I shouldn’t dress like a hoochie??

Modesty is something that is definitely lacking in our society.  I’m not talking about how the prostitutes are starting to dress a little more revealing, I’m talking about the girls that go to church looking like they just walked out of the Candy Shop video.   But these young girls will try and say that they are just being “stylish”(because walking around half naked is so “in” right now).  Well Modesty doesn’t mean you have to dress like a nun!  Modesty doesn’t mean that you have to walk around in tons of clothes either.  So how do we define what is Modest?  As females we don’t find revealing clothes to be stumbling blocks to our purity, but Modesty isn’t for us.  The bible tells us that we are to  make sure we don’t do anything to make our fellow Christians stumble.   Guys happen to be very visual, and if you walk into church with your junk hanging out the front, it’s going to be very hard for them to focus on Jesus.  By being Modest, your respecting your Christian brothers purity so that he will respect yours.  So when we get dressed in the morning we need to ask ourselves,”Could my outfit arouse ungodly feelings in guys?”, and then get a second opinion from your dad!  Finally, your body is meant to be a gift for your husband, and Modesty is the wrapping.  When a gift is wrapped in nice shiny paper it creates anticipation, but there’s nothing exciting about getting a gift wrapped in plastic wrap.

We Objectify Ourselves!!

I’ve heard, and used to think that Men objectify Women, but the truth is that Women  objectify themselves.  I turned on the T.V and saw (what I’m guessing was) Rihanna in concert.  She was singing(duh) her hit songs.  When she did dance she would do nothing but shake her butt, and the crowd would go wild.  You see, Women have accepted being measured by how good we are at arousing ungodly feelings in Men (the world calls this being sexy).  So Men have no other option but to view us as nothing more than sex objects.  When I think about what some Women have lowered themselves to become, I almost feel ashamed to be a Women.  But I won’t let the World steal away the blessing of being a Woman.  I pray for the females  in or  generation…….

I Want to be Anorexic, Half-Naked, and Fake!

…….Not really, but with those three words, I just described all the women in Hollywood. These are also the women that our society calls “role models”. I am disgusted when I think of the fact that many younger girls look to these women as examples, but then I got to thinking. How many times do we look at the fashion magazine and seen how beautiful these women can appear to be and think, “maybe I should do my hair like that”, or “wow, i should buy pants like that” . Even though we KNOW these women are lost and pretty conceited, we begin to fashion ourselves after them. Now, this isn’t sin, but what I want to know is why aren’t their enough godly women, dressing and acting like godly women, to show us something different! What we need is a strong and secure example of what a women should be, to contradict everything that world tries to show us. In our church, we do have strong godly women, but we need more. So I write this as a challenge to the young ladies. We need to be that example for the next generation, let us be the change we want to see in the world.
” I desire that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. “-1 Timothy 2:8-10

I Have a Confession…..

Many teenage girls are sick with promiscuity and immodesty. This is usually because of the lack of a father or the lack of a father who showed them the love and support they needed. So because they lack that love, they search to fill the void with the love of another man, which turns into the wrong man or many men. But what they find is not love, but lust and infatuation which quickly boils down to hurt and loss. So when we talk about purity to girls this is usually a topic we hit on. But I’m here to say that I am one of these fatherless girls!!!!! Its true, my real father chose not to be in my life, and even though a man stepped in to that position, i never felt that love from him. As a result, something in me wants to feel affection from a guy even though my mind knows its a cheap imitation of love. Its my flesh. For some reason I feel if i get affection from a guy, its going to fill that void that I have. So why am I not out there being promiscuous? Because I realized who God is and how perfect His love is. I had to make a conscious decision to go against every feeling I had. It’s been tough and its something I still deal with, but i know that if I deny myself, God has so much more in store. He promises to be a Father to the fatherless.
So I wanted to write this as encouragement to anyone who can relate. There is a God who loves us and He is the only answer to our problems.

Ladies! You are Fearfuly and Wonderfuly Made!

Identity Crisis

via Pastor Steven Furtick by sf on 9/13/07

I heard somebody on TV the other day saying that Britney Spears has gotten too fat.
And my first reaction was: “I wish I could cover the ears of every 13 year old girl in America right now.”
I seriously wanted to throw up.

As a young pastor who wants to see the next generation rise above surface level spirituality, nothing makes me sadder than to imagine what it must be like for all the young ladies who are being force fed the lies of the modern media.

Should we take care of our bodies? No doubt.
Is it okay to care about fashion and appearance? Go for it.
(I personally love the way my wife works hard to dress well and look good for her man. And I try to do the same for her. That means I wear what she tells me to wear. It’s that simple.)

But I’m deeply concerned that this generation of gals is beholding the wrong standards.
So I’d like to offer a few pastoral observations to my wonderful female readership about the impending American female identity crisis.

1. Nicole Richie is too skinny. Make sure you’re drawing your inspiration from reasonable and truly beautiful role models. You don’t get a “pretty point” for every rib that I can count. In fact, I shouldn’t be seeing your stomach at all. Put some clothes on.
2. The girls on My Super Sweet 16 are not normal. They are bratty and disgusting. You should not act like them. If you do act like them, your parents should beat you. Not put you on restriction. Beat you. Yeah, I said it.
3. If you will cultivate Christ like character and pursue God with your whole heart, you’ll attract guys with the right stuff. Your identity has got to run deeper than your make up and new shoes. Make guys respect you for what’s within you.

I am passionate about this. I want to exalt true and lasting beauty that doesn’t fade for the young ladies who sit under my teaching every week. I want them to know who they are and who they belong to. I want them to hold themselves in high regard as women who are uniquely crafted and completely loved by God. And I want them to practice selective hearing, so that the next time some talking head tells them Britney is too fat, and it makes them feel inadequate, they’ll turn off their TVs and fill their minds with the thoughts of God instead.