DVD Review: Unplanned & A GIVEAWAY

I was excited to get the documentary Unplanned after reading this terrific book detailing the other side of the abortion industry: how well-intentioned women end up deceived by the corporation and doing the very thing they vowed they'd never support. (I reviewed the book here.)

The book is definitely more detailed. For instance, I was disappointed in how the documentary glazed over medical abortions, not sharing the horror stories of the women who've experienced them. That part of the book was very eye-opening to me. Never before had I considered the horrible physical pain it causes to the woman taking the drug, or the shame of admitting that it didn't go as smoothly as they were told it would.

Aside from that, I was impressed with this documentary. It will enlighten you not only to the deception of the abortion industry (it's not just built on murder, but also on lies), but it will show you clearly the difference in ministry that draws abortion-seeking women to your message and those that repel these women. Women who feel judged will become angry, not repentant.

I found this documentary very helpful and insightful.

Want to see it for yourself? I'm giving one away!

Please leave a comment telling me why you want this DVD and you'll be entered to win!

Bikini-Clad Christian Movie?

Have you been wondering about this new movie? There's a great review on Stacy McDonald's blog here.

What Modesty Isn't

There is a movement cropping up in many evangelical churches, that says women can only dress modestly in skirts or dresses. I'm concerned.

women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.

-1 Timothy 2:9-10

This is the verse most quoted by women who wear skirts/dresses only. Notice that it says we should adorn ourselves with good works. If a woman only wears long skirts, but lies, gossips, and disrespects her husband, would you think she adorns herself with good works?

Notice modesty and self-control are paired here. It's easy to dress modestly. Anybody can throw on a long skirt and button up a blouse, and still have the heart of a seductress underneath.

It's not easy to have self-control though. When your husband says something wrong or does something stupid, do you have self-control and show respect for him anyway? Or do you correct him publicly and humiliate him? Which shows good works?

I love wearing skirts and dresses. In fact, I wear a skirt almost every day. Skirts make me feel feminine and femininity is an expression of who God made me to be. I love the way I feel when I'm in a skirt. And compared to the tight jeans I used to wear, I definitely feel more modest in a skirt. Please note: I did not say all jeans are immodest.

Let's look at another verse:

Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.

-1 Peter 3: 3-4

This is important: Adorning ourselves with a gentle and quiet spirit is very precious to God. It doesn't say that long skirts or dresses are precious in God's sight. It says gentleness and quietness are very precious in His sight.

As the Body of Christ, we need to open our eyes to see the truth. God's Word nowhere says we should only adorn ourselves in skirts or dresses. It says we should adorn ourselves with good works and with a gentle & quiet spirit.

And the Lord said, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of wickedness."

-Luke 11:39

Are We Weird?

Reflections on a Young Mom

I was reading this blog I just discovered (which I just love) about this young mom of two boys. She's 25 years old and has two kids. I thought: I wish I would have had two kids when I was just 25! And then I thought aloud: Kyle, why did we wait to have kids? I mean. . . I know why (worldly thinking). . . but I wish we wouldn't have.

And then I realized: We bear the fruit of having started our family right away. Maya was born one year after we married!

Live in such a way that you won't have regrets. I have worked with lots of elderly people and without exception, no one ever regretted having the kids they had, but I met many who wished they would have had more.

What You Can Learn About People through Food

A good friend had a baby recently and their family was blown away by the generosity of our church in bringing them lots of food. (Our church is only about 100 strong. Really small church.) Not only were they given tons of big meals, but the church members only stayed for a 10 minute visit-- this after most of them drove at least 45 minutes to get to them. My friend's husband confided to us: Our church family was so much more generous than our actual family. Our families showed up with little bitty servings that wouldn't even feed our family, expected us to feed them as well, and then stayed until my wife was completely worn out.

I've never experienced this myself (people bringing food and then staying to eat it with you), but I can't imagine it would have been easy to be gracious about it in her postpartum state.

When Julia was born, we received dinners for almost 3 weeks from church family. And almost everybody brought brownies with dinner. I was on the "brownie a day" diet and ended up heavier 2 months after Julia was born than I weighed 2 hours after she was born. The good news is: I didn't have any brownie cravings for quite some time after that. The bad news is: It took me a good long while to remember that dinner doesn't have to be followed by dessert.

The fun thing about having a big family is that people tend to bring way too much food (except in the case of my friend's parents, I guess!) Being the frugal nut that I am, I love leftovers.

When a friend of mine,who has one child, came over for dinner the first time, she brought 4 half gallons of ice cream!! We finished one of them.

Another friend brought a full sheet cake for dessert when we invited them over. I try not to laugh out loud. Smaller families just have no idea how much it takes to feed us & lucky for us, they always err on the side of too much. "Better to have too much than not enough," Kyle tells me while he prepares 10 gallons of potato salad for the church picnic.

Family Q&A

Every once in awhile at dinner time, Kyle or I will call out: "Ok guys, it's Q&A time! If you have a question, we have an answer." I said it last night when we were all finishing up our Shepherd Pie (yum!) and then I just looked around expectantly at the kids.

Isaac said: Why don't you ask us a question.

Okey dokey. So I started with Chloe: What is your absolute favorite thing to do?

-sing!

(That was insightful and I told her so. (Then I explained what insightful means.) She's always singing, but frankly I never realized the depth of her passion for it.)

Elena's answer didn't surprise me. In fact, it was so unsurprising, I don't remember it. No clue what I asked her. (how embarrassing)

Isaac: What is your favorite part of having your cousins here all week?

-playing basketball with Max

(I've been reading a book about raising boys and it taught me not to expect a boy younger than 13 to speak or think in anything less than concrete terms, so I wasn't disappointed in his brief answer. Last week, I would've been.)

Kyle asked Daniel and Lydia what their favorite movie was. They both answered something they'd seen within the last 48 hours. Go figure.

Maya: If you could have anything you wanted, no matter how much it costs, what would you want?

She thought about it briefly and then said: I'd go see Jesus. Even if it meant I'd have to die, that's what I want.