Girly-girl blogs
I do not see myself as a "girly-girl." Nonetheless, I've tried to embrace the biblical definition of femininity and resisting worldly traps. I've read lots of books directed toward women and the special issues they face, and I have found few that were actually helpful to me. "Beautiful Girlhood" by M. Hale and revised by Karen Andreola shaped me a lot in my adolescence and continues in its encouragement, but I can count on one hand the number of books that faced feminine issues in a way that was constructive for me. Women are too concerned with appearing sympathetic to say much of importance.
My father had a big part of shaping how I think, and as a result I wonder sometimes if I don't "think" along the normal patterns that a girl thinks. In any case, I didn't gain much from the Mahaney girls' latest efforts to encourage women (their conference, book and blog, namely). I decided that, as much as I love the theology in Sovereign Grace Ministries, I'd have to look elsewhere for material that encouraged me in my quest for real biblical feminity (I don't think I should shape my character off of Titus 2 alone :-P). However, thanks to the New Attitude Website, I found Carolyn McCulley's blog. I loved it after the second blog post, and intend to follow Miss McCulley's blog closely. What I found:
My first discovery was Miss McCulley's lack of superfluous language. This, my friends, is why women need education! The ability to communicate well is not spontaneous, and flowery words do not make writing more attractive or readable.
Meaningful opinions on feminine issues. "A Man's view of Beauty" was a cool post. Why? Because I shape my appearance according to what I know about men's tastes (within reason, of course). I don't care a whole lot about trends. If most guys I know like long hair, then why not have long hair? BUT, even though I might not be struggling with the temptation to buy the cool leather "biker babe" jacket I saw on the Ralph Lauren website, I still need to remember that God sees inner beauty, and I should be trying to attract men who also see beauty on the inside.
Miss McCulley seems to love discussion and respect the opinions of others, even if she gently corrects them. Rather than just giving a short statement showing a commenter the truth, she shows the truth in scripture & humbles herself.
6 comments:
Oops, yeah. I guess I didn't clarify enough.
I'm trying to shape myself to be attractive to a godly man by what I do and say, not how I look. "I still need to remember that God sees inner beauty, and I should be trying to attract men who also see beauty on the inside." That's what I liked about Miss McCulley's post concerning men & beauty.
-don't try to shape yourself. you'll just get screwed up! its actually proposterous to think for even a moment that you could change YOURSELF for the better. there is no way the clay can mold itself. be still and let GOD mold you.
Well, kwatz, there's something to be said for being proactive.
"Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." I Cor. 9:26-28
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved.... Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." 2 Tim. 2:15, 22
But you are right in that we are proactive within his empowerment.
"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age." Titus 2:11-12
P.S. I rather prefer the scrawny peasant type to the knight in shining armor.
heh - Shannon can't be normal, even when it comes to being totaly NON-normal and pursuing godly femininity! It was refreshing to hear someone looking beyond those few harped-on passages for that subject. God's word as a whole should guide our lives--man, woman or alien.
Via the link to Carolyn McCully's blog I ended up spending an hour or so reading through a couple blogs on this subject, for guys and girls. I came away desiring to look for and appreciate true beauty more actively. I've known for a long time that that's what we're to be doing, and I want to be proactive in fighting the world's flood of indoctrination about what is "beautiful."
And about that biker babe jacket...just make sure it's long enough :-)
Scrawny peasants? Sure, if they're handsome by God's standard!
I am pretty sure that the jacket I have in mind is not long enough. I'd want some good chaps to go with it :-P
Did you read the Roof Guy's blog? I really liked that one. I'll also be on the prowl for godly beauty in others :-)
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