Why Are We Modest?

I have been posting many things about modesty, but today, I want to explain why we need to be modest in the first place. Now, when God said that we need to be modest, he did not mean that we can be modest when it's convenient for us. Let's look at wedding dresses for a minute. A traditional wedding dress is white. Why? Because it shows that you are pure, or, that's hat it's supposed to mean anyway. Now, being pure doesn't just mean that you "waited until you were married". One of the reasons we dress modestly, is to protect our purity. I know a lot of people, who think that just because it's a wedding dress, then you can automatically go against all modesty rules. Something that my mom always said was that "you don't need to show everyone what the groom is getting on the honeymoon." You need to protect your purity, no matter where you are. We need to hide the parts of our body that are meant to be hidden, and save it for our husbands, weather future, past, or present.

I once heard it explained this way:
Every girl has a secret. And that secret is meant to be seen by one person, and one person alone. That secret, is our body, and we need to protect it. Do you want just anyone knowing your secret? Of course not! You want to save it for that special someone. And I do not mean for your boyfriend. I mean your HUSBAND. It doesn't even matter if your engaged to get married. You aren't married, so you should not share that secret yet.

We need to protect our purity ladies! That Is why I created this blog, to help you protect your purity. Modesty is NOT, by any means just a silly rule made for the fun of it, and we can break that rule when we want to. This is a COMMANDMENT. It's just as important as any other one. This commandment was created to protect both our purity, and the purity of men. We need to keep ourselves pure, and we need to help keep their minds pure. Because if you are a distraction to men based on your clothing choice, then you are setting a stumbling block for them. Based on how you dress, you can make it very difficult for a lot of men to get into heaven. And I want to tell you something very important. The kind of guy you want to be in your life, is the kind of guy who sees someone dressing immodestly, and shuns it. I once saw a pin on pinterest that said, "Dressing immodestly is like rolling in mud. You'll get attention, but just from the pigs." Do you really want to be the kind of person who attracts the pigs? Once, someone asked the question, "Would it attract attention if you wore a bikini to church?" I knew where this was going, but I decided to hear them out. They went on to ask, "Would a bikini attract attention at a beach? No. Because it would be appropriate at the beach." That, is 100% man's thinking. There is a big difference between dressing appropriately, and dressing modestly. #1, are we really stooping to that level? Finding excuses to become impure? #2, that rule, is only true to some extent. Now, I'd never wear basketball shorts and a T-shirt to worship services. Modest or not, it wouldn't be appropriate. Now, if I followed the modesty rules and wore that to, let's say, a movie, it would be just fine. But when it comes to immodesty, it is never okay.

You wanna know what I don't understand? Women who seek out dressing immodestly, and being impure. I know of some people, who defend themselves, and take pride in how impure they are. That makes me absolutely sick. Are you really PROUD of being impure? Pure, means that you are right in the sight if God. It means that you are acceptable to him. It means that you are a perfect being. Do you really PRIDE yourself in your impurity? Do you really SEEK OUT not being acceptable to God? Because if so, then there is definitely something wrong.

I challenge you to go out in public, and find someone dressed modestly. I wish I didn't have to challenge you to do so. It has gotten to the point to where it is hard to go into public, and find someone not showing cleavage, thigh, shoulder, back, stomach, or wearing tight clothes, cut outs, or see-through clothing. I do not understand why women seek to be impure. So please, dress modestly. Not just appropriately, but modestly. Just because it Is appropriate to man, that doesn't make it acceptable to God. Please bear that in mind next time you get dressed.

What Story Do My Clothes Tell About Me?

Monica Teske, the writer of this article, is a very strong Christian lady, and I really appreciate her writing today's article. She made some very excellent points, :)

If I came up to you and I was wearing my Batman t-shirt, if you paid any attention to my shirt, you could probably tell that I am a Batman fan. If I were to come up to you in a shirt that said “GAP” you could reasonably infer that I shop at GAP and that is where I bought that shirt. As you saw me again and again, day after day, you would be able to figure out several different things about me. We can tell a lot about people by their clothing even though sometimes they may not realize what they are telling us by their clothing. In my example, in just a matter of two days, you figured out that I was a Batman fan and that I like to shop at GAP without me even uttering a single word. Whether or not we realize it, the clothes that we wear tell others a story about us.

Suppose for a second that I walked past you and I was wearing a pair of shorts that said “cute” on the rear end. What does that phrase and its placement on my shorts tell you about me? As females, we may not be as “in tune” as males may be to know what that tells others about us. But, to say this as kindly as I know how, yet bluntly enough to not be misunderstood, those shorts tell others that we have a “cute” rear end and that is absolutely not a story that we need to be telling ANYONE! Now, please do not misunderstand me at all, I may not be consciously sending out these messages by my clothing choices, but I am sending them out anyways. My clothes are telling people stories that I probably never even thought about before. Yet, my ignorance of the perceptions of me that people are getting from what clothes I put on does not give me a defense for what I’m wearing. I shouldn’t be wearing that type of stuff as a Christian woman and I have no legitimate excuse when I do.

Let’s revisit, for a moment, the example of those shorts. Not only do those shorts say something I do not want to be saying as a Christian, but they also bring attention to an area of my body that does not need to be brought to anyone’s attention. Ladies, males are attracted to women because that is how God made them. As a result, guys notice our physical beauty a lot. Guys are going to think that you are pretty, but you have a lot of control over where they look and what parts of you they think are pretty. So then, we should not be drawing attention to places where we would not want guys to look! If you do not want a guy commenting on the beauty of your body, then don’t show it off! Don’t let them see it! Don’t draw any unnecessary attention to it!

As Christian women, we need to be very conscious of what story our clothes are telling others. We need to watch what we wear in order to ensure that it is modest, but we also need to watch what we wear to make sure we are not drawing attention to inappropriate places or saying not very nice things about ourselves through our clothing. The question then to ask yourself is this: “What story are my clothes telling others about me?” Are they telling others that I do not care to show off my body? Are they telling others that I am a modest person? So next time you go to your closet to grab some clothes to wear, honestly consider the question “What story are my clothes telling about me?”

Delicious!

 My mother, as stated in a previous post, got this FREE with a purchase, then put it in her closet never to be used again, especially considering  it was a size too small, and she couldn't wear it as an undershirt anyway. So, it was handed down to me. The only thing this is good for, is an under shirt for those shirts that are too short. :)

See-through skirt & shirt fix

                 

                     

Thank you Sarah for modeling as well! :) For her skirt, she just put on a simple slip so you can't see through the skirt. Also, she put the skirt in front of the window to show that, it may now look see-through in the store, but when you go outside, you can see everything. That's why it's always good to have a slip on hand for when you find a skirt that's see-through. They're also very cool, and don't cost much at all. :) 

Cut It Out!

Today's post is written by Sarah Smith. She is a very talented writer, and a dear friend of mine. :)

I look forward to Christmas every year starting in about May, for various reasons: cold weather, scarves, the Christmas candies. But, mostly, I really like getting presents. A lot. My siblings and I put our presents for each other under the tree at the beginning of December, and we’re not allowed to open them until Christmas. The curiosity is sometimes overwhelming. The gifts are usually wrapped very well with thick paper. No holding them up to the light to see through the paper in our family! Sometimes, we even put small items, for instance, jewelry, in bigger boxes to throw them off. One of us could be expecting a DVD, but open it to find a gift card inside the case. We don’t know what’s inside of our gift.

Now, pretend I got my sister a CD for Christmas, and I proceeded to wrap it in lace. Would it be wrapped? Yes. Would it be very effectively wrapped? No, because you could see right through the lace to the CD cover. You could even read the list of songs on the back. What is the point of wrapping presents? It’s to hide the gift until later, when it can be opened at the appropriate time. What if I wrapped the CD in really thick wrapping paper, but there was a large hole right in the front. Again, it would be wrapped, but you could still see what was underneath the wrapping paper, leaving no doubt in your mind what the gift was. If you can tell what the gift is, then what’s the point in even taking the time and money to wrap it?

When you wear clothes that are see through, like a lace shirt, or a thin skirt, everybody can see what’s underneath. If they can see through to your underwear, then what was the point of you even putting on those clothes in the first place? When you wear shirts with cut-outs in the back, or jeans with holes in your legs, it’s almost as if you didn’t get dressed at all, because everyone will notice those holes, and they can see your skin. Why do we even put clothes on every day to begin with? To cover up our body. Nobody needs to see every part of you, and I wager that you don’t want just anybody to see every part of you.

An improperly wrapped gift gives away secrets and spoils the fun; clothes that let everybody see what’s underneath them not only lessen people’s opinion of the wearer, but they also expose and reveal parts of your body that are supposed to be kept hidden away. By letting people see through your clothes, you aren’t respecting yourself. You’re giving away your secrets.  

Photo Of The Day

Here's another example of layering. Got this shirt at Macy's for about $15. :)

At Home, Or Not At Home

Okay, so I talked about wearing immodest clothes in public, now I'm going to be talking about it for at home, or at a friend's house. Okay, so the rule isn't "be modest, unless you know the people you're around really well." Okay even if they ARE like a brother to you, you still have to stay modest around them. Because, even if they wouldn't be attracted to you in that way, (this includes brothers, and brother- like friends) when they see that on you, now they have a perfectly good image of what a girl's body looks like, and what do you think they're going to be thinking about when they see a girl who looks kinda like you? They are going to be imagining her in as little as what you're wearing. Also, like I said, the rule isn't an optional thing. Guys are guys. It doesn't matter if they're related to you or not. They may not be attracted to you, (or at least I hope not) but they still have that mental image. So please, no matter where you're at, please dress modestly. Your family will thank you for helping keep their thoughts clean :)

Union Jack

It may be difficult to find some modest clothes, but you can always find ways to make it so. You can make almost anything modest if you put forth at least SOME effort. :)
(Got this on sale at Macy's for 12.99 before tax)

Crop-Tops

Okay, so you know those cute crop-top shirts that completely show your stomach? Well, let me tell you, they're not modest. BUT, that doesn't mean you can't wear them! Today, I was going shopping with my mom, when I decided to try on this really cute shirt that had the Union Jack on the front. It was  completely see-through, and had some of the belly showing, (especially when I rose my arms) and it had a large cut-out in the back (which will be covered later) BUT, when I saw this, I knew exactly how to fix it. I just got a plain colored T-shirt and put it underneath, and it's still just as cute. Yesterday I posted an example of it, and today I'm going to do another one (I like to have a variety). But, always make sure you try it on with a shirt underneath so you know if it looks good layered. There. Now you can be just as cute, AND modest at the same time! You can do it. It's not impossible to get modest clothes. If I can do it, so can you! :)

Making the Immodest Modest

So, last night, a friend gave me this really cute shirt, but it was low cut, and see-through. So, what do I do? I get a modest undershirt, and wore it under it. And look, the shirt is still cute! It's that simple! If you like a shirt, go ahead and buy it. You can always add something to it to make it modest.

Bikinis: An Excuse To Be Almost Naked

Hello girls! Today I will be posting about something that most girls have a difficult time with is swim suits! So, what's the difference between a bra and panties and a bikini? A bikini is smaller, and it's meant to go swimming in. If you asked a girl to go to a beach in her bra and panties, what do you think she'd say? "NO WAY! That's so gross!" But what do you think she'd say if you asked her to wear a bikini? "What else would I wear to a beach?" is what she'd probably say. So, let me get this straight, a different place, and a different material make it okay? I hate to break it to you girls, but a bikini top and short shorts are just as immodest as a bikini. Just because you're swimming, that doesn't make it okay. I was at one of my favorite websites, allwomenstalk.com (it has just about every tip for anything), and one of the articles was on bikinis called, "20 Tips on How to Look Smoking Hot in a Bikini". This is why you want to wear a bikini. So you look smoking hot. Well girls, let me tell you something, if you dress like that, showing off your body for guys, then you'll get guys, but you won't like the guys you get. When you dress like that, you look easy. And guys like to date an easy girl. That is, until her looks get old, then they want something new. When you dress like that, you're just a shiny new toy to them. If you're looking for guy who will stay with you, you won't want that relationship to be based on that time you wore a bikini, you'll want to to be based on how happy you are with each other. If you wear a bikini, once again, it not only attracts the cute guys that, if they end up dating you it's because you looked easy, but you are, once again, attracting that 90 old dude. Either way, it's unwanted attention. Also, I mean, seriously, what is modest about wearing a bikini?! Seriously! If you go to the beach, or a public pool, or anywhere else with people, PLEASE dress modestly! You can buy some cute swim suits that pass the modesty test. Immodesty is STILL immodest, even if you ARE swimming in it.

Does Your Shirt Hang Low?

Today, I will be posting about low cut shirts and dresses. A lot of girls do something called the palm trick, where the place the top of their palm at the collar bone, and the bottom of the palm is the lowest your shirt should go. I do something like the cleavage test. I look at where my cleavage starts, and go above and a bit beyond. In fact, I even go a bit further and, the lowest I EVER wear ANYTHING is 3 fingers below, which is quite rare, and I honestly prefer 2 fingers or less. It's not a problem of cleavage fr me, it's just a bit out of my comfort zone. A lot of girls will convince themselves that they're modest just because they have on an undershirt, that automatically makes it modest, when in reality, even the undershirt is too low. Also, you have to me careful that when you bend over, no one can see down your shirt. And, you also want to make sure that your neckline won't sink after a while. So, every time, right before I buy a shirt or wear it in public, I check in the mirror and ask 3 questions:
1. Am I showing cleavage?
2. Can I bend over without anyone seeing anything?
3. Will my neckline start to sink after a while?

All of these things can be fixed with a modest under shirt. You can buy them really cheap at pretty much any women't clothing store. Just follow those 3 rules before you buy it. And remember, the hardest one to keep, is absolutely no cleavage!  Not just a small hint of it, I mean if you see a line, r part of a line, you're already showing too much.

Up-Tight

I was recently at an all girl's camp called Future Teacher Training Camp with some great friends. There was a modesty rule, but, even though there were men walking around the camp (they cooked the food) the dress code wasn't very specific, and it wasn't really emphasized. So, on the last day, at the banquet, one of the girls (who I love oh so very much don't don't mean to speak badly about her in any way) was wearing a very tight fitted dress. A lot of girls think that, if it's covered up, that automatically makes it modest. But not really. You see, God designed clothes to cover up the parts of your body that make men think about you in an inappropriate way. If you wear an extremely tight shirt, guys are going to be staring at your chest because they are so much more noticeable when you're wearing very tight clothing. Now, I'm not saying that they SHOULD, but, if they do, you are just as responsible as you are. It's like painting a bridge hot pink and then putting a sign next to it that says, "anyone who looks at this bridge will be shot". They're going to notice that something stands out, look, and then, who's fault is it? Mostly the person who painted the bridge hot pink. This also applies to suggestive writing. My mom once got this tank top that came FREE with her purchase that, on the very middle of your chest says "delicious". Now, people are going to read it. No matter what, people will see it, and read it. And when they look at your chest and see "delicious", they might have a difficult time keeping their thoughts pure. And, bear in mind ladies, that you aren't just attracting that cute guy from across the street, you're also attracting the attention of that 90 year-old old dude without any teeth and wears diappers. Please bear this in mind next time you get dressed. :)

What It's About

Hello Ladies. I, as I'm sure many of you do, have a difficult time dressing modestly in a society filled with people who want to show off EVERYTHING they have. So, I have decided to create this blog, because I have heard so much about how you have to dress modestly, and all that, which is great, but, most people fail to tell you what's modest and what's not. It seems that a lot of girls seem to misunderstand the term "modesty".  So I have created this blog to show you exactly what modesty is, but in a fashionable, and cute way, and show you that you don't have to dress like a nun to be modest. :)