Welcome to the June 1, 2008 edition of carnival of modesty.  Not a lot of good submissions today, so I’ll have to augment them from sites I’ve found in my travels.

Lin Burress presents You Are What You Wear: What Your Clothes Say About You.

Theresa L. Twogood presents Just What If…What Then?

Louise Manning presents Quotes about dignity.

Mama Archer presents Modesty Articles and What Do Men Consider Immodest?

A Husband presents Satisfy Your Hungry Eyes.

Jen presents Men’s eyes: looking for the opportunity to imagine.

Principled Discovery presents Marketing our youth.

Matt Ahearn presents Modest Attraction.

Cheri presents Employment – "The Next Generation" (or Why I am Having a Tirade Today")

Mac presents Modesty – Part 7.

Miss Aniela presents Pretty ugly.

Psalm 128 presents Simply Modest.

The Villiage Idiot presents Summer is almost here, and news about dress codes.

Sonja presents Modest?

Heidi presents Weekend Worship – Modesty, Part 4.

Mrs. Hurzeler presents The Truth About Improper Clothing!

Kristie presents 20 Ways for Young Women to Claim the Respect.

Jennifer Bacak presents Modesty.

Greg presents A Disturbing Trend.

Mrs. Darling presents Modesty in young girls.

Cassandra DeBenedetto presents Chaste people have libidos?…Go figure!!!

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of modesty using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Welcome to the April 30, 2008 edition of carnival of modesty.

Articles

Christine @ Serenity How? presents An Open Letter to the Makers of Low Rise Jeans for Girls posted at Serenity How?.

Ginger presents Modesty Defined at Clark Chatter.

Allison Brewton presents Modesty… more really is better! at …REDEEMED FOR LIFE…

Mrs. Darling presents Preparing our children for the real world at Dishpan Dribble.

Carolyn McCulley presents A Sneak Peek at Modesty at Radical Womanhood.

Patty presents Just a Thought at MorningRamble.

Hendrick Family presents Serve God, Obey God, and Modesty Tangent at Sit a Spell.

Emily presents Modesty vs. Insecurity and Striving for beauty: the heart of the matter and ‘God, My Heart, and Clothes’ at Unfurling Flower.

Mary O’Hayes presents Dress Codes Being Enforced/Parents Complain at Modestly Yours.

Joel Griffith presents What Happened to Modesty at The Seventh Sola.

Suzanne Hadley presents Modest Expectations at Boundless Line.

Mrs. Amy Brigham presents Battle Scars at ~Clothesline Alley~.

Elizabeth Esther presents Modest Mommies at Three’s a Crowd.

Mrs. Wilt presents How Then Shall We Dress? at The Sparrow’s Nest.

Sheri Prescott presents Modest Monday ~ Pop-Culture vs. Raising virtuous and pure daughters and Modest Monday: Maternity Clothes at Purely His.

Daniel Ritchie presents Albert N. Martin on Female Modesty at Reformed Covenanter.

Rob presents Oklahoma Court: Women Don’t Have An Expectation of Privacy In Their Skirts at Say Anything.

Marsha West presents Hyper-sexualizing Girls at Novakeo.

Lydia Brownback presents Modesty Reruns at The Purple Cellar.

Mrs. Anna T presents Changes in me – the gift of growing and When Mom challenges modesty at Domestic Felicity.

Anna presents It’s Okay to Desire Modesty at Hope Road.

Anna presents The Perverse Psychology of ‘Showing Off’ at Veiled Glory.

E-Book

Daddy, Will You Please Cover Me?

Stores

Down East Basics

CL Swim Designs (Hat Tip: razorbackmama)

A Formal Choice

Modest Prom

Modest By Design

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of modesty using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Welcome to the March 31, 2008 edition of carnival of modesty. There’s not that much on topic this week in the carnival, but please enjoy these submissions that are on topic!

Rob Moshe presents Live Your Best Life By Serving Others posted at Rob Moshe, saying, “This is not necessarily a fitting post for your carnival. Once the project starts, each day I will recognize a fellow blogger that “Helped”"

Ariah Fine presents Open Letter to Anyone Returning from a Missions Trip posted at Trying to Follow.

My Story

Dawn presents Modesty in Public posted at “At Thy Word”, saying, “I was teased at work for dressing modestly. It really surprised me.”

Shamelle presents It Doesn’t Cost Much To Consult With God posted at Enhance Life.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of modesty using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Welcome to the Carnival of Modesty– Long overdue for the month. Winter is a hard time to find good articles on Modesty– for the simple reason that it’s not usually the time of year where men and women like to show off skin! That being the case, there are still people that do it, and you cannot avoid immodestly dressed people in the malls and indoor shopping areas.

So, I sat down (virtually) with a bunch of different people on the topic, and here’s what they came up with:

“Why should girls dress like girls?” I asked.

“It’s Biblical,” Rebecca answered. “You see, MIn, I encourage young ladies to experiment in developing their own style, and to take care to maintain their God-given gender identity. In other words, make sure that it is obvious they are female.”

“But is it really that difficult to look like a girl?”

“Yes it, is,” replied Natasha, “Every day I get up and wonder about what I should wear. You see, I like to wear skirts. I feel personally convicted that skirts are more modest than pants. And yet most of the people around me wear jeans and even ladies in my church don’t really wear skirts.”

“My wife and I have shopped around, there really isn’t a lot out there in terms of modest clothes, is there?”

Mama Archer, dying to get a word in, pipes up, “That’s where you’re wrong, Min. There’s a lot of places that have Modest Clothing For Girls. Why just the other day–”

“I found some when I was Christmas shopping this past year!” Emily interrupted.

“And I wrote a list about the ‘tremor of modesty and restraint‘,” added Liz, “Of both places to find them and other related articles.

“Sounds like you should have hosted this carnival, Liz.”

“And I’d like to add that I have something over at girl talk that might help,” replied Nicole, “in our girl talk: Modesty section. But somehow I don’t think you’d look good in a dress, MIn.

“When was the last time you tried to find a formal gown at the mall? I’ve got some great links for formal gowns on my post about being modest in an immodest world,” shouts someone from the back.

“So, Anna, what do you think is the most important thing about modesty?”

“You see, MIn,” Anna replied, “Modesty isn’t about hiding forever in the shadow of plainness. On the contrary: modesty allows to uncover the real you, with your special, unique beauty. You aren’t your body. You aren’t giggles and flirting. You are a sweet woman, cherished woman, with a beautiful heart, mind and soul. Simply put, Modesty is true beauty uncovered.”

“What I find interesting is that there are people actually standing up for modesty– like Southwest Airlines,” Veiled Glory added.

“But I didn’t even ask you a question!”

“You did say Anna, didn’t you?”

“Yes, Anna, but for every Southwest Airlines, there’s a Victoria’s Secrets,” groans Karen.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, VS is not just targeting women now, but the teenagers. They want to get these young girls thinking about sexy they are, and what effect it will have on boys.”

“Speaking of that, guys really need to know about the power they have over how girls dress.”

“What do you mean, Emily?”

“Well, if I could give a word to they guys, I’d tell them that what they desire is what girls desire to become. Many Christian guys seem to be looking for this perfect Malibu-Barbie-cross-Proverbs-31-type girl, who has perfect hair and eyes and teeth, who is thin but curvy, and who is also an ace at theology, serving, cooking, and just generally the epitome of godliness. Men, please hear me on this: this type of woman does not exist!”

“Wow, I bet a lot of guys really miss this point!”

“Yes, guys need to realize that what you desire as the ‘ultimate perfection’ of a woman is what we as women will tend to desire to become, because we want to be desired by you (well, one of you – so much so that you pursue us and ask us to marry you).

“That takes the whole concept to a new level. Up until this point we’ve talked about the girl’s responsibility, but what you’re saying is that if guys would desire the right things, girls would meet that standard.”

“The hardest part, is finding a modest standard,” Rowena. “Each person has their own ideas as to what is modest, but it’s in our best interest to find a workable standard. Even then, he availability of clothes that fit this standard are well, not plenteous. For example, hipster jeans are pretty much the only cut you can get without going to the extreme of high-waisted jeans (that look terrible on everyone except for Mischa Barton) or going to an auntie shop and buying waist cut jeans that make your butt look twice the size it really is. In the shops nowadays, it’s hard to buy stuff without looking frumpy, preggers, fat or shabby. Some of the stuff you look at and just think – not in a million years! But I reckon it can be done – you just need to put the effort in.”

“I know what you’re saying, Rowena.”

“Modesty is for both men and women, but in different ways,” adds Heather. “For women it’s all about dress, but for men, they need to realize that we are wired to desire emotional intimacy (it’s just as strong as your desire for physical intimacy) and when you treat a girl special, set her apart, flirt with her, invest your heart into her life, take her out for coffee, have her met your parents: she will begin to be turned on emotionally. Knowing that girls may have a tendency to read into your actions, be very wise in how you treat your girl friends. Be emotional modest in your actions!”

“We also need to be careful that we don’t come across as boastful when we are modest,” chimed Natasha.

“I just wonder who it is that is supposed to define what is modest,” Mollie adds. “I mean, following the BJU handbook or the Rebelution Survey is ok, but is that the last word?”

“Right. I mean, some would say that pants are immodest, but I have known women who were most assuredly feminine and very modest in a pair of loose (almost flowing) pants. The woman that comes to mind was one of the most modest and feminine women I know. And then I’ve know many women who seemed to be dressed modestly from head to toe, but their demeanor was not modest,” Stacy remarked.

“So, if it’s not whether a woman wears pants, what is it?”

“It really is all about your heart, and what it’s showing to the world. We’re walking billboards, you know. I was in a department store recently with my children, I noticed a mother shopping with her teenaged daughter. The daughter’s attire made my heart sink. It was not the typical, tight, low-slung blue jeans she wore, nor the clingy t-shirt that revealed her midriff that made me shake my head, although they were noticeable enough. What grieved me most were the ironic words emblazoned across her chest: ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ I wanted to tell her, but I refrained.”

“So, if that young lady walked up to you, Mary, and asked you why someone should be modest, what would you say?”

“I’d have to echo the words of Miss Fountain City, AL:”

Your bodies are your own and they don’t have to be on display for you to be attractive, smart and fashionable. We live in a Britney Spears world but looking at her life today, she hasn’t gotten very far with her fashions or her principles.

“Modesty really is power,” Nicole adds, “Modesty is a delicate yet formidable power that God has given women!”

“Well, that about wraps up this carnival. Thank you ladies for dropping by and letting me know what you think. You’ve certainly given me a lot to think through. Until next time, MInTheGap signing off…”

Though some of the replies are quotes taken directly from the articles, there is a bit of fiction included in this carnival. Follow the links to make sure I kept true to the nature of the comments!

Welcome to the December 14, 2007 edition of carnival of modesty. This is a very short edition, most of the submissions being off topic. I wonder if it’s harder for us to think about being modest when we’re all bundled up! I think I will attempt to better job of promting the next edition. For the time being, enjoy!

Other

Jeremy Neal presents Do Right By Others posted at Thoughts on Quotes, saying, “Modesty and humility go hand-in-hand.”

What is Modest

MInTheGap presents In Praise of Modesty posted at Maries Muses, saying, “Sometimes it’s hard to be modest in an ever increasingly immodest world. We are bombarded daily with images and examples of things that are as far from being modest as you can get and it’s clear to see that it’s the big gestures in life that get all the attention.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of modesty using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Welcome to the November 9, 2007 edition of carnival of modesty.

My Story

MInTheGap presents The Temptations Men Face posted at First Baptist Church of Perryville, saying, “I?m 34 years old and single. Up until I was 26, I shamelessly indulged in lust while I outwardly paraded myself around as an upstanding Christian man. But today, because of the blood of Jesus and deep repentance, I am able to say that I am no longer that man. And the work of God?s grace has not only taught me to deny the ungodliness of lustful thoughts, but to go one step further and truly seek to honor you as sisters in my thoughts.”

Other

Robinson Go presents Another Question on Ethics posted at The Robinson Go Blog, saying, “Should the Engineer ask in a modest way and not accept the gift?”

Meg presents You’re Never Too Old to Reveal Too Much | All About Appearances and Ah, Put Your Shirt On! posted at All About Appearances.

Aparna presents Beauty and Personality Grooming: Inner Beauty posted at Beauty and Personality Grooming, saying, “Everyone is today concerned with physical health and beauty. Let us consider some hints for making ourselves beautiful from the inside too. Follow the following steps for a complete ?inner? make-up.”

What is Modest

MamaArcher presents MamaArcher’s Blog: Complete & Full Modesty posted at MamaArcher’s Blog.

Why Dress Modestly?

MInTheGap presents three posts:

The Talk of the Town: You posted at Technology Review Feed – Tech Review Top Stories, saying, “Earlier this year, New York magazine published a long piece called “Say Everything.” Sub­titled “Kids, the Internet, and the End of Privacy: The Greatest Generation Gap Since Rock and Roll,” the piece breathlessly revealed that about 60 percent of modern American youth already have their biographical details and images online at MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, or similar social-networking websites.”

Morning Devotions: Modesty posted at Morning Devotions, A Daily Audio Bible Devotional, saying, “At the risk of sounding like an uptight prude, I truly think that, in the church, among believers, there is very little today in the way of modesty. I honestly do not think that a large percentage of the church has any clue about what propriety is. We live in a culture that has been pornified. Women in their underwear sell us burgers, websites, music and cereal. And because the world around us is so completely sleazed-out, many Christian women think that just by wearing some clothes they are taking a stand for modesty.”

Modesty and Aesthetics – “Too Much Skin is Unflattering” posted at Modestly Yours, saying, “My appreciation of modesty is for aesthetic reasons as well as religious ones. People with their exposed skin spilling out of their too-tight clothing look fairly gross to me. It’s distracting, the eye doesn’t know where to land, the body gets broken up into little parts. I prefer a sleeker covered look, to “keep my line,” as it were.”

Meg presents Too Much Revealed | All About Appearances posted at All About Appearances.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of modesty using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Modest Resources

Homemade Dickie posted at Frugal Journey, saying, “I have quite a few shirts that I dislike because of their necklines. They aren’t immodest by most people’s standards, but they are still lower than what I enjoy wearing. I found an easy way to make them acceptable.”

Other

ATTITUDE Plays a Huge Role in Attaining Success And Living The Life of Your Dreams posted at firedupphil.

Culture Watch posted at Guarding the Landmarks, saying, “A man today can see more flesh just taking a walk on a sunny afternoon than his grandfather could see in a Playboy magazine fifty years ago: The porn of yesterday has become the norm today.”

~*~Lothlorien, Realm of the Lady of Light~*~ – Encourage Your Sisters in Christ posted at Lothlorien, saying, “Encourage your sisters in Christ as we walk this road of Godliness, modesty, and purity. Let them know they’re doing good.”

A word to the guys… what you desire is what girls desire to become posted at Unfurling Flower, saying, “If [Satan] can captivate a man with the image of the pornographic prostitute – that kind of woman – then guess what: he has found the key to producing a whole generation of women who act like this”

What is Modest

modesty posted at an ordinary life artist, saying, “what have I done to instill into my sons’ hearts the concept of modesty?”

At nine, Bethany doesn’t ‘feel right’ without fake… posted at A Time For Everything, saying, “At nine, Bethany doesn’t ‘feel right’ without fake tan. 11-year-old Belle waxes her legs. Karolina, 10, won’t leave home without scent. Harmless fun? Or proof of the insidious sexualisation of our children?”

that women would adorn themselves posted at The Welcome Home Blog, saying, “Modesty results from purity of mind, or from the fear of disgrace and ignominy fortified by education and principle”

A modest man posted at Simply Catholic, saying, “I would hope that my two sons can be such “wanted men”. The boy described above is a boring, good, modest young man. I would hope that my daughters find them.”

The Key to a Simple Life | AltNoise.net posted at AltNoise.net.

Boys, Modesty, & Swimshirts. posted at Per Christum, saying, “Just in time for those folks who – like me – buy their seasonal clothes on clearance at the end of the seasons!”

Why Dress Modestly?

What NOT to Wear posted at ask the CareerCounselor.

Alyssa’s Site – Fashionable Yet Modest posted at Alyssa’s Site, saying, “Modesty is an old-fashioned, outdated word. Girls don’t care to dress simply. They don’t care about displaying a decent and appropriate look. They would rather wear fashionable but immodest clothes.”

Don’t Awaken Love Before It So Desires posted at Transforming Life Center, saying, “How do we awaken love before it’s so desires? We don’t practice modesty and we sexualize ourselves confusing love and sex is the main issue. I often see the girls in our youth group trying so desperately to be part of the crowd, wearing provocative clothing and too much makeup as they try to conform into what the world is telling them is sexy.”

Considerate Modesty posted at Full Contact Christ-Centric Living, saying, “God has given mankind an inherent desire to be attractive. I don’t know a soul who doesn’t or hasn’t struggled with this. We all want to look good to others. That’s why God addresses the “fear of man” and tells us to do everything as unto Christ, not by way of eyeservice as unto men. He knows we’ll have issues with wanting to impress others.”

blog.myspace.com/healingwatersflow posted at Rick R. Reed, saying, “The purpose of this article is to put a searchlight on our hearts and on our motives for the way that we choose to dress – and why.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of modesty using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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I’m privileged once again to host the July 6, 2007 edition of the Godly Family Carnival. One can never stress enough the importance of family. Having just come off of a time of family get togethers, cook-outs, parades and fireworks, it’s almost a magical time to share with family. Whether it’s the youngest child’s awe at the colors and sounds, the bad parking spot you got, or the ice cream you rushed through eating on your way, there will always be memories that you’ll share about your time together.

Without further ado, here’s the submissions and what we can take from them…

Children

Our first post for the today comes from OurBlogs. The author of this site has posted a terrific post entitled The Perfect Play-Day. She talks about what to do to plan out the play date from the day before to the day of and gives different suggestions.

I know that women getting together with their children can be rewarding for both mom and kids. For one thing, the mom is able to have some time to talk with other moms. For the kids, it gives them social interaction, a chance to find and build friendships, and a chance to play with new toys. Plus, for those that are not hosting, you don’t have to clean up!

Family

In this category is a wonderful post that I think that we could all practice in our daily lives. Rebecca Newburn writes a post about taking a vacation, but not an ordinary vacation. She talks about Take a Vacation from Complaining. How true it is that if we would just spend time looking at our blessings and the things that are going right we would have an entirely different outlook on things. We tend to reinforce our perspective on the world based on how we process what we see. If we spend too much time focusing on the negative, that is all that we’ll see.

Next, we have some really great ways that your family can help out your church without spending a dime. Matthew Paulson talks about things such as helping out in the nursery to cleaning or working in leadership in his great post entitled Great Ways to Help Your Church Without Spending a Dime.

Are you a teen girl and are interested in receiving a newsletter teaching you how to help your family better? Then Laurie Bluedorn has a site for you. She submitted a post entitled Homeschooling in New Zealand and it’s for you even if you don’t live in New Zealand you may want to check it out!

A timely message it would have been. This post talks about the hope that we receive from the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Big Cajun Man presents It is Finished, a post that talks about the freedom and new beginning in Christ.

We display trust in many ways in our lives. We trust that the chairs that we sit in will continue to hold us up. We trust that people will obey laws. It is the very trust and its importance that baiguai takes up in his post The Importance of Trust. He comments:

Although this blog focuses on kung fu and martial arts, I am a Christian and often touch on important thoughts rooted in my faith. Here I talk about the importance of honesty.

What would you do if you heard of a need? How about if that person needed an organ– and you might have one that worked? That’s the type of thing Julee and her husband faced, and she talks about her story starting with Kidney Donation – Our Journey Part One. I know it’s one thing to donate something to someone close to you, but I don’t know what I’d do if it was a stranger.

ChristianPF talks about The seasons of life in a post that confronts the current cultural notion that “I have to have it, and I have to have it now.” He encourages us to wait out for the future glory, and enjoy the season that we are in– a timely reminder indeed.

An interesting story is the subject of a post from Reb Chaim HaQoton. He talks about a man and his son and a miraculous event in Carobs and Dates.

Taking family to places that have terrific meaning is a great thing. Having this trip coincide with a national holiday to make the day more that “just another day off” is even better. Jack Yoest presents a post about taking his family on a trip called Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery.

But you don’t have to spend your Memorial Day somewhere important to make sure that your children understand the importance of family. Ben Cotten talks about a trip to the beach, and Reconnecting With Family and leaves us with this message:

Taking time to reconnect with your family is often something that gets forgotten. Come see how God reminded me to keep my priorities in check.

Marriage

What do you do when a saver marries a spender? I know that this is a question that many couples have to face. In my family, I think my wife and I are a mixture of both at different times. I know of a few people that are text book savers and spenders. Matthew Paulson address this topic with a post entitled Marriage and Money: When a Saver Marries a Spender. Being close to getting out of debt, I think that we’re both going to want to be spenders once we’re out, but we’ll need to be savers!

Kara-Leah Masina reminds us that the love that we have for our spouse is a powerful thing. It’s a change agent that does a lot in our lives, but it is only the start and the glue that holds us together through the work that it takes to keep a relationship alive. Her post is identitiesLove: A powerful agent for spiritual transformation.

Wife

Hueina Su presents Journey into Love which talks about mother’s day, and how special mothers are. She writes:

Motherhood has been an absolutely amazing journey for me. This post is my reflections on Mother’s Day. It’s my small token of appreciation and inspiration for all mothers.

Well, that about wraps up this edition of Godly Family. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of those that submitted articles. I know that I truly enjoyed reading what you had written, and I hope that all that read this edition enjoy it as well.

If you’re interested in submitting an article that you or someone else has written to the next edition of this carnival, simply use the carnival submission form.

If you’re looking for past posts or future hosts, they can be found on the blog carnival index page.

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