5 Gals' and 5 Modest Outfits

From time to time we want to share with you some modest "outfit inspiration". 

In an upcoming blog post we will be talking about personal experiences with modesty...

Stay tuned!

Smokin' Potatoes

I know most of you have heard the phrase "Don't cry over spilled milk", but have you ever heard that you shouldn't cry over smokin’ potatoes either!? Well, neither have I until last summer when I found myself crying over smokin' potatoes.

It was a hot day in August and we were cooking baked potatoes for our friends. As people started to arrive the potatoes were still cooking, and somehow the entire oven started to smoke. Moments later, the whole house was in a smoky fog and it got so bad it made our eyes burn.

I happened to be the only one in the kitchen as one of the older ladies came rushing in. She frantically started asking me questions like, "How long has the potatoes been in the oven?!” and "What should we do to stop it from smoking?!” and "What’s causing the oven to smoke?!” and "Why hasn't anything been done about the smoke yet??!”…

Immediately, I went into defense mode. I felt as though I was being blamed for the uncontrollable smoke that was taking over the house. Within moments, I started to shut down and take everything she said personally. Thoughts were rushing through my head like, "Why am I getting into trouble" and "I wasn't even the one who put the potatoes in the oven" and "Why is she talking to me this way... who does she think she is?” and “She has no right to come at me this way, this isn't even her home!”

Obviously, I got personally offended and didn’t handle the situation very well. My pride was hurt and I was very embarrassed. From that point on, all I could think about that evening was those stinkin' smokin' potatoes!!

There were several things the Lord taught me through this situation:

1. The importance in working everything out~

In my heart, I knew this needed to be worked out. Something as small as smokin' potatoes can eventually turn into something much bigger if I didn’t get my heart right. God commands us that when we have issues with our brothers and sisters in Christ we should always work it out. Ephesians 4:26 says, “BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do NOT let the sun go down on your anger.” When we leave things undone (unspoken disagreements and judgments) between each other it can cause “divisions”. In 1 Corinthians 1:10 it talks about not letting divisions be in the Church, “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.”

2. Showing respect comes from the heart~

Technically, on the “outside” I didn’t say anything disrespectful to her… But on the inside I was fuming like the smoke seeping out of the oven. In our journey with the Lord, situations will arise where things can stir up our pride and we are given the opportunities to either get caught up on our personal offenses or really respond in love and seek what the truth is. As young people, there should be a high level of respect for the elders in the Lord and we should always consider what they have to say with a humble heart. 1 Peter 5:5, “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’”

3. Living with others in a humble and understanding way~

Not only does it take humility and maturity to respect and listen to those who are older and wiser than you, but also it takes more humility to accept it when it comes in a way that’s less than how we would want it presented. In Romans 12:16, it talks about living in harmony with others and not to think more of yourself over others, “Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and give yourselves to humble tasks. Never overestimate yourself or be wise in your own conceits.” God is with the humble, not the proud. Just because YOU wouldn’t say something or approach a matter the same way as someone else would doesn’t make them wrong or invalidate the truth.

Thankfully, the Lord gave me strength to be honest. The most amazing thing that happened when I humbly came to my friend and shared with her my feelings, was that my eyes were opened to the TRUTH. The truth was that she didn’t mean to come across as being “frantic” or even “abrupt”, but she really loves me and was only trying to help. She even apologized for coming across that way and we worked everything out in love and in humility!

There is ALWAYS something to learn in EVERY situation. The truth will set us free but first it may offend us. The important thing, in growing in the strength of the Lord, is accepting the truth no matter how it is presented to us.

What I learned that day with those smokin' potatoes is to humbly accept any concerns or instruction from those who are older and wiser than me in the Lord.

Whirling, Swirling, Spiraling...

Something about that title makes me think of ice cream. But, unfortunately girls I am not talking about ice cream… I am talking about our thought life.

Do you ever catch yourself thinking things you know you shouldn’t? This has been one of my BIGGEST weaknesses that the Lord is still doing a work in me.

On one particular day, my thought life seemed to be really out of control when I was going through this experience of not knowing if our anemic baby girl, who is still in my womb, would make it or not.

I had thoughts like…
“What if she doesn’t get better”
“Her heart is having to pump so hard it could give out any moment”
“Statistically speaking, a lot of babies with this condition do not make it”
“This is bad, really bad…”
“This will never get better”
“I don’t know if I can go through this anymore”
“Oh my goodness”
“What if this… What if that”

Whirling… Swirling… Spiraling uncontrolled thoughts. And the hard part… It’s SO easy to get caught up in uncontrolled thoughts.

In this particular instance, I knew I needed help. I pulled out one of my most beloved books called, “The God of All Comfort” By Hannah Whitall Smith and turned to the chapter called “Discouragement”. As I started to read, the writer explained that there were many times in the Bible when people felt hopeless with their situation. One particular story really spoke to me-Moses!

The Lord gave Moses an assignment to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, but Moses, looking at his own weaknesses, was discouraged. That's when discouragement caught his thoughts and heart which caused him to try and excuse himself from what God wanted him to do. Moses had difficulty with his speech. The bible says he was “slow of speech”. Have any of you ever tried getting the attention of a large crowd? People by nature are very hard to gather together. Imagine needing to get the attention of everyone in the school auditorium and lead them to their classes.  Imagine doing this with a speech problem.  And then, on top of that, imagine leading this huge group across land for miles and miles. I would imagine it would be extremely difficult.

Moses looked at his difficulty and felt hopeless that he would not be able to do what God was asking him!

“I am not eloquent, but I am slow of speech. They will not believe me” Says Moses. It sounds to me like Moses was whirling, swirling, and spiraling in his thoughts…

But God reminded Moses of a very important truth. Who made YOU Moses? Who made your mouth? Do you not realize that I can work through you and give you everything you need to succeed?

It was as if God woke me up and said… Who made YOU Rachael? Who made your womb? Do you not realize I can work through you and give you every bit of healing you need for your baby to succeed?

He created every organ in my body. He created even the ability for me to carry children! He has FULL capability of healing this baby and I am to trust and rest in Him!

Our thoughts can lead us astray so quickly in every area of our life. The spiraling thoughts that take us down only keep taking us down because of their root. LIES. What we need is God’s truth to bring us back into reality. And God gives us a responsibility in this!

2 Corinthians 10:5 says we are to “Take EVERY thought captive, into the obedience of Christ”. How did I take the thought captive? I ran to the source of truth- God and let Him remind me of what I needed to hear.

Do you ever catch your thoughts whirling, swirling, spiraling, out of control? Run to the One who can pull you out!

THE BIG PICTURE

Recently, I read an article called The Subtlety of Self-Justification | True Woman that really got me thinking about my heart attitude as an early teen (and into my super early 20s). This article NAILED it.

She writes:

"Self-justification is one of the sneakiest and most subtle forms of deceit the enemy uses in the lives of Christians. When we are not open and eager for the Spirit of God to correct and refine us, we often spend a huge amount of time and mental energy trying to convince ourselves that we are just fine the way we are. Then, when fellow Christians challenge us with truth, it either hurts our pride or touches on an area of compromise in our life that we are unwilling to give up. And the only way to avoid admitting that we are in the wrong is to lash out at that person and try to discredit them."

So what was my attitude you ask?

Whether it be the way I wanted to dress, what movies I wanted to see, what music I wanted to listen to, or the standards I had with guys… there was a constant bucking up in my heart in each area of my life. In every area my parents tried to instruct me, I would get caught up on each and every little technicality. I constantly had problems with justifying what I wanted to do regardless of what my parents/others said. I definitely was not open to God correcting and refining me. And what’s worse I constantly played the "blame game" on my parents and anyone else who questioned my decisions or judgements.

And honestly, I didn't just become this way overnight.

This all started somewhere. At some point in my late teens as I gained more "independence",  I allowed the seed of pride to grow inside of my heart. What started out as something small (like a small snowball) began to roll and roll and ROLL and ROLL until I got to the point I was so blinded by my pride that no matter what my parents talked to me about I would find a reason to disagree. My heart had become diseased with pride. I got to the point where I didn’t care about how my choices or decisions and how it effected other people (including girls who were younger then me and looked up to me).

If only I had responded in humility…

Getting caught up on technicalities is a red flag of a heart condition. Pride. And the scary thing is that we don’t always see just how dangerous pride can be until it’s too late.

"When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom." Proverbs 11:2

So how do you respond to your parents when they suggest covering up a little more? Does your heart say in humility "THANK YOU!" or "Seriously? What’s the big deal?"

What thoughts run through your mind when you're not allowed to see the movie all your friends are going to see? Does your heart say in humility "I will choose to trust my parents with this decision" or does your heart "It’s not like it’s rated R or anything"

Believe it or not, the small situations that come up every day are molding and shaping your heart. Either into a humble heart or a prideful heart.