Empowered Traditionalist

-From author Donald Whitney

Many of us struggle to make conversation or activities fun and profitable Christmas day. Particularly when we are visiting with family or friends we haven’t seen in ages and have little in common.
Here are 10 questions that will be sure to kindle a conversation. It’s ok to be yourself and share about your faith, regardless if your family are believers or not.

1. What’s the best thing that’s happened to you since last Christmas?
2. What was your best Christmas ever? Why?
3. What’s the most meaningful Christmas gift you’ve ever received?
4. What was the most appreciated Christmas gift you’ve ever given?
5. What was your favorite Christmas tradition as a child?
6. What is your favorite Christmas tradition now?
7. What do you do to try to keep Christ in Christmas?
8. Why do you think people started celebrating the birth of Jesus?
9. Do you think the birth of Jesus deserves such a nearly worldwide celebration?
10. Why do you think Jesus came to earth?

My sister, sent me this fun idea to keep Christ in Christmas day celebrations.

One idea we’ve used in our home with extended family who are not believers is a Christmas Scavenger Hunt. I make a list of clues and teams of two or three have to not only answer the question, but find the item in the house somewhere. Some examples of questions: What has wings, but doesn’t build a nest? (Angel) What is crooked and sweet and only available at Christmas? (Candy Cane) What guided three men to a little town? (Star). Everyone gathers with their answers (the first team to finish gets a small prize) and then we tell the meaning behind the symbol and why it is significant to the birth of Christ. Everyone usually enjoys the friendly competition and they also hear about the true meaning of Christmas in a friendly way.

Do you have any fun Christmas traditions that you would like to share?

…continued from part 2

5. Excess Accessories
The Confusion of Profusion is too many scarves, belts, and other oddities. By “too many” I mean relics from the past, that are no longer in current use. If an accessory hasn’t been worn for a year, if it’s shabby, if the color is faded or doesn’t go with anything you have, if you simply cant stand to wear it…ditch it.

6. Shop in a shopping mood
Oh ladies, the worst mistake you can make is to go shopping when you don’t feel like it. The most important part of shopping is your frame of mind. If you go into the dressing room feeling like a mistreated heroine from a soap opera, I can guarantee nothing will look good on you. And if you’re depressed because you gained a few pounds, don’t buy something too small to grow into. Hard, but true. Lose the few pounds first then go shopping.
Finally, dress to go shopping. How can possibly see what a dress will do for you if your hair is under a hankerchief, your face devoid of make-up, and your good bra at home in the drawer? The “Well…of course, I’ll be wearing different shoes, and my hair swept up into a French twist…and…” and you wonder why so many clothes are such a big disappointment when they are actually worn.

7. Dress for everything.
Dress actively for whatever you are doing. Don’t wear an ageing cocktail dress for the office, or a “beat-up” cashmere for housework. They will be uncomfortable as well as unattractive. If it’s raining, wear raingear, and snag a perky umbrella at a garage sale. Why look like a drowned scarecrow when you can be a touch of sunshine?

It may take a little while for you as a complete, unique individual to emerge, but it’s all up to you and fascinating business of Wife-Dressing.

1.    Compress your Wardrobe.
Be relentless. If it’s out of style-makes you itch or squirm with discomfort, turns your skin sallow- can it!
Fashion is for today. Don’t look back. Sentiment may cast a rosy  glow on some special piece or other, but in reality, it’s just taking up space.

With the dross and fool’s gold cleared away, the real nuggets shine. An uncluttered wardrobe gives you a working knowledge of what you have and full control over selections. I regularly (every month) clean out my closet and invariably give-away an item or two. It’s better to have fewer clothes, all wearable and each accessorized in your mind than the confusion of having three times the selection.

2.    Weeding is a money saver.
Collect your disgards, if you don’t have a favorite friend or sister, do one of two things. Sell them to a second hand shop or have them evaluated and donate them to a charity. The amount can then be deducted from you income tax return.

3.    Old shoes must go.
Nothing spoils an outfit more than time-worn shoes and shoes which are obviously out of style. Since shoes are made in such an enormous range of color, fabric, and type, don’t buy them to last forever. Even designer shoes lose their luster quickly or are passé the next season. The one exception would be sneakers or tennis shoes, which take of lot of punishment.

4.    The Jewel box
The best jewel box is one that is sparsely filled. Not being able to tell the forest for the trees is the chief woe of the overstuffed box. Simplicity, class. One or two fresh things is enough.

part 3 coming soon…

These next 3 posts are for the wives amongst us, and those future wives in the making

Wife dressing is many things:
An art.
A science.
A labor of love.
A means of self-expression.
And, above all, a contributing factor to a happy marriage.

Wife dressing begins with the traditional rings for your third finger, left hand. But the wedding ring is only the beginning. When your husband’s eyes light up as he comes in at night, you’re in sad shape if it’s only because he smells dinner cooking.

Most men claim to be indifferent to fashion, if not down-right afraid. They can contemplate outer space without blinking an eye, sacrifice their very lives in defense of our country, or even explore the dark cellar where you’ve heard noises—yet the mention of a shopping trip turns them pale and trembling.

Why? I don’t know.
But one thing is clear, however many times he may mumble inarticulately when you ask his advice he will respond to every facet of wife-dressing whether you’re being the hostess, the maid-of-all-work, or the devastating creature curled up on the sofa with a Midnight Snack for Two.

So how can you serve your husband through your dress?

You will need:
1. A frank understanding of yourself
2. A healthy attitude toward your new responsibilities
3. A willingness to learn and
4. A buoyant elation about being alive.

All this can be boiled down to one word: Discipline.
Discipline makes you the woman you are. You are you. Not the model in that photo, or the girl beside you in the elevator, or even the gal sitting at the next lunch table. Discipline is the secret to good grooming, no matter your budget. Discipline prevents you from being deluded about the squishing into the wrong size, or buying something just because it’s on sale. Discipline makes you a stickler for details which left unchecked could lead to a catastrophe.

Part 2 coming soon.
Sources: Wife Dressing, Anne Fogarty