Miss Modesty - Being an Example

If you are an older sibling, a parent, or just anybody really you are constantly setting an example. Even though you may not know it. Have you noticed how little children immitate their parents, and are really good at mocking their big sisters..... yeah, it gets on my nerves too. If you have never been told by your parents, "You are supposed to be setting a good example", then you , more than likely, don't have little brothers or sisters.
But setting an example goes far beyond how you act in your home; who are you in the presence of the world? If you say you are a Christian, then the world should be able to see Christ in you. The majority of "Christians" - or people who say they are Christians- really don't act like it. Have you noticed? People who claim to be Christians will go around cussing, smoking, ect., ect., and doing all this stuff that isn't showing Jesus and giving our Lord a bad name.

Have you ever thought about the meaning of these letters: WWJD - What would Jesus Do? Have you ever considered applying them to your life as a guideline? I'm aware that Christ was (and is) PERFECT, and we are sooo not, and trying to live up to those high standards is impossible. But as a guideline, maybe we can accomplish something.
How do we live up to the standards that make us stand out from the world? Just take what I said earlier and restate it: Think, before you do anything, "If Jesus is watching me right now, what does He think of my actions/choice of words?" Now with that in mind, What kind of example are you setting? Are you living for Christ, or are you following the world?

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,

that you present you bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,

which is your reasonable service.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the

renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and

acceptable and perfect will of God. 

                                                                           Romans 12:1-2

Don't you think the world would be a better place if everyone tried to what was right in the eyes of the Lord? Imagine being a light in a world of darkness. Remember that game we used to play in the pool, Whirlpool? Everyone would run in one direction until the water started to follow. And then, when you turned against the current it dragged you along with it. But, if you really tried, you were able to run against the current, it was hard, but you could still do it. And then, other people would turn and follow you until the current flowed in a different direction. Do you get my analogy? You can change the world! Well, not the whole world... but some of it.

Now you're young and you're single (possibly) and you can be an example to..... GUYS! Ew, YUCK!

Girls in their underwear

But seriously. There watching you. Muwhahahahahaha! And when you're different they see it, and they wonder at it. Most girls walk around in nothing but their underwear all day and can't live with out their boyfriends and they don't have brains and they're silly and dramatic and.... sorry, I'm sorry they're not that dumb (well, they are but that's not the point). But when you walk around in your tee-shirt and jeans and you don't care that you're single 'cause you know that you're saving yourself for the man God picked out for you, and you're smart and self-controled - it's then that people will look at you and say, "Wow! She has clothes on!" No. Well, that too... but they look at you and see a ray of pure sunshine eminating from your modest face.

When you act like a GodGirl around guys, they will find you much more attractive than the girls who have wasted themselves away.

To prove my point (that girls can be influences on boys) here is a small paragraph from a wonderful book called Beautiful Girlhood by Karen Andreola:

   "Girls have more influence with boys than they realize. A boy who is rough and rowdy in the presence of one girl will be gentlemanly when with another girl, all because of the girl. If she is "loud" and boisterous and will laugh at his silly and offensive remarks, he will act on that level; but when he is with a girl who never smiles at that which is rude and vulgar, who is always quiet and modest in her way, he will act as he knows pleases her. He may seem to have the better time with the first girl, but he respects the other girl more." (page 167)

We are examples everywhere we go. What kind of example are you setting?

If you have any questions or comments or topics for upcoming blog post..... you know where they go.

Bookworms, you'll never guess:

Beautiful Girlhood by Karen Andreola

God Girl by Hayley Dimarco

Music Freaks:

Let Them See You by Colton Dixon

Show Jesus by Jamie Grace

We Are by Kari Jobe

One Shot by Newsboys

Jesus Freak by Newsboys

Melon Semper,

Ava Brown

Miss Modesty - We as Young Women

This week's post is really short. I'll explain why, now.
All week I've been trying to sit down and write this post (because I do it on paper before I do it here). But, for some reason it wouldn't stick, I just couldn't think of the right words to use. But, there are two wonderful ladies who used the right words, they wrote whole books on the topic I wanted to discuss.

God Girl by Hayley Dimarco
Beautiful Girlhood by Karen Andreola

I seriously encourage all young women to read these books. The subtitle of God Girl is "Becoming the Woman You're Meant to Be", how fitting!
I will literally challenge you to read these two books, if you do read them tell me about it in your comments.

And look, I NEED topics for blog post so, Give me some!!!!!!

A good song for this week is:
God Girl by Jamie Grace;)

Thank you!

Melon Semper,

Ava Brown

Miss Modesty - What is Love?

The dictionary has lied to us and I'll tell you how. This is the Concise Oxford English Dictionary's definition of "love":

Love- an intense feeling of deep affection; a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone

At first, you see nothing wrong with this. I mean, really, if I were to ask you what the first thing that comes into your head when I say the word "Love", you would immediately tell me, "A deep romantic affection" (or something like that). And I don't blame you because I would probably say the same. All I'm saying is that that is not the way the Book of Truth defines it.

In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 it says,

Love is patient, Love is kind,

it does not envy; it does not boast; it is not proud;

Love is not rude, it is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs;

Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth;

it always protects; always trusts; always hopes; always preserves.

Love never fails.

Wow! It would be nice to find a man like that! Real love seems PERFECT! Jesus Christ was perfect. And the Bible says that He is love.

Beloved, let us love one another,

for love is of God; and everyone who loves

is born of God and knows God.

He (she) who does not love does not know God,

for God is love.

                                                                                      1 John 4:7-8

The Bible also says to love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31). So, would you rather love your neighbor by the dictionary's standards.... or the Bible's? I'm just saying, 'cause, did you read the definitions?

I am positive that in order to feel the kind of love portrayed in the dictionary- the kind of love that you giggle at in books and movies- you first have to have the wonderful love described in 1 Corinthians. I would really rather not get "romantic" with someone before there is a mutual feeling, on both parts (man & woman), of biblical love. I'm only 15, so, I really don't want to pursue a romantic relationship with anyone at the present. And, since I know that those of you who read my blog are younger than I am, you don't need a relationship either. 

All of you young people in school who think you need a boyfriend to fit in, or just to make you feel good..... YOU DON'T! (I'll explain in a latter post.) Ya know, you can have friends who are boys without them being you boyfriend right?So, save your kisses and your purity by not having a "boyfriend" until you are ready for marriage. And until you are positive that it is "real love" you have fallen for.

As you begin to head into your teenage years you'll start to have strong desire for love ect.. All I can say is be strong, everyone goes through this. If you think of God as your lover ( because He is), your one and only True Love (as He should be), hopefully you will be able to persevere. 

I know I mentioned in my last blog post that He is your heavenly Father, and now I'm telling you that He is your True Love. Surprise! He's both! Weird I know. But, in Him you can find comfort and rest and throw away all your cares. As long as you give your heart fully to Him and let Him control all of your heart's dreams and desires, you should have no worries because you have placed them in the safest and most loving of
hands.

If you have any questions or comments or topics for upcoming posts, please type them in the designated space below:)

Music Freaks:

How He Loves by The David Crowder Band

Love Come to Life by Big Daddy Weave

Headphones by Britt Nicole

And a good one for last week ;P Beautiful Beautiful by Francesca Battistelli

I couldn't thinks of any good books other than the ones I posted last week. sorry.

Melon Semper,

Ava Brown

Reformation Day 2014

We got convicted and quit doing Halloween several years ago. You can read that "Evil" post here.
We continue to be amazed with how God directs our lives. We felt no need to replace Halloween (even though we all love dress-up and candy) but God lead us to begin to learn about church reformers and after several years of saying, "we need to know more about that," we finally did.

In our Bible Study we've been studying how God raised up judges and prophets to lead His wayward people back to Him. And studying church history reminds us that He hasn't stopped. The Catholic church was HUGE and overcome with greed and false teaching. Then God raised up men like John Wycliffe, John Huss, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox and others to lead His people, the church, back to Himself.

Many men risked their lives to confront the Catholic church and point out their unbiblical doctrines and practices. And thus, the Protestant church was birthed through long hard labor.

"Through faith alone in Christ alone" was their united belief, and thanks to them we can celebrate having a Bible in our own language, and understanding that Jesus is the only mediator between God and men that we need. He is our Great High Priest. And because of His sacrificial love for us, we, through faith in Him, are a royal priesthood and can come before the throne of God ourselves and receive forgiveness and grace.

THAT is worth celebrating!

On October 31, 1517 (497 years ago) a monk and professor, Martin Luther, nailed a theses to the door of a church in Germany, strongly suggesting that perhaps the church was wrong about some stuff (particularly papal bulls and indulgences - look it up) and inviting anyone who wanted to come debate about it.
He was quickly tired and convicted as a heretic, which carried a death sentence, so he hid in a friends attic and translated the New Testament into German.

Thus, October 31st has been dubbed Reformation Day. Let the celebrating commence!

Decorations; bottom picture is "Luther's Rose"

The Mama did a LOT of research - so with the help of MANY websites (pinterest and google) and blogs  by other mamas we had a big history lesson on Thursday, then on Friday, after lessons and lunch we gathered in the living room (the other end of the school room) and had a review. The who, what, when, and where's.

Then we partied like it was 1517!

We read together (all 95 points of Martins theses) then "nailed" (with tape) our theses to the door (cardboard that Mama drew on).


We repaired stained-glass windows that had been damaged in the riots (we colored). And other fun stuff. Just see for yourself:

Josiah "nailing" is theses to the door; Lora and Jorja decorating placemats; Alex at the "Baptismal Apple Dunking"

Top:Match-a-Sola (I'll explain this below); Alex and Brent sitting at tiny desk coloring the Solas;
Bottom: Josiah, Ava, Autumn & Jacob coloring; Elijah coloring

Victuals: We had communion (pitas and grape juice - for educational purposes) lead by the Daddy.
We had apple cider and our "Diet of Worms"
(that was the name of the council that convicted Luther - ours was "dirt" with gummy worms in it).

Next year I'd like to have more German foods and actual Wassail.

Luther burned the Papal Bull that declared him excommunicated from the Catholic Church - he thought it was just a bunch of  worthless bull. So we did likewise. - Our "bulls" even had a copy of the seal of Pope Leo X from 1517.
Boys like setting things on fire. 

We sang Hymns and spiritual songs. Including "A Might Fortress" - cause Luther wrote it. 

To sing what we sang go here to my Reformation Day playlist on YouTube.
We also sang some fun songs. I'll put those at the bottom (with the Solas).

The Door after all the Theses were nailed to it;
The pretty red runner Grandmother gave me for my birthday with hymns and bulls on it;
and the movie.

To finish up we attempted to watch the 1953 version of Martin Luther. Several actually made it through the whole movie, others went to play ("this is boring"), the Mama slept through it.

We may try the more recent version next time (have to preview it first).

We all want to do it all over again next year! Only we want to invite others to join us. I can foresee this becoming our recurring "fall party."

Look for Ava's second "Miss Modesty" post coming sometime today. She's worked hard again this week and is discussing real love. I'll link it here when she's done.

Love ya!
Mama

One resource called the "5 Solas" the Pillars of the Reformation:

Sola Gratia 

- by grace alone

Sola Fide 

- through faith alone

Solus Christus 

- in Christ alone

Sola Scriptura 

- according to Scripture alone

Soli Deo Gloria 

- for the glory of God alone

Fun Songs:
from here

Reformation Carol

By Anne & Tom Lipe of Damascus, MD
(to the tune of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer)

There was a monk named Luther,
As devout as he could be.
You couldn't find a better
monk in all of Germany.

All of the other friars
used to laugh and call him names.
They never dreamed that God would
lead him down the path to fame.

Then one cold October morn
God's call came to him:
"Luther, I think you are right;
I want you to lead my fight."

So then he wrote his theses;
tacked them up for all to see.
And now the Reformation
will go down in history...."

Martin the German

Chris P. Matthy
(to the tune of "Frosty the Snowman")

Martin the German was a sorry, mixed up soul,
'Cause he thought it odd that a loving God
Would condemn him straight to hell.

Martin the German even took a sacred vow
When a lightning strike nearly took his life
But St. Anne stepped in somehow.

It must have seemed like magic when
Old Habbukuk he found,
'Cause when he read God saves by faith
He began to dance around.

O, Martin the German felt reborn again that day,
And he spread the word from old Wittenberg
All the way to Rome, they say.

Thumpitty thump thump, thumpitty thump thump,
Nail them to the door;
Thumpitty thump thump, thumpitty thump thump,
Hear those Theses roar!

© CPM 2006.

The Reformation Polka

by Robert Gebel
[Sung to the tune of "Supercalifragilistic-expialidocious"]

When I was just ein junger Mann I studied canon law;
While Erfurt was a challenge, it was just to please my Pa.
Then came the storm, the lightning struck, I called upon Saint Anne,
I shaved my head, I took my vows, an Augustinian! Oh...

Chorus:
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation
Speak your mind against them and face excommunication!
Nail your theses to the door, let's start a Reformation!
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation!

When Tetzel came near Wittenberg, St. Peter's profits soared,
I wrote a little notice for the All Saints' Bull'tin board:
"You cannot purchase merits, for we're justified by grace!
Here's 95 more reasons, Brother Tetzel, in your face!" Oh...

Chorus:
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation
Speak your mind against them and face excommunication!
Nail your theses to the door, let's start a Reformation!
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation!

They loved my tracts, adored my wit, all were exempleror;
The Pope, however, hauled me up before the Emperor.
"Are these your books? Do you recant?" King Charles did demand,
"I will not change my Diet, Sir, God help me here I stand!" Oh...

Chorus:
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation -
Speak your mind against them and face excommunication!
Nail your theses to the door, let's start a Reformation!
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation!

Duke Frederick took the Wise approach, responding to my words,
By knighting "George" as hostage in the Kingdom of the Birds.
Use Brother Martin's model if the languages you seek,
Stay locked inside a castle with your Hebrew and your Greek! Oh...

Chorus:
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation -
Speak your mind against them and face excommunication!
Nail your theses to the door, let's start a Reformation!
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation!

Let's raise our steins and Concord Books while gathered in this place,
And spread the word that 'catholic' is spelled with lower case;
The Word remains unfettered when the Spirit gets his chance,
So come on, Katy, drop your lute, and join us in our dance! Oh...

Chorus:
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation -
Speak your mind against them and face excommunication!
Nail your theses to the door, let's start a Reformation!
Papal bulls, indulgences, and transubstantiation!