Modesty Carnival

I am honored to host the Modesty Carnival for the month of March.  There were only a few submissions but they are good ones.  Take some time today to read through them all; there is definitely a wide variety listed here.  Please comment on those who chose to submit this month and let me know which ones you enjoyed the most.  

Is modesty only for women? Are men and children also to dress modestly? What kind of examples as parents do we send?  Bethany addresses these questions in her post Modesty:Not Just for Ladies.

Many people feel a woman’s hair is her pride and glory, and should be saved for her husband viewing only. Here are some quick and easy ways to cover your hair, while still looking attractive.

De’Etta wrote a great little article. She hits many different issues surrounding this topic of modesty and has several questions which are sure to make you stop and think.  Go and be challenged, A Few Thoughts on Modesty.

My good friend Rebecca is preparing for her daughter’s wedding soon and has written a post on being a Modest Wedding Guest.  Here is a quote. 

Why should modesty be a consideration when attending a wedding?  Simply because, while it is quite natural to be the center of our own attention, a wedding guest who wants to be the center of attention at a wedding ought to just have declined the invitation. 

If you haven’t noticed there is a trend in today’s maternity cloths.  I agree that being pregnant can be a wonderful experience and I personally love the pregnant belly but I do not want to see everyone’s!  I find it tiring and not so attractive to see the pants below the belly whilst the shirt does not cover the belly.  Here is a link for a way to have that fashionable layered look and make sure you are completely covered. They make hipster and mini underclothing to “fill in the gap” your others clothes do not always cover. Visit Nothing Bare Clothing.

Celebrate Femininity: the following is a statement from those at Bellissima :

We believe in rejoicing in our God-given gift of femininity by joyfully choosing to dress in a way that protects, and in doing so, brings glory to God by proclaiming His beauty. “Let the beauty of the Lord be upon us.” (Psalm 90:17)

Moving beyond the clothing….

The emotional side of modesty and purity is the most important part of your being a Godly young man or woman of God.

Jocelyn addresses this in her article Modesty is more than you Apparel.

Here is an entry from Linda, a regular commenter here. Visit Thought of the Heart to read her entry. Here is a small snippet from her post.

A person adorned in modesty has great worth. They are a token of purity to their spouse and if not married a treasure given wholly to the Lord.

Modesty, one woman’s journey.  Here is a post from Emma about her continual journey to live a modest life.  See where and how the Lord has lead her along this path.  Her article is entitled, Modesty Wasn’t my Middle Name.

Finally, be sure to check out the new site Is This Modest? to contribute on the topic of modesty in today’s culture.

Bloggy Giveaway

I decided to participate in this quarter’s bloggy giveaway! This is my first time participating and it looks to be a great giveaway! As my part of the bloggy giveaway carnival I am offering the Bible on cassette. This is the Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible, Volumes 1-2. Volume 1 is Old Testament portions and volume 2 is New Testament. This is on audio cassette narrated by David Carlson and put out by Aurora Ministries.

If you are interested in entering please leave a comment with an email address. I will be drawing and announcing the winner on April 26th.

For more great giveaways visit the Bloggy Giveaway Carnival.

Embracing Life — Quiverfull Carnival #3

Vanessa says, “In a recent forum discussion, I met a lady who was somewhat confused about the quiverfull lifestyle. It seems that others had led her to believe the possibility that being quiverfull was a salvation or a sanctification issue. I suppose I created this post in an effort to describe what being quiverfull means to my family.” Pop on over to Creative Counterpart to read about her story.

There is an amazing post over at A Woman’s Journey Home. Her story includes the diagnosis of never having children, the Lord opening her womb, a husband wanting no more children, a life and death event, loosing children, and being blessed. She writes, “We have learned, that being QF is more than just accepting the Lord’s will if a baby is coming every year. It is also trusting Him when they are only with us for a little while…or if the months go by and the womb remains empty.”

This page is not a blog post but is written by a lady who has had 9 c-sections thus far. I have her permission to share this. Please read it and be reminded of how God can do all things even go against what the medical community will tell you.

Take a moment to visit Tapestries of Grace. She writes, “We had been Christians for only about 6 months and, never being one to swim against the current, this concept of allowing the Lord to plan our family seemed outright bizarre. We were already considered strange for home schooling but this was just more than his mind could comprehend.”

Our last link for today is a wonderful one. It was written by Jennifer’s (homekeepingheart) aunt.
She writes, “What do we say when we find out that some one is expecting a baby? Well, you might say, it depends? Have you ever thought about the message we are sending as Christians when we scorn life that God has created? Scorn life, you say. I would never do that. Well, I have heard it done over and over in my life, and sometimes I wonder whether Christians really think about what they are saying. We need to be so careful about accepting the world’s view of children.” Take a moment and finish reading her post, Embracing Life.

Another Short Quiverfull Carnival

I am breaking from my typical Saturday postings today. I sat here trying to work on them but they were just not coming together. This post has been sitting in draft form for a while and was staring me down. So today must be the day to post it. Please visit the links, leave comments, and be blessed by the testimonies given. Hopefully, you will leave a comment here too.

Lisa from Me & My House writes: “How can children be so controversial, especially in Christian circles? It doesn’t seem to be so in Muslim circles, or Mormon circles, and it wasn’t in Christian circles prior to the mid-1900’s either. But it is today. So this post will no doubt be controversial.”
Read more of her article, Children~ A Heritage.

Jennifer Posted an article written by Jewish Rabbi Shmuley Boteach on The Blessings of Children. Rabbi Shmuley Boteach is the recipient of the American Jewish Press Association’s Award for Excellence in Commentary, and the international best-selling author of 16 books, including his newest book, “Ten Conversations You Need to have With Your Children” (ReganBooks/HarperCollins). He is also the host of TLC’s national TV show, “Shalom in the Home,” which airs each Monday night at 10 p.m.

Pam from Still Learning shares this…
I can say from our own experience that we’ve never had to think much about the issue. It’s a non-issue for us. We consider it a trust issue and have had to think about it only when I had to consider a health issue this past year. It was not a peaceful time. Since the beginning of our marriage I have felt very free and that marriage was a holy union and that children weren’t undesirable beings. It’s is very freeing. Click on her name to read more.

Ashley shares, “One question we have gotten several times is why do we need so many children?
We don’t NEED more children. We would get on fine with the two we have. We WANT more children. God gives us children as a BLESSING, not a burden! And why would we want to turn away from a blessing that He desires to give us?”

Carnival of Quiverfull Testimonies

A couple of months ago, I began a blogroll for those who are actively living out the Quiverfull Lifestlye.

The Quiverfull lifestyle is a movement among conservative evangelical Protestant Christians. Roman Catholics and some others might refer to the Quiverfull position as Providentialism. Those who hold this position do so not in an attempt to simply have large families but to leave in the hands of the Lord God Almighty His sovereignty and authority over the womb. The distinguishing viewpoint is to eagerly receive children as blessings from God, abandoning all forms of contraception, including natural family planning and sterilization.

This post will seem “carnival-like.” It’s purpose is to highlight the testimonies of those who have joined thus far. There is some amazing, encouraging, heartbreaking, and hopeful reading contained within these links. Whether you hold this position or not, live it out or not, there is no doubt that if you read the testimonies you will see God at work and be blessed. There are a few short snippets here, be sure to click over and read the testimonies!

Like my husband and I, there are many people we know who have traveled the route of reversal. After having been “fixed” as the world calls it or “broken” as we call it, after all things were working correctly until the surgery. The Lord has changed their hearts; revealing this to them through the Word and the Spirit. This revelation leads to repentance. Repentance not only in word but also deed – having actions of confession and repentance that places this physically not just spiritually back in the hand of God. This typically is in a hope for more children but more importantly to honor and glorify the Lord and to proclaim His sovereignty.

Becca at Mission of Motherhood writes about their journey of vasectomy and reversal. Her husband also gives his testimony on the subject at Mission of Fatherhood.

Cindy at An Army for the Lord gives here testimony about dealing with Post Tubal Ligation Syndrome and the road to reversal. Cindy also shares about the pain of loosing a child. There is heartache for some who follow the Lord in this area of their life. Yet, there are many who continue to trust in the Lord even if they must endure the loss of one of these little ones.

Melissa at Getting into the Promised Land… shares about this transformation in her life after loosing a child. She says: “I think this was one of the starting points of really turning my life over to God. Although a known possibility, the loss was so unexpected. The acceptance of God’s plan for our family became a needed comfort and an easy source of solace to turn to in my sorrow. “

Christi from Where the Creek Meets the Lake says through blessing and through loss that, “God is so good and merciful.”

Then there is Lisa from the Beehive Buzz. This lady just lost a precious child on Christmas Day. She has been blogging through this trial. Lisa is an amazing lady! Even though there is great mourning God is there with her and she is a blessing to share how He comforts and walks her through this.

Leah from Reformed Farmer’s Wife shares her story with us. She speaks of how God showed her, even as a young teenage girl, that He was in control of everything, even a woman’s womb and how the Lord taught here through watching her parents correct a mistake they had made.

Nataly at Sheepy Hollow Farms gets to the heart of being quiverfull. She shares, “But I think being quiverfull goes deeper than having an excuse to have many children. For us, it isn’t an issue of how many children will we have. Rather, it’s a question of whether we are truly trusting that God can and will provide for us or are we trying to put God in a box and take control of our own lives? To us it’s really surrendering to God’s control over every aspect of our lives.”

Jacque from Seeking Rest in the Ancient Paths answers the following questions. Is There Such a Thing As Too Many Arrows in Your Quiver, Blessings, Children?? – How About To God??

The Wilkinson’s over at Simple Living Alaska discusses what she calls QF Deficient Christians and here talks about how full a quiver really is. They also share about their journey to becoming Quiverfull.

Jolene at Life’s Journey says, “It is not simply the desire to have a large family. It is purposing to give God control over *every* area of our lives, specifically over our fertility.”

MomofMany at KidsrGifts writes about her and her husband’s view of children and how God is in total control.

Sandy over at The Daily Poop puts it plainly. She say, “God has given us exactly what He wants us to have. This is not how we would have planned it for sure, especially 5 years ago when we started our family. But what do we know? Nothing..that’s what. God’s plans are awesome and His ways are perfect. So who are we to say that He can have only so much of us and not our family size?”

Alicia from Ambient Solace was one of the first members on the roll. She shares how God has been causing growth in her life. I quote a portion here, “There have been several questions my husband and I have been confronted with regarding our lives in general and several areas specifically. Those questions have been: “What does the Bible really say about this?” (involving much study and prayer), “Do we truly believe the Bible to be ‘breathed out by God’ [2 Timothy 3:16]?”, “Do we believe God?”, “What are the implications of believing God about this?” and finally, “Do we live like we believe God?” Or, maybe the final question is actually, “Are we willing to live like we believe God?”

Robin from Heart at Home thinks over the blessing and challenges of being quiverfull. While having dinner with her six youngest children she says, “Midway though the meal I realized and announced, “If I practiced birth control, I would be the only one at this table right now!”

Amy from Raising Arrows actually has her journey written out in four parts. God has brought her family through great trials as of late consisting of some serious medical issues their youngest child. She is dedicated to giving God the glory in all things. Read her testimony here: Part 1, Part2, Part 3, and Part4.

Sherry over at Large Family Mothering is the mother of 14 children. She shares about having been in the man’s world, the US Army, having a grandmother in her misguided kindness, offer to use her great-grandmother’s wedding rings to pay for me to be “sterilized”, and ultimately finding true freedom in motherhood!

Tracy at Lines from the Vine discusses how being quiverfull is never the life that she would have chosen for herself, but how glad she is that God had a different plan. She also points out that having a large family is easy, it is a lot of work. It’s not enough to have the children God will give you- you must train and teach them as well.

Jennifer at HomeKeepingHearts shares her Quiverfull Story and how the Lord provided a husband with the same beliefs. She also writes about the peace that God brings when we allow Him to truly be Lord of all in this article, “Lord of All or Not at All.”

Carnival of Modesty

The Carnival of Modesty is up at MInTheGap. I have an article listed but there are several other great articles to visit. So pop over and spend some time at the carnival.