Being from the hills myself, I enjoy the "sing-song" delivery. I also enjoy shouting, speaking in tongues and dancing in the aisles if the Spirit so leads. As far as dress goes... dress modestly. I don't mean dresses. I remember my mamaw (Grandmother to those of you not accustomed to "hill-speak"), wife of our pastor (my Grandfather), once remarked that "You can have hair down to the floor and wear a dress that drags your tracks out, but what good would it do if you had a heart that was black as coal?". She had both long hair and wore dresses, but told us granddaughters that this was just her choice, and what she grew up with. Not that she thought that was what women were "supposed" to do. There was also discussion of the wearing of makeup (The kids/grandkids of the pastor are under the microscope dontcha know?). My papaw (Grandfather) had this to say... "Even an old barn can look better with a new coat of paint on it". That's all I got to say ...
Sorry not to halt the dress conversation, Becky :lol:..... I thought the Lord told us not to be concerned with what we were wearing. And money has A LOT to do with what I wear. Resale shop or not. Clothing is absolutely not a priority, just like scripture says it shouldn't be. I don't think you will find that we are instructed to wear our best when we come together--we're just supposed to come together. I own two pairs of dress pants, and one of those are khaki capris. I shared about my one dress in an earlier post. What on earth is up with the thought that we ought to wear the dressiest thing we have just to walk into the church doors? I bet people don't feel the need to do that on Wednesday night like they do Sunday morning, kwim? What's the difference? If I were to start making clothing a priority then another area of our finances would suffer. That is utter foolishness when the few articles of clothing I own are in good shape. Granted, Josh, some people find a way to prioritize those clothes with limited resources, but this lady ain't one of them. Foolishness, plain and simple. And I am resistant to the notion of our need to wear our best for Sundays, always have been and always will be because I believe it to be ridiculously not scripturally based. Feel free to prove me wrong--what I am open to is new truths from God's Word which I have not yet learned....and I know them to be many, I'm sure .
The Bible does not spell out a church dress standard that I know of but it does spell out a standard of dress, which is what a church dress standard should be derived from. As far as wearing your best to church goes, that’s just a nice courtesy that I believe reveals the heart of the people who choose whether or not to follow it. It's not really a Biblical mandate as far as I know. That's why I said " The way I see it is," and “In my opinion” and “So it only makes sense to me that” rather than “God says” or ‘The Bible says”. BTW, I really don't want anyone to get upset about what I'm trying to say because my personal opinion isn’t a hill I’m willing to die (or kill) on and I hope you all can see that. If anyone disagrees with anything I say that is not scripturally based, that's fine with me and I hope you tell me about it. In return I will try not to defend my personal opinion but rather only clear up any misunderstandings and defend Biblical truths. To me this is how iron sharpens iron and hopefully we all walk away from a conversation like this with a better understanding of what God would have us all do. I would hate for anyone to get angry at me. I am just an outspoken youth after all. Feel free to ignore me if you have to. :mrgreen:
Brooke, what I meant was you guys are debating whether to dress up or not. I wish you all could have seen this woman and her daughter strut into church dressed like porn stars. It was almost hard to get your brain around.
Sigh.... I'm somewhere BETWEEN Brooke and Recondite. I agree that we should't be concerned about what we are wearing to church, but I also believe that it's disrepectful to show up in holey (as compared to "holy", lol!) jeans and a dirty t-shirt, UNLESS that's the best you have or you're a new Christian and haven't got beyond that point yet. I like the president illustration. You wouldn't go to a meeting with the president dressed like that; why would you go before the King of Kings? And I DO know churches that will dress up just as much on Wednesdays. My dad tried to convince me I needed to wear a dress EVERY TIME I entered the church building, even for Choir Practice!!! I believe that the church should have SOME standard, especially as Becky's Porn Queens become more and more the "acceptable", based on a miscontrued understanding of "grace". The Bible also speaks of modesty. Tell me honestly, if a woman would walk in looking like that, where are the minds of the men in that church right then? I can guarantee you that most of them are NOT on the service, and that lady knows it!!! I mean, even the most Godly men are still human!!! The pastor has the responsibility to his congregation to let her know of the disruption her (lack of) dress is causing and that it is inappropriate attire for church. Young people the same way. We have freedom, but along with freedom comes responsibility. Someone mentioned the heart attitude. And to me, that's the bottom line, something most of us are unable to "judge". The heart attitude is always number one. But often, a person who is dressing disrespecfully or immodestly is showing what the true heart attitude is. Many times, it is a sign of rebellion, an "I can do what I want, and ain't nobody can tell me I can't, so THERE!!!" attitude. It is not the quiet, humble spirit of worship.
I knew whatcha meant, Becky...I was just being my usual sarcastic self . I completely agree about the modesty issue. I have had one pastor who would have met the woman at the door and thrown a coat over her. Now dirty clothes can have a million different reasons to be worn...the person has little selfworth, or the child has nobody washing their clothes, or the clothes are clean but stained.....only in the first example is their a reflection of the inward person, and in that case we should concentrate on healing the person rather than cleaning their clothing. Recondite, I respect your convictions, and in turn it would be wrong for you to ignore them. I misunderstood your thoughts on a standard of dress. I would agree with it if it were concerned with modesty.....and if I were to meet the President, my mom would be the one to insist on buying me an outfit :lol:.....or I would suggest meeting at the ranch . (note the sarcasm...you'll get used to it )
I'm like Jackie. I agree with Becky that there should be decentcy in the way we dress, but people should not be judged by it. I don't think anyone can honestly say they think it's appropriate to walk into church with a breast showing through your top (on purpose). Brookes statements are right on the money and by saying that dressing up is a form of respect I think puts people in a corner by making them think they are being disrespectful if they don't dress up. That is being materialistic (no offense). So if I even "choose" to wear jeans and a shirt am I being less of a Christian and being less respecful? Certainly not! Everyone is there for one reason and one reason only-to worship the Lord, and that's the only thing people should be concerned about. Wasn't this about preaching style?
OK, Becky! I asked DH his opinion about the lady you mentioned. I'm afraid DH sometimes has an interesting twist on things...a warped sense of humor, at the very least!!! Anyway, here's his suggestion..... Find an older woman in the church, preferably a rather heavy one, who can laugh at her own body. Have her come to church one Sunday morning, dressed pretty much the same way, with all her flab hanging out for everyone to see, and sit right next to the offending woman. Oh, and it would help if she was a good belcher, too! Sigh....see what I mean by a very unique sense of humor?
I weigh 250 pounds, and I've got some gray. I'm comfortable enough in my own skin... tell Carl I'll dress like that the week you guys will visit and sit beside me, Dean and Jeannie.
Oh goodness, that seems like my husbands wierd sense of humor. Everything is a joke and he finds humor in every single subject, even when it's not appropriate. I'm afraid throughout the 7 years I've known him, it's been rubbing off on me. I've had my fair share of tounge-in-cheek moments at a to z that weren't really appreciated (embarassed smilie). He usually always has his head in the gutter and makes jokes so he can laugh at himself. What's even more wierd, my father is the same way, so they get along a little too well. Between the two of them and my brother, family gatherings are like being at a taping of one of Jeff Foxworthy's shows. Ah! And why is it that they feel the need to quote movies all the time? Does anyone elses husband do this? Is it a male thing? My son is starting to do it with his tv shows (Sesmae Street, Blues Clues).
I love Red Greene! That man is a genius with duct tape! I'm the one who jokes the most in my home, but hubby does quote a lot of movies, as does ds, but ds is a gifted actor so we usually get an entire scene, including dialogue and choreography :lol:....that kids started that when he was under 18months old, so maybe it is a y chromosome thing.
My son is that way with music. I took him to band rehearsal with me at church and he kept the beat the entire time and can even hit notes on the money. I tell everyone he's going to be my rock star and support mom and dad when he's older. Just a cute side note: one of my daycare kids (her name is Allison) and my son have been together since they were babies. They call each other their boyfriend and girlfriend (so innocent and cute). They like to dance around the dinner table while they listen and sing to Billy Joels 'Uptown Girl'. And it's so very true (she's way more 'uptown'). Just had to mention it because it's so cute when they do it. If you're not smiling, then I guess you just have to be here! My hubby doesn't watch Red Greene, but he does love Tim Allen. He also loves watching stand up comedy. Ugh!
You HAVE to invite all of us to see that!!! I wouldn't be able to contain myself. I'll wear a pair of hooker boots and a Madonna bra (you know, the pointy ones from the 80's) and join ya!
OH, YES!!! My bod's not that big (yet), but I know if I dress up right, I'll surely gross them out, too! And you just smile sweetly at her and say, "But we took all our cues from your wonderful sense of dress......" And she'll be wearing granny dresses the rest of her days, LOL! The church won't know what hit them!!!
You all are too funny. I am sitting here rolling. Here's a funny story about me. I am very self consious when I dress. I don't like anything hanging out, ie: bra strap, panties out the top, tags stuff like that. Well, I had just had Mikayla. She was about oh I would say 3 months old. I was wearing a pair of maternity jeans to church. I had a c-section and these were about the only thing that didn't rub my scar and make it irritated and sore. Well, I had thought that I hadn't lost a lot of weight but I guess I had because we go to stand up at the end of the service for the benediction and I guess my pants wanted to stay sitting. Lucky thing I was in the second to last row and my aunts and uncles were behind me. One grabbed the baby and I grabbed my pants. Talk about sheer embarrassment. That was 6 months ago and they are still talking about it. I thought I would just throw that in here. Give everyone a reason to laugh. Remember this is a funny story. Or I could tell you about the time when I leaked (breast milk) all of me in church and didn't know it and was walking around with a wet dress front. And it was a pearl colored dress. Now that is something that I couldn't cover up. If you really want to offend this lady into dressing right invite me after I have another baby. That might do it.
OK, so Becky, Bobby, Jen and I are all going to meet. OH-OH-OH!!! Should I have Carl (200lbs and short so it looks like more) wear a muscle shirt and short-shorts (with boxer shorts hanging out over the top!!!)?
