“What a rare thing godliness is! It is not airy and puffed up, but solid, and such as will take up the heart and spirits. Godliness consists in an exact harmony between holy principles and practices.”
“Policy without piety is profound madness.”
Thomas Watson, The Godly Man’s Picture
 So, Hannah makes a fun point in the comments on the last post. Her question was concerning the border lines between when something is way over the line,  and when it is generally accepted as normal. I think we all agree that things just change over time, and that Grandpa’s opinion about make-up is probably not so current. If you think about it though, if you were right on the historical line with make-up, when it was just spreading its wings beyond the brothel, what would say about it to your daughters? And after enough girls in the town were doing it that it wasn’t strictly the territory of the prostitutes, would you let them jump in?  This line of thought made me realize something – this system is broken.
(N.B. I inadvertently deleted this post [sorry Lizzie!] this a.m. but found it again and got it back up again. So just in case you were wondering what happened. Here it is.)
If you are reading the previous two posts, I thought I should mention that this discussion is centered around cultural story, not individual story. I would not pretend to know or want to know what brought every Christian women with a nose stud to getting one. It is not really important, and it does not get my scivvies in a knot to see it. But on this blog we are often talking to women who are raising young girls and sorting through the issues around that. Speaking for myself, this is out there in the spirit of a lively dinner table discussion, not a secret gossip group behind the school, discerning the heart of people who pass by. So, that said….
One of the difficult things for Christian women (and men) to navigate is when they disagree on some topic or other. Some can take the disagreement with good will and grace and others will feel offended.
If you have a tattoo or a piercing, and if you feel offended by the posts here on Femina, then I’d like to suggest that you consider something (and I realize this may just cause more offense, but that it not the mission here).
D.L. Moody once said, “If you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one that yelps is the one that got hit.” In other words, if you find yourself getting all riled up Continue reading ‘Stepping on Toes’
So, I sat down to post a quick recipe, but I see something else has been happening here! My mom is off shopping in Spokane for the day, but it appears she popped a hot one off before she went.
While I couldn’t agree more with her original post, after reading the comments, I see that there are a few questions that might need to be expounded on, or explained, or as is quite possible, fueled. So here it is, my very quick drive-by post about the nose rings.
Honestly, I think the whole business of Christian women with nose studs is pretty funny when you get right down to it. Let’s begin by assuming that these women are not doing it to disfigure themselves. So we can rule that out. They think it is pretty, and just a wee bit edgy, but not so edgy that anyone could pin them down on anything. And perhaps when it bothers some woman in the church (and it probably will), the nose-ringed lady will happily trot out the “My husband likes it, and that is why I have it” trump card. Ha ha, gotcha now, stuffy lady. Continue reading ‘Hot Topic! Hot Topic!’
One of my favorite sections of Scripture for teaching young women how to navigate through their teens and twenties comes from Titus 2:11-14. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
Of course there is quite a bit of meat in this passage, and it is a good one for all of us, not just young women. I want to point out just a couple of things from this passage. The grace of God teaches us. And what does it teach us? To say no to ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to say yes to righteousness. Also note: He has given Himself for us and purified us so we can be His own special people. So when it comes to our perspective on tattoos, piercings, blue hair, and lip studs, we can look to the grace of God to teach us what to think about it all. And we should wonder if this is how we should live and look as God’s own special people.
When women first started wearing trousers, it was rebellious, true. But today when women wear trousers, it does not communicate any such thing. (Unless your mother told you not to wear trousers to some event, and you did anyway just to spite her. But you could do that just as well with a hoop skirt.) Continue reading ‘Markings, Piercings, and Blue Hair’
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