My articles are featured at Mrs. Q

Four Articles on Modesty

You've all had ample opportunities to read my four articles on modest dressing before but right now the 4 articles are featured on:

http://blessedhomemaking.blogspot.com/

and they look very pretty due to the lovely art and other graphics that Mrs. Q. has supplied.

Perhaps you know someone who appreciates a pretty blog and would like to be linked to Mrs. Q. or perhaps one of your friends is newly interested in modesty.

Thank you and the Lord Jesus Bless YOU,
Clevsea
: )

Steadfast Prayer

Do Not Neglect Prayer

Being Christmas week I expect many of us to turn away from the keyboard and tend to home and hearth.

Go for it !!

But do try to be in the Word and don't skip prayer time-- ala this verse: "continuing steadfastly in prayer"

Here are some verses from Romans 12--read them, you'll be glad you did : )

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

Details on Plainness

In some cases plainness is in the eye of the beholder.

The "Quaker plain" style in my city is hemp pants in solid colors and a plain T-shirt. Not dresses, not bonnets.

Plain among the Anabaptist's is often a cape dress and kapp.

Plain for some people means no make-up.

Plain for some is removing the collars and cuffs from their dress shirts.

Plain for the Old Order Mennonites and Old Order Amish is NO buttons. Old Order Mennonite Bishops used to spend entire sermons on the anti-button topic according to a book called "Mennonites then and now."

I read in a different book a Mennonite lady who was astonished that some women buy fabric at the store and cut it up to make a quilt. I am supposing that she only used scraps of used clothing. She said this..."cutting up perfectly good fabric into shapes and then sewing them together?!!! That's just fanciness!"

She was quite clear in her opinion ... yet many Anabaptists and other plain people buy fabric to make a quilt with.

Plainness is chock full of opinion and yes I have heard of plain pride. Now, I am not saying that plainness is bad, not at all. I'm pointing out that there is not 100% blanket agreement on what it is and what it looks like.

To further clarify, plainness and modesty are not synonyms. We know that already but I thought it was worth repeating.

I lean toward plainness but I am not 100% plain. Some plain people are so against any kind of lace they do not allow it at all. I do allow for trims and lace and crocheted edgings on my clothes.

Some plain people do not allow any jewelery at all, not even a simple wedding band. That's okay, that's their opinion. I went without my wedding ring for about 3 years and the result was my husband's sadness.

I explained to him that I am not clear on how to apply the TWO New Testament passages that seem to speak out against jewelry. This did not make him feel better. I slipped my wedding ring back on and he is happy. Perhaps if I bump into a Mennonite he or she will not be happy with me, I can't know, but I do know I'm not married to a Mennonite. My husband's opinion counts more than a stranger's split second reaction to my finger.

This path to modesty and/or plainness is a matter of prayer and following the Lord Jesus. It's not a game of copy-cat or people pleasing or some kind of competition.

Covering our bodies, the skin and the shape, for the Lord is a worthy goal. Please proceed with much grace and sanity.

Called to Modesty?

First of all I really love Quaker Jane.

She has written so many great things and among my favorites is how she detailed some different kinds of plain dressing or modest dressing.

At her site you'll find well written descriptions and good photographic evidence.

You'll see there the categories of:

Plain Dress
Modest Dress
Plain Modern

http://quakerjane.com/index.php?fuseaction=plain_dress.

This is very helpful because this kind of thinking can bring some clarity to what path one is on.

Jumping off of what Quaker Jane has shared let me ask some questions:


Are YOU called to plainness?

or.....

modesty?

A modern look? (Professionals for one example)

A Prairie look?

Dresses only? (no pants, not even when white water rafting)

Anabaptist? (Mennonite, Amish, Hutterite, Charity, etc.)

Victorian? (or the Civil War period for USA)

European Folk Peasant? (love that one personally)

Eastern European Orthodox?

Jewish modesty of the modern variety?

Jewish modesty of the ancient variety?

Quaker Plain?

Pilgrim? (or Puritan Era--early American colonists)

Islamic look -- yet Christian?

Jumpers?

Bloomers?

Aprons?

Uniform Religious? (certain cape dresses for community living)

The American "church-y" look?---(think Mormon or Bill Gothard)

Monk's Robes (another that I'm strongly drawn to but don't want to look like a satanist)

The Twelve Tribes (long modest skirts or huge pants w/tunics)

A combination of all of the above?

Does working outside the home influence the modesty choices we need to make? Or being a stay at home mother?

Do we know our calling in this area of modest dress?

Have we sought the Lord with all of our heart and strength for direction in this area?

Are we copying someone else instead of following our leadings from Jesus?

Are the clothing styles we were formerly drawn to influencing us to a huge degree or have we completely "dropped" all that we once thought attractive?

Do we consults our husbands? (if available)

All these questions about modest dressing and we haven't even touched head covering and all of its many varieties. Hanging veils, bonnets, prayer shawls, various scarves, chapel doilies, beanies, Kapps, etc.

I know some things for certain.

One of them is this: The Lord is the Good Shepherd.

I also (humbly) think that if we remember our simple place as His sheep then we may arrive at what our own calling is in every respect, even our clothing.

I know another thing. We are individuals. Judging one another's choices is not charitable. Our walk, our path, our relationship to Jesus and how that is expressed or ignored will be individual.

We ought not judge another's servant....

"3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. 5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind." Rom 14:3-5

And, as Paul pointed out with the example of keeping certain days, we ought to be fully convinced in our own minds on our "take" on modesty.

But let's not foist that "take" unto others.

Let's be loving and faithful to the Lord Jesus. Let's follow Him to the best of our ability.

Love rejoices in the Truth

I was struck by a small verse yesterday:

"[love] rejoices in the truth"

~~~~from I Cor 13 ... it was one of those times where you just cannot get a verse out of your head.

Here is the whole section on love from I Cor 13:



"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

Those who have known me for a long time may remember years ago when I inserted my own name in place of the word "love" in this section.

Try it with YOUR name....here is mine:

Clevsea suffers long
Clevsea is kind
Clevsea does not envy
Clevsea does not parade herself
Clevsea is not puffed up
Clevsea does not behave rudely
Clevsea does not seek her own
Clevsea is not provoked
Clevsea thinks no evil
Clevsea does not rejoice in iniquity
Clevsea rejoices in the truth
Clevsea bears all things
Clevsea believes all things
Clevsea hopes all things
Clevsea endures all things

Do you think that all the above is true of me?

Do you think that IF it were that it would be because I am just that great?

Of course NOT. This is when we can see how the fruit of the HOLY Spirit might look in us and in our behavior when we submit to the Lord Jesus Christ and allow His Spirit to exhibit in us.

It's not the fruit of the Clevsea------it IS the fruit of the HOLY Spirit.

When did you last share the Gospel?

When was the last time you shared the Gospel?

I know many of you are at home, busy with your children and families, and keeping house, but I am curious about this.

If I asked this a different way it might help.

How often do you share the Gospel? About once a week? Once a month? Once a year? Once every 3rd year?


Do you rely on "lifestyle" evangelism?



I'm not judging or even admonishing....however I have thought a lot about lifestyle evangelism vs. speaking words evangelism.

The Bible says "faith comes by hearing, and by hearing the word of God." There is a lot more to it than just that one phrase, I know.

I don't know "why" the Lord God chose to use mere people to "speak" the words of salvation one to another, but it seems that He did choose that method. I also don't know "why" the Lord chose prayer as His system of working here in our lives, but it seems He did.

It stands to reason that if you act nicely to someone over the course of time that you have earned the "right" to share the gospel with them. But that is not how I see the spread of the gospel in the book of Acts. It seems like there was some "teaching" in fact Peter and Paul would often go over the history of Israel first and then explain that Christ was the Messiah. They did not live next door to these people they were sent to preach/teach to. The majority of them would not have known their "lifestyle" or seen them kick their dog or neglect their yard work.

I have tried lifestyle evangelism but smiling and taking my neighbor some warm cookies has not ever once converted any of my "near ones" to the Faith.

Again if my actions are very rude, etc., then that could well stand in the way and the unbelievers around me would have one more reason (excuse really) to ignore the clear teachings of salvation.

I guess I'm saying that I don't want to wait 20 or 30 years for my smiles and good deeds to speak for me and in some mysterious way communicate the gospel to other people.

I think that I need to actively pray for those who are "ready" to come to me or me to be there in front of them and then a conversation revolving around Christ and His Truths can begin.

It seems to be "words" that are used. Actions do speak louder than words, I acknowledge that, it can't be denied. But when it comes to sharing the gospel I need to use my mouth and the Scriptures, I believe.

Here is some teaching from Rom 10:

14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:


“ How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report?” 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

My goal is encouragement, not rebuke.

Anti-Frantic

Frantic....rushed....freaked out....that is how some women live whether they work outside the home or are stay at home wives/mothers.

I think a lot of this is attitude and I also think that it doesn't take much to trip us into a feeling that we are not getting enough done. I don't like that feeling and I got it last night.

What happened? Nothing much. One of the three cats dropped some pooh on the kitchen floor on his way to the basement and his litter box. As I stooped over to wipe it up I could then see my kitchen garbage can was grossly filthy.

Something about that angle.

Anyway I went to bed thinking that I was a lousy housekeeper because I have a dirty garbage can.

How stupid.

Sure a new one would look good and if I could clean this old beige one a bit it might look better but really ought I to hang my whole estimation of myself upon this garbage can? Ought I allow that dingy dirt there to make me "feel" anything?

I doubt it.

Recently I read something Quaker Jane wrote on her website. She said that the "plainness" of her wardrobe was the direct result of asking the Lord God for "happiness."

Wow. She asked for happiness and received a huge transformation of her clothing.

I'm not at all certain that is the same for every woman because I don't think putting on a dress, etc is capable of bringing happiness. However..........I know the peaceful joy and contentment of wearing the clothing that I like to wear.

For me that's a long comfortable cotton dress the more "billow-y" the better. I love aprons, shawls, layers of more cotton dresses when it's colder. I love that peaceful feeling that I get because it's how I want to be clothed. So when I compare my experiences to Quaker Jane's then I do know exactly what she is talking about.

I don't know why clothing is so powerful----and it's powerful it 2 ways. Clothing communicates so much to those around us. It also impacts how we feel and walk and can impede what we are attempting to do and the opposite.

Does anyone else feel more ready to clean or cook when you have a certain outfit on?

It's the same for sporting outfits. Someone wearing all the needed ski clothing is much more ready to slide down the mountain side on their feet than I am in fluffy dresses and aprons.

It's as though clothes can get you ready.

It's also as though clothes can set the mood.

I personally am impacted by the clothes I wear but don't mistake my meaning here. To be peaceful, content, loving, joyful, patient and to be walking just like our Lord walked is all in the domain of the Holy Spirit and whether we have the Holy Spirit and whether we are walking in the Spirit or in our flesh.

The Lord's gifts are fantastic. And they are gifts. His fruits are lovable and lovely and we ought to seek Him and ask Him for them and for His help to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh.

As long as we have these flesh bodies we will be capable of anger, frustration, worry and so many other sins (and your clothes and kitchen garbage can will not be of help or hindrance) but we Christians need only seek the Lord Jesus and beg Him for His Spirit and His fruits and His gifts!

I do believe that peaceful living is within the reach of every Christian.