Finally after 6 months of waiting (remember when I bought my tickets?), Michael, Lilli, & I enjoyed an late afternoon of Cirque du Soleil entertainment- Kooza!

It was nice to have some time with Lilli - Corinne & Eleanor were at Great Grandma Jo’s house, where we ended up spending the night (she is so hospitable and I cannot tell you how much I love spending time with her!).

However, there were some pros and cons about the show:

Pros
* AMAZING talent!
* Non-stop action…other than intermission.
* Incredible costumes
* Not a bad seat in the house - but I was excited that we were only 4 rows from the stage

Cons:
* WAY too expensive snackie foods (a Pepsi was over six bucks!)
* I’ve been spoiled by La Nouba and Kooza didn’t have the same “wow” moments. (This act was left out…which I was REALLY looking forward to seeing!)
* Too much adult humor. Even though the kids didn’t *get* the jokes, I still could have done without them - especially when one clown fainted and another went to give him CPR…well let’s just say that them rolling around on the floor while kinky music playing in the background is not something I wanted to watch or have to distract my 5 year old from. It’s too bad that from now on I will have to call ahead to make sure there is no inappropriate content - and then explain what I mean by “inappropriate.”

Overall though, I’m thankful we were able to see a show and spend some fun time with our oldest gal

“It’s a beautiful thing to show some of your chest.” My five year old told me that she was told this by a to-be-nameless-girl on a recent trip to a certain out-of-state relative’s residence.

I’m sure I’ll be hearing more things like this as time goes on, since Lilli knows she can come to me with questions and I’m not going to make her *feel* a certain way about it…we look at the situation together, talk about the choices/decisions that can be made, the possible results from those choices, etc. So, I’ve decided to start a “How To Combat ___(insert wacky quote here)___ with God’s Word” series.

This obviously falls under the Modesty category. Society tells us to “flaunt it if we’ve got it.” Why? What purpose does “flaunting it” serve? Does it increase one’s self-esteem? Does it positively attract others? Is this where we want our children to find their worth?

I asked Lilli what she thought of that. She said, “I don’t know.” “Well,” I said, “when I don’t know about something, I look to see what God thinks about it…I go to God’s Word.” Lilli and I flipped to 1 Timothy 2:9 -  “I want women to show their beauty by dressing in appropriate clothes that are modest and respectable. Their beauty will be shown by what they do, not by their hair styles or the gold jewelry, pearls, or expensive clothes they wear.” I explained to her that it doesn’t matter what other people think about what is good or not, what GOD thinks is what really matters. His Word found in the Bible is the Truth. I then explained that God still loves everyone, even when they don’t follow His rules. But, it’s a good idea to always follow the rules because it keeps us safe  - sort of like looking both ways before crossing the road so you don’t get hit by a car.

I think this made sense to her, because she then said, “Just like when the snake told Eve it was okay to eat the apple even though God said not to.” Exactly…

I opened up my IGoogle today and read over my daily gadgets: inbox, weather, Christian news, schedule on my calendar, and daily Bible verse. Not much new to report, although I am happy the weather will be sunny - high 60 My daily Bible verse, however, did stand out this morning:

Proverbs 11:22
“A beautiful woman who lacks discretion
      is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout.” (NLT)

This comes in perfect timing (God often has a way of doing that) with some things I’m going through with Lilli, who turns 5 in April. Ever since the Bratz doll incident, Lilli has noticed people around her “not dressing nicely,” “not having nice voices,” (not speaking respectfully to one another, using bad language, etc.) or “hurting each other’s feelings,” but knowing that “God still loves them.” I find it amazing how one little incident has made such an impression on my almost 5 year old, who strives to obey God’s Word.

I’m so thankful that Lilli asks “why” so much and has learned to ask herself “why” in situations. She takes pride in understanding that her body was “wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) and that she uses her body to do things that would make God happy - for example: “Doing gymnastics to make my body strong and healthy!” Or this one that must have been weighing on her conscience because she randomly came up to me and said, ”I lied yesterday Mommy. I didn’t push Corinne, I flicked her cheek (as she demonstrates with her fingers). I didn’t tell the truth - I’m sorry.” Moments like these are encouragement from God. I know I can’t protect my girls forever, that they are responsible for their own actions, and that some people may try to sway them in the opposite direction. But I know I can set a good example and more importantly, trust God in all things. Romans 8:28 says, ”And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (NIV)

I have faith that as time goes on, my girls’ understanding about ”why” people, as well as themselves, choose to do things, will continue to grow….and I praise God for his faithfulness!

Yesterday in my blog, I included the verse: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” ~Proverbs 4:23. It’s one of my favorite verses and I think of it often. But since my post yesterday, I couldn’t get it out of my head…it was really laying heavy on my heart to the point where it was making me angry - I ended up not being a respectful wife and I was complaining about things I had to do, all because I felt that I had been guarding my heart 100%. Looking back, I realized I should have turned to God and His sufficient grace, rather than lashing out in frustration. Today it became all clear. I was listening to my daily program, “Revive Our Hearts” with Nancy Leigh DeMoss, about media and it’s influence. I thought, “Well this will be an easy one since I don’t watch TV, I research our movies before we watch them to avoid inappropriate material, and I only listen to Christian music.” WRONG! It turned out to be a tough one. Toward the end of the program, Nancy Leigh DeMoss said something that God used to really convict me:

“I want to challenge our listeners to be thoughtful and deliberate and intentional in this whole area of media choices, as we’ve been talking about this week, and not just to let the world pump its thinking into your heart.
You may be thinking, “I don’t love the world. I don’t love the things in the world.” I’ll tell you this: If it’s coming into your mind and heart and environment on a consistent basis, you are growing to love it.
You’re developing an affection for the world, and you may not even realize it’s happened. That is one of the most deadly things-it is so subtle. It creeps in.
We’re not saying TV is wrong, movies are sinful, and music is sinful, but what we are saying is: Pursue holiness. Pursue God. Pursue the Kingdom of God, and pursue the kinds of things you want your children to pursue.” (courtesy of www.reviveourhearts.com, italics added)

Wow. What other forms of media are having an influence on my life??? MySpace immediately came to mind. It was a serious “Duh!” moment. Sure, I found MySpace to be fun to connect with old friends, catch up with new friends, and let people have a little glimpse of my life. I thought “just looking away” from other people’s indecent profile pictures was actually guarding my heart.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss said, “We want to test everything, as 1 Thessalonians 5 says. We want to hold onto that which is good-by God’s grace and for the sake of His glory-we choose to avoid every kind of evil.” So, I guess I tested (rather fully experienced) MySpace and found it to be not in line with God’s Word. Therefore, I am going to avoid it.

Isn’t it just amazing how the Lord will speak to us?!

       Since our errands took longer than expected, the girls and I stopped into McDonald’s for lunch. We prefer Chick-Fil-A but since that was across town, we had to settle, but settle…I will not do again. It wasn’t the atmosphere, the food (granted Chick-Fil-A is healthier), or the people that discouraged me; it was the ”Happy Meal” toy- dressed in a mini skirt, sporting a midriff, and wearing much too much makeup - you guessed it: a miniature Bratz doll. Did I want my daughter to think that this is how a female should look and dress? Was this something I wanted my four year old to think was a “cool toy?” Above all else, was this something that would give glory to God?  Ummm…no. Fortunately or unfortunately (I didn’t know which one was better then), Lilli saw the toy and wanted it…’cause you know, it’s the “Happy Meal” toy! I know everything that happens, happens because God allowed it to. So, fortunately, I took this as an opportunity teach my precious 4 year old a lesson in modesty. I found that explaining modesty to a 4 year old was hard! How do you go about that?

Our next stop was to pick up a few groceries. After we walked past a woman in an aisle, Lilli said, “she’s not dressing in a nice way, that makes God sad.” I didn’t even notice (amazing how desensitized we become to inappropriate things after being exposed to so much corruption in this world), but the woman was wearing a halter with a plunging neckline (it is mid-October, right??). See how much they pick up? Not only was I thankful that God allowed Lilli to understand this truth, but I was thankful that He convicted me of my own faults in modesty. Just this past summer, I wore a few halters, a shorter than necessary jean skirt, and a couple of bikinis (not all at the same time, of course ) After I finish this blog, those are going straight in the trash!

Praise God who helped us accomplish more than just our errands today!
PS. Just a little tid-bit of info: Chick-Fil-A is a Christian based company, they are closed on Sundays to “honor God,” and their kid’s meal toy is educational (the last time we were there, a kid’s cook book was the toy…we’re going to make scones later today…yummm!)

1 Timothy 2:9
     “And I want women to be modest in their appearance.
                They should wear decent and appropriate clothing
      and not draw attention to themselves by the way
                they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes.”

1 Peter 3:3-4
     “Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.
                   You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within,  
                                      the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.” 

Proverbs 4:23
     “Guard your heart above all else,
               for it determines the course of your life.”