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“What do you do when you can see through anything?”

Clark Kent asked his mom as he looked through a wall with his x-ray vision. This was on SMALLVILLE, so you may not have seen it.   The reply his mother gave, I thought, was very wise. “You learn to close your eyes,” was her simple answer.   I have felt for a couple days that I should write a post about the subject of Modesty and learning to close your eyes, heart, and mind to the evil of the world. Mother  has posted 2 posts about Swimwear & Modesty and such, which is probably why I’ve been thinking about this. Also SuperAngel  was reading the bible to us last night, and the verse she was reading struck me funny.

Isaiah 6: 9-10… “Then I (Isaiah) said, “Here am I! Send me” And He said, “Go, and tell this people: Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes: Lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed.”  

This verse is very well spoken, in my opinion. The Lord is saying, Keep your heart closed to my Word and do not hear with your ears, but when you are ready to come back to me and you want to see with your eyes and open your heart, the Lord will be ready to heal you; and he will, over and over and over.   But lets talk about Isaiah. He said, “Here I am, Lord send me!” Now, if you are wondering what my point is, I’ll tell you. When you can do anything or see anything, and in our world today of free thinkers, we as Americans think it is ok to NOT close our eyes. Especially Christians.  

Let me give you my definition of a Christian: In today’s world, a Christian is someone who believes in Jesus as their savior but fails to live TOTALLY biblically. They do what’s right to a point, but when it comes to dressing modestly, their schooling choices, church and other such things they discard what they know to be true. Some people don’t know, and they are deceived, but, they should know, because, Bibles are readily available, even at the local Wal-Mart.        On the subject of HSing… I have often heard this phrase used: “My children are being a witness in their school.” People often say this when confronted with the idea of HSing. We, of course, don’t bring the subject up unless it pertains to us but people often feel the need to defend themselves, anyway. I 100% disagree with PS and will NEVER put my children in it. I enjoy teaching young children and it will be a great joy when I have own.  

So, “What do you do when you can see through anything?” As a believer and as a biblical young lady, I find this very disturbing to see Christians knowing they should close their eyes but don’t. I see girls running around in 2 potato chips and a Band-Aid, as Mom recently heard. Movies and cars, girlfriends and boyfriends are things that Christian young adults just need to close their eyes about. Why is it that a parent can’t protect their son or daughter about dating and hold them accountable? Why can we not be totally apart from the world? The Lord did not say, “You are in the world so blend in as best as you can.” No, He said, “You are in the world NOT of the world.”

I don’t date (Never have never will).I saw where another blogger posted a requirement list for her daughter's future husband. I don’t dress immodestly (I always have a skirt on that goes well below my knees – not tight- and only wear long t-shirts at home. In fact, I am too embarrassed to wear anything that would show skin. I have never been able to wear a shirt if it did not come to the middle of my backside. Another thing about being modest is we all of us women in our family have long hair. Having short hair would make me look like a boy and unfeminine so, and I don’t watch every movie that comes out.  Mom and Dad preview it first to make sure it is appropriate. I don’t need to see everything in movies. The more I’m away from those things the less I know. To close this post I would like to ask everyone to stop by Mom’s; and read up on her posts. I am open to comments, but please no open debates. I thought I would post a little list of requirements for my future husband. Overall I will do what He says but I think it would be good for me to check these things out first.

  1. The young man needs to ask my father for permission to court or see me.

2. He has to be a biblical believer and know the Lord. He should have a role of leadership.

3. HSing would be another issues, because I would like to home educate my children and I think it is important.

4. We would have to agree about the way to raise children, such as spanking and discipline. The number of children will also be discussed.

5. Eating habits, sleep times (Because I am not an earlier riser unless I have to be. I am a night owl… LOL ).

6. I don’t want in-laws like Ray Ramon’s…

7. I am attracted to brown, curly hair, so if the Lord could grant that wish, I would be grateful.

This is just a few. I’m sure I will add more.

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I wrote this poem for the Girlhood, in which it’s published, but I thought I would share it with you. Working on the “After Highschool” series and writing on the role of women, modesty, and Biblical-living has made me ponder a lot on how we view ourselves as women/young ladies. In everything we do, let it be for His glory and not ours.

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P.I.M. (Poison Ivy Maiden)
I have poison ivy. I’ve had it for about a month now, off and on. The reason for the itchy spots on my arms is not from my adventures in the wild nor foolish play, but because I’ve had to get goats, thus walking through poison ivy. I can’t hold Lucy or really touch her until it’s gone. On top of that the mosquitoes have been horrible. Within the last week alone millions have come out and you can no longer walk out the front door without getting swarmed. I am a poison ivy plant covered in mosquito bites! I. am. so. itchy.

Last week I asked mom if I could just wear my under-shirt (tank-top) because the poison ivy on my arms were so itchy and my sleeve was just rubbing against it. It was late, and all the boys were in bed, so mom let me wear it alone. I felt naked with nothing covering my shoulders, though, and in a way embarrassed.

Here in the Dixon house…
We don’t wear tank-tops, swimsuits (as if we ever go swimming), or shorts. Even the boys are not allowed to wear above-the-knee shorts. Pants and knee-length shorts are the only thing they can wear. The girls usually dress in skirts, unless working in the mosquito infested barn/yard.

Mom, being the one who stays home and dresses us and buys most of our clothing, has to keep an eye on what we wear. I have not always agreed with her idea and rules about the clothes we can wear, but over the past few years I have come to realise the Biblical obligation to wear modest clothing, and it is not long “their” rule. Wearing shoulder-less shirts (tank-top, spaghetti-straps, bikinis) and shorts/tight jeans are immodest IMHO. As Christians young ladies we should be defined by many things, including the clothes we wear, how much make-up we put on, and the way we look at boys (Proverbs 9:13-15). We are, someday, going to marry (Genesis 2:18-24, 1 Timothy 2:13-15) and we want to be as pure and modest as we can for Prince Charming.

My Long Road To Femininity…
In 2005 when I played softball I wore shorts that came just above my knees. I was comfortable wearing them, and I hated skirts. Wearing skirts was stupid and they were for the ‘goody-goody’ homeschool families, whose daughters did nothing but cook and clean. After mom bought me a skirt, against my wishes, and I wore it a few times.. I realised that I felt pretty in skirts and they defined me from other girls and boys. It’s not too often you see a girl in a knee-length skirt.

I started reading the Bible more, instead of fighting against it, and reading about keeper at home and what that meant. It didn’t seem like such a burden as it did before. I suppose it was presented to me in a bad light in the beginning, and I think that’s why so many are against it (and also they want what they want so they have a circumstantial-faith).

My sister was no help and all the things that these “goody-goody’ homeschool families” did made me feel like a terrible person if I didn’t want to wear skirts and be a ’servant’. But as I started to take interest in the KAH idea and read the Word, I got a better understanding of a keeper at home was… I wanted to follow. I have found that in a way Jesus was *just* what a keeper at home is defined as. He was humble, obedient, loyal to his Father’s will, and self-less. The femininity-view today is completely opposite, which is why we have scantily-clad girls walking around. They can dress how they want to; it’s their body. That is why I don’t think it’s up to one person to determine if their apparel is immodest. If we did that than we’d have a few more Brittany Spears and Sharpay (HS Musical) walking around, both believers and unbelievers. Eeek! We have to rely on our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to help us in our walk as Paul wrote many times.

My Heart Changed…
I don’t know when or why my opinion of the matter changed, but it did. Maybe it was the Lord changing me into the person who was going to be writing to you today (and for the past year and half). BUT what if I hadn’t listened? Who would I be today, and would you all still think highly of me?

As I’ve learned sometimes we really really really have to lay down our ideals and our opinions of things like this and listen to… Him, who is the Holy one. I used to fight my mom about being feminine because I was fine just the way I was, but I found that mom wasn’t trying to mold me to be just like so-and-so. She was just trying to follow the Word.

After that I was in complete agreement with the feminine idea, but I did take it too seriously and thought everyone who didn’t do the same was wrong. My view on this has also changed - rather than being judgmental, I just try to understand (because I was once at that place) and be ‘light’. I realised that wearing pants isn’t immodest if you’re a girl, but that wearing a skirt makes you more feminine. It’s not a matter of modesty.

The Bible says…
In Proverbs (31:25) that “Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in the time to come”. We should not worry so much about clothing that is become an uncomfortable subject. We should just dress modestly so we can also cloth our ourselves in strength and honour in our Lord so that when the time comes (when He returns) we may rejoice.

This verse is very similar…1 Peter 3: 3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

The most commonly used verse is probably 1 Timothy 2:9, “In like manner also, that woman adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls or costly array.” I think that Paul was not trying to make women look as plain as they could, but he was really trying to tell them that it’s not gold, pearls or costly array that makes a women modest and pure, which is another reason not to spend money on the latest-and-greatest fashion.

How are you displaying your modesty?
Like the world defines it or how God does? It’s not complicated unless you disagree with it - and only then do things become unclear as I found when people try to debate the Word and God.

As I walk down this road, I am striving to please one and only one, Jesus Christ, the saviour of the world.

*This was not written to push my ideals on anyone, but to simply share them in all Christian-love and humility. I am still learning and growing in the Lord. I do not profess to “know it all” nor do I.

Jocelyn, A Pondering Heart

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I was reading "To Train Up A Child" by Michael and Debi Pearl last night and it got me thinking... Should young adults read "parenting books" or books about marriage, finances, and the home? Mom has a list of such books she wants us to read before we can graduate. Books that will help train us to become better adults and parents. We are already learning how to be a mother/father by helping with cooking, cleaning, taking out the garbage, or caring for younger siblings. Those are things we will do when we have our own children - so don't you think that books like TTUAC should be in with the school books?

Will reading it harm you in some way or make your childhood go too fast? I don't think so... We do not spend the majority of our lives as children. We spend the majority of it has adults. Now, is the time when we should be preparing to become a mature adult at a young age. The Bible has many 'heroes' and leaders who were just... 'children': Josiah (7), Joash (8), Mary mother of Jesus (14), Daniel (14), Joseph (17), Samuel (4) and David (not sure when he began to serve King Saul).

They were are trained to be mature, obedient, God-honoring children and in turn were given great responsibility. So again, I ask should young adults read "parenting books" or books about marriage, finances, and the home? I would answer yes. Most definitely.

I told you in a previous post that I like using the unschooling method for school but that doesn't mean we're hillbillies and use sticks and the ground to write out our math. We still use books (even pens and pencils)... lot's of books.... My mom is a book-collector! She has dozens of books (textbooks, literature, parenting, devotional, magazines, and PLENTY of notebooks). Books are a big part of schooling. No doubt. There is such a wide variety of books to read, but which ones do you take the time to read and study? Which ones will benefit you the most in life?

So... on my reading list, to read before I graduate or get married, I will need to read:

• The Heart of Wisdom Teaching Aproach by Robin Sampson
• The Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Anderola
• To Train Up A Child by the Pearls
• Teaching the Trivium by the Bluedorns
• The Fallacy Detective by the Bluedorn Boys
• So Much More by the Botkin Sisters
• Daughters of Destiny by Noelle Goforth
• The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace
• The Little Book of Christian Manners by William and Colleen Dedrick
• Educating the Whole-Hearted Child by Clay & Sally Clarkson
• Christian Modesty and The Public Undressing of America by Jeff Pollard

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Recorded in Oh Lord Help Me Live Biblically

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A lot has been on my mind lately. I obviously can't share everything with you because some things need to be left unsaid or not said by me. I want this post to be about blogging and how we can/may be defiling ourselves. I don't know if I'll quite get the point across. It's hard to say what you want to say without hurting anyone or being blunt about it (or naming anyone). Jesus said many things that upset the "righteous' leaders of the Jews. Jesus said everything in a loving manner. He said never said anything to make one angry or to hurt them. He said it to be a light unto them as was His role as the Son of God. He was to be a Light unto the world. In my year of blogging I have seen a many blog-fights that have come to nothing but hateful words, hard feelings and no friends. It is a sad thing when the Body of Christ is divided because a mere disagreement. Those who stand for what is right get 'preached' at by the other party who doesn't know what else to do (knowing they're wrong). I am tired of it and it is only hurting the Body of Christ. You know that old saying, "An eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth"? Well, I don't think that was meant for the Body of Christ to use as a 'motto'. That is how heathens, who don't have the love of Christ, act. But it seems as we go along in this world we go farther and farther from the original meaning of being a "Christian". We Christians have finished the quote, which is "then the whole world will be blind and toothless" and so we've made it. We cannot lead anyone to Christ if we are blind for we can't see ourselves; and it's hard to speak the truth if we have no teeth. (Try it - try speaking without touching your teeth). I know of a few blogs that I stopped visiting. The wars that rage are hard and rough. The unspoken words and subtle messages between the lines of the posts. The anger that is written is not so easily hidden and it's time we laid down our pride and actually do what we wrote. Without love, mercy and forgiveness of Christ we are nothing. We are not worth a cent. Without it we are ****ed to an eternal lake of fire. Can't we offer that same love, mercy, forgiveness to the one's who we've hurt or been upset by? When Jesus comes back it won't matter who was right. What will matter is what did you do in that situation? How did you show the love, mercy, forgiveness? You will be judged for your actions, not by what so and so did. So do the right thing, even if it does hurt your pride and make you look 'weak', as I am learning myself. Just a few days ago another blog-fight was about to begin because of hurtful words and children who were being thoughtless when they spoke - er typed. Only when we show the Love of Jesus can we fight against anger and hate. I was also involved in a 'blog-fight' almost a year ago. The leader of our blog group was dishonest and caused division which led to hate and thoughtless words. We always have to be careful with what we say when things don't go our way, and we're mad about it. We should always be the one advocating for peace and unity, without acting like you're better then everyone else, and it may be hard because you can't see face expressions or emotions online. Another thing that has been on my mind is about having relationships with people online. We should be careful at who we allow to comment on our blogs, on a regular basis. I visited a young man's blog, who recently joined HSB, and one the first post he got there was a comment from an older woman (about 40+). I was disturbed by her comment because she was acting as if she wanted to be this young man's buddy and 'spoke his language'. I have seen her on many kids' blogs and even defending a few. She does not see that she as a woman, an adult and a stranger is commenting on young men's' blog as if she were their friend. I don't think there is anything wrong with her commenting on young ladies blog if she is encouraging them but from the comments I've seen and her blog content she is very immature and very sarcastic. I am concerned and pray that those young man will guard themselves for their future bride as I hope mine will for me. It would be very, very, very disturbing if my sister was getting comments like that (mentioned above) from a 45yr old man. Even if he was a Godly, Biblical man, he (and she) have no right to have any type of personal relationship, and we have to be careful that we do not defile ourselves by merely leaving comments. I also recieved an anonymous comment asking unneccesary questions that did not concern them. Have discretion when you say things. If you're not sure you should be saying them (and are afraid to put your name if you do) then it would be best if you just kept to yourself. I was very heartborken that this 'person' lacked the courage and disrespected themselves and me by doing so. It is the same thing with leaving comments on young men's' blog. I have to be careful that I am not being flirtatious because I don't want to defile myself at all. In fact to help us stay pure and holy, mom has limited us to visiting certain young men's blog. And, we are only allowed to comment every so often. Most of the blogs she would disapprove of I wouldn't care to read, though, anyway. EDITED: I need to clarify, I do not think there is anything wrong with older woman or men commenting on young blogger's blog. What disturbes me is when the comments are of a personal manner and not about the post. Of course, if might be different is the familes actually know each other, but conversing about a post is completely ok; but when the comments seem to be like a phone call between two teenagers, then we have a problem. We need to avoid all apperance of evil. I have seen many young ladies blogs who have enticing pictures of themselves and who are flirtatious on boys' blogs. They leave comments that would be accepted by the world's standards, but I'm not sure it would be by God's. I want to help them and point it out but I'm usually not friends with them and they would be offended that I don't know them and are "judging" them. I have actually done this and got 'slapped' in the face for it. A few of those 'worldly Christians' all teamed up and asked how could I "dare judge someone like that?!!!!" So take a minute and check to see who you comment a lot or look over the content of your comments. Would it make you comfortable knowing that some other person is leaving these types of comments on *your* future spouse's blog? If not then the future spouse of the one you are commenting may not either. I've had a few bloggers/moms be obsessed with me or my family, which ended in that blogger getting offended when we couldn't devote our time to her. Please, understand, we are just regular people, striving to be what God has called us to. I am not a queen, I am not a blog-star. I am just me. It's nice to know that people want their daughters to grow up to be 'just like me' and I hope to set a good example, but I know I am not perfect and I still have a lot of mistakes to learn from, I'm sure. ot: I will be hosting the Carnival of Homesteading here next Monday. If you have any submissions, email me and I'll put it. Be blessed, Jocelyn, "thine willing handmaiden

(23)Of Those Who've Spoken

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