Do I heed the Saviours Call?

The Beauty Beneath has come to a close. And Taleisha and I just want to leave you with one last thing.
It doesn’t matter what we have said on this topic. It doesn’t matter. You need to read the bible yourself and decide what is right and what is wrong. You need to hear from God and obey what He tells you- yes, especially if it is different from what we have said!
Ask God what He would have you do.
Not what you want to do.
And Obey Him.
~ Meggie and Taleisha

Make-up and the Gospel

I brought the brush to my nose. The foundation puffed into the air as I brushed it over my face. I felt like I was hiding, that somehow, I was covering up the real me.
Honestly, I still don’t know what I believe about make-up, I am still trying to work out if it is bad or good. But, we all think differently. So many good Christian girls wear make-up, and some of them strictly don’t wear it. I think it is what is in your heart.

Here are some quotes and bible verses that I have been really thinking about:

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent [our body], is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house [body] not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. – 2 Corinthians 5:1

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. – 2 Corinthians 5:10

Make sure what’s on the outside reflect the purity of the inside. – A Young Women After Gods Own Heart, by Elisabeth George.

Our goal should be to make ourselves presentable; remove all distractions; draw attention to our face, eyes and smile; and let our outward appearance showcase the inner joy, peace and love Christ is cultivating within our soul. – The Lost Art of True Beauty, by Leslie Ludy.

Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. – Proverbs 31:30

But when make-up ceases to accent the face and begins to cover the natural beauty God made, then it reflects the mixed-up priorities of the wearer. – Uncompromising, by Hannah Farvar.

There is a certain honesty and vulnerability in a clean, unembellished face. It shows humility and draws attention from the merely external to the soul shining through the eyes. – from the article, The Eye of the Beholder, by Bethany Patchin Torode. .

Take some time over these questions:

Why do I wear make-up?
Is make-up glorifying God in my life, or is it distracting me from Him?
Do I draw attention to myself, or to Jesus?

This is what Myra, a sister in Christ, thinks about make-up:

Why do we decorate houses or put flowers on our table or take anything and make it more beautiful? I believe that God made us to want beauty and crave beauty because He loves it. There is a beauty in Christianity, and I don't think it is wrong to take our physical appearances and make them more beautiful anymore than it is to take those things around us and make them more beautiful…if we are purposely masking our appearances because we are discontent with them, then we need to deal with our hearts. Our true confidence and our true beauty should come from knowing that we are daughters and servants of Jesus Christ and not from dressing like the latest models or wearing a pound of eye make-up.

…It's just that we have to remember that who we are on the outside isn't everything. There is so much more beyond the surface of our skin!...

~ Meggie

True Beauty - Leslie Ludy

~ Meggie

But don't guys have a responsibility too?

I looked down at what I was wearing: a cute purple shirt with a singlet underneath, protecting the low neck-line of the shirt; a purple, blue and pink flowery mini skirt with black tights. I bent down in front of the mirror. Good, the shirt didn’t seem to gape. Then I let my arms hang down. The shirt opened right up. Well, if I stood up straight and didn’t bend down without holding my shirt down I would be all good…right? Oh, and if my skirt didn’t fly up, I would be fine too. If I don’t have to run a race or anything, I will be fine. I thought.
But I frowned as I looked down at myself again.
Honestly, if I wanted to make sure I was perfectly modest, shouldn’t I ditch fashion and wear ankle long dresses that have a rectangle shape and a neckline that sits tightly around my neck? If I want to be a hundred percent modest, do I need wear that sort of thing?
Most days started off like this. Looking down at my clothes, and thinking how if this happened, and this happened, then I my shirt would gape, or my lower regions would be in the spotlight. I had to start thinking, if I am really out to not be a temptation, should I make sure nothing can be seen? I jumped onto the Modesty Survey, and I noticed they had the question posed at guys: What is your responsibility? Read one of their responses.

As a guy, what is your responsibility in this area? What is your role in guarding your eyes and mind (as opposed to the women's role of dressing modestly)?

If we seek to meditate on the sexual elements of her appearance, we're sinning and they're fine. If we have to make a conscious effort to avoid it more than usual, it's likely immodest. - from a fifteen year old guy.

Ultimately it is a guy's responsibility whether or not he is going to keep himself pure. No one can be forced to sin. However, a lot of girls don't realize how very diffucult it is for even the most godly guy to resist temptation in this area. It is so easy to let your eyes go to the wrong places, especially with the way our culture is today. It is the guy's decision whether he is going to sin or not, but a girl can make it a lot easier, or a girl can make it incredibly difficult. - from a fifteen year old guy.

(Modesty Survey, Survey Results, Open Questions, As a guy, what is your responsibility in this area? What is your role in guarding your eyes and mind (as opposed to the women's role of dressing modestly)? http://www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey/browse)

I realized that even if I wore a dress that covered everything, guys walking down the street, or in a shopping centre, would still think sexual thoughts. I realized that guys have a responsibility too; that they must try just as hard as us girls to keep their minds pure; and I realized that anything can happen, and I will never be prepared for everything the way I dress.

Takes a weight off your mind, doesn’t it?

In a nutshell: we dress modestly, and remove any stumbling blocks, but guys have a responsibility too.

~ Meggie

What I Believe about Modesty...

And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands. – Psalm 90:17

I believe that my clothing must glorify God.

I believe that if what I wear is making me be someone I am not, then I am not glorifying God.

I believe that I wear the clothes that I wear so that guys, and others will notice and compliment me, then I am not glorifying God.

I believe that if I choose my clothing on the basis that I want to fit in with the fashion trends, then I am not glorifying God, but going after fashion as my idol.

Basically, when I choose clothes, anything that is tight, and shows every curve of my body shape, if it has a low neckline that shows any part of my breasts in any way and any action (bending down etc.), if it is shorter than my knees, than it is immodest.

But don’t drop me out as a ‘frump’! I still like to look beautiful, I just know that beauty isn’t everything. I like wearing ankle long beach dresses, knee-length skirts with tights underneath, and I love my boots.

God isn’t telling you that you cannot be tasteful, that you have to be unfashionable and wear bland clothes that cover every inch of skin. He is saying He has an even better way. That by being modest, at the end of the day, is more beautiful.

Love others more than you love yourself. We are here to serve others, even in our clothing.

~ Meggie

Check out Christa Taylor, a young woman who has embraced modesty with her blog: http://www.empoweredtraditionalist.com/  where she posts about modesty, and where you can find some great modest clothing.

Clothing and Modesty

Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. – Luke 12:23

Today instead of writing a proper post, I want to share some quotes and bible verses. Clothing is something that you must ask God for yourself what you shouldn’t and should wear. You need to talk to God alone about this, and decide what your boundaries will be. Because I know if I don’t have strict boundaries and I see a really cute top, with a low neckline, I will buy it anyway.

At the end of the post there is some questions. Think deeply about these questions, and ask God to show you the answers.

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. – Philippians 2:4

If any interest draws our eyes [away] from Him, it’s sin. – Uncompromising, by Hannah Farver

Upper chest, thighs, stomach- these might seem like harmless areas to show off, but if you were married and wanted to stay that way, you wouldn’t allow another guy to touch you in any of those places. So why would you allow another guy to have the privilege of looking at what was meant for your husband’s pleasure alone? – The Lost Art of True Beauty, Leslie Ludy

Ladies, do you relate to your guy friends in a way that would make their future wives want to seek you out and thank you for being a sister to their husbands? – I Kissed Dating Goodbye, by Joshua Harris

The way we dress sends a message to those around us, whether we mean it or not. – The Lost Art of True Beauty, by Leslie Ludy.

There is a website called The Modesty Survey, which is a survey that hundreds of guys around the globe have filled out, giving us girls some help in choosing modest clothes. To find out what guys find immodest jump on there. Here are some quotes from this website.

 

The honest truth is this: We're not telling you what to wear -- we're just telling you what we, as guys, have to guard against. It is God's Word, your own heart and conscience, and your parents and godly friends who should help you decide what to do about it. But, to help you reach your own conclusions we've provided some excellent resources that strike a balanced, non-legalistic tone.

 – The Modesty Survey, http://www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey/overview

If you could say one thing to your sisters in Christ about modesty, what would it be?

Please don’t take modesty lightly. As your brother in Christ I value the relationship that I will have with my wife someday. When I am tempted because of you I lose a part of myself that I am trying to save for her. When I’m tempted because of you I become that much more accepting of the perversions in the world. When you remain pure and modest, my life is made so much easier. Instead of watching to ensure that I don’t sin I can focus on you as a person and fellow follower of Christ. I appreciate modesty more than you’ll ever know. Please, show respect of yourself and of me and be modest.  – From a sixteen year old guy.

Embrace it. Even though it always seems like guys only "want one thing," I, being a guy myself, can speak for most guys when I say that deep down inside most guys really just want a girl that has the confidence to not cheapen herself by dressing immodestly. It is time for both guys and girls to rise above the age-old stereotypes thrown at us by the media, adults, and each other, and take modesty to heart! – From a seventeen year old guy. - Modesty Survey: http://www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey/browse On 'Open Questions' and then 'If you could say one thing to your sisters in Christ about modesty, what would it be?" What does your appearance say about you? Do you look for compliments from others? Do I spend more time each day on dressing, than spending time with God? Do you draw attention to yourself, or to Christ? What would God have you do? Are you dressing how you want, or have you asked God to reveal to you how He would have you dress?

~ Meggie

Modesty

Modesty

Ladies of the past springing from novels: Elizabeth Bennet, Jo March and Jane Eyre. They were all so beautiful, and so elegant. But did you ever read a detailed sentence on what they were wearing? It didn’t matter what they were wearing! It was their characters that really spoke to us about who they were. I want you to remember that as we have a look at modesty, that clothes are not going to make us beautiful, only a beautiful heart will.

Therefore I want men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety , adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expiensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. – 1 Timothy 2:8-10

Modesty: 

1. The state or quality of being modest.

2. Reserve or propriety in speech, dress, or behavior.

3. Lack of pretentiousness; simplicity.

( From The Free Dictionary: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/modesty)

Guys are different from us. (Obviously!) They have their mind wired in a different way. Guys thoughts and feelings turn naturally to the marriage bed. These thoughts come into their mind so easily, that a guy that cares about purity has a lot of trouble fighting against those thoughts. Sitting in a guys lap, talking about touchy subjects and dressing indecenetly, does make it harder for them to keep themselves from lusting. Are you the sort of person a guy can hang out with and get to know without their eyes going to the wrong places?
Also, if we are keeping ourselves for our future prince charming, then why are we flaunting our bodies to every passerby? The Bible teaches that sex is for marriage, but so are the other private parts of your body. Those parts are especially for your husband, keep them that way!
By being modest in our actions, speech and fashion, we can help guys stay pure, and also stay pure ourselves.

If you are a girl who has given her life to follow Christ, show that through how you dress, what you say, and what you do. Dress, talk and walk who you are. I am not saying that you wear a t-shirt saying Jesus Loves You, or always talk about church. I mean that you reflect Jesus’ purity in the way that you save your body for only your husband by dressing modestly and that your speech shows you are not leading any guy on. Modesty is another word for purity. Dress and speak with purity.

“Make it your goal that when a guy looks at you, he will notice the light of Christ in your eyes and the radiance of your smile, rather than being distracted by the outline of your body.” – Leslie Ludy in The Lost Art of True Beauty.

Modesty is keeping your clothing, words and actions compleltly pure. Modesty means not causing temptation for guys, it means covering up what is only meant for our future husband to see, and showing through all where your life lies- in the hands of the Creator.

~Meggie

Discernment: following the right paths

But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. - Hebrews 5:14 NKJV

She flung her hand angrily over the mosquitoes hovering in the black around her lantern, which was swinging madly around as she jogged onwards. The darkness did not let up; she could only see black shapes around her and the sandy path underneath her shoes. Where did this road finish?

Sighing she kept jogging along, but slowed to a walk when she noticed the path widening. She stopped and frowned. Looking around she found the path was branching off into two completely different directions. The left one looked interesting; the path seemed to veer down a hill and all around. She turned and walked cautiously down it.

Discernment is being able to tell if a thing is good or bad. Right or wrong. Biblically, discerning is when you are able to look at two different paths and know which is the right one and which is the wrong one. It is understanding what the two paths are, and understanding where they lead.

Discern – to distinguish; to see the difference between two or more things; to discriminate; to see or understand the difference. (Taken from Websters: American Dictionary of the English Language).

Why bother with discernment? Imagine you are her. You are pushing through with one lone lantern through the paths of life and hit a crossroads. A decision: a guy asks you out or you get a job offer. Do you go with what you feel like? Discernment sees each path and finds out what to take by reading the Word to see which is right and which is wrong.
Discernment sees the end result, the destiny of each road and makes the decisions in light of what is at the end of the finish line.

Here are some bible verses that have taught me a lot about discernment.

You know when I sit down and when I rise up, You discern my thoughts from afar.  

– Psalm 139:2 ESV

They do not know nor understand; For He has shut their eyes, so they cannot see, And their hearts, so that they cannot understand [ or discern]. – Isaiah 44:19 NKJV

God gives discernment. Like King Solomon, you have to ask God for wisdom, knowledge and discernment. He is the one who gives it, you can’t try and be discerning without being given it by God.

Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness, that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home? – Job 38:19-20 ESV

When making a choice of what to do, take a step back and see what the end result will be. Will this new job at the end of its path, bring honour to God? Will this job bring me closer to God in the end, more towards heaven, or will it draw me to the devil? Think of that roads destiny. Each road, path and choice has a destiny, by looking for its destiny you can usually understand if it is good or bad.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light…finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. – Ephesians 5:8-10

Where do we find out what is acceptable to God? The Bible! When I didn’t know if I should be hugging my guy friends, I turned to the bible with a concordance and looked up verses on ‘friendship’ and ‘purity’. I soon realized what path God wanted me to take. You need to search out and dig up the truth so you can make right decisions. Should you go out with that guy? Go to your Bible and ask God what He thinks about dating. To make the right choices to live life on the path that God wants you to be walking, you need to forever be referring to His manual, and digging into it.

So, discernment is finding out if something is right or wrong by: asking God for discernment, looking at the end result, and by searching the bible for knowledge on that choice. Make the right choices by discerning what path to take.

She fell to her knees, briars clinging to her skirt and hair, the blood seeping from her arm and the mud flecked over her face. The path had turned into a little track and had finally vanished, leaving her with no way to go. “Oh, God. I went with what I felt was good, with what I thought was right. Please, please,” she whispered. “Please help me.”

He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set me feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. – Psalm 40:2 ESV

~ Meggie

Purity in Action

Hello girls!

I talked last week about how beauty comes from the heart, and we need to cultivate those things in our hearts that will show true beauty. The next three parts are going to be look at three very different things that can make us beautiful: Chasteness, Discernment and Modesty. But the most beautiful thing that can be in our hearts is Jesus Christ. If He is in there and is the love of our lives, then He will change us daily to be more and more beautiful- more and more like Him. If He isn’t there, then these three attributes won’t be there either.

So what is this word, ‘Chaste’? (Yes, it is a very old word!)

Chaste:
1. not having experienced sexual intercourse; virginal
2. abstaining from unlawful or immoral sexual intercourse
3. (of conduct, speech, etc.) pure; decent; modest
4. (of style or taste) free from embellishment; simple; restrained
- (Definition from The Free Dictionary: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/chaste )

 But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine: that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behaviour, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. – Titus 2:1-5

The younger women are to be loving, homemakers, good, obedient, and chaste.

I wanted to look at this word, because it is not used now-a-days, but it holds a beautiful meaning. It’s a word that basically means ‘pure’. Sort of like pure, but not. The first and second meaning for the word ‘chaste’ is being a virgin or only having sex within the boundaries of marriage. It’s the third meaning I want to look at: (of conduct, speech etc.) Pure; Decent; Modest.

There is more to ‘keeping sex for marriage’ than most think. Being chaste is about letting that decision affect other areas of our lives. Can you remain a virgin, but flirt with guys? Can you remain a virgin until marriage, but in your mind obsess over your latest crush and be called pure? Being chaste means being sexually pure in everything: actions, words, conduct, thoughts, clothing, make-up and jewellery. Being pure, decent and modest in your actions means making sure you don’t lead guys in the wrong direction. It means loving guys by helping them by wearing clothing that is modest (I’ll talk more about this in another article).

Are your actions and thoughts revealing the decision you have made to remain pure? Do guys see low tops and hear flirtatious comments? Or do they see the heavenly beauty of a mind that lets herself dream, but not obsess, of a girl who is modest in her clothing, not fishing for attention, a girl who challenges and encourages those around her to live for God, not draw their thoughts in the wrong direction?

Let God into your actions. Let others see these decisions through what you do, not what you don’t do. Chaste: being sexually pure in every part of our lives. Not just the physical.

  ~ Meggie

Real Beauty: Outward Beauty versus Heart Beauty

Magazines, TV shows, celebrities, catwalks: they are all hiding behind there ‘beauty’ of their bodies. They tell us that we are not beautiful unless we do the same. But as Christians we don’t follow the world anymore. God says that actually, beauty comes from within.

Why are we talking about true beauty? As I am struggling with the demands of today with make-up, clothing, and jewellery not knowing if I should wear it, or how much I should care about beauty, I realized that I had given over my life to Christ, I am His, I need to do what He would have me do in this area.

For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive…according to what he has done whether good or bad. – 2 Corinthians 5:10 NKJV

Take a step back and look at eternity, God made the world, and in the end those that believe on Jesus will go to heaven, and live in heaven forever, for eternity. Now think about beauty. I realized that beauty is not going to get me to heaven.

Therefore do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing [dying], yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. – 2 Corinthians 4:16 NKJV

Does beauty really matter then? I didn’t know. Does God think make-up is evil? Should I wear jewellery? Do I need to wear un-fashionable clothing to be a Christian? I dug into Gods Word, and He brought these versus my way.

Do not let your adornment be...

[just]… outward… rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible [undying] beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. – 1 Peter 3:3-4 (words in brackets mine.) NKJV

He is saying that a gentle and quiet spirit is beautiful. The good, pure God-given stuff in our heart is beautiful or drop-dead gorgeous. 

Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout, is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion. – Proverbs 11:22 NIV

Does a pig with a gold ring through its nose look pretty to you? God is saying that without the virtue discretion, a woman is ugly.  Without that good thing in the heart, we might as well be pigs with a gold ring. Ever seen a girl who is gorgeous, but then as you get to know her you realize she lies behind your back, she does whatever she feels like doing, she swears at her friends, and doesn’t keep secrets.  She is pretty to the worlds standards, but when you think about her, would the word ‘pretty’ or ‘gorgeous’ come to your mind, or would you think ‘horrible’?

And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us;… - Psalm 90:17a NKJV

God is good in every way. If He is in our hearts and changing our actions, then His beauty shines through us. Those pig-ish actions are chucked out and replaced with beautiful actions.

And the last one…

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment… - 1 Peter 3:3

My beauty should not come from the outside. My beauty should not come from what a wear, what my face looks like, or whether I have no acne (or pimples!) today.
REAL beauty comes from the inside. It comes from what we have in our heart, not what we wear!
True beauty is what shines through our lives through our actions, through our smiles, through our discretion and gentle, quiet spirit. Beauty comes straight from God living in our hearts and pushing beauty through us!

There is that beauty that the world thinks of; that outward beauty. But think: our bodies are dying and growing old. We might have beauty now as we are young, but as we grow old, what will we have left? Do we have the undying beauty that shines out no matter what we look like?

The world is selling us the fake beauty of outward appearances. It is covering up the fact that beauty actually lies within. We are made to be known for our good actions, not for our good looks.

Make sure what’s on the outside reflects the purity on the inside. – A Young Woman After Gods Own Heart, by Elizabeth George.

As I was reading those versus I learnt that God does care about beauty, that He wants me to be beautiful, but with a beauty that does not fade with age, a beauty that is the overflow of what is in my heart.

~ Meggie

Stay tuned for how we should put this inner beauty in our lives. How do we cultivate good things in our hearts? This beauty of the heart is good and all but how does that relate to clothing, make-up and jewellery?
Taleisha is posting next on cultivating modesty and chasteness in our lives.

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The Beauty Beneath

In a few weeks, Meggie and Taleisha will be talking about everything related to beauty: make-up, clothing, shoes, your hair, and how we should look at those things as Christians. Is it wrong to wear care about what you wear? How do you feel like your beautiful when all you can think is 'ugly'? Meggie and Taleisha will both be sharing there struggles to show how they have felt beautiful and what seems to be helpful in that.
There are no hard and fast rules, your lives wont be changed forever. We are just going to share our struggles and how we have been getting through them daily and maybe that will help you.

There is beauty on the inside, but it comes from Jesus.

Meggie and Taleisha

True Beauty

Even if you dont have time to watch the video above, I want you to ask yourself this question. What do you personally think?

What do you think is beauty? What is beauty in and of itself?

~ Taleisha and Meggie