A Sad Trend.... Part 1: "Jumping Ship"

I hope this post finds all of you doing well and getting ready for the upcoming new year. We have had the flu/cold for 3 weeks now, and as of today ( Praise the Lord!) we are prayerfully on the mend. It has been a rough road to say the least. I want to start out by saying that I can already tell that this is going to be the first of several post to come on this topic, thus the "part 1" added to the end of the title. I also want to add a little disclaimer here. I am NOT trying to offend anyone, or say I have arrived at all. Please don't take it that way. I do hope if  what I say offends you that you will think if the possibility that perhaps it is the Holy Spirit convicting you of something. That is how I try to see it when I get offended :-)

A little background on my theory about blogging and real life. I personally can not understand why more women are not honest in their online writings. Especially when they are trying to encourage another lady. I can honestly tell you that I have a great marriage, and that we rarely argue and when we do, it usually is because I want to take the lead. I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true. I am more in love today with my husband than I ever thought about being 15 years ago. He is my best friend and a great daddy to our children. He believes I can do anything I put my mind to and is by far, my biggest encourager. I am so thankful for that.

Some of the things I am going to cover in these post are jumping ship, headcoverings for the Christian lady, modest dress standards, God's calling for a lady, the lack of honesty among Christian women.... just to name a few. So enough of all this other stuff; lets dig right in!

The first topic I will discuss will be "Jumping Ship":

                In the Christian circle of lady bloggers it is a sad and growing trend to see women that were once highly esteemed and honored Christian bloggers, role-model, homemakers, mothers, go from the meek, precious, Christ adoring women to worldly, modern day, self empowered, boastful, immodest women. The crutch these precious ladies are leaning on is called "legalism". In my terms, legalism is what you call it when God's laws and or requirements are too much for you to follow anymore. The pull of the world is too much and you are basically tired of trying. You can flip to the excuse that all this stuff you have been doing is legalistic and you were living in bondage all these years. What if Jesus would have said that dying on the cross was too legalistic for him and that living his life here on earth being mocked and beat down was too hard for him to do? Is Jesus worth a little bit of inconvenience?  I think we take the saying "saved by grace" and the term that the Lord's mercies are endless, just a little too far. God is merciful but if you continue to commit the same sin over and over do you think there was a real change to start with? God does turn a deaf ear to us after so long. We are saved by grace. Once we are saved by grace, there is and should be a very distinct change in our lifestyle and who we are PERIOD. We shouldn't blend in with everyone at the mall. You shouldn't have enough make up and jewelry on that people start to wonder what clown car you jumped out of. Your clothes shouldn't be so tight and immodest that you leave men wondering what it would take to get a little "closer" to you. We are called to be DIFFERENT and much to the dismay of many, that takes sacrifice.  A little word that in our modern day, we don't like to use.The same things our Lord and his son gave for us. We must be willing to be sold out in ALL areas, not just a few. You can be the best Christian in the world and have what you feel like is the most intimate relationship with the Lord but if I can't pick you out of a crowd, how will I know your a Christian? We are called to be light in the dark, correct? If you look and act like all the other loose ladies around, how will I find guidance if I were to be a lost person looking for a Christ-like example? A lot of ladies these days get all obsessed with things that just don't count. Food, their looks, their jobs, their weight....etc. The list goes on. But there are very few who are obsessed with what Christ would have them be going after. I have seen several ladies go from wonderful God fearing Christians to ladies that are complete opposites of who they used to be. These changes have not been good. Ladies, when the Lord calls us to be His, we are to be just that. HIS!  We are called to be opposite of the world. If that is living in bondage then so be it. If I'm legalistic, then so be it. I am proud to be a follower of the King. To be His daughter. To be different and not blend in with the world. Over this last year I have become someone I NEVER expected to be. I have lost 2 relationships that I cherished, but God knew what was best. He has blessed Cameron and I with a wonderful, God-fearing church family. A pastor who has become like a father to us and I and an awesome friend too. I have sister's in Christ that have held my hand and supported me through some tough times these past few weeks. Who have reminded me that I am where I am for God's glory. I am stepping out and saying that I have no regrets over my choices in regards to following the Lord. In fact I feel sorry for people who don't have what I have. I am excited to see what the next year holds for us as we continue to learn more about what the Lord wants for us. It is my prayer that you will evaluate your motives in all areas when you start to jump on the legalism bandwagon. Is it legalism or just pressure to go with the flow like everyone else? Don't "jump ship" only to find out that you can't swim!


Blessings~
Maudie