Update on life

Yay for a crazy busy life. Lately, I've been working. A lot. But that's ok, because the more I work, the more money I get! I am also going to teach a few ten-year-olds how to sew over the summer. I am looking forward to that! AND I've been doing quite a bit of babysitting lately. Funny story, I put a one-year-old to sleep by pretending to snore. Yep. I guess I have a soothing snore.

Oh, and Project Runway is starting back up July 25th!!!

A Hard Thing That Needs Doing

"John Piper, pastor and author, defines a holy ambition as something you really, really, really want to do-and that God wants you to do also. Some people would call this passion, but it's passion under the lordship of Jesus Christ. What's yours?" Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris.

When I read this passage this morning, my mind flashed back to a conversation I had with my Mom a few days ago. I have always loved sewing (as evidenced by this blog) but I have other passions as well. One of them is the people of Africa. I went to Zambia last year, and what I saw there burned itself in my memory. The people literally have nothing. The government tries to help, but what happens when the government can't afford to help anymore? Or when the government is in turmoil, like Libya or Somalia? I firmly believe that the only way to really help these people is to give them the resources and training to help themselves.

As my Mom and I talked about this, we discussed what a seamstress like me might be able to do. We agreed that teaching African women to sew would give them a livelihood and means of support, but we realized that many of the people who really need it don't have the electricity to run a sewing machine. Then we hit upon an idea: Treadle sewing machines.

What if I partnered with a major sewing machine company (Singer, Pfaff) to manufacture treadle sewing machines to give to African women for free? I would raise the money, and they would make them.

When my mom and I hashed this out, I was excited that I might be able to do something like that eventually. But this book, Do Hard Things, has challenged me to do it NOW. However, I can't do it alone. No matter what your strengths are, I can put them to use. If you are interested, (even a little!) please comment on this post, or send me a message, or something. Let's do this!

Modesty

Lately I have been thinking about what it means to be modest. This was sparked by a survey I read online, The Modesty Survey, conducted by The Rebelution. The survey was mainly about what Christian guys view as modest, and some of it surprised me. For example, having a purse strap across your chest between your breasts is a stumbling block for many guys. As a girl who loves fashion and loves to look nice, this was kind of an eye-opener for me. I am realizing that many of my shirts are probably too tight to be really modest, and some of my shorts are very short. What am I to do? Do I just never wear those again? Do I only wear them in certain places? Do I refashion them to make them more modest? How does one make shorts a good 6 inches longer anyway?

But I think modesty isn't just about how you dress. Attitude, and Actions have an influence on what guys will think about when they look at you. If your heart doesn't have a God-glorifying attitude, they're not going to see God. If you go around doing things that turn guys on, (flirting, trying to get attention) you will end up turning them on, even if it's just in their minds. Jesus says: "If anyone causes one of these little ones-those who believe in me-to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." (Matthew 18:6 NIV) Wow! God feels very strongly about causing other Christians to stumble! As girls, we need to do our part to protect our brothers from sin.

What modesty really comes down to is who are you dressing for? Are you dressing to get guys attention? Maybe, you are just dressing to please yourself, what you think looks nice and not thinking about what God or guys will see (Mea culpa on this one). But who we need to be dressing for-myself included- is God. If God is pleased, you are modest.