~ True Womanhood ~

~Brittany

"To me, a lady is not frilly, flouncy, flippant, frivolous and fluff-brained, but she is gentle.  She is gracious.  She is godly and she is giving... You and I, if we are women, have the gift of femininity.  Very often it is obscured, just as the image of God is obscured in all of us... The more womanly we are,the more manly men will be, and the more God is glorified. As I say to you women, 'Be women. Be only women. Be real women in obedience to God.'"

~Elisabeth Elliot~

B.A.A.

The Death of Pretty

Found this excellent article by Pat Archbold.

This post is intended as a lament of sorts, a lament for something in the culture that is dying and may never been seen again.

Pretty, pretty is dying.

People will define pretty differently.  For the purposes of this piece, I define pretty as a mutually enriching balanced combination of beauty and projected innocence.

Once upon a time, women wanted to project an innocence.  I am not idealizing another age and I have no illusions about the virtues of our grandparents, concupiscence being what it is.  But some things were different in the back then.  First and foremost, many beautiful women, whatever the state of their souls, still wished to project a public innocence and virtue.  And that combination of beauty and innocence is what I define as pretty.

By nature, generally when men see this combination in women it brings out their better qualities, their best in fact.  That special combination of beauty and innocence, the pretty inspires men to protect and defend it.

Young women today do not seem to aspire to pretty, they prefer to be regarded as hot. Hotness is something altogether different.  When women want to be hot instead of pretty, they must view themselves in a certain way and consequently men view them differently as well.

The House that Mom Built~Stacy McDonald

Unlike The House that Jack Built, Mom’s House isn’t built in a day…

 There are so many ways we women can either build up or, in contrast, tear down their own houses. As mothers, we have the choice each day whether or not we’re going to be an influence for godly growth and joy in our households. In this talk Stacy discusses some of the qualities of a wise woman, and just what makes her wise.

Click Here to Listen to the Message

I was blessed and challenged as I listened to this message.  And though she's mainly speaking to married women, she also addresses the young ladies role in this as well.  Very inspiring and thought provoking!

I took a few notes that I thought I'd share here, but please don't replace them for listening to the message! :-)

12 ways women can foolishly tear down their houses:

-be hyper critical of your husband and children

-nag them constantly

-ignore the house work

-put your husband down privately and publicly

-be unfaithful and untrustworthy

-be careless and sloppy about your appearance, especially when your husband is home

-be lazy and spend money carelessly

-gossip about your family, especially your husband

-use your tongue as a weapon

-refuse to submit to your husband

-be sure to disrespect him to the children

-watch soap-operas and romanticize about how much kinder other husbands are

A wise woman, a woman who builds her house:

-is not contentious (verbally contentious or giving the silent treatment)

-she uses her tongue to speak wisdom and kindness

-she avoids gossip and vain talk

-she submits to her husband in an expression of faith to God

-she’s industrious and hard working

-she has a meek and quiet spirit

A wise woman isn’t perfect, but she puts her faith in the One who is.

It all boils down to that a wise woman loves.

“Love is always ready to deny itself, to give, sacrifice, just in the measure of its sincerity and intensity.  Perfect love is perfect self-forgetfulness.  Hence, where there is love in the home, unselfishness is the law; each forgets self and lives for others.”  -J.R. Miller 

~Posted By Breanna