Modesty!

Can the way you dress temp a man to lust?

I was in a bible study a few years ago and

 one wife was talking about something her husband told her. 

Her husband was a Deacon in the church 

and it made it difficult when women wore low cut shirts when he was ushering.

I took that story to heart and I felt so bad for this man.

A man that was a God fearing man

and was trying to guard his heart and eyes.

But, there we are as women making things more difficult for him.

Even in church.

The definition of Modesty is:

behavior, manner, or appearance intended to avoid impropriety or indecency.

Indecency......

That's hardly even in our vocabulary anymore.

We live in a world that doesn't care about modesty.

It's all about how much attention a woman can get

and how much skin she can show. 

Everything is about looks.

Everything is about Pride.

Me, Me, Me....

Now, I know that not everyone is going to agree with me.

Women are not to blame for men's lustful thoughts.

But, couldn't we help them out a bit.

Maybe, we could NOT make it harder?

A heart for Modesty is motivated

by a love for one's fellow man.

I love the men around me.

I don't want to help them fall.

I want to help them learn to protect their eyes.

It's already a hard world for them to be in,

we shouldn't be making it harder.

Modest dress is also about discernment,

having an awareness of others and our environment.

We can dress modest and still be fashionable.

We don't have to show skin to be in style.

We should be caring about keeping our bodies private.

Our bodies are for our husbands or future husbands.

Not to share with the world.

Also.....

What does this show our daughters?

The world is already so difficult,

without us letting our 12 year old daughters

 dress like most adults shouldn't.

Where does dressing like this lead our daughters?

What does this tell them what we think about them?

What are they telling the boys and men around them?

What kind of attention are they looking for?

I'm lucky (for now), my 13 year old daughter is very modest.
More modest then I was at her age.
She won't let her bra straps show, 
She always wears shorts or leggings under her dresses, 
and most of the time 
wears a tank top over her tank top bathing suit.
I sure hope she stays this way and protects her body
but one day I might have to fight her on this.
And.... fight I will. 
Protecting her is my job. 
Even if she doesn't agree with me or understand.

As women, we are called to show modesty to the young girls around us.

We all have someone looking up to us.

It's time to start showing them how to love themselves

without the need to show their bodies.

Be the example!

I'm not saying that I'm perfect in this.

I'm not.

It's a hard thing to buy clothes that are modest.

You really have to shop around to find tank tops that aren't low cut.

Or shorts that your cheeks aren't hanging out of. 

But, as we go shopping next, 

or pick something to wear out of our closet. 

Maybe we can remember to buy something

or pick something that is a little more modest.

Maybe...... we can remember that what we wear represents 

how we represent God.

How would he want you to represent him?

What would he say about what you choose to wear?

1 Timothy 1:9-10

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.

Doubts..... the Killer of the Mind.

Do you talk to yourself?

Do your thoughts ever control everything you do?

Does your mind feel out of control?

I know for most of us we have some times

 that we feel like we can't get control of our minds. 

Everyone can feel a little out of control of our thoughts every once in a while, 

But are you the type that it can control you?

Say you start with a thought, I'm failing, I just can't do anything right, why can't I be like them.....

But that thought leads to belief 

and that belief leads to how you live your life.

For some of us it's a daily battle......

For me it's a daily battle. 

When I'm close to God 

(spending time reading my bible and in prayer)

I feel like I can get a better grip on it but.....

then there are those days that I feel out of control. 

Like this last weekend,

It was such a fun weekend with family up for the Fourth of July.

It was going to be great

 but I was too busy to read my bible (at least I didn't take the time).

As the weekend went along my thoughts just took over more and more everyday.

I have huge trust issues. 

Sometimes those thoughts can ruin my day. 

I have to fight that battle daily.

I have to stay close to God to fight that battle or I fail,

and I fail all the time.

My thoughts can go from I'm failing to 

why would anyone want to be around me in such a short time.

Then pretty soon it's changing how I live my life.

It's changing how I respond to my husband and my children.

It's changing how I interact with family and friends

and it changes the decisions I would make.

As fathers and mothers we often feel like we just can't measure up.

Especially in this day and age.

It's hard with social media.

Your constantly seeing everyone else's perfect lives.

Perfect mothers doing things that you wish you had/took the time to do.

Perfect fathers working long hours and still making time for their families,

when you come home and are exhausted.

How do they all do it?

We are constantly comparing ourselves with others.

The problem with that is not everyone is perfect.

Someone might do something better than you,

but you do some things better than them.

Your comparing their good parts to your not so good parts.

It's time to stop comparing!

It's time to stop letting doubts fill our minds

and fill our lives.

When we allow those thoughts in,

 they find fertile soil to plant seeds of doubt.

Pretty soon our thoughts are our feelings

and you feel defeated. 

Jesus calls the enemy the "father of lies",

and sometimes those thoughts are easier to hear than God's words.

I have been doing a Beth Moore bible study and something she said just hit me.

She said "We can't let Satan shut us in or he wins the battle. 

He's trying to make wound lickers out of warriors. 

When God opens the door again let's stand back up, 

brush ourselves off and step through it."

I have verses and quotes hanging up around my mirror in the bathroom

so when I get am doing my hair I can read them and be encouraged.

This is my newest and most valued one

at this time in my life.

I read this every morning to remember that

 I'm God's Warrior,

I'm not a wound licker. 

Like I said I struggle with this daily.

That kinda even seems like an understatement.

I STRUGGLE with it daily.

I doubt myself, I look down on myself, I doubt my husband

and I let it take over our lives.

I personally have to give my doubt over to God on the daily basis,

the hourly basis, and sometimes the minute basis.

God never fails to help.

The Lord will always ease my mind if I truly give it over to him.

He's always there.

He's always waiting for us to reach to him.

He's always waiting to take away our doubt.

WE just have to be willing to let him.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:2