Laughing and Speaking

While attending a dinner gathering, I was interrupted mid-sentence, in a quite conversation with a friend, by the roaring laughter of a woman. As most anyone would, I looked over towards the direction of the laughter to see, and again hear the seemingly witch-like cackling coming from the woman. Wow, I thought, whatever she’s laughing at sure most be funny!

A little later in the evening, the host stood up and introduced to the attendees his pastor and his pastor’s wife. Looking in the direction he was gesturing, I saw a table of people, including the cackling woman. “Stand up, will you?” Asked the host to the pastor and his wife, and up stood the cackling woman, and her husband, the pastor. , I never would have thought that was the pastor’s wife.

That’s what I learned from the next “don’t,” “Don't laugh loudly or in a vulgar manner.” When the pastors wife roared with laugher from the belly, I wondered, where is her “gentle and quiet spirit” (1 Peter 3:3-4)? Where have our gentle and quiet spirits gone? Are we women who sit around and laugh it up with the boys, or are we ladies who quietly smile and quietly giggle to ourselves? We should be quiet and well-mannered in public, not to draw too much attention to ourselves, which does not honor the Lord.

The next “don’t” I’ve learned is “Avoid the following qualities in the voice: loudness, firmness, efficiency, boldness, dullness, mumbling, monotonous, singsong.” If we speak what’s on our hearts, wouldn’t HOW we speak also display what’s in our hearts. At work, if I talk with authority to my boss, it might seem as though I’m undermining my boss’ authority. This could really mess up my witness as a steward.

What I learned: Laughing loudly can be very manly and inappropriate for a woman. When women are together there can be exceptions. A friend of mine, who I consider to be godly, and I agreed that when women are together in a relaxed setting, it is okay for women to “let their hair down”. This doesn’t mean that women can act sinful, or manly, but they should feel comfortable enough to laugh, talk and cut up together.

Lastly, HOW one speaks is almost as important as WHAT they are saying. There are times when ladies need to use firm voices (like with children), boldness (when sharing the Word of God), and singsong (when greeting a child). However, we need to choose carefully the tones we use that they may convey the proper message to the hearer.

Using Hands and Walking (Part 2 of my "Don'ts for the feminine Manners""

Today officially began the first day of examining first hand the "don'ts" listed in November 2nd's post. The entire day, I was watching how I used my hands, making sure that they weren't used in an unladylike way as question number one states, "Don't use your hands in a stiff, brusque, efficient, firm, or strong manner." I had to actually tweak this "Don't" a little bit because as a paid worker in a bakery, it is important to honor the Lord by working with my hands and doing the job He has given me, and doing it well. This usually means that at the end of the day, I will have managed to leave with a burn or two from the oven, paper cuts and dry hands from hot, soapy water while washing endless amounts of pans.

I have also decided that using one’s hands in a strong manner isn't always unladylike either, as most women have to open tight jars, carry a vacuum up stairs, and lift up five year olds during the day without the help of a man. With that being said, for me, this "don't" mostly meant, no talking excessively with my hands, which seems to be very common with headstrong women like myself.

Luckily, this one came quite easily as my hands were quite busy throughout the day at work, and then while taking notes at school. But say that I had stopped on the way from class and began taking to a classmate. My classmate may be a very good listener, but if I'm throwing up my hands in exclamation, or waving them back in forth making gestures, will they be looking at me or my hands? And if someone is sitting at a nearby table, will my hands direct attention towards me, meanwhile the person is thinking "I wonder what she's getting all excited about?" In a sense, a conversation that was between just me and the one other person, is now visible to anyone else around who may see that I was agitated earlier by the way I've thrown my hands up in disgust. I know, seems like such an odd thing to consider, but please DO consider what your hands reveal to others during your conversation with them.

The next "don't" that I tried not to do today was number two on my list, "Don't walk with a heavy gait or long strides." I must tell you, if you had seen me running out the door this morning for work, you would have thought, she's off to a great start! And sarcastically speaking, you would have been right. However, the day did get better. I hope that all you long-legged women will back me on this, it is hard to NOT take long strides when it's so easy to take two steps, two stairs, whichever, and you are there. But today, I decided to slow down a bit, and I loved it! Walking slow almost made me feel like a princess, not like the Hunch Back of Notre Dame that I'm usually like.

Walking lady-like slowed me down and gave me a chance to really concentrate on just taking one step at a time, no hurry, just getting to where I needed to be. It was rather peaceful, not stressful like I had to run to be somewhere a few seconds earlier.

What I learned today: Using my hands can glorify the Lord, and they can also glorify me. WORKING with my hands brings glory to Him who gave me use of my hands; however, TALKING with my hands, brings attention away from what I'm saying and on what my hands are saying. This can be used to glorify myself because I’m subconscious using my hands to elaborate what I have to say (often exaggerating), bringing unwanted attention from many directions, putting the focus on me.

As for as walking ladylike, it is quite lovely to walk more slowly and delicately as a lady should. Even long-legged women, like myself, should slow it down and concentrate on each step she’s taking. However, it is UNSAFE to walk slowly in a parking lot at night, whether with someone or alone. Therefore, in my opinion, if you must for the sake of safety, pick up your princess slippers and walk a little faster!

"Love is Patient, Love is Kind..."

...is not jealous. Love does not brag, is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly." I'm not even going to try to continuing that verse because, 1) I probably can honestly, NOT say all of it, or 2) I may be able to say it, but would really mess up my point here....

Here's the deal, as any Christian woman should, I'm trying to memorize this verse, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Only problem is, I've been trying to memorize it for, um.....a few months now. It all began when my godly Sunday School teacher suggested we start really getting familiar with scripture, so every week we start a new verse, well, at least that was the intention, but not before we recite the past verses. My teacher is quite faithful, I must admit, but her student is not. Sure, I can blame it on school, work, homelife, what-have-you, but I think the problem is greater......I'm not taking this verse to heart.

There's more to just memorizing scripture, it's about applying into our lives. God's Word says that we are to hide it in our hearts (I should be quoting one of these such verses, so hold me to it). What this means is, make it our heart's deepest desire to abide by His Word. Using 1 Corinthians 13:47, my head-knowledge says to love people, but my heart says "how"? It is so easy for me to love those who love me, and treat me good, but for me to love those who are against me.....I consider them unloveable, which is so far from the Truth.

So, tonight I'm just kinda wondering, am I the only one here who has this problem, applying one single verse to my life? What part of scripture are you trying to memorize, and not just with your head, but with your heart and are finding difficult?

When the Holy Spirt convicted me....

During my first year of college I began to get pulled into a television show while babysitting at a family's home. Anytime I was at their home once the kids went to bed, I would watch this show. I got so into it that I began renting the episodes from the movie store. One thing lead to another and I had watched every single episode at least twice, owned the book about the show, talked about it, and constantly thought about the show. I loved the show! It was how I wanted to spend my weekends, watching it. That show was "Sex and the City". To me, this was the ideal show.

So, here I was, a Christian, drawn deep into a show, which practically consumed me. But I didn't see nothing wrong with it, even though the word "sex" was in the title! The show, living up to it's name, was basically about sex....in the city! However, the producers had this neat way of making it real life situations, so would appealing. In reality, this show was filled with all the pleasures of the world, especially sex. I was watching soft porn for a year and a half and never even realized it, until the Holy Spirit said, "That's not right". I allowed myself to be deceived into thinking that it was okay because of fashion icons, real life situations and because it was on TV.

Now days, when I look back a see how sinful that was for me to allow a show like "Sex and the City" to take over my thoughts, and possibily even my actions, it makes me sick. When I see the commericals on TV for the TBS episodes, I change the channel. In my post, "Grey's Anatomy: What's all the hype?" I talk about the need for Christian women to be aware of what they are watching. I wrote that because I KNOW how big that need is. We need to be do-ers and hearers of the word, not the world.

Me watching porn? Yep, soft porn, but none-the-less, porn. Don't believe it? Ask me, remember, I've seen every episode.

Grey's Anatomy: What's All the Hype?

I've gotta know, what's all the hype about this show "Grey's Anatomy"? I have to say, I don't think I've ever watched this show, but I have seen the commercials. Judging by the commerials there's A LOT of sex, A LOT of back-stabbing drama, with perhaps a LITTLE bit of Anatomy (I mean science, people, not sex which has already been covered). Here's why I ask, I notice a trend of women who claim to be Christians and LOVE this show! I mean, every week when it aires they are watching! Does it not go completely against what Christian women stand for? We are to be gentle and lovely and ladylike, not women looking for men to arouse and gain interest, pursue or be pursued with the intent on filling ones life with worldly pleasures! We are not to cause drama among our friends, co-workers or even enemies!

I want every Christian woman who reads this to think about what that show tells women who are watching. Does it tell them to lead godly, or even moral lives?? Can't find anything wrong with this show? Do you find it to just be a good-humored show, no harm done? Let me tell you, before long, you'll start thinking about this show, what happens in the show, it might appeal to you, you may start thinking the same pleasures. But would you ever act on those pleasures? Of course not, right?!?! WRONG! Fill your mind with thoughts like this show offers, and you'll start having a heart that out pours the actions you see!
Housewives
Tell me, is "Desperate Housewives " any better? If you watch this show and you're a wife, I pray that you don't act like they do......it only takes commercials to see the shows.

Think I'm being too harsh, please tell me, after you pray about it ;)

Pray for the Godfrey Family

Please pray this week for the Godfrey Family. Susan Godfrey is a wonderful woman who loves the Lord and who is expecting the birth of her baby Tuesday. The only thing, the baby has Potter's Syndrome. This is a serious disease which effects the kidneys. Unless a miracle takes place, the baby will most likely die a few short hours after birth.

The Godfrey's are Christians, which helps them cope in ways that other's wouldn't be able to understand. However, they still need our prayers. Susan needs our prayers for a safe delivery, she prays for a natural birth. Her family also needs prayers because unlike most family's when awaiting child birth, they will most likely be grieving shortly after.

Please pray for them every moment of the day, from now until Wednesday. The family will forever be effected, but these next few days will be the hardest.

Thank you, and please visit her blog for more info: http://susangodfrey.blogspot.com/

I'm Leaving Myspace

I'm Leaving Myspace

This morning, after months of having the burden on my heart, I'm leaving Myspace. Here's what everyone on my Friends List and anyone who views my page will see:

After one year of having a Myspace account, I've decided that it's time for me to leave. For the past few months, it's been a huge burden on my heart that I should no longer be a member of Myspace and spend time on the site. I believe this burden is completely a God-given.

As Myspace gets bigger and more populated, I become more and more sickened by the things allowed on the site, the advertisements of half-naked men and woman, and the disturbing profiles of a lot of the members. I’m shocked that the very people who call themselves a Christian will post pictures of themselves that don’t make them look different from any other person on the internet. What ever happened to modesty in Christians? Sure, we must work out our own convictions. But if you’re calling yourself a son or daughter of the King, shouldn’t you want to honor God with your profile and pictures?

I’m leaving Myspace because I’m afraid that I could eventually allow myself to become immune to seeing people fulfill their worldly pleasures. I can’t say anything about it to them in a loving way, because I appear “judgmental”, or I’m “condemning” them. Let me tell you, if you feel this message is directly pointed towards you, that not me condemning you, it may be the Holy Spirit putting pressure on your heart, as this message will go to ALL my friends through their Bulletin.

As Christians, we are called to constantly examine our hearts. The writer of Hebrews 3:13 says we are to “exhort one another daily, while is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Do you see a picture of a woman in a swimsuit on here and it not hurt your heart that THOUSANDS of men our staring at her body and thinking evil thoughts, or do you look at it enviously and covet her body? Are you married and look at another’s profile and lust after their body, but you would NEVER allow your husband or wife to post the same photo of them? People what’s wrong with us? Are we like Lot and living in Sodom?

I’m not asking anyone else to leave Myspace, all I’m asking is that you examine your hearts. If you can maintain a profile and NOT be influenced by the sin, so be it. But I have been influenced by the Myspace World, and God has called me to leave it in order to protect my heart.

The Godly Woman in Your Life

The Godly Woman in Your Life

In Titus 2:3-5 Paul clearly points out the responsibility of the older women to "admonish the young woman to love their husbands, to love their children.....be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed." The role of older Christian women is to teach younger women the ways of the Lord. These women show proof of their salvation by the way they live their lives, not sinless, but filled with desire for the Lord and His glorification. They are more often married and are mothers (although, "older" may mean mature in faith, so a younger women could be a mentor), who have struggled in their walk, but are full of faith. Every Christian woman, no matter what age, needs a godly woman in her life to keep her accountable, reproof her when necessary, and pray for her.

I am so fortunate to have a godly woman in my life who I meet with weekly. This woman is not perfect, in fact, she reveals her sin to me more often than I do her. She is open and sincere. She prays for me on regular basis (I can tell). She is a godly wife to her husband and wonderful mother to her son. She is modestly clothed and is very feminine. Most importantly, she loves the Lord. Sometimes when I get caught up in the World the rest of the week, I can meet with her and snap back into the Eternal.

I'd like to know......who is the godly woman in your life? What is she like? What attributes do you feel a godly woman would possess?

First Post!

First Post!!

I was going to start my very first post called "About Me," but I'll just get to the point. I'm a sinner, saved by grace of God. I desire to please the Lord, everyday, by being a woman of His Word, only one problem.....the World. How do I keep it my heart's desire to please the Lord, while living in this world? By looking less like the world, and more like Christ. That's why I'm starting this blog, to share my experiences in growing, to hear from other women with the same desire to please the Lord, and to grow into a more godly woman, who fears the Lord and glorifies His name.