stunningly attractive. Sometimes, regardless of our attempts to provide a battlement, some men will choose to "jump" over it... little can be done to prevent someone from willfully sinning. That does not mean I stop. Effort should be made to be modest- do what I can to not cause the "Oh My!" factor. I am sure you know what I am saying. My Pastor says "dress to be attractive, not an attraction". There are women that have caused me to do a double take, I can only imagine what a man thought!

On the rare occasions when we go to the mall- especially with our boys- my husband is conscious to either avoid that store front, or when it is impossible to avoid, the guard is up and attention is directed another way. Much easier when there is a fast cars show in the mall, which is the usual reason we would go as a family :)

We know we live in a dark world, and our children and husbands are surrounded by women that couldn't care less about what I am saying here. Giving them tools to help them in this world is what parenting is all about. BUT... they should be able to walk into a good Bible preaching and teaching church, and have a little rest for their eyes and passions. Could I cite examples here with faces blocked out for protection? Certainly. If I didn't block them out, you might well recognize them from church. That wasn't nice, but it was true. I am a pretty big believer in Proverbs 27:5. I need to work on my grace a little more though. Trying!

We need to be careful, and that is all I am saying. I for one do not want to be held guilty for the death of someone's "purity" knowing that a little extra fabric could have prevented it!

Monday, February 22, 2010

Should i try mobile blogging again?? we shall see!

I guess so... I see that it worked!

Mobile Blogging...

Is for the birds!! That is what went wrong with the other post! I will update later! With real words! =)

Saturday, February 20, 2010

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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Departure Eve's Eve...

The day before The Day before we leave... say that five times fast!

And the lists of things I need to do are much too long to ponder, let alone imagine will actually be done before Friday at 5 am. But I am sure they will be done. I hope. Maybe it all doesn't really have to get done...

Alas, we had a wonderful meeting tonight at a church in Naples, NY. The weather was terrible, and the drive there was over two hours when just barely one would do on a normal day. Despite the fact that we ended up a full half hour late, they were so gracious and welcoming. I love getting to know people from all over that otherwise I would have never had the chance to meet. Deputation is really proving to be quite a social affair, and I always welcome that!

One huge bonus of tonight is the Grape Pie Lady. She lives in Naples, famous for it's Grape Festival. She has quite the business right from her front porch, making and selling pies. Grape, red raspberry, pumpkin, apple just to name a few. It just so happens she had brought two red raspberry pies for Michelle to bribe her math teacher at school. I know her math teacher, and he definitely wont mind not having one of them! Thank You Michelle and the Pie Lady... and Mr Yaw!

I am going to bed now... my breakfast will come faster then! Pie and coffee!

Monday, February 8, 2010

"Mission Monday" Road Prep...

No, I am not talking about pre-summer street construction in my town, though the joke is so true- "we have only two seasons: winter and construction!"

Mid February, we are traveling south to Georgia and Florida on deputation. Please don't pity us too badly!! We have had mid-teen temperatures here, and this comes at a very nice time! This is definitely on the "joys" list of deputation!

However, this will be a very different experience than our previous trip to Mississippi. While in MS, we were able to stay at BEAMS the whole time and make trips to different churches. This meant one "home base" and daily/weekly travel that took from only minutes to a couple hours away for a meeting. This was a wonderful scenario, as it meant NO " *-packing-unpacking-repacking, repeat from * ". With a family of six, you can imagine the benefit of this!
This journey will be a much more "traditional" trip. We have meetings in a couple of states, with a few days in between each. We will start near Atlanta, then go to Savannah, and then head to Tavares, FL. Lord willing, we will then have a meeting on the way home.

It makes for packing challenges (light clothing, easily ironed for being presentable, school...) but also makes for packing benefits (wear the Same Thing at each different church).

Another challenge we have for this particular trip- two of our children will have birthdays.

As a large family, we have made some decisions about how often the children can have a "friend party". Every birthday is a family celebration with cake of the child's choice, and small gifts from M&D and Gram and Gramp. But some years we allow a friend birthday. They are as follows: every one "they want" up until 7. Then a big party only when they turn 10, 13, 16, and a graduation OR birthday party at 18.

After that, they're on their own! :) Not really. Though, Olivia will be 19 this year and wont even be home. (That will be terrible!) As a side note, one of our children never wanted a friend party. We forced one on him at 10! I know, weird, but he thoroughly loved it, and had one at 13 by choice.

Anyhow, Micah will be celebrating his 12 birthday in Savannah, GA, and Savannah will be in Florida for her 7th. (We really should have switched that around! Savannah in Savannah would be more fun! We will have to see what we can do!) We will definitely have to think of something creative!

At times, some of our Winter children have saved their parties until Summer. A favorite Big Party is "night rider" passes at SeaBreeze. It is a great time for every age. They have free parking, and allow guests to bring in outside food. That is HUGE when feeding up to 10 children!

Now that I have rambled... you have a peek into our next few weeks. Please pray for us as we prepare and depart. Exciting times to be sure!