Shopping/Wish List Part 2/7: Fun Jewelry

I love jewelry so much, they spice up any outfit and it's fun to mix and match.

This summer i'm loving ankle bracelets and will be wearing more of them this year.

These are a new thing that i found thanks to Pinterest. They're called Barefoot Sandals. In summer i love walking barefoot, it kinda seems strange to wear shoes in the summer.

I love that you can even wear these with shoes. You can just slip your shoes on and off but the jewels stay on. It's really awesome in my opinion.

I also want to try toe rings.

Can't forget the bracelets.

This i actually found on the Factorie website and i also found it in the actual store. I really like it.

(The head chain)

Upper arm .... bracelet? Haven't found these in a store yet but will keep my eyes open for them.

And then, of course, earrings.

Shopping/Wish List Part 1/7: Boho Clothes

Today i did a bit of window shopping. Summer is upon us (at least in the southern hemisphere) and i'm super excited to one day go shopping for fun, bohemian clothes. The awesome thing about bohemian style clothing is that it's really easy to find modest items as 'bohemian' is all about flowy fabrics. My favourite stores are Cotton On and Factorie which i think are both Australian but boy, am i super happy that they're here in South Africa. They are a bit pricey but i'd rather buy a few really good items there than pay the same amount somewhere cheap and buy crappy clothing. Here in SA we don't have awesome thrift stores so when you shop cheap, most of the time you look cheap. 

These are some of the items i found today. Not everything i saw today was on the online store and not everything on the online store was in the actual store which i was upset about 'cause i saw some pretty awesome things online. And they also don't have all their summer stock.

COTTON ON:

Tops

This jacket's fabric is so amazingly soft.

I know that this is actually a 'dress' but i wear this as a top over jeans, flowy pants or a skirt.

What i love about Cotton On's tank tops is that, to me, it's not immodest. The neckline is nice and high (most of the time anyway) and the sleeves are thick, not spaghetti strapped.

I have this thing for animals on tops. I think it looks so amazing and awesome.

Love flowy cardigans.

Bottoms

Another wonderful thing about Cotton On is that their jean's are very soft and so very comfortable.

These are very soft.

Pretty shoes.

I went on the Factorie website. It was quite confusing and i couldn't find anything that i saw in the actual store but it's pretty similar to Cotton On. Bohemian with soft fabrics. They also have awesome rucksacks with pretty bohemian patterns. This was the only one i could find online but they have more and prettier ones. 

So that's my summer wish list.

I'm also planning on going to a place called the Oriental Plaza where they sell Indian style clothing that's really cheap (you find the odd gem) and there you can find proper harem pants.

I Don't Want to be a Businesswoman

Backtrack a few hundred years ago and all women did in life was get married at a young age and have lots of children. Then feminism came in and a lot more doors were open to women. They could now choose which path they wanted to be on.

The enemy is the ruler of this earth and so what does he try to do? He comes to kill and destroy. And that also means he tries to get rid of the natural order of life. God made a man and woman to come together in marriage because we complete one another and form the whole image of God. But what has the enemy done? He pushes homosexuality and now it's rampant. Just a few years ago it was seen as an offense but now it's an offense to say that you're against it. God created the woman to be a help meet for her husband but now you see women dropping their kids off at daycare and marriages burning up in flames.
Now, the new trend is not to get married at all. Sure, live together, have children ... but marriage? It's so unnecessary because most marriages end in divorce anyway.

The culture's message to everyone living on this planet is to get a high-end job to make lots of money and to 'make it far in life'. Since that's the man's role in life, to be the provider and to be the one with the good job, women try ever so hard to be like a man in order to be 'worthy'.

But what happened to being a wife and mom? That's somehow seen as a lesser job and not nearly as worthy as being a doctor or a businessman. I don't understand why! I look at my baby brother and i can't imagine giving up a life of being able to be a mom and a wife in the future, and to be surrounded with family to simply waste away by sitting in an office all day making lots of money just so i can pay my bills and have enough money to take a yearly holiday to the beach and to do something fun on the weekends.

I saw my dad the other night. He thinks just like everyone else does in this world and it's hard for me to relate when my dreams for the future will seem 'petty' to him. You're not reaching your full potential and you're wasting your life if you get married young. But that's what i want. I want to get married young 'cause i don't see how it can be a cage. You have the opportunity to spend the rest of your life with your best friend. Why on earth would you pass that up?

I hate the way the culture depicts marriage to be some last resort in life. You're somehow losing your freedom if you get married.

So yeah, it may look like i'm wasting my life by wanting to be a wife and to be a loving, supportive help meet for my future husband. I do want to cook meals for him, i do want to snuggle up on the couch at night while watching a movie with him, i want to serve God together with him ... why would i choose to live life by myself?

I look at 2 people that i know who are the same age but their lives are so different. The one is single, went to a university, she's traveled everywhere and she spends her evening with friends, drinking.
The other woman is married, has several children and spends her day raising and teaching her kids and being a help meet for her husband.

I see the emptiness of life for the one and a full life for the other one and i realize that i want the life of the latter woman.
Occasionally when i'm in the mall i see a young couple, early twenties and they have this newborn baby and i can't help but smile whenever i see that. It's so sweet. I remember this one time when my mom was paying there was a woman at the counter next to us and i couldn't stop staring. She was so beautiful. She was wearing such a pretty outfit with a long skirt and her hair in pretty, natural waves but she had this newborn baby in these cute slings you get nowadays that wraps itself snugly around the mom, but she had this permanent smile on her face and i couldn't stop thinking how happy and beautiful she looked.

How could someone think that taking care of a family is a burden?

So it may seem like i have no ambition in life but i just to be the woman that God made me to be. Not to be a slave to my future husband but to be his help meet. So i pray everyday that God will make me into the woman that he will need. The kind of woman who stands beside him and supports him and pushes him to seek a deeper relationship with YHVH!  And i want him to do the same thing for me.

Because i'm quite happy spending the rest of my life with my best friend in a small, cute home.

Celebrity Culture's Influence

Apparently Rihanna has just landed in South Africa. I cannot express how much i hate it when these weird celebrities decide to come to my neck of the woods. Lately i've noticed more and more celebrities heading out here to SA. The first movie i remember was Safe House staring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. I watched that movie purely because it was filmed here. Then other bands came here like Metallica etc. Justin Bieber also came here and the huge frenzy over that was ... crazy. Future Mrs. Bieber t-shirts were everywhere and then of course the horrible Lady Gaga. I've also heard that Taylor Swift is heading here to film a movie in Cape Town.

I guess i tend to follow a few celebrities. When i was younger i occasionally watched the Disney Channel. Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place etc. Now, i'm not the type of girl who was obsessed with celebrities. I never had Hannah Montana albums or posters or clothes. My mom never let me get like that and i thank God for that. The only things that i was obsessed with was High School Musical and Barbie (when she was a princess). I never understood celebrity worship. I never understood why people start freaking out when Taylor Swift touched their hand or with any other celebrity. I actually think it's pretty pathetic. 

But i've noticed that when celebrities first come on the scene they seem all wholesome and moral but then a few years later they turn freaky. I liked some celebrities from my Disney Channels and i tend to check out any new movies from them or new songs. Especially now. 

The thing with the Disney Channel is that it's relatively modest and clean. No weird stuff going on although i think it's not the best thing for young teens to be watching 'cause .... well, it makes you stupid. The humor is lame and the lessons it teaches you are just typical teenage stuff where the most important thing is being popular. 

Which brings me to the topic of some of those stars. Disney Channel is mainly for young teens, when you're 18+ you move on to more 'grown up' work. I've found now as i check out some of these celebrities how being sexy and sensual is all part of being 'grown up'. Just check out Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez and how hard they try to rid themselves of their innocent Disney Channel image. I won't go into details but i'm truly shocked ... i'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it's 'cause when these young stars where younger they boasted about wearing Purity Rings and talking about abstaining till marriage. Of course when they turned 19 all those things were tossed to the side. Miley Cyrus seems to be having fun wearing practically nothing and having this weird obsession with her tongue sticking out and ....twerking? And Selena Gomez trying ever so hard to pull off the sultry, 'party goer' look. 

When i was 14 and was a bit insecure on how to dress i actually Googled that (i know ... weird) and i saw a few articles of people angry at the way Dakota Fanning dressed when she was 14. She wore a lot of mini shorts and heels to special events. Now search for Bella Thorne. She's 15 now and she wears the exact same things if not worse and everyone now comments on how 'cute' she looks. Have we degraded that much in a four year time span?   

15 year old Disney Channel
Actress Bella Thorne.  

I shouldn't be surprised. This is what happens in that culture. But the sad thing is is that these young girls are influencing so many other little girls (age 7+). What's the deal with this culture and media? Why do they try and strip girls of every piece of innocence and to tell them they have to act like 21 year olds? 

When i was younger my mom never let my brother and i watch TV so i didn't feel any pressure to be a certain way. I was pretty happy wearing my brothers hand-me-downs and climbing trees in the backyard. But now i see 13 year olds in the mall wearing high wasted mini shorts and shear tank tops exposing their underwear which has to be neon yellow just to let everyone know to look there. I'm sad when i see these girls because no one teaches them about femininity or purity. Their parents who should be the ones protecting them from this crap are just going with the flow. 

There's aren't any morals anymore. No modesty. The Bible says that nakedness is a shame. Heck, the priests couldn't even walk up a ramp to offer sacrifices because the men also wore 'dress-like' garments back then.

But nowadays the more you show the better. Magazine covers don't even hide it anymore. The human body is supposedly 'art' and should be shown to everyone. There's a lot of controversy regarding modesty. A lot of feminists just think it's just another way to prove that the patriarchy rules. The female body shouldn't be hidden. Why is it deemed appropriate for a male to walk topless but not a women? It's these sorts of arguments that make women stand up and say no to modest dress. But of course they then wonder why they get harassed by men or get crude comments about the way they look. 

In other words these women want to wear their underwear outside and still be treated like a lady and with respect. When i see things like this i say my new favourite line, "You are the reason we need instructions on shampoo."

It's these same women who say that when they say no, they mean no. They obviously don't understand the way men's minds work. If you're dressing like a prostitute then yeah, you're going to be treated like one.

It's like this new parade happening in SA called a Slut Parade. It's where women parade around in as little as possible saying no to rape.

..........

Can you honestly be so stupid?

But they just don't understand that modesty isn't only for guys.

Heck no. I don't only dress modestly because of guys, i dress modestly to respect myself. Why on earth would i want everyone who crosses my path to know exactly what i look like? Why do i want the world to know what my thighs look like? I DO NOT!!!! When i dress modestly i want the world to see that i have depth to my personality. That i'm not some easy target that they can just pick up and leave in the corner. I want them to see that i respect myself and that i'm more than what my body looks like. I'm more. I have dignity and virtue.

So dress the way you want to be treated. Don't follow celebrity fashion or look up to anyone in that industry. Look to God. One way that i test myself in the way i'm dressing is:

 "Would i feel comfortable walking into the Temple dressed the way i am now?". 

Feminine But Strong

Growing up, I loved climbing trees, wearing my brother's hand-me-downs, and ruffing it in the bushes and playing with plastic weapons and pretending to be this super woman who could save the world. But there was also the girly side of me who loved dressing up in princess, frilly dresses with plastic earrings and shoes with sparkles on. I would lay out my Barbie dolls in a neat circle and have a tea party with them (that was when Barbie dolls were the pretty princesses and not these Bratz you get nowadays). Growing up every girl dreams of being a princess and I believe that's a God given desire. We are meant to be women, not men but that doesn't mean being a woman locked up in your tower and only knowing how to cook, sew and raise children. God created us for much more and I truly believe that religion destroys a part of a woman.
When I started realizing the truth of the Torah I would read blogs on girls folding piles of laundry, scrubbing floors and cleaning bathrooms. I thought that's what I had to do and be to please God. Be plain, never cut your hair, don't wear colour, don't wear makeup and only wear skirts down to your ankels. I think back and remember the piles of clothes I threw away, all my jewelry, everything that was remotely immodest in my opinion.

I can't remember what happened that made me change. But I look back and remember how miserable I was on the inside. Religion squashes you and pushes you into a cookie mold where there's only one way to dress, one way to act, and when it comes to women .... oh boy!

I fell into that mold. I wanted to do something huge in my life. I didn't want to only be home having children and cooking dinner for my husband. I wanted to go out and make a difference, change lives. I wanted to be a missionary, I wanted to travel to a rural village and help with the orphans but some of the blogs I read told me that a woman's place is at home and it's only a very rare occasion where God would call a woman to be anywhere but at home. I felt like I had to be some one that I was not. I wanted to conquer, I wanted to fight but how does that fit into being a homemaker? Praise God that I didn't flop a cake and that's my victory for the day? Yay!

I can't remember how I changed but over 1 year my view started changing. When my parents got divorced I went through a hard time, struggling with so much, feeling depressed most of the time. I wasn't close to God, but at the same time I could feel Him there.

I am not the same girl I was a year ago. I still battle with a lot of those thoughts of having to be a certain way and struggling with the feelings that I must be like some one else to please God.
My one desire in life is to please YHVH and bring glory to Him and so looking at all these people around me who sounded like they had it all figured out and them saying 'this is what God says' I thought I had to be like that to draw closer to Him.

But God is calling me away from that. Yeah I wear pants, yeah I wear make-up. Does that mean i'm not pure? No. Does that mean God sees me as lesser to the girl who only wears skirts? No. I'm just as special. I'm unique and i'm tired of trying to be like everyone else and so i'm starting this blog to document and show everyone who God made me and how He's continually molding me into His image.

I ain't perfect, I fall. But God always picks me up, dusts me off, hands me my sword and we go into battle together.

I'm still a woman. I still want to get married, have children of my own one day but that doesn't mean I have to be on a farm in a secure place where I can go through my day cleaning and cooking peacefully.

God has called me to be a warrior. For what reason ... I don't know. He put the desire in my heart 2 years ago to fight for Israel. To fight for His Torah and not 'love' those that defy and willfully rebel against Him! You don't see David praying and loving Goliath. Rather, while everyone else was wimping out and shaking behind their shields David stepped forward and said, "Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."!

I'm praying everyday that God will make me like David, a woman after His own heart. One who doesn't wimp out but steps forward and says that I will go and fight whoever defies Israel, the Torah, and the name of YHVH!

We all must stand up and be warriors! Be warriors for God!

And so my conclusion is this: Yes, you can be feminine but still a warrior. I love wearing skirts and frills and wearing my hair in curls with pearl earrings. I love drinking tea in quaint tea cups while reading Jane Austen. I love caring for my family. I want to be a mom and wife and respect my husband's authority as the man of the house, be it in Israel with a war going on, be it in any situation. I will always choose God's calling for my life over anyone and anything else.

And with that, I will leave you with this quote!