The Modesty Challenge

Okay, were on the subject of clothing here. There aren't very many boys out there that have pure minds when they look at immodest women. (and immodest girls) Are there? It even starts with little boys! The way they think and the way men think about the immodest women they see, isn't very different. Here is a video I found on Sowers of Hope that I thought was appropriate... (Although, like the women over there mentioned, the music playing at the beginning, I do not approve of.)


So after watching that- finding out what guys really think about the way we dress- does it make you think differently about what you put on, and walk out of the house wearing? It sure made me think differently!

So, I have decided to start a Challenge. This challenge will be to wear only things that are appropriate and modest. Before you put an item of clothing on, ask yourself, 'Does this glorify YHWH?' and 'Will it make not only my brothers in the Messiah, but also the non-believing guys stumble?'
I also think it would be good to remember this scripture verse throughout the week, to remind ourselves of what Elohim wants us to dress like.

 "In the same way, that women also adorn themselves in decent clothing, with modesty and propriety; not just with braided hair, gold, pearls, or expensive clothing;" 1 Timothy 2:9

 "She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms." Proverbs 31:17

 "She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing [is] silk and purple. Proverbs 31:22

   "Strength and honour [are] her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. Proverbs 31:25

 "Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour [is] deceitful, and beauty [is] vain: [but] a woman [that] feareth the LORD, she shall be praised." Proverbs 31:29-30

Other than posting pictures of your outfits everyday, that is the only guideline for this challenge. I'm curious whether my fellow blogger friends hold the same convictions I do when it comes to dress. If you'd like to participate, just leave a comment telling me so, along with your blog or website link. :) I hope to see some pictures! This challenge will start on April 13th, and end on April 20th. ;)

Autumn

Multiple things

Well, some of you may have already read this on Jamie's blog but she gave me permission to post about it here. I have known that the peace sign was wrong for about a year know. And I have multiple friends in the real world that think wearing peace sign jewelry or t-shirts or whatever, is totally ok. But we should also ask ourselves, are we wearing these things for attention, to be cool or "fit in" with the rest of the group, or because you think its cool. Do me a favor after you've read this post and think about what our Heavenly Father would want us to do. :)

"We've all had that horrible moment where we put on a shirt that says something in French or Japanese, and then someone of that native tongue comes up and asks us if we know what our shirt [or bag or necklace or whatever] says. "Um, no not really. Isn't it just words?" We reply, innocently nervous as to why we're being questioned. "Uh, it says _________ .". With a gasp we turn and look into the mirror, horrified that we're wearing something that says such an obscene or impure thing.

It's a gut wrenching feeling, isn't it? You wonder how many people knew what your shirt was advertising and what they thought of you. Well, it's happened to me once or twice, and I long ago gave up buying shirts that said anything I didn't understand. 

Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking: what does this have to do with anything? 

Lemme break it down for ya. Ever seen this little symbol here?

How about this one:

Or, see it broad casted by famous singer and actress Miley Cyrus:

"Yeah." You say. "It's a peace sign, DUH. What's the big deal?"

The deal, my friend, is this:

"Known as the 'peace sign' throughout the 1960's and into the present day, this symbol is the Teutonic rune of death. 1950's peace advocate Gerald Holtom may have been commissioned by communist sympathiser Bertrand Russell to design a symbol to unite leftist peace marchers in 1958. It is clear that either Holtom or Russell deemed the Teutonic (Neronic) cross as the appropriate symbol for their cause...."

Wait. It gets better:

"The symbol's origin in history proves it to be the visual mystic character for 'Aum' (the split 'Y'). This is the sacred word to the Hindu. Chanting 'Aum' is supposed to help awaken 'the serpent power of Brahma' at the base of the human spine. Occultist Albert Pike also identifies this symbol as mystical in his book on Freemasonry Morals and Dogma."

Just a tad more...:

"The peace symbol (also called the "broken cross," "crow's foot," "witch's foot," "Nero Cross," "sign of the 'broken Jew,'" and the "symbol of the 'anti-Christ''') is actually a cross with the arms broken. It also signifies the "gesture of despair," and the "death of man.''

Has it turned your stomach yet? 

This morning, I got ready for school as usual. I threw on some make-up, wrapped my hair into a messy ponytail, slipped on some jewelry and headed out the door. The necklace I was wearing was a short, choker necklace with a 'peace sign' in the middle. I thought nothing of it, after all, it was just a peace sign, right? 

Wrong. 

On certain days of the month, my best friend Karla and I go and meet with our Pastor's wife for a "girl's devotional" time. It's something I look forward to, and with my Bible and devo book ["A Young Woman After God's own Heart"] in hand, we sat down for our lesson. 

When we were done, my Pastor's wife turned to me and with a smile said, "Jamie, I have an extra homework assignment for you today." I cocked my head, very interested. "Like what?" She pointed to my necklace and said, "I want you to research that. Look into where the 'peace sign' comes from. I think you'll find some interesting things. Send me an e-mail with what you found and we'll talk." I was definitely confused. My necklace? It was a peace sign! You know, like "save the environment" and what-not. Who cared about the origins? But I took her advice and said I would look it up ASAP. 

Hours later I was sitting at my computer. Hey, I thought, I'm supposed to look up that peace thing-y! I hopped on over to Google and began my search.

What I found made me sick. The quoted passages above are from this website . 

It really showed me something. Here I was, walking around with that symbol hanging off my neck, completely unaware I was wearing a cross with the arms broken, hanging upside down! How sickening is that? I was horrified. Utterly disgusted with myself. And I kept coming back to the same fact:

I didn't know what it meant. 

If I knew it was Satanist, I would've have worn it! If I knew it was a symbol against my Messiah, Yeshua I wouldn't have even touched it! But the simple matter is that I didn't know. I was unaware of what negative and evil  things lay underneath a seemingly innocent sign. 

This should never be the case. We should never wear something because we see no evil or think there is nothing evil about it. As followers of Yeshua we should educate ourselves about such things! Not soak in them and violate the King's command in Philippians 4:8; but we should know. So we can know better. So we can explain to others that it's not innocent at all! It's worldly and anti-Messiah and wrong. 

This has been such an eye opening experience. My necklace is now where it belongs: in the trash and away from me. 

I really, truly believe that YHWH wants us to stop and think before doing it just because "it doesn't look wrong.". There are so many evil things in this world that hide under the face of innocence and good fun. We cannot afford to be ignorant and fall into Satan's trap! We must be diligent and aware of the evil around us, that way we stay as far away as possible and shine even brighter for the King. 

I wanted to share this because it came from my heart, and I didn't want anyone else to fall into the same trap I fell into."

Thanks so much Jamie for the lovely post. (and for letting me use it of course;) Now, it's time to ask yourself, would our Heavenly Father promote this? Does He approve? I very much doubt it!

At one point and time maybe the peace sign was used for good purposes, but as you can hopefully now see, the peace sign is wrong no matter what. I remember the day my mom found out that this sign was pagan. She said, "Hey Autumn, come here and read this article!" (I don't know what happened to the article) After I had finished reading it, my jaw practically hit the floor. The article talked about how the symbol represented a cross with broken arms, and how the free masons use it as well. But there is much more to it than that. Google it and see what comes up. I was pretty dumbfounded at what I had just read, I thought that the peace sign was just a harmless little thing that promoted "saving the earth." But the enemy (satan) disguises things, and obviously he has disguised what we have been talking about. Do you agree or disagree? Please let me know, I love your feedback! :)

And make sure to vote on the poll below! Thanks!

Autumn

 

Did you know?...

  

For a while now our family has been interested in the origins of things, such as holidays. Most recently, we have been studying out the origins of the names of the days of the week, as well as the names of the months.

We saw how the Hebrew weekdays have no names (except Shabbat). The secular weekday names, however, have very different and unbiblical origins. Every day of the weeks name is associated with a planet and is named after a pagan god.  Here are the origins of the days of the week's names. It's hard to believe all these years we have been saying these names without having any idea of where they came from. (Note: next to them, are the Hebrew names we are now calling them by)

*sunday -  "day of the sun" ~Instead in Hebrew "yom" means day so~ {yom rishon} ~means, "day one."

*monday - "day of the moon"  ~{yom sheynee} day two.

*tuesday - "day of mars"  ~{yom shlishee} day three.

*wednesday -  "day of mercury"  ~{yom revi'i} day four.

*thursday -  "thor's day"  ~{yom hamishee} day five.

*friday -  "freya's day"  ~{yom shishi} day six.

*saturday -  "saturn's day"  ~{SHABBAT!!} the seventh day that YHWH established as Holy, from creation.

~Do you think that YHWH is pleased when we speak the names of other gods and goddesses?~
 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."  Exd 20:3

Scripture says: (please take the time to read these scriptures, as they are very important to this study.)
"For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name."
Hos 2:17

"For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of YHWH, to serve him with one consent."
Zeph 3:9

"Their sorrows shall be multiplied [that] hasten [after] another [god]: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips."
Psm 16:4

Here are the origins of the names of the months:

*january~
Named for the roman god "janus", protector of gates and doorways. "janus" is depicted with two faces, one looking into the past, the other into the future.

*february~
From the Latin word februa, "to cleanse." The Roman "februalia" was a month of purification and atonement.

*march~
Named for the Roman god of war, "mars." This was the time of year to resume military campaigns that had been interrupted by winter.

*april~
From the Latin word aperio, "to open (bud)," because plants begin to grow in this month. The name derives from the Greek goddess of love, "aphrodite".

*may~
Named for the Roman goddess "maia", who oversaw the growth of plants. Also from the Latin word maiores, "elders," who were celebrated during this month.

*june~
Named for the Roman goddess "juno", patroness of marriage and the well-being of women. Also from the Latin word juvenis, "young people."

*july~
Named to honor Roman dictator "julius caesar". In 46 B.C., "julius caesar" made one of his greatest contributions to history: With the help of sosigenes, he developed the "julian" calendar, the precursor to the Gregorian calendar we use today.

*august~
Named to honor the first Roman emperor (and grandnephew of "julius caesar"), "augustus caesar". The original name was sextilis, sixth month in the early Roman calendar.

*september~
From the Latin word septem, "seven," because this had been the seventh month of the early Roman calendar.

*october~
From the Latin word octo, "eight," because this had been the eighth month of the early Roman calendar.

*november~
From the Latin word novem, "nine," because this had been the ninth month of the early Roman calendar.

*december~
From the Latin word decem, "ten," because this had been the tenth month of the early Roman calendar.

(By the way, some of the names on the Jewish calender came out of Babylon too~check it out for yourself here .)

So, this may seem extreme to some people, but how often do we really stop and wonder~ "What does YHWH think?" Our family feels this has been a good study, what do you think?