Radiant Purity Conference

I was looking back over my notes from the Radiant Purity Conference that I attended last year with my mom and younger sister Rachel and I thought I would share my notes with you. The conference was put on by Sarah Mally. She wrote Before You Meet Prince Charming which I highly recommend.

Radiant Purity Conference, 14 August 2009.

There are two kinds of purity: 1. Innocent. 2. Cleansed. Purity starts in the heart and glows outward.

Desire the best marriage and be willing to wait for him.

Dating

Temporary
To get
Human
Set up for divorce

Courtship

Eternal
To give
Spiritual
Set up for marriage

Look for a christian, a strong christian who shows spiritual fruit.

Trust Him no matter what. He is in control and can see the big picture while we can only see a piece. Sometimes when we think something is good or that we should do something right then that may be godly, but not what God wants for us at that time in our life. What God has planned for us is better than we could imagine. A good definition of "my will" is: what God's will is if I knew all of the facts. The Lords will is perfect and we need to be patient and follow his will, no questions asked.

What to do When You Have a Crush

1. Spring board approach.
2. Memorize scripture.
3. Talk to your parents.
4. Exercise faith in trusting the Lord.

The spring board approach simply means that when the person you have a crush on comes to mind you immediately think of something else. For example, when the person comes to mind you immediately start praying for family or friends or whoever God lays on your heart. Or, you start singing a song.

Friendship Principles

1. Keep the friendship casual.
2. Avoid situations that will breed emotional bonds.
3. Ask your parents for specific guidance and guidelines.
4. Do not seek attention for yourself.

Principles of Dress

1. Dress modestly.
2. Do not copy the world.
3. Do not defraud.
4. Dress femininely.
5. Honor your father.
6. Draw attention to your countenance.
7. Remember that you represent the Lord Jesus.

Emotional Purity

Seven Reasons to Send Guys to Your Dad

1. Dad will respect you.
2. You and your dad will be a team.
3. Young man will respect you.
4. Helps to screen guys.
5. Easier for you to say no.
6. Wisdom from dad's perspective.
7. Relationship between dad and young man starting right.

Internet can be a wonderful blessing. You can stay up to date with family quickly, talk to friends that live far away. But it can also lead to sinfulness if you are not careful what you look at and read. Here are some reasons why.

Possible Cautions

1. Opens up to things that are not holy. Psalm 1.
2. Interferes with relationship with parents.
3. Protects "artificial" friendships.
4. Emphasis on having many friends.
5. Sharing emotions prematurely or unwisely.
6. Can become an addiction.
7. Justifying relationships with young men that we normally would not.
8. Creates an area of independence--no accountability.
9. Encourages a split personality.
10. Can lead us to be very "me" focused.
11. Wasting time--one of our most precious resources.

We have to be careful about our use of the internet. We need to set up personal safeguards.

Why Do I Always Wear Skirts?

In the petting zoo at the Creation Museum

Two years ago today I made a commitment to the Lord to wear only modest skirts. When I was fifteen I was naive and thought that I could wear whatever I wanted. I put up the argument that it was "my body and I could do what I want with it." That did not go over well with my parents. They tried to show me that what I wear can cause guys to stumble and that women in the Bible are instructed to dress modestly. I insisted that my "hoochie mama" shorts (as they have so famously been dubbed) and my low cut shirts were just fine. Slowly the Lord began to change my heart. I have always been a girly-girl. As a little girl I loved dressing up and wearing skirts and dresses that I could twirl. When I was sixteen I slowly started to dress nicer, wearing longer shorts, more skirts that came to my knees and higher necked shirts.

In the summer of '08 God lead me to start wearing longer skirts. I looked in department stores but could not find any skirts. So I searched the internet and came across this website, http://www.denimskirts.com/. I bought two skirts and fell in love with the website. I gradually started getting ankle-length skirts, especially with winter coming.

For my eighteenth birthday and Daniel's fifteenth birthday we invited friends over and had a bonfire. We had our party on 25 October 2008. As I was deciding what to wear for the party, I kept thinking about how I wanted to be presented to Daniel's friends. I wanted to be presented as a lady, a young woman after God's own Heart. So I asked myself "what does a lady after God's own Heart look like?" I had been reading in Deuteronomy lately as part of my daily devotions. God brought to mind a verse that I had read a few days earlier,

Deuteronomy 22:5
A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.

So I thought to myself "what do men wear? They wear pants. What do women wear? They wear skirts and pants. Wait. That is not right. Women wear both skirts and pants while men only wear pants?!" The Lord convicted me then and I made a commitment to the Lord to wear only modest skirts. For me, my skirts never get shorter than below my knee. I am not comfortable wearing skirts that come above my knee. Shirts never get lower than right below my collar bone. If they are any lower than that, they make me uncomfortable so I do not wear them.

At the state fair last year

It can be difficult to go shopping sometimes. You just have to stay positive and be creative. Some of my favorite places to shop are Goodwill, thrift stores, Style J, Kohl's, and Wal-mart.


What are your favorite places to shop? Do you have any personal guidelines or convictions when it comes to what you wear?

30 Day True Woman Make-Over: Day 5

Day 5
A Godly Woman's Work

Do you realize that the work you do today is important to God? Learn how you can glorify God in the way you work, and in where you work.

• It is a privilege and a high calling to tend to the practical, physical affairs of your home.
• Your good works ought first to be done at home, ministering to the needs of your family. Then as God gives you time, opportunity, available resources--or in a different season of life--take those gifts and abilities and expand them.
• As you handle the practical details related to the care of your family, there is profit. Work is good!
  

p.s. I could not post this Saturday because we had a Jr. High and HS football game in Dayton, OH, so we were gone all day.

30 Day True Woman Make-Over: Day 3

Day 3
Modeling Humility

Does being a true woman mean you are perfect? Hardly! A true woman is simply different from most, but it is those differences that are the secret of her great influence.

• It is more important that you model humility than that you model perfection.
• As you allow yourself to be made and molded into the image of God's kind of woman, you will function at peace and at rest-not without problems-but with joy.
• Do you want your husband to be a man of virtue, a noble man, a man of spiritual strength and character? Then set out not to change him, but to be the kind of woman with the kind of character that you want him to have.
  

30 Day True Woman Make-Over: Day 2

On September 24 & 25 my mom and I attended the True Woman Conference by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. It started on the 23, but we were not able to attend that night because of Andrew's football game against the Indiana Deaf School.

I enjoyed it very much! I went to Nancy's breakout session on Daily Devotions: Duty or Delight. It was so encouraging. She gave everyone a 30 day challenge to have devotions every day for the next 30 days. I have taken that challenge twice and have failed twice. But I started again on Monday and by the grace of God I will finish the 30 day challenge and continue to have daily devotions after the 30 days.

I have started receiving e-mails for the 30 Day True Woman Make-Over. I will be posting the e-mails here as I receive them.

The first day was just a review of what we learned that weekend and to encourage us to continue on the paths of becoming God's true woman.



Day 2
A Virtuous Woman

When you here the phrase "A godly woman," does an actual woman come to mind? Better yet, do you think that could ever describe you?

• The Proverbs 31 woman deals with the same stuff you do!
• I can tell you this-she did not get there overnight, and she has not arrived yet. She is a woman in progress. She is a woman who, like most of us, often finds herself taking three steps forward and two steps back.
• The world tells you that if you look out for yourself, then you will be happy. But it is the woman who lives for God and others who is truly joyful.

Listen to or read more here.