No hair brushing!!! What's next?

Okay this is really not a very serious post but neither am I. (well no one can be serious all the time.) So this past year I decided to see what would happen if I stopped brushing me hair. Well I do not have a rats nest for a hairdo. I am very pleased to announce that I have one day left and than I will have completed me new years resolution for 2011. (okay you can cheer now) It's kind of hard to believe it seems like just last month that it was 70 days and now it is 364 (tomorrow) I am very excited. Now about the "what's next?" part I have decided to go without painting my fingernails. I don't really know why I choose this but I am going to do it I am afraid that it is not quite as impressive as not brushing my hair but I am trying. I will give you a chance to affect my entire year post below what new years resolution you would like me to attempted. If possible of similar nature to the other two. I am sorry I may not be able to complete or attempt all of them but throw it at me and maybe you will help me come up with my 2012 resolution. (Just so you know having a silly resolution is a lot of fun.)


Thank you for reading my blog.


Lydia Grace

Christmas

Christmas is a time to remember how God sent his only son to be born as a baby and to die on a cross and to rise again three days later. But if you have been a christen every since you where a little kid I think you lose what Jesus coming to earth actually meant and means today. Take a step back in time with me to Mary hearing from the angel. If you where around the age of 16 to 18 and an angel appears to you and says.  “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. ³²He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. ³³ And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Luke 1:31-33. Okay to kids who have grown up in church all there lives this part or scripture and the whole story of the birth of Christ sounds normal we think. "Well of course the angel appeared to Mary and told her she was going to have a baby well being a virgin. Okay think about this for a minute this is not normal. Mary having Jesus was a miracle. So stepping back to the present. God loved you so much and He created you to look exactly like you do and be who you are. Jesus died for you because you are who you are don't ever try to be someone who you aren't. So during this Christmas season remember Jesus' birth was a miracle and the day you were born you were a miracle and still are think of all the things that you can do all of the talents that God gave you to serve Him and others. You are a living miracle.

Lie #1

So this is the beginning of my lies about Modest etc. So here goes I am going to try to bust any lies that are floating out there.

Lie #1

That the reason Christian girls say that they are trying to be modest is because they don't have as much self confidence.

So I don't know how many of you have encountered this lie in your life but I believe this can be a really big problem. Imagine if you were walking through a store and you are searching for a nice shirt that is modest. When you here some whispering behind your back. You stop when you here your name. You slip behind a rack of shirts and look through them it's some of the girls from school. "I can't believe (insert your own name.) She only dresses the way she does is because she doesn't have enough self confidence to wear "modern" clothes. I love how she says it's all about honoring God. But really it's because she isn't confident in herself." 

Now back to the present. I know that besides modesty I don't wear short shorts because I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing them. But you should feel uncomfortable if you are wearing something that is immodest. But think of the misconceptions that others might have about you and so next time when a girl walks by you in that low top or in short shorts just remember that she may not feel comfortable in what she is wearing. So if you ever find yourself believing this lie just remember if you are living for God He is watching what you do and what you say and how you act and He will not forget what  you've done that is pleasing in His eyes. God made you the way you are and he crafted you to be exactly who you are don't ever let anyone tell you that you aren't beautiful.

(if you have any lies that you know girls face today post it below and I will do my best to answer it.)

In Christ

Lydia Grace

Cinderella

My friend Esther wrote this. Enjoy!

Call me a romantic if you will—it’s a title I’ll wear with pride.  Most girls see the classic Disney princesses when they’re about three, feel the enchantment, and lose the magic by the time they’re eight or nine.  Me, I’m just beginning to feel the Disney touch.  After all, my two sisters weren’t exactly princess freaks; they’d rather play cowboys than Snow White.  And three brothers isn’t a recipe for princess love either.  So me, romantic princess sillyhead, had to get along without Disney’s tales for years. 

But now…. See, I like to act.  If the play I’m in is a based on a movie, I watch it to see what the director is thinking of for my role.  At first, we thought an upcoming play would be Beauty and the Beast, so I saw that for the first time.  Gotta love Belle, with her heart and warmth.  But then the play turned out to be Cinderella.  Another classic I’d never seen, until now.  Poor Cinderelly!  And always that theme of waiting for the  prince, the perfect prince who understands everything, flames with passion, and is, of course, quite handsome in the bargain.  I always regret that we see so little of him, and crane my eyes every time he does show up.  After all, I need a good idea of what my prince should look like! 

Okay, so that’s silly.  But every girl is waiting for her prince, the one prepared for her.  He’ll sweep her up, carry her off, and they’ll both know she waited faithfully, without giving herself to others.  But even if an earthly prince doesn’t come, I have the best prince of all.  He’s so understanding, always knows what I’m thinking.  Every time I’m impatient, waiting for us to truly be together, He sends me a love letter.  And not just love letters—my prince sends me flowers of joy, chocolates of peace, and the most beautiful dresses of love.  He’s always telling me just how much He loves me, and I can’t get enough of him.

        So for now we’re apart, and I long every day to be with Him.  And yet I know I mustn’t waste the time; there’s so much to do!  I want to be beautiful and accomplished, to have many things to please my prince.  So I work hard to prepare, knowing it will all be worth it when we finally dance together.  That dance will be the highlight, the pinnacle, and I can’t wait.

        For now, I dance alone in my room, swirling and spinning with my arms in the air.

But I know, someday soon, my perfect prince will be there, will sweep me up and carry me home.

        I’m waiting.  Come soon!

                                                                                Esther E.

Not just fashion

Dear Journal—
I hate school.  I keep trying to be a light to everyone, but no matter what I do, it’s wrong.  If I go along, I know I’m sinning.  If I speak up, they take offense, but if I keep quiet they do the same.  Why won’t they just leave me alone?  Half the girls there are always wearing jeans that strangle their legs, or skirts far above their knees.  Seriously?  Do they really think they’ve got the whole modesty thing down? Because, you know, they don’t!  The other day a new style suddenly came in—high tops.  Not shoes, shirts.  It was ridiculous how they all seemed to synchronize the fashion, but it was even more ridiculous how they had to stretch the shirts to reach the top of their jeans.  Honestly!  And the adults all seemed blind, or maybe they figure if it isn’t bullying, it’s all good.  I don’t know.  You know Marcie, right?  She’s like the only good friend I have there, but she’s infected, too.  Somehow she caught wind of the new style and wore one today, though she seemed a little uncomfortable. (And with good reason!)  Maybe she noticed I was more silent than usual, maybe she noticed my eyes skipping her midriff, or maybe she noticed me constantly tugging my own sweater, but she asked me during lunch.
“What do you think of my shirt?”  Bad move, Marcie.  Didn’t we use to talk about modesty a lot only a few months ago?
“You really want to know?”  She nodded, sending her ‘perfect’ curls bobbing.  Another new fashion that didn’t look so good on her but was all the rage.
“I think it’s immodest and a little silly.  It’s October for Pete sake!  Aren’t you chilly in that flimsy thing?”  We’d been friends for a long time, so I figured I could share my honest opinion.  Mistake number one.
“Hey! If I like it, it’s fine, right?”  She pulled back, her eyes flashing anger at me for the first time since I spilled her ice-cream in second grade.
“That’s the thing Marcie, sometimes it’s not fine.”  I lowered my voice so even someone trying to listen wouldn’t be able to.  “Look, your new tight pants, short skirts, and silly tops are turning boy’s heads.”
She blushed red in what usually I called the Marcie-bright.  Not so innocent today.  “I know… I kind of…”
“Don’t even go there Marcie, that’s not a good thing.  Remember how we’re supposed to save that for later?”
“Maybe so, but Jenny, isn’t it their fault?  I should wear whatever I want, and if they’re weird about it it’s their problem!”  She slammed her spoon back into the flaky mashed potatoes a little harder than necessary.
“It’s not like that, Marcie, it’s just not.  They can’t really control it, and we can.  We have like a power over them, and we can’t just ruin them because we have to right to wear whatever.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?  Just because you dress like a nun and insist on looking awful doesn’t mean I have to!”  She gestured to my khakis and navy blue sweater embroidered with yellow.
“Marcie, I don’t dress like a nun, you know that.  I love bright colors just as much as you do.  I just wear them without wearing scraps.”
“Are you calling my clothing scraps?”  She adjusted her shirt with an angry twitch.
“No, no, no, sorry, Marcie.  I’m not, I’m just saying it seems like we should dress carefully.”
“I still don’t see a problem.  Sheesh, Jenny, it’s just fashion!”  I never thought I’d hear Marcie say that.
“It’s not just fashion!  It’s about honoring God with everything.  And it goes beyond mini-skirts and tickly tops; it goes to not flirting, to acting modest.  Jesus wants us to value and please Him more than other people.”
“Enough, Jenny, you’re so preachy these days.  I’m getting sick of it.  Just leave me alone, okay?  You can stay here and be the pigtail braids behind-the-times club if you want, but I’m leaving.”
“Marcie, hold on, I didn’t mean…”  She stalked off with her half-empty tray to join her new friends—the toothpick girls.  Stick skinny, flirty, wearing hardly any clothes, they deserved the name, but something in me didn’t want to call Marcie that even as I watched a couple boys struggle to focus on their food instead of the strip of skin left open.
There you go, Marcie.  Good luck, I guess.  I hope you find it empty and come back.  Until then, I’ll hold down the fort in the pigtail braids club.
But Marcie, never, never forget what I said—
It’s not just fashion.
Jenny




1 Corinthians 8:9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
1 Cor. 8:12-13 When you sin against your brothers and wound them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.  Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.
1 Peter 3:4 Instead, it (beauty) should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
Let’s live in our freedom without causing others to stumble.
--Esther Eaton

Faith begins in the heart but must not end there.  Faith must be in the home and the office and the school.

Good, better and best.

So today I would like to discuss God's good, better and best which is the way I like to look at modesty. Okay  hang with me.
It is really good if you dress modestly most of the time. Or almost all the time that is wonderful that is a great first step. But...the bad news is that's not God's Best. But even if you always dress modestly  and always do all the truth or bare tests. That's still not God's best it's better but not the best. Although if you dress modestly and (here it comes this is the hard one) act modestly and have a pure attitude than in my opinion you are defiantly on your way to one day have the marriage that God has planned for you. God's best.


Loving sister in Christ

Lydia Grace

Think

Hey!  My name’s Esther Eaton and Lydia has allowed me to write some for her blog.  I’m not by any means the best of writers, but I’ve had a feel for how words can tug at me and stir me to action.  So I’ll do my best to discuss important issues with you in a way that at least doesn’t put you to sleep and hopefully gets you thinking.

First, I want to say that Lydia’s actions are fantastic; she’s made a good move.  Where else does great stuff start?  But here’s the thing—as awesome as Lydia is, she can’t start anything all on her own.  As much as Lydia works, plans, and tries to make a difference, her drop in the bucket isn’t much.  Although people always talk about the Amazon being made of droplets, the Amazon isn’t made of one droplet.

What I’m getting at is that everyone needs to move.  A role model isn’t a role model unless someone models them.  You’re the ones who will change your world, and watching someone else toil is not the way to do it.  You have to be the one to step up to the plate, you have to be the one who makes the first move, you have to be the one who says ‘send me’.  Be the rebel with a cause, who defies low expectations, reaching above and beyond to what God desires for their life.

So what’s your purpose? What passion makes you tick?  Is it ending slavery or solving world hunger?  Or maybe something like learning true respect for your parents, or treating your siblings properly?  It doesn’t have to be something ‘big’, but God has called us to move.

No matter how much we discuss and philosophize, if we don’t take action based on our convictions, they’re pretty pathetic convictions. 

Please listen to these songs.  http://leelandonline.com/musicplayer

            You’re awake—waken another.

                                                                                                                        --Esther Eaton

Faith begins in the heart but must not end there,

Faith must be in the home and the office and the school.

you girls have already seen this but i wanted to post it agian this is a really long subject line

TRUTH OR BARE
Take Our Tests To See How Modest You really Are Enjoy this sneak peek into our creative fashion tests from the book "Secret Keeper" Girl!
TEST: OVER AND OUT
Target Question: “Is my shirt too low? ”
Action: Lean forward a little bit. Can you see too much chest skin or future cleavage? If so, your shirt is too low. Remedy: Today’s fashions thrive on low shirts. Layering is often the only remedy. Throw a little T-shirt under a rugby and you have a great look.
TEST: MIRROR MIRROR
Target Question: “How short is too short?”
Action: Get in front of a full-length mirror. If you are in shorts, sit Indian style. If you are in a skirt, sit in a chair with your legs crossed. Now, what do you see in that mirror? If you see undies, or lots of thigh, what you’re wearing is too short. Remedy: Buy longer shorts and skirts!
TEST: RAISE AND PRAISE
Target Question: “Am I showing too much belly?”
Action: Stand up straight, pretend you are going for it in worship, and extend your arms in the air to God. Is this exposing a lot of belly? Bellies are very intoxicating, and we need to save that for our husband! Remedy: Go to the guys’ department and buy a simple ribbed T-shirt to wear under your funky short T’s or with your trendy low-riders. Layers are a great solution to belly shirts.
TEST: SPRING VALLEY
Target Question: “Is my shirt too tight?”
Action: The girls are probably not quite ready for this test, so we’ll let the moms take it. Have the moms place the tips of their fingers together and press into their shirts right in the “valley” between the breasts. Count to three and have them take their fingers away. If their shirts spring back like a small trampoline, they are too tight. Remedy: Don’t buy clothes based on size. Buy them based on fit. Usually, you have to go a few sizes larger these days to have a modest fit.

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