Hello to all who may read this newsletter. This month, we have report from
a special news correspondent...Actually, it’s just me, Katie Fernhout, and
this newsletter has been written for the ladies in our readership. My
husband and Manager of Christ The Way Bookstore usually writes the
newsletters each month. However, when I found out last month that he was
writing an issue entitled, "The Feminization Of Today's Society", I
asked if I could share with the ladies what the Lord has recently laid on
my heart about being a lady in a world that seems to have forgotten how.
There are three main areas that the Lord has shown me are important in
regards to being the kind of woman that He would want me to be. They are:
how I speak, how I act, and how I dress. Yes, I know that would appear to
cover just about everything. However, to even get there, the Lord had to
deal with my heart on a number of levels.
I am thankful to have grown up in a Christian home, with parents that
loved the Lord and desired to see their children trust Christ as their
Saviour and serve Him. I am also especially thankful, having reached
adulthood, for the little church that I grew up in. Rarely were there more
than 100 in attendance, and I knew most of the ladies as auntie or
grandma. Some might say that I missed out on having more playmates my own
age, or young people to fellowship with, as I got older. However, I
learned so much from those ladies of an era gone by, who always had a door
held open for them out of respect and who found virtue and honour and
contentment in running a proper household. These ladies, though I’m sure
had many opinions about a great many things theological and otherwise,
chose to obey their Lord by remaining silent in the church. As
1 Corinthians 14:34
says, “Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not
permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under
obedience, as also saith the law.” I think that if more of us ladies
remembered to keep silence, even when we think our opinion is valid and
ought to be heard, we would see more of our men standing up and speaking
boldly about how God is directing them as the leaders of our homes and our
churches. In essence, our femininity allows them their masculinity and
shows to the world that we are different, set apart, peculiar! What an
honour it is to bring glory to God in this way.
This brings me to my next item. There is an obvious difference in
behaviour when one is acting like a lady. I have had the pleasure of
observing many true ladies as they go about their tasks both in and out of
the church building. These ladies had an air of femininity about them in
the way they walked, the way they got in and out of a car, the way they
greeted someone and every other task they performed. I remember training
for a professional job in college and being coached on a “proper”
handshake. Really, what it was a “manly” handshake. I believe with the
push to have women working outside the home, there has also been a push to
masculinize our actions; to better suit us to a rough, dog-eat-dog world,
a world that is not well suited to a soft-spoken and gentle woman. Let me
also say that I don’t believe that femininity is hinged upon
personality. Sure, it may appear to come easier to those with a quiet
personality but, it is a heart issue first. Each of us is instructed to
be “discreet, chaste… that the word of God be not blasphemed” as Titus 2:5
says. Even II Peter 3:4 says that the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit
is in the sight of God of great price. Clearly, how we as ladies act is a
gift of love to our Lord.
Finally, there is a way to dress like a lady. This last area seemed to be
hardest for me. I know that the Lord was working on my heart for many
years, through many people and books that I had come across. However, it
wasn’t until I read “Dress - the Heart of the Matter” by Shirley M.
Starr and Lori L. Waltemyer that I decided to make a real change. Even
then, I didn’t talk to anyone but the Lord about it at first because I was
afraid that I might renege on my commitment. My commitment was to wear
clothes that were distinctly feminine. I had grown up wearing dresses and
skirts to church and was very offended if a woman attended church in
slacks. However, I thought that it was my prerogative to wear slacks at
home, at work or running errands. Through much reading and prayer on the
matter, I came to the conclusion that the Lord would have me to wear
dresses and skirts everywhere I go to be obedient, modest and a good
witness for Him. I will freely admit that I am still learning what clothes
I ought to wear, but the results thus far have been amazing. Not only have
I had no difficulty in dressing modestly and tastefully for any occasion,
I have also had many opportunities to see how my choice to be feminine
affects those around me. I even noticed, shortly after I started to wear
only skirts, while I was checking out at the grocery store, a complete
stranger who was not employed by the store offered to help me take my
groceries to the car. I have doors held open for me on a much more regular
basis. I even notice people speaking to me in a kinder tone! All this
from wearing skirts you might ask? Well, at least part of this can be
attributed to my change in dress but, while the Lord was helping me to
change my outward appearance, the part of me that the world can see, He
was also working on my heart. Inside and outside I have become more
lady-like. Granted, much more work needs to be done, but if I had ignored
the Spirit’s urging to be obedient even in the area of femininity, I would
have missed out on so many blessings!
I have enjoyed this opportunity to share part of my testimony and hope
that it has been a blessing. I have left out many aspects of the
discussion on modesty in our day and age since we have many good books on
that as well as the subjects that I have briefly discussed here. Feel free
to call Christ the Way Bookstore for more information.
Thank you for your time,
God bless.
Katie Fernhout
Do you know 100% for sure that you are
going to heaven after you die?
You can right now!
If you have yet to seek
repentance from your sin and are looking for that
assurance of where you will spend eternity when you die, please
consider the following:
A. ACCEPT (Romans 3:23)
You are a sinner in need of repentance;
B. BELIEVE (Romans 10:9)
Jesus died and rose again to save you of
your sin; and
C. CONFESS (Romans 10:13)
Confess your sin with your mouth to Jesus
Christ in prayer.
God is ready to hear
your prayer directly to Him and accept you into His eternal family. Won't
you make that decision right now?
God bless
you! Let us know if you have made this decision. It would be a great
encouragement for us to hear about it. We would also be happy to send you
a free package of material to help you in your new life with Jesus!
As
always, thank you very much for all your prayers and words of
encouragement for us and the bookstore. The Lord continues to richly bless
us through your prayers and for staying true to His Word in obedience to
Him.
Feel free to contact us to be placed
on the Christ The Way e-mail list. You'll be blessed to hear about
our great specials firsthand in addition to new items and upcoming events.
Thanks for taking the time to visit
our website. Feel free to contact me by e-mail at: ctwpub@yahoo.ca
and I will attempt to reply as soon as possible.
Again, many thanks for your continued
support and may God richly bless you!
Mr. Remi Fernhout
General Manager
Christ The Way Bookstore
 
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