modest mouse

Now I don't want to sound like a prude, but I think that this is pretty cool. It's called a Burqini, (get it? Burqua + Bikini=Burqini) and it is the new swim wear for Muslim women. It was apparently developed by a Muslim woman who was tired of swimming wearing massive clothes and bed sheets and such. Those things get pretty heavy when they are wet.

I realize that there are some not-so-nice things that Muslim women have to deal with in their culture, but I really wonder if maybe we as Christians could take a few cues from them. They take modesty seriously, something I feel that many Christian women really have no idea about. Now, in Muslim culture modesty is enforced in a fairly un-loving way, which is not something I am condoning, so please don't get me wrong. Don't worry - I'm not suggesting that all Christian women should wear parkas and snowsuits all the time, but I think that it is something that needs to be addressed.

I'm going to make a few assumptions in this post. 1st, the reader is a Christian and wants to follow God as he has revealed Himself to us in the Bible, and 2nd that the Bible tells us to be modest and to live modestly.

I'm gonna just give it to you straight up ladies: Guys struggle with lust. They struggle with lusting after you. I lust after you. That's a pretty intense statement, and maybe I'll regret it later, but I'm tired of complaining about it to my male friends, and I think something needs to be said to the women of the Church without glossing it over.
Now, some of us struggle less than others, but it's a fact. There is no guy who doesn't have to fight against it. It's not cool, it's gross, , it's perverted, but it's true.
Maybe your thinking "yeah, thanks Ryan, now we all know that you are a pervert, it's not like I didn't know that I was supposed to be modest"
What I'm saying is, if everyone knows that they are supposed to be modest, why don't they do something about it? Maybe you are doing something about it - I have many good friends who put a lot of effort into being modest, and I thank them for it. One thing I ask: If you do have it figured out, if you really understand what I am talking about, please tell other girls about it. Don't let your friends leave their house until they put some clothes on. It sounds crazy, but I am dead serious, this is important stuff. The Bible talks about keeping each other accountable and pushing each other to serve God better. (Hebrew 10: 25-26)
If you are unsure about an article of clothing, err on the side of caution, please. If you have a shirt or a skirt or a bathing suit or something that your are thinking "hmm...well, it's not that bad", please throw it away or burn it or something, because it is that bad, plain and simple.

At this point, I should probably say something about the guy's responsibility to the woman. I'm not blaming all females for my sexual sins. I'll admit that I don't try as hard as I should to control my eyes and my mind. The point that I am trying to make is that it's really flipping hard, and it's is spiritually draining. It is hard to focus on praising God and being a witness for Him when 90% of your Spiritual energy is being used up trying to control your eyes and thoughts.
Another aspect of modesty that is rarely talked about: What are your clothes saying to the world around you? What subliminal message are you sending when you are wearing a low cut top or a short skirt. What about if you are wearing a skimpy top with something else underneath to make it presentable? Or the short skirt with the leggings underneath which seams to be the new thing. Now I'm probably making a few enemies here, because I'm not sure if this is a widespread opinion, and it's possible that I'm just hyper-conservative or something. But to me, those things indicate a sort of unwillingness to commit. It's dualism. You still want to be stylish and "cute" but also want to be modest. There's nothing wrong with looking good, but I think there is more to modesty than just covering your body up.
Dictionary.com defines modesty as:

1.	the quality of being modest; freedom from vanity, boastfulness, etc.

2.	regard for decency of behavior, speech, dress, etc.

3.	simplicity; moderation.

Like I said, I am open to debate on this one, it's still something I'm trying to figure out myself.

The trouble with this topic is that there are various opinions on what modesty is and what modest clothing is. The main idea I had when I started to write this post was to begin in a small way to open up the lines of communication between Christian males and females - especially the youth. It's a difficult and sometimes awkward thing to talk about, but I think if it was not so much of taboo topic, it would be much less of a problem. My thought it was most women simply don't realize the magnitude of the problem because they have never been inside the male mind.
I think for now, I will leave it at that. I may write more about this later on, it is a pretty huge topic to cover in one post. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this, especially if you are a girl.

mission impossible.

As part of my physical education class this semester (yes, I am in University, and yes, I did say phys. ed.) I am required to make a mission statement for myself. I thought it was a bit of a silly idea at first, and was a little bit insulted that they assumed that I hadn't already made one for myself. As I worked on putting my mission statement into words, however, it became a very interesting exercise.

When you have to put all your life's ambition into 2 sentences, it can be quite difficult. I was just going to go with the word "others", thinking that would be sufficient, but then I saw a number of ways that "others" could be misunderstood.
It is important to be clear and specific, and that anyone who reads the sentence can understand the full meaning of the words. At first, it seems like an easy thing to do, but the more I work at it, the more I am discovering that it is not.
Here is what I came up with.

"To live humbly and to walk faithfully and actively with God."

Right now I am trying to decide whether I should replace "humbly" with "modestly", or whether I should put both in.

"To live humbly and modestly, walking actively and faithfully with God"

"To live modestly, walking actively and faithfully with God"

I think that the word "humbly" holds more meaning in this day and age.

Of course, walking actively and faithfully with God could mean different things to different people. I suppose that this exercise is more for my benefit than anyone else's, so I think I will leave it.

In conclusion, having a laptop at school makes me feel very wealthy and...western. I'm not sure I like it, even though it helps me a whole lot with studying and getting things done.

Call it torture, call it University.

Just kidding, University rules.

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I'm not really sure what I'm going to post. That's often what I do with this blog...I decide I want to update and then I get on here and type whatever comes to mind. At the moment, I'm not really having much inspiration. Usually I have something buried in the back of my mind that comes to the forefront when I am confronted with the glow of a computer screen. This, I think, is not a good thing. You probably deserve more thought and effort as a reader of this blog. I apologize for being so inconsiderate.

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Today I had a musical breakthrough. About a year and a half ago I purchased John Coltrane's groundbreaking record A Love Supreme. This album really interested me because Coltrane composed it as a gesture of thankfulness to his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It's a jazz album. One of the most respected and well known saxophone players of all time was a Christian, and dedicated his work to God. That had a pretty stark contrast with the rest of the jazz world at the time. Jazz is a world in which music is god, and there is no room for anything else. You play jazz or you get out my way. I found the concept of a groundbreaking Christian jazz musician very refreshing.

I'll share with you a bit of the liner notes from the album:

"Dear Listeners:

All praise be to God to whom all praise is due.

Let us pursue Him in the righteous path. Yes it is true: "seek and ye shall find". Only through Him can we know the most wondrous bequeathal.

During the year 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive life. At that time, in gratitude, I humbly asked to be given the means and privilege to make others happy through music. i fell that has been granted through His grace. All praise to God.

As time and events moved on, a period of irresolution did prevail. I entered into a phase which was contradictory to the pledge and away from the esteemed path: but thankfully, now and again through the unerring and merciful hand of God, I do perceive and have been duly re-informed of His Omnipotence, and of our need for, and dependence on Him. At this time I would like to tell you that No matter what...it is with God. He is gracious and merciful. His way is in Love, through which we all are. It is truly - A love Supreme.

This album is a humble offering to Him. An attempt to say "thank you God" through our work, even as we do in our hearts and with our tongues. may He help and strengthen all men in every good endeavor."

The album is divided into 4 parts - Acknowledgment, Resolution, Pursuance, and Psalm. Absolutely beautiful.


Anyway, I've listened to this album many many times, trying to understand, musically, what was so great about it. I kind of hated it. But I kept listening, over and over, trying to figure out what it was all about. Today I finally got it.

This may mean nothing to you at all, but if you are into jazz, you will understand what I mean.

love,

Ryan