Boots and Beliefs

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I love boots.  In this kind of weather, they're perfect with almost any outfit.  Going to the office, church, a party, the grocery store...yep there's no wrong place to wear a great pair of boots.

Recently, I had a friend ask me how I did the whole "skirts thing" in the winter.  Of course, it was a guy who asked.  Girls are well-acquainted with all the fun and fashionable tights, boot socks, leggings, long moleskin skirts, long johns, flannel skirts, corduroy skirts, denim skirts, and of course tall boots that keep a girl cozy warm and fashion forward.  

My blogging hero Kristina, of KristinaJ, wrote a fantastic post about "standing on a platform of modesty while still trying to look attractive and approachable."  (You can read it here.)    It's something I've struggled with, I'll be honest.  In the past, my tendency has been to throw on whatever's easiest and not worry about how other people perceived me.  But the truth is, I was lying to myself.  I did worry about how other people perceived me.  I hated feeling unkempt and uncaring.  And it painted a picture of my beliefs as disheveled at best, and particularly unremarkable.  Part of my pursuit of biblical womanhood was determining that if I was going to stand out because of the way I dressed, it shouldn't be because I looked like I got dressed in the dark.  If people were going to ask me about my wardrobe decisions and the whole "skirts thing", I wanted to be able to answer the questions with confidence, not embarrassment.

Of course i haven't mastered being a fashionista, or even being able to make outfits out of neutral colors, but I am more intentional than I've ever been.  And with a great pair of boots, I really can't go wrong.

Don't Bite Your Friends

I really like my life.  That’s not something I could always say.  In fact, exactly one year ago, I would have said the exact opposite.  But, what a difference a year has made!  Though I’m not always at ease in my mind or with the world around me, I have come to a place where I feel solid about how I believe and what I choose to put my faith in.  And  yet…there are still so many times when I feel like a child, just learning the things I should have already mastered.

There’s a show my little niece watches that has a song on it called:  Don’t Bite Your Friends.  And from what I’ve heard of it, those are most of the lyrics.  “Don’t bite your friends!  Don’t bite your friends!”  That’s good advice for a toddler.  And, as it turns out, good advice for adults too.  But maybe it should go more like, “Don’t backbite your friends!”  Yeah….

It’s in these times, I am so thankful for God’s grace.  Where would I be without it?  When it came time to confess, I felt like a scared child.  Appropriately.  After all, I had acted like a child.  But God gave me the opportunity to make it right again, with Him, and with the other person.  And all I received in return for my confession…was love.  Love, love, and more love.  Love from a friend who laughed and forgave, love from my Heavenly Father who was kind enough to bring conviction and then kind enough to grant me relief when I had done what needed done.

And all I can think is… “God, will You make me as gracious as You are?”  I pray that I’m the friend who laughs, loves, and forgives in the face of disloyalty.  “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”  What a wonderful feeling, to be forgiven!  It’s the very thing that allows me to truly love this life God has given me.  And though I will still, like a child, need to learn and relearn many things on this Christian walk, I know that I am being led by a gracious, kind, and forgiving God.  What’s not to love?