His Commands Are Not Burdensome

"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."

--1 John 5:3

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

--Proverbs 1:7

"Obeying commands about modesty is so hard! All these rules your parents put on you for how they want you to dress are so constrictive. You know what? There's one day in your life when you can wear whatever you want! Hey, your female attendants can even wear what they want! What's more, you and your friends can get drunk (or give an opportunity to others to do so) if you really want to. You can play that rock music as loud as you want and dance to it. It's called your wedding day!"

Does that not sound quite right? I wonder why. Oh! Maybe it's because the Bible says much to the opposite. 

"In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;"

--1 Timothy 2:9

"Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

--1 Timothy 4:12

"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;"

--Ephesians 5:18

I wonder how Christian girls read the first verse of these three and then go on to wear completely immodest clothes for their wedding, (or to someone else's; looking at you, bridesmaids.) Especially when there are such sweet, beautiful alternatives to culture's dictates about wedding apparel. 

More skin showing = prettier. Wrong. To be proven in this article. 

More skin showing = more attractive. Hmm. The point of a wedding is getting married to one man. Do you really love him? Show him that by saving yourself for him, starting on your wedding day.

I have a question. What is your purpose for wearing 1/2 a dress to your wedding? Is it to glorify God? I'm guessing not. 

Is it because you really wanted a pretty dress and this was the ONLY one you could find?? Nope. 

Is it because it's your only chance to wear a fancy and immodest dress, per tradition? Well, it is not your only chance. You don't have the option at all to be immodest as a Christian woman.

It's time for ladies to stop going with the flow. We need to stick out, be different, and represent Christ in a non-Christian world. A wedding is a great opportunity to be a good example to others. What other time can you be assured to have the rapt attention of at 100+ people on you and what you're wearing? Be an example to the young ladies who haven't had a wedding yet. Show them how gorgeous and innocent a modest wedding can be. 

A "modest wedding dress" does not imply being plain, long-sleeved, and choke-necked. My wedding dress isn't going to look like that. No, I plan to have a lot of fun designing the prettiest, best thing I can come up with! I'm not Amish, (and you aren't, either, if you're reading this post online!) but I am a part of Christ's body and His representative on earth. I need to act accordingly.

By the way, I'm not Mormon either, in case you wondered. :)

Let me assure you that you aren't missing out on anything by attaching shoulders to a dress. You aren't missing out on anything by having a dress with a back on it, for goodness' sakes! And you are sure of God's good opinion of you if you are careful to include Him with your special-day decisions.

A note to the bride: If you can't be sure that your sweet bridesmaids will choose modest apparel, think about choosing their designs for them. They have to do what you want them to! :)

"Adorn yourself in modest apparel" has got to be one of the easiest commands to obey in the Bible. There's so many options that are beautiful, and won't hurt other people's consciences! 

If you wouldn't comfortably wear the dress to the grocery store or to Sunday morning worship service (on account of how much of you it exposes,) let me suggest that you should re-think the design of your special dress. 

My mother and I were enjoying looking at what the web has to offer in terms of modest dresses for the bride. If you can't sew - or don't want to - there are tons of wedding dresses out there that are quite beautiful.

Here's a few sites that I've seen out there that have some nice dresses to offer: (Note: I do not endorse everything I see on every single website.)

https://www.elizabethcooperdesign.com/store/c10/Modest_Wedding_Dresses.html

This dress captured my heart :)

https://fantasy-bridal.com/categories/modest-wedding-dresses?

https://www.moncheribridals.com/modest-by-mon-cheri

Once you see how beautiful a modest wedding dress can be, you will realize that you're missing out by not looking at the alternatives!

And of course, if you're not excited by what you see, you can always design your own! (Plus...sewing your own will be a lot cheaper...)

~A few handmade designs~

Another trend I've been seeing in Christian wedding planning is to serve alcohol at the reception.  

Yes, I know that the Bible allows the drinking of alcohol as long as you don't get drunk. But as my mother and I were talking about this, she pointed out something interesting: 

As a young person, you don't know your tolerance for strong drink. You don't know how much it takes to make you drunk. What if you actually have a tendency to become addicted, and that first drink starts you off? 

As the host/hostess of a wedding, you don't know your guests' tolerance for strong drink. What if they have never had wine before, drink a little bit, think it is delicious, and discover that they have a strong tendency to become addicted? Perhaps, if the occasion had not been offered to them in Christian society, they wouldn't have taken their first drink and made a crucial, life-affecting mistake.

Sure wouldn't want that one on my conscience.

We recently went to a very nice wedding where no strong drinks were served. Everyone was happy and sociable, and nobody missed the alcohol! 

My mother has written a very good post about alcohol and "social drinking" on her blog. You might enjoy it!

Well, I don't usually write rants on my blog, but this is one I've had saved up in my plans for awhile. Thanks for reading!

to God be the glory,

Miss Humphrey

"Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:"

--Proverbs 7:4

"For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it."

--Proverbs 8:11