Biblical Femininity: Modesty

Noah Webster's 1828 America Dictionary of the English Language defines modesty as "...synonymous with chastity, or purity of manners. In this sense, modesty results from purity of mind, or from the fear of disgrace and ignominy fortified by education and principle. Unaffected modesty is the sweetest charm of female excellence, the richest gem in the diadem of their honor."

What a beautiful saying! 

Ladies, the way we dress displays our true inner mindset. If we dress in such a way to turn the heads of men, our hearts can be in no way pure or chaste. 

As a Child of God, I want to dress in a way that reflects Him through me!

Before putting on an outfit, I always ask myself a few simple questions:

1. Is it so flamboyant and bright that I draw unnecessary attention to myself? In other words, is it excessive or gaudy?

2. Is it fitting enough to reveal that I'm a woman yet loose enough so I am not tempting men to lust?

3. Would I be embarrassed to wear this in front of my future husband, grandparents, or church family?

4. Is it flattering and stylish enough to where I don't give the appearance of a wandering hobo?

5. Is it high enough at the top and long enough at the bottom to where I don't show too much skin?

If the answer to any of those questions is no, that outfit, no matter how cute or attractive it is, goes out the door.

Before I go any further in this post, I want to make one thing crystal clear: Dressing modestly does not mean you have to cover yourself from head to toe or wear clothes that hang on you like a paper bag! 

You don't have to borrow clothes from your grandma's closet to be modest!

Of course, everyone has different convictions about modesty, and if you feel the Lord desires for you to wear only skirts and dresses, than go for it! 

I am not writing this to judge those who have controversial thoughts or to preach at you to never leave the house without an ankle-length skirt and turtleneck blouse on. I am merely voicing my personal opinion and convictions.

As I stated previously, modesty does not mean you have to wear something like this:

Of course there is nothing wrong if you do wear ankle-length jean jumpers all the time! Just making a point, my friends...

Many clothes I see out and about have a fairly acceptable selection of modest clothing. Where I live, Ross is a good store to find adorable blouses and skirts with modest lengths! (Thank the Lord for the new maxi-skirt trend!)

Thrift stores are also great resources! 

Another point of why modesty is the way to go, is that while girls who dress like prostitutes and flaunt their bodies on a daily basis are more prone to popularity and attracting men, the young women who dress like ladies, demand more respect from the male population (and sometimes even other women, as well!), attract attention from the right kind of men (a.k.a. godly gentlemen who strive the please the Lord in all they do and say), and remain pure for their husbands.

"Wait a sec, Savannah! What do you mean by that? I mean, I'm not married, yet... how can I be pure for my husband when I don't even know who he is?!"

Purity is not just refraining from physical intimacy until your wedding night- it is also the way you think, dress, and speak.

When you think inappropriate lustful thoughts, you're compromising your purity. 

When you dress to get attention from guys and show off your body, you're compromising your purity. 

When you flirt, "date around", or act "hard to get", you're compromising your purity.

"Is it really that easy?"

Yes it is; and that is why it is so dangerous to fall into the trap of immodesty.

When you dress inappropriately, you are not only comprising your own purity, but you are also doing the same to men.

Do you really want to lead your fellow brothers in Christ astray? 

Do you really want to be the cause of their next sinful thought?

Then, Ladies: Put some clothes on!

Reflect Christ through what you wear.

Endeavor to please Him in all that you do! Including the next time you go shopping with a friend or pick out an outfit for an activity.

Never forget that what you wear is your billboard.

What are you advertising?

3 Day Juice Cleanse--- Day Three

As I'm writing, I am drinking my last juice for, today! :-)

I wish it was my last juice, ever, but unfortunately you have to go on a certain diet after the cleanse, so your body doesn't go all crazy.

Solid food right after a juice fast is forbidden...

My high hopes of being able to devour a delicious, fluffy omelet tomorrow morning slowly crumbled to the ground.

The only foods I'm allowed to eat for the next day or two are:

-fruit

-veggies

-and that's it, folks

Thankfully, I can have cabbage soup, since it is just herbs, cabbage, and broth, which warm foods are actually best to eat after a fast anyways.

As far as juices, today, I followed the same "menu" I had for yesterday, except I didn't drink my pre-dinner juice, because I wasn't very hungry. I substituted it for half a banana and a cup of peppermint tea.

I had no side effects whatsoever, today, but of course I was still tempted to sneak a few of my sister's soda crackers and peanut butter.

I didn't cheat! I swear!

I do feel more energized since I began the juice fast and my skin seems to be healthier. As far as weight loss goes, I have no clue yet how many pounds I lost (if any!). 

It's going to be rough sticking to just fruits and veggies even after the fast is over, but I made it this far.

No turning back.


UPDATE (5/25/14)--- So guys... I lost three pounds! Yay!

3 Day Juice Cleanse--- Day Two

Well, here I am- I survived the first day!!! :-D

I slept extremely well (about 9 hours!) and didn't wake up once during the night, which is definitely a first for me.

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and energized and had my lemon/cayenne water before my workout, like yesterday.

My menu for the day went like so:

Breakfast: Jolt Juice-

 2 Granny Smith Apples

1 Orange (Peeled)

1 Whole Cucumber

1/4 Lemon (Peeled)

Big Handful of spinach or Kale

Lunch: Sun Kissed Juice-

1 beet (beetroot)
2 carrots
2 oranges
2-4 swiss chard leaves and stems (silverbeet)
1″ piece of ginger (optional)

Pre-Dinner: Mean Green Juice-

1 cucumber

4 celery stalks

2 apples

6-8 leaves kale (Australian tuscan cabbage)

1/2 lemon

1 tbsp ginger

Dinner: Sunset Blend Juice (see yesterday's post for ingredients)

Much to my surprise, every single one of the juices from today were actually good!

I didn't have any problems guzzling them down, and even the after taste was bearable.

Side Effects:

-Slight dizziness

-Extreme cravings

-Chilliness (not quite sure why...)

As you can, see the irritating effects of a cleanse weren't too bad for me, today. My body is getting used to this juicing regime, I suppose.

I snacked on half a banana about an hour or so after the pre-dinner juice, which is acceptable, thank goodness!

Of course my sister decided to have a huge potato with butter and all the works for lunch. That delicious smell remained all through the kitchen area and beyond for over an hour! Pure torture!

I am so impatient to go ahead and get the last day over with and be able to chew on actual, real food!

Bring on Day Three!!!

3 Day Juice Cleanse--- Day One

Hey guys!

So much to my own surprise, I decided to do a juice cleanse for 3 days and my mom decided to join me, so at least I have that extra motivational support!

We borrowed a juicer from one of my mom's friends and it took a little while for Mom to  finish frantically pushing random buttons to turn it off because juice and veggies were pouring out everywhere  get used to the machine.

I must admit that when I read the recipes I was somewhat excited! I mean, come on! Doesn't homemade carrot, ginger, and apple juice sound good?

Much to my disappointment the juice was certainly not as delicious and satisfying as I had hoped...

We are following the "Joe Cross' 3 Day Weekend Juice Cleanse" (see link below for further details on the benefits and cautions of a juice cleanse).

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/joe-cross-3-day-weekend-juice-cleanse

Despite my mother's many warnings, I did not do a pre-cleanse diet, a few days prior to juicing, such as staying away from meat, bread, dairy, caffeine, and sugar, and suffered rather severe side effects because of it.

May this be a lesson for juicing newbies who happened upon this humble little blog.

Don't say I didn't warn you!




For those of you who are interested, here was my "food" schedule for the day:

Pre-Breakfast: Lemon and Cayenne Pepper in warm water (Lemon has amazing acidic properties aiding in kick starting your digestive system, while cayenne pepper helps with regulating blood sugar, kick-starts your metabolism, and yes, aids with weight loss! It also boosts my energy and prepares my body for the day.)

*I did my workout before my breakfast juice, which apparently is when you're supposed to do it while juicing. You're technically not supposed to be working out at all during a juice cleanse, but my body is so used to a daily workout now that I don't want to stop... so I'm just doing a lighter routine that I typically do.

Breakfast: Carrot Apple Ginger Juice- 3 carrots, 2 apples, 1 inch piece of ginger root

Lunch: Gazpacho Juice- 4 tomatoes, 1 lg cucumber, 2 celery stalks, 1 red bell pepper, 1/4 cup red onion, 2 cups parsley, 1 lime

Afternoon Snack: Citrus Inspired Green Juice- 6-8 leaves kale, 8 leaves swiss chard, 1 cucumber, 6 clementines, (or a few oranges)

Dinner: Sunset Blend Juice- 1 sweet potato, 1 carrot, 1 red bell pepper, 2 red beets, 2 apples, 1 orange (optional)

So ya... that's what I "ate" today. The juices weren't actually that bad... the after taste was worse than the actual drinking part. The lunch juice (Gazpacho) was an exception- my mom and I absolutely could not stand it! I was gagging about 3 sips into it, it was so awful. Maybe because it was all veggies and didn't have that sweet, tangy flavor the fruit gives. But whatever the reason, it was horrible.

I drank about 8-9 glasses of water, today, to stay hydrated and to ward off annoying hunger pains.

Side Effects:

-Headache
-Tiredness/grogginess
-Irritability
-Hunger Pangs (obviously)
-Slight nausea

I am hoping (and praying) that tomorrow will be much better as far as side effects. I've read that the second day is when you start feeling more refreshed and energized although the hunger pangs will worsen (yay...). I honestly don't see how they could get any worse, though! Almost all of today, I was craving a Whopper from Burger King, which is not normal coming from me.

Looking forward to a nice warm cup of peppermint tea before bed is what kept me going all day! Thank goodness drinking herbal tea at night is allowed! I can't wait to drink it! (My goodness I never thought I would be this excited over hot tea.)

I will update ya'll tomorrow and maybe this will encourage those interested in doing a juice cleanse... that is, if I survive.

Introducing Biblical Femininity Series

I'm extremely excited to announce the arrival of a new blog post "series" I'm going to be publishing over the next few weeks!
The subject is "Biblical Femininity or Godly Womanhood" and I will be writing posts, voicing my humble opinions and thoughts on particular topics related to the subject.

I will be addressing the controversial issues of:

--Modesty
--Character
--Conduct
--Speech
--Self-worth


Now, before I begin this series, let me define my terms.

By "Femininity", I am in no way referring to the feminist movement made so popular by social media and films (among other resources).

"Femininity at its core is not about a personality.  A woman can love sports, hunting, fishing, and cars, and be just as feminine as the woman who loves interior design, shopping, and shoes.  Both personalities can fall within the vast spectrum of femininity.  Femininity is rooted in who God has created a woman to be through biological composition and inward spirit.  It is not dependent on interests, hobbies, or personality.  The main components of biblical femininity as I understand them are being relational, nurturing, vulnerable, possessing a desire to be found beautiful, and being responsive." (Quote from www.livehope.org)

What a lovely definition! 
The values, character, and conduct of a biblically feminine lady are similar to the Virtuous Woman in Proverbs 31.




Women, nowadays, wonder why they are receiving less respect from men than ever before. My answer to them is, if you want respect from a man, you're behavior and dress must be respectful in return.

You simply cannot dress provocatively and expect a true gentlemen to treat you like a princess.

Most times, the outward appearance is a reflection of the heart.

If you truly desire to please the Lord with your body, mind, and soul, then would you really be wearing that mini-skirt or that skin-tight blouse?

(But... more on that in a few days.) :-)

The women of today ask, "Where have all the good men gone?".
They wonder where society went wrong.
They tell themselves that men are toads and treat women like objects.
Yet they are clueless to the fact that our culture messed up when women stopped being ladies and became flirtatious, crude, cling-ons with no respect for others or themselves.

We, as Christians, must be an example.

We need to start a revolution- begining with our own hearts.

Are you ready for the challenge?

Are you ready to be different?

Are you ready to accept a life-style of Godly Womanhood?

Prayer and Praises (Help me add on to the list!)

Prayer Requests

• My (Savannah) grandma is in rehab (healing and quick recovery) 05/05/14
• Me (Savannah) as I finish school before the summer
• My (Savannah) dad is sick  05/06/14
• Lillian's little brother (1 and a half yrs old) broke his femur bone :-(
• Sandi (my aunt) will be sober for 5 years on June 8th!!!

Praises

• My (Savannah) grandma's cancer is completely gone! :-)

Collaborative Prayer List

Happy Saturday, everyone! :-)

I hope ya'll had an awesomely productive day as myself! (Chores galore!)

I sort of wanted to run an idea by all of you that I had.

What if...

I created this prayer list on my blog and you guys could email me, comment on my blog or Googleplus page, or however you chose, and tell me whatever you need prayer for.

I would add to the list anytime I received a new request and we could also have a section for praises!

Anytime a prayer on the list is answered, I will change the font color to red and type the day it was answered next to the request.

Obviously this list will be posted publicly on my blog so we will have a ton of people praying for the same things, maybe even at the same time!

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
Matthew 18:20

Sound good?

I'm going to go ahead and start on the prayer and praises list, now, and ya'll can comment or email whenever you want.

Let's make this list full of requests and praises so we can rejoice at the many answered prayers that will happen!

Spread the word! The more who post and prayer, the more powerful!