Empowered Traditionalist

-continued from part 1

- Your body is your own! Women are sexually liberated and should be just as aggressive as the men, be a predator if you feel like it! Whose body is it ladies? Is that your body? Who made that body? We were bought with a price, we are houses for God’s Spirit who dwells within us. (Rom 12:1,2) This whole sexually liberate thing flies right in the face of biblical truth.

-The Workplace is more important than the home
What does the Bible value more- market or home? Home. In our culture, what is valued more? Market or home? Market and it’s leading to a complete social collapse because of it. That’s why you have enormous divorce rates and 40% of children will go to bed in a home where their father does not live.

-The Government should take away all burden of motherhood and raise our babies

Reinvent the workplace to accommodate women. So we have Government run day care, preschool, after school care, maternity leave. 50 years ago the majority of young women under 25 wanted to grow up to be a housewife. It was (and is) a high and noble calling. Today we’re told retain your independence, don’t get married, a husband will cramp your style. Or “That’s too bad you got married, now you can’t take that promotion”.

-Women’s groups, such as NOW (National Organization for Women) have the right to speak for all women. Who gave them the right to speak for all women? Did we vote them in? Now they are writing legislature, writing the sociology curricula and are on CNN. But who speaks for mom? Who presents her case? No one, she doesn’t get to be on CNN, she’s just mom. Mom is busy doing other things- so NOWattacks mom while claiming to be speaking for all women! (e.g. Equal Rights Act is a superb example)

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I know some of this is very forthright, but if you disagree, I would ask: is it because you are reading your Bible a lot or is it because you’re not reading your Bible a lot?

-always a work in progress…

Everything I write will be highly controversial. If you are at all feministic you will most likely find this very offensive. But bear with me, give me some of your time and let’s walk through this together. I do not stand alone as I write. In fact, none of this is original. I just gleaned from many older, wiser women and I share their insights here.

She finds things strangely silent—no happy noises of teenagers and their friends, no footfall of a faithful husband in the kitchen, no gurgling of grandchildren eager to be cuddled. She will come “home” to a cold, lonely apartment whose silence is broken only by the occasional visits of men who size her up as one with a liberated view of sex, societal restraints, and the institution of marriage, and therefore an easy mark for sexual favors for which they neither have to pay nor assume responsibility…it is unlikely that so many ever gave up so much for so little. –Phyllis Schafly

This doesn’t sound very empowering to me.

We have the Pill; we can go experiment and be as wild as the men are, and that’s our right…you try that and it doesn’t take very long before you feel very empty. You start thinking, ‘They’re telling me I should have a great time but I feel hollow’ You feel like you’ve been invaded.”-Isabel, graduated from high-school in the 70s

This doesn’t sound very liberating to me.

For most young women, the greatest—and most subtle—impact of feminist ideology shows up in postponed fertility. Some have chosen childlessness…but many more women have inadvertently missed the opportunity to bear children by trying to imitate the life cycles of men.” –Carolyn McCulley

This doesn’t sound very fulfilling to me.

As I research, study and analyze society today I am disturbed by the multiple and nefarious results of radical Feminism. Every woman alive today has been profoundly affected by Feminism. All of us to some extent have become Feminists. It’s pervasive doctrines have thoroughly entrenched themselves into our psyche.
We’ve been hit by a Tsunami and like survivors among the flotsam we cling to the remnants of Biblical Womanhood. A lot of women today do not even realize they are believing things that aren’t true and are not in their Bible.
Our society says:

-Men and Women must be exactly alike to be equal
What that means is, the men are not trying to be women- the women are trying to be men! Ladies we have nothing to prove. The Bible says that Men and Women reflect the Trinity and different aspects of God’s Character. We are created equal, but different. Eve was created from Adam’s side- not front or behind, but his side- his equal. Our culture just can’t understand this. Women do not need to be as skilled in hand-to-hand combat as a man to be equal to him. Neither does a Man have to bear children to be equal to a woman. Equal but different.

-There is no gender differences, it’s only cultural conditioning
Who made the culture? Men and women. Then don’t blame the culture- blame creation! If there is no gender differences there is normative sexuality. This soon leads to homosexuality (if there is no gender-why can’t a Man love a man or a woman a woman?) Polygamy is the next step.
Men and women are different, hormonally, biologically, spiritually, mentally (even our brains operate differently). Not good and bad- different.

-Women should be tougher, men softer

“Men should get in touch with their feminine side” Men don’t have a feminine side! They’re men! Dogs don’t have a cat side!
-Women are an oppressed minority group-

There are more women than men in America. More women are registered to vote than men. According to statistics, women live longer than men. So there’s more of us, we decide more of the laws and we have a better quality of life. Yep, we’re oppressed.

Part 2 coming Thursday-

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Sources: The Power of the Christian Woman, Phyllis Schlafly Radical Womanhood, Caryolyn McCulley, Girls Gone Mild, Wendy Shalit

Writer and guest blogger Margaret Everton conducts a week-long experiment on why we really are what we wear.

I will never forget my middle school tennis partner who, before one morning bell, professed, “The clothes don’t make the person; the person makes the clothes.” The aloofness was cool, the adage wise. But she didn’t believe herself. I knew how many outfits she had tried on that morning.

I didn’t believe her either, and scoffed for years at such trivialization of the role that attire plays—yet I wonder. Am I putting too much emphasis on the impact that clothes can have? As long as I look clean and covered, how can clothes determine how I navigate through this world? As a freelance writer, I can wear whatever I want. So I will. I will document one week of my life wearing only my black track suit to determine if what I wear matters.

DAY 1
Track suits are underrated. Slimming, collar up: I’m Jackie Kennedy ready for tennis. Refreshing to put no effort into myself. This could become my uniform. I feel fine. I think I’ll get tea.

DAY 2
Husband: Do you have a cold? [Glancing at my outfit]
Me: No. This might be my new uniform. Might be the new me. It’s function-meets-comfort.
Husband: Meets pajamas.

DAY 3
Slouch clothes. Fun for the ol’ college slouch day. Not so fun when I’m trying to feel professional and serious on a phone interview I’m conducting.

DAY 4
What are the odds that this week I run into a girl from high school? Former rival dancer now guest lecturer at the local university. And I had wanted to appear so on top of the world if ever we reunited. Did I detect smugness in her smile? Seriously, what are the odds?

DAY 5
I’ve been in this clothing store for ten minutes and no employee has approached me. I’m invisible, unkempt. A woman with poise (and a killer pink scarf) just entered—she owns the room. Like moths to a flame, the three employees approach her. I slink away between two racks of sweaters and leave the store.

DAY 6
Groceries. Tea and—nooooooo. The wife of my husband’s colleague. She can’t see me like this: sloppy, not on top of my game enough to match her lawyer-turned-stay-at-home-mom intelligence and verbal wit. Jeans, boots, cream sweater—her simplicity approaches brilliance. Turn away. I can hang at the back of the store until she leaves. Drop the tea and walk slowly away. No, drop the tea and run.

DAY 7
The end of the day and the experiment is finally over. Jeans, blouse, vintage satin clutch for dinner with my husband. Wow, he says, you look amazing. Confidently I enter the restaurant. A woman taken seriously. I admit that I expected to determine that clothes do matter, but I didn’t anticipate to discover why. Conscious dressing can get bad press as materialism exemplified, but clothes that reflect our identity boost our confidence. Whether we’re most at home in a wool gabardine suit and heels or yoga pants and a tank, we should represent our most authentic self. To any onlooker, I’m just a girl in a shirt, but I sip my Pellegrino and feel like a supermodel. Nobody in the room cares about what I have on; it wouldn’t alter their evening if I still had on my track suit. But it matters. It matters to me.

Clothes Matter, Simplified:
*Well-fitting tailored jeans cover a multitude of sartorial sins.
*Sunglasses and a scarf or hat transform Bad Hair No Makeup Girl into Jackie Kennedy look-alike.
*Voguish purses or shoes exhibit attention to detail and respect for self.
*Vintage costume jewelry creates a uniqueness to an average ensemble.
*A wrap can be a signature piece that serves as a shawl or scarf (and ups the ante) for several
outfits.
*Yes, track suits give grace to those quick errands, that early brunch, or those “off days.”
Just do yourself a favor and don’t wear it seven days in a row.

Check out two scientific studies on how clothes matter:
ABC NEWS
Psychology Today

This is just a pithy introduction. Start thinking along these lines-

What do these have in common?

-According to the Center for Disease control 1 in 4 teenage girls has a STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease)
-“pole-dancing aerobics” or “stripper aerobics” are now available at all the major health and fitness clubs.
-The demise of the dinner table. Few households eat dinner as a family anymore
-Babysitting, Daycare, Nannies, in home potty-trainers and sleep-nurses.
-Girls Gone Wild.
-Gillette’s latest razor, “The Goddess”
-When Helen Reddy accepted her Grammy award for her song “I AM WOMAN” she concluded her speech by thanking God “because SHE makes everything possible”.

These are all direct or indirect results of radical feminism. If you are like me you probably know precious little about feminism and it’s impacts. But the truth is, every woman alive today is profoundly affected by Feminism and its ramifications. This issue is crucial because,

It is the women who have an understanding of the past who can discern a path for the future.

Ladies, get ready for a thorough, albeit concise, introduction to Feminism and what to do about it.

I grew up wearing sensible shoes.

They were called “Buster Browns” in the day, and they served my Catholic school uniform( with the chubbette expando-waist band) quite well.

I don’t know when the day-dream began, maybe it was Dorothy’s sparkle slippers in Oz, but I had always wished that I were a Red High Heel. You know the kind of person who wears them. She turns heads, she enters a room with vibrant assurance and she owns it! She is beautifully bold, she can think on her (pretty) feet, she is magnetic and daring, she exudes confidence. Most of my young adult years were spent comparing myself to my female counterparts who seemed to walk in these qualities. The dark brooding envy stayed with me well into my forties. I covered it up with good Christian principles, but I knew and God knew.

“God! I want to be a Red High Heel!”

One morning, walking to the mailbox, I shouted,” God, I want to be a Red High Heel!” And He answered: “ Well, you aren’t and you won’t, so stop asking!”

“Look at your feet Jane, you are a comfortable sneaker. You are what people find non-threatening, you are my secret agent—and you can get behind the lines of defense and mistrust. You will always be a well-worn shoe…but take a look at Who is walking in them, guiding you, anointing you, blessing you, and loving others through you. It doesn’t get better than this! “

-So now, I still love red shoes. If you have a pair, I will beg them from you if they are my size, but I’m smiling inside. I know what God tells me about all of us. Look again at Who is wearing them.

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I was sharing dinner with Jane and her husband and this story surfaced as I was slipping on my “red shoes” to leave. Dear Jane then graciously wrote it down for me to share with you all. Thank you Jane!

Wimpy theology makes wimpy women.

The opposite of a wimpy woman is NOT a loud, boisterous, uppity, vocal,pushy, brash, controlling, sassy Amazon!

The opposite is-

14 year old Marie Durant, arrested for being a protestant and imprisoned. She was told “You can get out for one phrase! “I abjure”.

and she wrote on her prison wall, “I resist” and stayed there for 38 years till she died doing just that.

Gladys Staines
Another opposite is Gladys Staines, 1999, spent 3 decades serving, with her family, the lepers of India. One day she heard the news that her husband, Graham, and little Philip (10) and Timothy (6) had been set on fire, burned alive in the back of their car- she had one message to the people of India:
“I am not bitter, neither am I angry. Let us burn hatred and spread the flame of Christ’s love.” Her young daughter Ester, (13) said: “I praise the Lord that he found my father worthy to die for Him.”

That is a True woman.

Margaret Lauchlison & Margaret Wilson
The opposite of a wimpy woman is the older Margaret and her young friend of the same name. During the “Great Ejection” in Scotland both were arrested for proclaiming Christ. Margaret Lauchlison was tied to stake well out from the beach as the younger Margaret Wilson was forced to watch. The tidal waters began to overwhelm her. The soldiers offered to save her if only she would say “God save the King!” She replied insistently, “God save him if He will, for it is his salvation that I desire.” This did not satisfy the men.

The soldiers then took the young Margaret and tied her as well. “Will you recant?” the solders asked for the last time. “No,” she said “because I love the Lord.” and with that she continued reciting Scripture until the waters totally engulfed her.

Kimmy
The opposite of a wimpy woman is Kimmy Harris, who, while bearing her first child found her baby to have a dangerous heart defect. After little baby “Faith” was born, Kimmy and her husband underwent numerous hospital visits, moved from home to receive further medical expertise, suffered and wept and prayed. God saw fit to take their little darling home early, just a few short months after her birth. Kimmy’s heart harbors no bitterness.

Wimpy theology does not give a woman a god big enough, strong enough, wise enough, good enough to handle the realities of life in a way that enables her to magnify Him and His Son all the time.

He’s not big enough. Our view of God is warped by our “woman-centeredness” (aka as “man-centeredness)

But having a true view of God and His divine Sovereignty leads to a mind-boggling understanding of true womanhood and the courage to walk in it.

Whether married or single, Don’t settle for wimpy theology. Don’t waste your womanhood.

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I stand on the shoulders of John Piper and Susan Hunt as I share this. Dr. Piper shared a powerful session on The Ultimate Meaning of True Womanhood and I share some of his insights here. I share the story of the two Margaret’s from Susan Hun’ts book “By Design”

I’m going to predict the future. One of you is likely to come up with a whale of an idea for my business. but don’t worry- you’ll get all the glory.

The plain and simple truth is, I, as a budding business owner, need your creative ideas.

So, here’s the scoop:

1. Post any ideas that you can think of for fun, (and hopefully) profitable ideas for Christa-Taylor. And no, giving away free clothes for an entire week- does not count as profitable. Promotions, sales, events, activities - you get the idea.

I know you gals have got the brain juices, and you like to shop- so let’s hear your “heavy revies”!

From Erin at “A Dress a Day”

Facetious? Yes. (please excuse #10 )

1. Drawing your pant legs back from someone in disgust as you pass them is insufficiently scornful.

2. Studies have shown that wearing skirts is 90% effective in preventing VPL (visible panty line).

3. You no longer have to worry about your tush being exposed to the unfortunate individual in the desk behind you. Ditto for the “muffin top” (when your pants hug your hips too tightly and create an unnatural bulge above your pants)

4. Ruffles on a skirt can be over-the-top glamorous. Ruffles on pants are only acceptable if your name is Mary, and a little lamb follows you everywhere you go.

5. It is impossible to smuggle someone in — or out — of prison, a masked ball, a hotel room, etc. by hiding them under your pants. (Plus, there is no such thing as “hooppants.”)

6. When you strap a gun to your thigh in pants, you lose the element of surprise.

7. You don’t have to have skirts hemmed differently for flats or heels.

8. Twirling in a pair of pants results in 87% less happiness.

9. The word “skirt” has both a singular and a plural form, usable by all (”I am wearing a skirt today.” “Instantly Mrs. Bagnet put some pins into her mouth, and began pinning up her skirts all round, a little higher than the level of her grey cloak.”) The word “pants” has a singular that can only be used by fashion-industry people (”Designers are showing a high-waisted, wide-legged pant for fall”).

10. Skirt blowing up, revealing underthings? Flirtatious. Pants falling down, revealing underthings? Humiliating.