Modesty and Obedience Collide!!

Here is someone that is seeking to light her world!  Posted on one of our favorite sites www.club31women.com

(Little disclaimer:  We probably would not agree with everything Ms. Jasmine deems as modest, but I was so blessed by her heart and desire to obey the Lord. She is obviously much more modest than she use to be.  We are all a work in progress!  Her heart and each of our hearts to obey is the key thing!)

The Day My Love for Fashion Collided with God’s Call to Modesty

It all started in the spring of 2014.

I had recently rededicated myself to Christ and was committed to living a life fully submitted to Him.

One afternoon I was rummaging through my closet in search of something to wear. I reached for one of my cropped tops when God spoke a word to me, that at the time, I’d rather have not heard.

As clear as day, God said, “Throw your revealing clothes away.”    

Out of my commitment to being obedient, I grabbed a trash bag, and less than willingly began to remove every questionable piece of clothing from my wardrobe. I tried negotiating with God to keep my short shorts, but He just wasn’t having it. 

Shortly after this incident, God spoke another word to me.

A little back story – I had worked in the fashion industry for about five years at this point and held a managerial position at a rapidly growing company. I had the opportunity to travel all over the world and work in places like Paris, London, and New York.  

I had always dreamed of starting my own business within the industry; however, my ideas didn’t necessarily do anything positive for the Kingdom. The concept promoted an edgy, rebellious attitude, encouraging women to show more skin in the name of “empowerment.” 

But God – being the humorous God that He is – completely shifted my desires and pressed on my heart that He wanted me to start a modest clothing company. 

When I thought of modest clothing companies, the image that immediately came to mind was layers and layers of fabric draped in very unflattering ways. I wouldn’t necessarily pair the words “modest clothing company” and “fashionable” together.

But maybe that’s why God gave me this vision. Could it be that He saw a niche in the market that He needed me to fulfill?

Soon I began to realize that His plan was deeper than just the fashion, He had a message. 

See, all my life I was taught by culture and the media that revealing more of my body would make me feel beautiful, confident, and get me the man of my dreams. 

Oh, the lies the enemy would love us to believe!

Dressing the way that I did only resulted in getting me the wrong kind of attention, and it hindered me from possessing the true confidence that can only be found in Christ.

The scary thing is that I know I’m not the only woman being fed this lie. The culture is becoming more and more hypersexualized by the second, and with the increasing popularity of social media, the “sex sells” image is constantly being pushed in our faces.

I want to reinvent the way the world thinks about modesty. 

I want to inspire this generation of women not to conform to what the world defines as “cool”, but to realize that there is nothing more liberating than unapologetically living to glorify God in every aspect of our lives, including our clothing.

In the fall of 2015, by faith, and with the help of the unarguable nudging of the Holy Spirit,I left my job in the secular fashion industry and have been hard at work turning my passion into purpose with Gracemade, a faith-driven lifestyle brand where faith and fashion coexist. 

Gracemade: Reinventing modesty

My vision is to provide a fashion-forward alternative to dowdy modest apparel and to show women that they can still express their personal style while honoring their faith.

It’s not only a clothing line; it’s also a community.

A community that empowers women to be all that God has created them to be. 

Jasmine Rennie is the founder of faith-driven fashion startup, Gracemade. She has a passion for inspiring women to fulfill their God-given purpose, and to live boldly and fearlessly in faith. Jasmine is based in Southern California and is obsessed with Jesus, design, and all things food related. 

In their Christian graces

no one virtue should usurp the sphere of another,

or eat out the vitals of the rest for its own support.

Affection must not smother honesty,

courage must not elbow weakness out of the field,

modesty must not jostle energy,

and patience must not slaughter resolution.

So also with our duties,

one must not interfere with another;

public usefulness must not injure private piety;

church work must not push family worship into a corner.

It is ill to offer God one duty

stained with the blood of another.

Each thing is beautiful in its season, but not otherwise.

-Charles Spurgeon-

~Brittany

Thoughts on Modesty and Beauty ~ from TimeWarpWife and Club31Women

 A good article on modesty.  Though this is coming from the angle of girls not realizing what they're doing, I think a lot of girls are probably fully aware of the consequences of their actions.  We must seek to show genuine love to our brothers in Christ by aiding them in their pursuit of purity.

If She Only Knew - Thoughts on Modesty and Beauty

Posted: 25 Jun 2013 11:11 PM PDT

Guest contributor Lisa Jacobson from Club31Women

Avert your eyes, Son.

His dad started saying it to him from the youngest age - when he was only a little boy. Might have been an alluring commercial while watching the ballgame. Or a billboard while driving down the highway. A pop-up on the computer screen.

As parents, we had purposed to teach him purity from the beginning.

And you wouldn't think that would be too tough to do where we live. We're out in the country, somewhere on the outskirts of a small western town. But that hardly matters anymore.

Temptation can be found anywhere.

Even in Target.

Target? Yeah, I know. That's what I thought too. Until one day we popped in to pick up some flip-flops for the summer and I remarked how he kept bumping into things.

What is your problem, Son??

"I'm just looking down, Mom," And with a nod, he indicated the ads placed strategically above us. Billboards for the lingerie department. Yikes. I'd not seen them.

But then again...I'm not a vulnerable young man either.

Sorry, Son.

I'm sorry the Enemy tries to pull you down everywhere you turn. I feel badly we live in a world that's so ready to compromise a man's commitment to clean living. It's never been easy - only it's far worse now.

Is there nowhere a young man can safely go?

Maybe a Christian family camp. You'd think.

It was a hot July day and we all packed up and headed out for fun and fellowship with a bunch of other believers. Picnic blankets, cold watermelon, and squirt guns. It was promising to be a great day.

So I was surprised to see our oldest son hanging back from the festivities. He's an outgoing guy and usually one of the first out there mixing it up. Except not this time. He stayed close to our small spot and played with his little brothers instead.

What is your problem, Son??

He hesitated for a moment. Then answered, "Mom, I don't know what to do. Dad's taught me to 'avert my eyes', but there doesn't seem anywhere I can turn here."

I glanced around and then saw what he meant.

Most of the ladies there were dressed for a hot summer day. Many with bare skin exposed. Lots of bareness. Yikes, again. Who would have thought he'd have to wrestle with it here?

I noticed a pretty girl nearby and wondered if she realized how difficult she was making it for a guy. Surely, she would have made another choice if she had. She might have thrown a light blouse on over her tank top. Slipped on a longer, breezy skirt. Picked out some walking shorts or a shirt with a higher neckline. She might have covered herself up.

If she only understood how hard he's trying to do the right thing. She might have dressed differently. For his sake. For the sake of all the men out there who want to walk in purity.

If she only knew that the way she dressed up meant a good man needed to look down. He had to turn away from her beauty. That he was missing out on her loveliness because she was showing him more than he was meant to see.

Because we can teach our sons to avert their eyes. To lower their gaze. But what can we do as Christian women? We can't leave our guys stuck in a place where there's nowhere left to turn.

Let's choose modesty - modesty that allows a woman's true beauty to shine through.

In like matter also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation (I Tim. 2:9a).

In His grace,

A Letter To Girls I Know (on Modesty)

Dear Girls,
There are two kinds of men: Godly men, and worldly men. What kind of man do you want? I’m betting most of you said “a Godly man.” Someday, you want to marry a man who loves God with every fiber of his being because he will be an excellent husband and father. He will honor and be true only to you. Most women want a Godly man or at least think they do. Well, I think I have found a way to tell you exactly what kind of guy you will get. I don’t even have to know you! All I have to do is look at you. The kind of guy you want or will get is advertised by the clothing you wear. I know what men want. Trust me, I am a guy. I know more guys than you do and I know them better. I know what we think, what we talk about, what we want, and what we look for, and it is different for each one of us depending on our relationship with God. I’m sure you already know this, but men were created differently than you. We have different desires and priorities. Our eyes and minds react very differently to some things than yours do. It isn’t disgusting, perverted, or wrong; it is wonderful and good! It is how God made us. It’s how we handle these differences that separate a Godly man from a worldly man.

A worldly man doesn’t control himself, rather, he looks at anything that attracts his attention or gets him excited. A worldly guy has no problem when girls wear clothes that show off skin, like boxers, high or low-cut shirts, low-rise jeans, and “cute” little swim-suits. He’s a fan of tight-fitting shirts and pants that show off your form, he thinks they’re fine! Worldly guy watches a lot of TV and R-rated movies, isn’t really offended by sexual content or nudity and secretly dabbles in pornography. He’s a “Christian” and makes up a significant portion of your church and youth group. He’s a really nice guy and sees you mainly for your body. If you were to marry worldly guy, he’d bring lots of baggage into the relationship, have intimacy problems, entertain thoughts of other women, and possibly cheat on you.

A Godly man is in control of his drives and desires. He constantly seeks God and reads his Bible. He “walks in the Spirit” and isn’t set off by everything he sees. When immodestly-dressed girls, magazine covers, or risqué advertisements come into view, Godly guy quickly “bounces his eyes” away from the image. He’s constantly guarding his thoughts and what he allows into his mind. He hates being around girls that disrespect him and his struggles by wearing inappropriate attire. Godly guy doesn’t watch much TV and is selective about the movies he sees. He views you as a person, knows you and respects you. He has your best interests in mind and guards against inappropriate thoughts of you. If you were to marry Godly guy, he would give you the emotional attention you need, he would ignore other women and remain faithful to you no matter what.

Unfortunately, there are more worldly men than Godly men. And to make matters worse, to the untrained eye, a worldly man can look a lot like a Godly man. So what can you do to only attract a Godly man? An important way of delineating between them lies in how you dress. As mentioned before, the clothes you wear advertise what kind of guy you are looking for. If you dress immodestly, you will attract worldly guys and scare away the Godly ones. It all comes down to the kind of man you want to spend your time around and eventually marry. You cannot afford to be complacent in this area of your life! You will pay the price someday.

This issue isn’t limited strictly to you and your future relationship. The way you dress directly affects other men and women and their relationships. You don’t see the struggles, the pain, the tears and the sin that you cause, but I can promise that you would be shocked if you did! Ask any Christian young man; we’ve all seen it. It’s kept hidden but it is definitely there. By dressing immodestly, you effectually spit on the struggles of our weaker ranks, appearing to care more about toying with us than helping us. You’ll never know how many broken relationships and lifestyles of sin you’ve contributed to simply by the way you dress. You want to marry a Godly man someday, well so do many other women. Don’t just help yourself and your future, help all women and their relationships by showing discretion in your dress.

Of course, I understand the desire to look stylish, attractive, and “cute.” It’s important to fit in and get attention. Trust me, it can be done modestly! I also understand that it is easier for some girls to find stylish and well-fitting clothes than it is for others. This is an area where guys really don’t understand what you are up against. But just remember, for every sacrifice you make to honor God with your image, Godly men are making sacrifices in their lives that are just as hard, if not harder! They will and do respect you so much for choosing to be modest! A real lady is conscientious of the image she presents, and real men want a real lady. And you can forget about any guys missing out on how attractive you are because you don’t wear revealing clothing. You could wear a circus tent and we would still know; it’s a gift we have.

And so the question still remains: What kind of man do you want? Answer me with your clothes.

 (author’s name removed at his request)