Stephanie

Have a bit of extra time?

Posted on 25 April 2013 by the88keys4me

Here are just a few links to pages I found interesting through the past few days. It is by no means an exhaustive list! I can’t say if they are all correct, or incorrect- I’ll leave the judgement to you:

http://www.imnoangel.org/ -A former Victoria’s Secret model turns to modesty instead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ9XRCYgtRU -A man speaking about why women should wear head coverings

http://www.covered4him.com/Headcovering-Testimony.php -Another testimony about covering the head

http://www.duggarfamily.com/ -Duggar family, committed to wearing modest clothing

http://www.have-faith.org/modest.html -A view on what modesty is

-Stephanie

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Why is the world so conflicted on different messages?

Posted on 23 April 2013 by the88keys4me

I can see May 1st on the 10 day forecast now…the day I can finally go back to wearing pants! Or….will I?

When I start any project, like this month of living Biblically, I almost always go into the project prepared to do a little research. For this month, I obviously needed to use the Bible as my number one tool, but after that, there were several books I referenced for ideas. One of my biggest questions was why some women choose to wear skirts and dresses exclusively, and why some don’t. My family and friends are all in the ‘don’t’ category. Many of the women who do point to Deut. 22:5 as their reference point, which tells us that men should not wear women’s clothing, and women should not wear men’s clothing. This being said, some argue that pants belong to men and skirts belong to women. Even more important to some women is the modesty fact, which also cannot be fulfilled while wearing pants, and must be fulfilled by wearing skirts that cover at least the knee. Some women also claim that men tend to look at parts of the body rather than the face when wearing pants.

So, does this mean that I will be wearing skirts exclusively from now on, or will I go back to wearing pants? I must admit, I do miss my pants, and I believe there are some things that are much more modest in pants anyway. That being said, I’ve always enjoyed wearing skirts too, so don’t be surprised if you see me in skirts more often…

-Stephanie

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Whoops!

Posted on 10 April 2013 by the88keys4me

Well, what do you know….for the past two days I have completely forgotten to cover my head while in prayer! It was not until tonight that it dawned on me- my head is bare, and I’m praying! And while I’m confessing, I’ll admit that I may have said a few bad words today, and that I have complained about a few people (and the freezing rain alert!) as well. I’ll try harder in the next few days, that’s for certain.

This makes me think a bit, though: why do we even have rules from the Bible, and why bother following them? This could be a very long answer, one I’m sure to talk about in the future, so I’ll try to be succinct here. One of the most important answers is respect. Yeah, R-E-S-P-E-C-T kind of respect. Respect for God- He made this earth, He rules over us, let’s follow His rules! Respect for others-really, this one was learned in elementary school. Don’t do things to others that you wouldn’t want them to do to you. And finally, respect for yourself. Your body is not technically yours, it belongs to God, so treat it nicely! Keep yourself healthy, dress respectfully, and be happy!

-Stephanie

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Little Life Lessons in Disguise

Posted on 9 April 2013 by the88keys4me

I cannot lie- these past two days have been tough! I got my jury summons in the mail a few weeks ago and groaned. Then forgot about it…..until a few days ago, when I realized I had to appear April 8th (yesterday). There were so many reasons in my head why I could not go: homework, sleep, wedding planning. Unfortunately, none were truly valid excuses, so I got up and made my way to the courthouse yesterday morning. Although I was grumbling the whole time, I was optimistic that the process would go quickly, and I’d be home by noon yesterday for lunch. HA!

Let me tell you a story about a girl named Stephanie. She was doing a really great job of keeping calm and not complaining too much…but when jury duty stretched out into yesterday afternoon, patience was gone. And when I learned I had to come back today, I was extremely grumpy! After two full days of jury duty (I was in the last panel for questioning, but was not picked) I must admit that I am tired, hungry, and grumpy. I had forgotten my scarf at home, so my head was uncovered in prayer today. I had optimistically forgotten my lunch at home, hoping I’d be home to stay home, but no…

God had some serious tests of patience for me! Just when I thought I had perfected that skill, He showed me that there is always room for improvement! I am slowly learning that the more you trust in God, the more He shows His presence and mercy. Learning these things in Sunday School ten years ago, and living these things are two very different things to be sure!

-Stephanie

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The Little Things- a Female View

Posted on 6 April 2013 by the88keys4me

Day six, and I’ve been doing well with my all-modest-and-skirt wardrobe so far. The only exceptions came today while I was WEDDING DRESS shopping. I can honestly say that most of the dresses did not fit my strict modesty rules, but I had plenty of fun trying on as many as I could. And, if you were wondering, I did pick out and buy a most beautiful wedding dress, but I certainly cannot describe it here- Michael can’t know what it looks like!
I will admit, it was a bit of a bummer to get back into my street clothes after that.

Speaking of street clothes, I got a brand-new, long jean skirt and was so excited to finally wear it this past Thursday! It fit great, and I started to walk down the stairs when I realized I wasn’t getting anywhere very quickly- the opening of the skirt wasn’t very wide, so I was confined to taking small steps the whole day. Michael and I went to have dinner at the apartment of friends, and I had to keep telling him to slow down! I think God may be telling me to slow down and smell the roses a bit…

The scarves have been another issue- that is, when I remember to cover my head when I pray. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I pray in the shower. It just isn’t practical to place a scarf over my head then! Sometimes the ends of the scarf dangle in my food, or get zipped up in my jacket. I have seen many people stare in public as I place my scarf over my head to pray, but these things don’t bother me as much as I might have thought when beginning the month. Phil. 4:13!

So, even just after the first 6 days, I’m finding that there are many common-courtesy things that are missing from society. How many guys open doors (and car doors!) for women? I’m still finding it tough to remember to let Michael open the doors! I try to smile at everyone I see during the day, even though it is not an official rule, because you just never know who could use one! Being pleasant, kind, and forgiving is not always taught often in our society either. After Michael was grumpy today because he could not see my dress (wait until the wedding day!!), he realized how he was acting and apologized. Forgiving him for being grumpy? Much harder than I thought, but I did… having Michael as my partner (and knowing we both make God our priority!) makes my future seem brighter. I view Michael (and all my friends and family) as a gift from God, and it’s our job to love, cherish, and forgive all people, even our enemies!

I have to agree with Michael: “even the little things count to God.” A smile, opening the door, or even sincerely forgiving someone all make a wonderful difference in the world.

-Stephanie

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A Christian Worldview

Posted on 3 April 2013 by the88keys4me

I’M A CHRISTIAN!

Well, congrats! Many of us have made that proclaimation, and that really is great- you’ve made God quite happy! Do you attend church every Sunday? Even better! BUT…do you truly strive to live like a Christian the other six days of the week? In your workplace, at school, when going to a football game? Or perhaps, like many of us, you have two seperate realms; you have the Christian life you lead, and then this ‘other’ life that fits better with the culture today.

Think about this a minute. Are we called to sit on our couches and watch tv? Or to go out and make disciples of all? Brian J. Walsh and J. Richard Middleton put it nicely when they asked “If the biblical world view is unique, and if it is radically different from the dominant world view in our secularlized culture, then why do Christians fit so well into our culture?” (The Transforming Vision. Downers Grove, Il: InterVarsity Press, 1984).

Even after two days, I’ve seen some people in the public eye my long skirt and watch me as I put my scarf over my head to pray. When Mike stood up in respect for our professor entering the room last night, I’m sure a few people wondered what he was doing. I’m not suggesting everyone should follow the rules that Mike and I have posted to make their lives more ‘Christian’- no, the changes can be as simple as holding the door for others, praying in public, or even as radical as wearing your faith in 1st century garb.

Now, being a Christian also means having a relationship with God. Being in fellowship with other Christians can be a great way to get in touch with God, along with reading te Bible, devotionals, and spending time in prayer. Some last, wise words come form my mother. “Even lighting a candle during a devotion can help you to focus and give you some more close time with the Lord.”

-Stephanie

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Snow? Must be an April Fools joke…

Posted on 1 April 2013 by the88keys4me

I wore a turtle neck to my shift at the hospital today. No- not because it was a more modest choice, but because I was COLD! Just a few hours ago, it was snowing. When I decided I wanted to do a month of following the Bible as close as our modern world would allow, I chose April because it would be warm enough (or so I thought) to wear many of the skirts I owned. Luckily, I do own a few long skirts that will be put to very good use these next few days, and sweaters and scarves will certainly help keep me warm!

I volunteer at a hospital, and for saftey and health reasons I am not allowed to wear a scarf or non-approved head covering, so this is the only location where I will not be covering my head while in prayer. As Rachel Held Evans writes in her book A Year of Biblical Womanhood (Nashville, Tennessee:Thomas Nelson, 2012), “…if you’re intent on trying to keep all the commands, you should know ahead of time that you’re going to bump into at least three or four that you simply can’t (or won’t) keep. The Bible is a hundred times older than you are. Prepare to be humbled by it.” (48)

Humbled we are!

-Stephanie

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Pants

Posted on 30 March 2013 by the88keys4me

Two days left to wear pants…I decided to save my two favorite pairs of jeans to wear this weekend, because on Monday I begin my journey of modesty. For me, modesty equates wearing skirts (Deut 22:5), not showing off what should be kept private (if you know what I mean…) and I’ll be wearing a scarf daily so that I can cover my head while in prayer (1 Cor 11:3-16). But for now, I’m letting my head enjoy the spring breeze….

-Stephanie

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