Be Grace

There's a great website for young girls and their mothers, http://www.purefashion.com/.  Their mission is to teach teens that it is possible to be stylishly feminine without succumbing to the current bare-it-all trend.  They offer a pdf with guidelines to consider when choosing an outfit.  Their guidelines are specific to the style show they designed, but offer much to women everywhere. 

The basic part of their pdf, Be Grace, reads:  "Our goal is to show the public that it is possible to be stylish, cute, and MODEST!  All styles should flatter the figure, but not draw extreme attention to any certain area."

Shirts
The neckline should not be lower than four fingers below the collarbone.
The material should not be sheer, very thin, or spandex.
Shirts should not be tight across the bust.
The shape of the bra should not be seen in the back (if visible, the shirt on top is too tight).
The backs should be modest. For example, no strappy backs, halter, or backless garments.
Tank tops should be modeled only with a shirt, jacket, or sweater over them.

Pants
Should not be too tight, especially in the seat or thigh area.
Should fit well, but not be skin-tight. One should be able to pull them away from the leg.
Shorts should be modest. When the arms are straight down at the side, the bottom of the shorts should be below the longest finger.
Make sure that "panty lines" are not visible. If necessary, wear pantyhose or a "thigh shaper" to create a smooth appearance in the clothing.

Skirts
Should not be very tight fitting.
Should not be constructed of a material that is too thin. If necessary, wear a slip.
Should not be shorter than four fingers above the top of the kneecap.

Dresses
Should follow the shirt guidelines.
No sleeveless, strapless, or spaghetti (or other thin strapped) dresses, even if worn with a wrap.
Dresses should have sleeves or be worn with a shrug.

Final Notes
Undergarments should never become outer garments. Bra straps should not be exposed, etc.

Too bad our teens didn't review this list before prom!

Grrrr

I cannot make my pictures work with my "Moments in Mazatlan" blog post. 

Dammit.

Left Foot, Left Foot, Left Foot, Right...

Feet in the morning

Feet at night...

    Dr. Suess

Adam loved The Foot Book.  So did I.  It didn't have millions of words and I was happy to read it 800 times if he so wished.  He pushed his feet in my face during the reading until we both dissolved in giggles.

I always loved baby feet.  They're so fat and sweet and perfect.  Jakob had the best baby feet; they were so sweetly kissable and kissing them made him giggle.  A giggly Jakob made everyone else giggle too.

Somehow I aquired a bit of a foot thing.  I like nice feet, soles especially.  Icky feet bother me so much I once took a photo of gross feet in the checkout line of the supermarket because I was so disgusted. Honestly. People are purchasing food.


Every morning - all four seaons, mind you - I spend time with my feet, my pumice stone, and good quality lotion. 

I don't understand people who ignore their feet.  Often they're very diligent about all other matters of personal hygiene - washing, shampooing, combing, curling, cosmeticing und so wieder.  It wouldn't be so bad, really, if they just wore shoes.

I wonder if my problem is a little bigger than sole neglect.  Maybe the inability to pay attention to frequently invisible feet makes me think about people who spend a lot of time doing right things - befriending, parenting, theologizing - because they should.  Seems to me those things are authentic when they're part of developing a wise and beautiful soul.  'Course, it would be judgmental of me to suggest someone is engaged in soul neglect.

Final foot thought?

Hmm. 

Pumice stones are cheap.

On a Scale of One to Ten...

I've been thinking about doing wrong.

This morning at Mass one of our youngest choir members was doing wrong.  She wanted extra sitting space because she had on a big dress.  To get more space, she punched the little singer standing next to her.  Definitely doing wrong - maybe a 3 on a scale of one to ten.

Reminding the girls to be nice and keep their hands to themselves, I settled back on the piano bench.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw our little harasser making a fist again seconds before letting our little victim have it!  Definitely doing wrong - something like a 7 on our scale.  Definitely a worse example of doing wrong; after all, she knew she wasn't supposed to do it and did it anyway.

We are all guilty of doing wrong at times, and sometimes the doing wrong is worse than other times.  I believe when I've done wrong, I've learned from my mistake and corrected my course.  It's rare for me to make the same mistakes twice; I sure wouldn't have made the second fist!

As many times as I've done wrong, I've suffered the consequences.  I've found ways to atone.  I've sought forgiveness from people I've wronged.  I've felt cushioned by Grace.  And most difficult of all things, I've forgiven myself.

Merciful and gracious is the LORD, slow to anger, abounding in kindness.
God does not always rebuke, nurses no lasting anger,
Has not dealt with us as our sins merit, nor requited us as our deeds deserve.
As the heavens tower over the earth, so God's love towers over the faithful.
As far as the east is from the west, so far have our sins been removed from us.
                                   Psalm 103:8-12

I will probably fail to do right again.  When I do, I hope to manage my failure the best I can, suffer my consequences, and then continue moving closer to Christ.

What I will never do is make a fist again after being told not to.

There are six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to him;
Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood;
A heart that plots wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to evil,
The false witness who utters lies, and he who sows discord among brothers.
                                  Proverbs 6:16-19

The verse could just as easily read: "the LORD loves those with humble eyes, a truthful tongue, hands that protect the innocent, a heart that plans good, feet that hurry to help, a truthful witness, and someone who brings harmony to families" (The New American Bible:  The Catholic Youth Bible Revised, 757).

When I stand before Christ I have no desire to be ashamed of my journey as a Christian woman.  To achieve the kind of character called for in Proverbs, I know I have plenty of work to do - enough that I have no time to worry about what anyone else is doing

About To Come...

I have been writing one of the most fun blog posts ever!  It's called "Moments in Mazatlan" and is heavily photo-dependent.

I have so many other things to say!  Being technologically challened for a week was NOT GOOD.

There might have been a divine reason for my techno duct taping last week.  I guess I'll leave with this thought:  some things are better left unsaid. 

:)