Workout and Chia seed Update

I saw my lovely trainer today.

I am already so sore I had to chi my hair in stages this afternoon.

My arms just won't stay up.

And after only a 15 minute workout.

Intense!

Crossfit is like the ninja of workouts. Flies in out of nowhere. Whips your butt in record speed. Leaves your arms feeling like dead bodies hanging from your shoulders. It's all so fast you don't even know what hit you (but you suspect an 18 wheeler).

Word to your ninja mother.

I made Hayden drink chia seeds in orange juice.

He literally almost threw up on the kitchen table.

I'll try a different approach tomorrow.

Get in Shape Girl

Anyone remember this?



"Get in Shape Girl...You'll love the feeling! Get in Shape Girl...it's so appealing."

Right.

Bunch of lies.

Getting in shape hurts and it's anything but appealing.

After a hard year of emotional issues, spiritual issues, having mono and being anemic I have felt like I'm wearing Mrs. Doubtfire's fat suit. Thankfully God has done some sweet knitting on my insides, but I have been feeling like I need a reset button for my outsides. I can't find one on my body though.

I'm trying two things to kick start my body, repair my immune system and get rid of the pudge that has made itself at home around my middle.

Weapon Number One...

Chia seeds. Have you heard of these? I found out about them on one of my favorite blogs. Christine is fun-knee. She loves breastfeeding, has dreads*, a multi-color family, loves Jesus, adoption, lives her life for the least of these...I could go on and on. She's the real deal. She's honest. Honesty is refreshing. She totally inspires me to be myself.

There is a Christine inside me somewhere. She just got lost along the way.

I've slowly read all of Christine's archives. Who does that? I certainly never had until Christine. For a few days, any time I had free time I'd catch up on Christine's blog. Okay fine...it wasn't actually all free time. The laundry got a little higher than I like for it to get. I guess that's okay sometimes.

Aaron would see me and say, "Are you reading the naked lady blog?" My response...yep. yep I am. I love her. There aren't naked ladies on her blog, by the way. There are nursing pictures. Aaron is silly that way. Besides, I think he just likes to say, "naked ladies."

Awhile back, Christine linked to this article about chia seeds:

Chia for Health

Plus...Dr. Oz has had loads of great things to say about our new friend, Chia.

Poor flax seed. Chia seeds seem to lap flax seeds in the race for awesome health. I'm sure on the health food aisle you can hear Chia taunting flax with lots of "Your momma's so big" jargon.

Sad day for flax seed.

Seriously, chia seeds help with weight loss, are super high in protein, calcium, magnesium, and are higher in essential omega 3 fatty acids than flax seeds. Plus...you don't have to grind them. Who has time for grinding?

You can eat them in yogurt with granola, on cereal or bake them into breads. Or you can dissolve them in your favorite beverage. They are flavorless.

I bought some to jump start my immune system and to help Hayden's eczema. I'll also use them as a catch all for the other kids. A little chia every day will surely make up for the vegetables they hide in their napkins at dinner time.

Weapon Number Two...

I'm also starting a new workout/nutrition regimen today...with a real-live person who knows stuff. I'm super excited and a little nervous.

More on that to come...

I'm just ready to get back in shape. To stop feeling like a slug. I want my energy back. Stupid mono stole that from me. It's time to reclaim what has been lost.

Now if I had only kept my cool "Get in Shape Girl" arm weights from the 80's. I'd really be in business.

*How way-awesome are dreads? I've been trying to talk Megan into getting them.

Mother's Day Idea

I have an idea.

Ready?

Mother's Day is right around the corner.

You can judge me if you want. I have four sons and one husband. When it's gift time around here, I have found it to be "not in my best interest" to let said males come up with their own ideas for what to get me.

I guess I could let them come up with something to get me on their own, but when I do that I usually end up with something dumb. Sorry. It's true. Buying something dumb, is extra dumb when I could simply tell them what I want. Buying something dumb is extra extra dumb when the money for a dumb gift could be used for something spectacular instead...like saving the life of one of the 24,000 kids who will die today of preventable diseases.

So why not just tell the men in my life what I want?

And by tell, I mean tell. Not hint. You can have your own opinions, but with this many guys in my house I have found that hinting doesn't work. It actually makes matters worse.

For instance, if it's close to a holiday and I say, "Wow. My back has really been hurting me lately. My neck is so sore. What I wouldn't give for a massage..." As I'm saying this, I'm thinking of a gift certificate to my favorite spa for an hour long massage.

Instead, I will probably end up getting this.

"Oh, you wanted a real massage? We thought you wanted a yellow sea anenome helmet."

Story. Of. My. Life.

Out with the hinting, in with the telling.

So I was thinking about what I want for Mother's Day. What do I need?

Um...nothing.

Really. I do not need another stupid thing.

I want to redeem this holiday. I mean, really. We could all buy into this world's dark agenda to commercialize everything lovely in our lives.

Personally, I'm kind of tired of that.

Then I read this great post at the Radical Womanhood blog.

You can read the article yourself. To sum it up, she gives some great gift ideas that will help mothers in developing countries support their families.

What if instead of asking for more junk for us, we invest in the life of another mother this Mother's Day?

How exciting!

One of my favorite places to invest in women is Heartline's Women's Program in Haiti.

Heartline brings women into their program, teaches them about the Lord and teaches them to sew.

Then those ladies sew purses and sell them on the internet.



If you've been around this blog for awhile, you know I had a purse party here at my house not long ago.

I LOVE my bag. Love it.

You can browse the bags online here.

I can't get over how well made my bag is and how trendy cool it is. Let me make this clear...when you buy a bag from Heartline, you are not offering a hand-out. I'm not saying hand-outs are always bad, but these purses are incredible. Mine is so well made. It is worth every penny I paid!

When you buy a bag from these women you are supporting mothers as they work extremely hard to support their families. Heartline is also an orphanage, but their greatest desire is to equip women so they can love and care for their children without having to abandon them.

You can also host a purse party. It's easy. You go here. Contact the lady in charge of purse parties. They will ship you a box of purses. You give them your credit card number, but nothing is charged on your card! Invite your friends over. Shop. Buy. Laugh. Eat. Talk about tampons, three year olds and kiefer. Then return any left over purses. You don't even pay shipping to get the bags or send the bags back. If the left over purses are returned nothing is ever charged to your card. It is super easy!

Another place to shop for your wife or mom...Katie's bead making program in Uganda.


Do you know about Katie? Oh how I love this girl.

She's in her early twenties and is raising 13 (or is it 14) girls in Uganda. Her life inspires me!

Want to make a difference in a woman's life for Mother's Day?

Read this post.

picture from Katie's blog

Then buy these beads!

Also....you can check out what Trade As One is offering for Mothers.

Heartline, Trade As One, and Ugandan Necklaces are giving mothers hope.

What a wonderful gift to give to another mother on Mother's Day.

So...

Buy a bag. Buy some beads. Buy some hope. Celebrate two Mothers on Mother's Day! Your own wife or mother, and another mother desperately trying to feed her babies.

Mothers. They have one thing in common. They love their babies in a ferocious way.

I know it is hard for us to imagine, but what if we couldn't feed our babies?

What if we had to watch them suffer, not because we were unwilling to work, but because there was no work?

How exciting to think of being celebrated this year as a mother by celebrating what we all have in common as mothers...a crazy, wild love for our children. A desire to see them live...to grow...to thrive...to laugh.

When we buy a bag, give a loan, or purchase some beads, we're equipping women to do one of the only things that matter to each of us as mothers...love our babies.

I am praying for a Happy Mother's Day for you my sweet friends, but also for women just like us who have heard their babies cry out in hunger or watched them die of something lame like diarrhea or malaria. Let's give the gift of hope this Mother's Day!

________________________________

Links to check out from this post:

Radical Womanhood: Support a Mother for Mother's Day

Heartline Ministries

Heartline Ministry's Purse Program: Haitian Creations

Heartline Ministry's Purse Party Information

Kisses from Katie

147 Million Orphans

Trade As One

Three Things I'm Digging Right Now

Remember the Radical Series. Uh. Duh. Of course you remember it, because I'm super annoying about it and won't write about anything else.

I promise.

One day I'll go back to writing about bodily functions and being borderline inappropriate. Have patience with me.

Okay, enough small talk. Back to the Radical Experiment. Go ahead. Roll your eyes. Whatev.

Well...Megan told me about the coolest thing ever.

Brookhills has some great resources online for people who have gone through the Radical Series. In a nutshell, David Platt (pastor of Brookhills) preached the life altering, headache inducing, bring revival in your soul series called the Radical Series. Later, their church embarked upon a 1 year journey to pray for the world, read through the Bible and live out all their new convictions about giving and loving people around them. This part of their journey is called The Radical Experiment.

From what I can gather, the church prays over a specific country every week. During that week you get informed about that country. You read through parts of the Bible together...all that jazz.

Brookhills has some cool links (especially for those of you with kids). I can't wait for our family to use these resources. Maybe I'll actually learn some geography. Jesus and map skills. Both much needed around here.

Here's how it will work...

We'll buy this book:

Window on the World
looks a little creepy, but it's going to be great

You can get it on Amazon or half.com

We'll use this study guide put out by Brookhills...

Go here. Scroll down to the bottom and either click on Family Worship Guide or click on Family Worship Guide Archive. To get an idea of what's available every week for you and your kids, just read the latest Family Worship Guide. But...we are going to start from the beginning, so we'll be using the archive.

The family worship guide for the week will give you scriptures to use every day with your kids, a verse to memorize for the week, and the teachings for the week will correspond with pages out of the Window on the World Book. Window on the World will teach our families about different countries and the prayer needs for each country. Wow!

I love how Brookhills serves their families this way (and all of us!) They have basically done the planning and leg work for us. We just grab the book, grab the family worship guide and dig in. What a great resource!

For those of you who are not sure what Family Worship is (or how to get started) Brookhills has put together one of the best packets for explaining Family Worship and helping families get going. This is like Family Worship for Dummies. Except we won't be dummies. We'll know where Pakistan is.

You can check that out here. It's called A Simple Guide to Family Worship.

Second thing I'm loving right now...

The Story of Stuff. Check it out. If you're on this journey with us to figure out where our stuff comes from and how to honor God by caring for the people who make the products we buy, The Story of Stuff does a great job giving an overview of some of these issues. Thanks for sending this to me, Aubry!

I'm not sure if I love the content of this video, or just love Annie's hand movements. I'm a sucker for good hand gestures. They hypnotize me.




And last but not least...

Speaking of caring for the earth. I will be making far less trash every month because of this great invention:

The Diva Cup.

I'll also be grossing myself out every month, but it's for the earth...so I'll take one for the planet.


I won't go into great detail, but I'm outing myself.

I have one.

I use it.

I love it.

Google it.

Yep. It's happened.

I've gone granola.

David Platt. Family Worship. Story of Stuff. Diva Cup.

Only here, folks. Only here.

I feel like Marvin K. Mooney

Sending...long story short, we stink, but we are going to fix that.

No more excuses.

It's time for us Hendricks to remove our heads from our rumps and know what's going on with missionaries we've technically sent, but not really sent in the ways that matter. We're truly excited about learning to be better senders.

Come to find out, life is lonely for lots of missionaries. Yes, they need money but they need to know we love them, we pray for them, we haven't forgotten them, and we see ourselves in a partnership with them in fulfilling the Great Commission.

The Radical Series has totally ruined our lives. Not exaggerating. Technically it's Jesus ruining our lives but still...

Recently our pastor was at some conference.

He emailed Aaron to tell him that he had just met David Platt.

I asked Aaron to ask Allen to knee David Platt in his man parts and then say, "That's for ruining the Hendrick's life."

Some days I'm overwhelmingly grateful for all the things we learned while listening to the Radical Series.

Some days I want to maim David Platt, rewind my life and go back to the way it was before we were given ears to hear.

That's just the way it goes.

During this whole "re-evaluate our entire life" phase (and we're still in it, but actually seeing a light at the end of the tunnel) we started asking ourselves some hard questions about how we care for the poor, how we help the orphan, and how we support global missions.

I mentioned that we started asking God (for the very first time in our lives) if we should go.

God says go, so should we go?

With everything else, we've had to confess how quick we are as a couple to jump straight to all the reasons why Jesus didn't really mean what he said. We're lightning fast about listing all the reasons why "go" means "stay right here." We're even faster at coming up with a long list of reasons why Jesus was not talking to us...to Aaron...to me...to our family.

Before asking God if we should go, I had this ongoing, broken record conversation in my head that went something like this...

I can't go.

I can't.

I'm a wienie.

A big wienie.

My nick name is Heather Hilton.

I'm a brat.

Hayden has eczema.

I heart electricity.

Aaron takes man baths...hot longs ones.

I don't have the complexion for missions work. This is a biggie.

I have such a great family. I want to go to all my niece's birthday parties.

I have the best group of friends. For real. We are crazy blessed.

We are doing so much work here for Jesus.

I'm sure that work is uber important.

Too important to leave behind and go.

I'm sure it would be easier for singles to go...or people with less kids...or kids who are younger than mine.

I could seriously go on all day.

Lots of reasons.

Lots of "not it" excuses.

When asking the question, "Do we need to go" we started doing a lot of research.

Research in general...as in, do there need to be more missionaries?

And research specifically about Haiti. For some reason, that's the country that has our heart right now. "Obsessed" is the only word to use for Aaron's relationship with Haiti.

In general, here's what we found about missions and the way the church spends their money on reaching the lost. These statistics are mind boggling. I got them from this blog. The author cites his sources at the bottom of his post.

"Worldwide Christian churches devote more than 85% of their resources on our own development. That is, only 15% of this arsenal of personnel, finance, prayer, and tools goes to bless unreached people groups.

In the U.S., the picture is even bleaker. According to the Bibles for All World Prayer Map, American Christians spend 95% of offerings on home-based ministry, 4.5% on cross-cultural efforts in already-reached people groups, and 0.5% to reach the unreached.

American evangelicals could provide all of the funds needed to plant a church in each of the 6,400 people groups with only 0.2% of their income.

If all the missionaries needed came from this country, less than 0.5% of evangelicals aged 18 - 35 could form the teams required."

Is there a missionary shortage?
Yes.
There is a desperate...and I mean desperate need for more people to leave this country and suffer for the sake of the gospel and for the sake of the poor and the orphaned.
Is there a giving shortage?
A friend sent me this statistic. It's from the book, Through God's Eyes: A Bible Study of God's Motivations for Missions by Patrick O. Cate Past President & General Director of Christar.

"Worldwide Giving -

$2.75 per week per church member
$0.15 per week per church member to foreign missions"

The average amount of money we give to foreign missions is 15 cents a week. Crazy.
Obviously, more people need to be going and more people need to be sending. Too many of us are living in the category where Aaron and I have made our home...in the disobedience column.

Remember how I said we've always been "that couple" who make everyone a little irritated by saying things like this....
"Maybe not everyone is called to adopt, but holy crap, with all the orphans we have sitting in institutions or foster care around the world AND all the homes here in the US with plenty of money and resources to care for those kids COMBINED with the fact that God commands that we care for the orphan, I will go to my grave confidently saying that MORE of us should be adopting."
After doing a few weeks worth of research on missions I think I can confidently say that maybe not everyone is called to go, but dang it...more of us obviously should be going.
For those of us who live here in College Station, the following statistics should really hit home for us.

"60% of unreached people groups live in countries closed to missionaries from North America.

22 million internationals visit the US each year. Of these, some 7050,000 are university students from 220 countries 25% of which prohibit Christian missionaries. 80% of those students will return to their countries having never been invited to an American home.

• 40% of the world's 220 Heads of State once studied in the US.
• 60% of international students come from the 10/40 window.
• 10% of international students are reached by ministries while in the United States."

So, that's where we are right now.

Asking God if He wants us to go.

And like I've said before, please oh please don't think we're totally rad for asking God that question.

We're not rad.

We're sad that this is an area near and dear to the heart of God and yet we've basically told Him to talk to the hand. We serve a missional God, and yet we have never gone to the trouble to do any research or ask God if He wants us to imitate His heart when it comes to "going" somewhere hard and foreign for the sake of the gospel...or the poor...or the orphan.

Read back over those statistics.

The Great Commission is a pretty easy read. It's pretty clear.

The need is great.

And yet if someone would have even suggested to me that I should pray about "going" I would have laughed and then said something sassy like, "Shut up. That's stupid. Puh-lease" and totally dismissed them.

I'm asking myself...if the great commission is so important to God, why aren't we more comfortable asking our friends and our family if God is asking them to go? Why are long-term foreign mission conversations weird (or worse, non-existent) even in the church?

Garage Sale/Book Sale

We're having a big, multi-family garage sale tomorrow at the house.

I'm also selling the rest of these books. Remember the library books we bought from an auction?

We still have a bu-jillion.

We have baby items, rock band, and a bunch of old windows ($10 each).

There will be a bunch of stuff for sale.

7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning at our house.

Sending Out Missionaries

Although it isn't fun to repeat how terrible we are, for the sake of clarity, I will.

Aaron and I have been broken by the fact that we have never considered going, (leaving the US and going to proclaim the gospel to the nations) and we haven't been actively sending missionaries either. It's been an all-around suckfest around here in the area of global missions.

I want to say that our church has done a top-notch job of teaching us to live mission-minded right here in the US. As in...we have been trained extremely well to ask God for opportunities to share the gospel with everyone with which we come in contact. Sports teams. The lady at the park. Aaron's job. Our neighbors. New Life has helped us to live our lives in such a way where we (us..our family) see living "on mission with God" as our own personal responsibility. They've taught us to quit punting to the church and to simply start doing the work of Jesus in our every day lives. I pray we're faithfully living out God's command for believers to make Him known among the people God has placed into each of our lives.

When I'm talking about missions...I'm talking about global missions. The "go into all the nations" aspect of the great commission. Yes we're supposed to be "on mission" here where we live (and I hope we are), but my word...God also wants people to go. Like leave. Pack your bags, kiss your mom, and go.

We have both been on lots of short term mission trips. Aaron has been on so many, I don't even think he could remember or count them all. Aaron's parents are missionaries and were faithful to raise him up in an environment filled with mission trips. They were "that family" that would spend their vacations doing mission work. I'm thankful for Aaron's parents for a very long list of reasons...but the way they pointed Aaron to selfless service of the church and the lost world is at the top of that hefty list.

We believe God desires for all believers to heed His Word. I think most of you believe that too. Obviously our obedience does not save us. We know that. This isn't about trying to do these things so that God likes us more. Aaron and I belong to God, so He likes us all He's ever gonna like us. Asking God to grow our obedience when it comes to missions is about desiring to know God better...to have His heart...to thank Him for His sweet grace.

There's strong evidence in scripture that we should either be "going" or "sending."

For the first time in our lives, we're asking God what those things look like...in real-live, every day life kinds of ways. How do we live this sending stuff out, God?

Here are some great words from John Piper about sending out missionaries. You can find the entire sermon here. I'm posting two of his fourteen points about missions. (Only John Piper would be totally fine with having 14 points instead of 10 or 15 or 20. 14 would drive any normal pastor insane...especially a Baptist one.)

Conviction #10—It Is the Joyful Duty and the Awesome Privilege of Every Local Church to Send Out Missionaries “In a Manner Worthy of God” (3 John 6).
But before we can send them, we must grow them or identify the ones who have been “grown” elsewhere but whom God is calling us to send. According to 3 John 7-8 there is a biblical mandate that we ought to support missionaries—a certain kind of missionary—one who has gone out “for the sake of the name.”

“For they went out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support such men, that we may be fellow workers with the truth.”

There is a big difference between a church that “has” missionaries (on the back of their bulletin or as a line item in their budget) and a church that “sends” missionaries.

To send in a manner worthy of God is to so recognize the supreme importance of proclaiming the name of God in word and deed among the nations that we will do whatever we can to support those who go out for the sake of the name—spiritually, practically, emotionally, financially.

Conviction #11—We Are Called to a Wartime Lifestyle for the Sake of Going and Sending.

To send in a manner worthy of God and to go for the sake of the name, we must constantly fight the deception that we are living in peace time where we think that the luxury of self indulgence is the only power that can break the boredom. O may God open our eyes to what is at stake in the war raging between heaven and hell.

The spirit of the great missionary, Paul, must grip us more and more. “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8).

In wartime everything changes. The luxury liner, Queen Mary, became a troop carrier, and instead of bunks three high they were stacked seven high. Resources are allocated differently in wartime. And we are in a war far more devastating than World War II.

A wartime lifestyle presents itself not as a legalistic burden, but as a joyful acknowledgment that our resources aren’t entrusted to us for our own private pleasure but for the greater pleasure of stewarding them for the advancement of the kingdom of God (Acts 20:35; Matthews 6:33).

_________________________

We're confessing, as a couple, that we have not truly sent missionaries. Yes, our church may support missionaries, but personally we have not sent missionaries in any way that really matters.

John Piper says to send missionaries means we support them in the following ways:

Spiritually, practically, emotionally and financially.

We believe all lovers of Jesus (including ourselves) need to be supporting missionaries in these ways.

Are we? The answer is no.

Are you?

Here are the questions we've had to ask ourselves, and the answers totally stink.

Do we know the missionaries our church supports?

Do we pray for them?

Do our kids know them?

Do they hear us praying for those missionaries?

Are we involved in their lives? Do we send them emails? Do we encourage them? Do they know we are praying for them? Do they know we are rejoicing with them as they see people come to know the Lord and see lives saved (spiritually and physically?)

Do we truly see the missionaries we're sending from our church as going while we're here sending? Do we see our relationship as ACTIVE. Do I see our relationship as a true partnership. My sending, their going = both of us living out the great commission.

Truthfully we haven't. We've seen missionaries as people who left to do cool God things, but have not truly felt how connected God wants us to be. We've not lived within the relationship that should exist between a goer and a sender.

Are there missionaries we need to support financially that our church does not support?

Do we meet practical needs of the missionaries we're sending? When they need things from the US are we eager to send those items? Arrange places for them stay? Serve them while they are back in the US? Do we even know what their needs are?

If we're not the ones going, then we should be sending, and quite frankly we have been the sorriest senders.

A lot of sending takes money.

That's why I loved John Piper's 11th point.

As the senders, are we living in a war-like mentality? Are we sacrificing here so we can send more there?

If we don't have enough money to fund the great commission, then we should probably admit the great commission is not flawed...however, our lifestyles may be.

What I'm learning (in a very painful way) is that to live in a war-like mindset...sacrificing to send more money for the sake of the gospel going out...giving up things here in my own life so that I can invest in heaven...my faith must grow.

It's hard to live for something you can't see, and yet that's exactly what Jesus calls us to do every single day of our lives. Only faith could make me live like a war is raging while sitting on my porch swing in my quiet, safe neighborhood feeling a gentle Spring breeze. Can I see past my lazy street...my green lawn...the dandelions floating in the air and remember that a bloody battle is taking place, every second of every single day for the souls of men, women and children in countries I can't even find on a map?

In order to be a faithful sender, I need more faith (and a big fat kick in the butt).

As with anything in the life of a believer...we're not feeling condemned over our lack of sending. Instead, we're sad we've been disobedient because that means we've missed out on a lot of good God has for us...a lot of growth...a lot of life. We're thankful that God is graciously teaching us these things now so we don't have to miss out on this good any more.

Thoughts on sending?

Makes Me Wonder What I'm Doing With My Life...

Have all of you cried through Extreme Home Makeover's episode where they built a new home for the Beach Family?

If you love adoption, or are learning to love adoption don't miss this show! You'll be inspired.

Noel Piper mentioned on her blog...

One caveat: Adoptive parents, we have to grit our teeth and bear it when there are several mentions of the Beaches’ “own” children and adopted children–not by the Beaches, though. I put my arm around Talitha and said, “You are my own child.”

I so feel what Noel is saying. The first time the EHM people fumbled that adoption terminology I literally think an audible growl came out of my body. Just the mama bear coming out, I guess.

Be blessed as you watch this sweet family! I kept thinking about how crazy the Beach family must be to have adopted all of those kids. Then I'd remind myself that what the Beach family is doing is only crazy if this kingdom is all that matters. How I want to live for heaven! Jesus, help my unbelief!

Here's the link to the first part of the episode. The second part will pop up automatically.
I bet these won't be available for long. I think there are only a few weeks worth of episodes online.

Part One

Make sure you have tissues. I watched it with my boys and cried all the way through this show. It's one of those things you watch...and cry...and then that one event causes you to rethink your entire life. There will probably be more tears during the "rethinking" part. Just a warning.

Did I tell you all that I got a spray tan this weekend for a wedding?

I think I only shared that on facebook.

Well...as you watch EHM...when you see Tye...that's what I looked like on Friday.

TERRIFYING.

Spray Tans...

I need to write about that ultra weird experience.

Should We Stay or Should We Go?

This post is brought to you by the Radical Series.

"Do you want us to go, God?"

That's what we're asking....for the first time in our lives.

That's where we've been for about a month.

One thing is for sure....things have to change.

Big changes.

After listening to the Radical Series our hearts are broken...angry...sick...sad...repenting.

Like I said, we've claimed to follow Jesus, and yet we don't really live the way He did or care about the things He loves.

Besides knowing all the right things to say, our lives do not really look much like Jesus'. We are the picture perfect family for the poster that is American Christianity...but when I look at Jesus...when I hear His heart in His Word about life...about living for heaven...I am painfully aware that there are some huge discrepancies between who Jesus is, and who I'm striving to be.

Aaron and I can throw down words like grace, truth, sovereignty, and gospel like the best of them, but our life as a family...the way we actually spend our money, spend our time and love this world do not look much different from people who do not know Jesus. We certainly don't live like the widow that Jesus commends. I guess a lot of great, Bible things are stuck in our heads, but not making a way into how we live our every day, real-life, lives.

We spend most of our money on ourselves every month. How awesome of us, right? Even if we were generous with some of our money, our bank statement does not lie. It says we spend a gigantic percentage of our income on ourselves. It says we live in splendor...in absolute extravagance...while people suffer around us.

Even though God says to share, to care for the poor, the orphan, to send out missionaries, we have somehow justified spending most of our money on our own family, buying ourselves tons of fun, unnecessary items while 24,000 children die every day of preventable diseases.

Regardless of whether or not God says "go" or "stay" big change is definitely coming our way. We want to share this part of our journey here, but my greatest fear is that you would think we're awesome for doing some of the things we may be doing soon (after Jesus pours a big fat, jumbo size portion of faith into our lives...cause we need it). We're not awesome. I hope we've established that. And for the first time in my life I don't think people who sacrifice for the gospel, live for heaven, spend their lives caring for the orphan and the poor are super stars. I think they know Jesus. I think they actually obey Him. I think they are living out basic Christianity.

I also think the converse may be true. I think scripture makes a pretty clear argument for people who live like my family has been living, hear Jesus teach and then continue living the same way they have always lived. Like the rich, young ruler, those people will walk away from Jesus sad.

We want to love Jesus. Really love Him. We want to listen to Him instead of hearing what He says and then blowing Him off or giving His clear instructions new meaning. We want him to tear away our earthly loves (which is extremely painful, by the way).

We're reevaluating our lives in a few specific categories...the poor...the orphan...our money...and missions.

For now, we're talking about missions....

In the Bible, Jesus says to "GO." Go make disciples of every nation.

We're trying to take our lives...look at them...and then figure out if we're being obedient to the Jesus we say we love.

Since we're not uber holy, always-been-fanatical-about-missions kind of people we had to start with some research.

Here are a ton of questions we're asking the Lord...

Do we need to go, God?

Where are we most needed?

Should we be here in the US making an American sized salary and sending it to other gospel-centered, needs meeting organizations and missionaries in other countries?

Should our family be the ones who go while others here send us?

Do more people need to leave the US and be the goers?

Do more people need to stay in the US and be the senders?

We're asking God which of those categories of people our family should fall into.

I've heard it said...many times (and ignored it)...

There are only two ways to live when it comes to missions and living out the great commission:

As people who go.

As people who send.

Any other category is called DISOBEDIENCE.

That's the category where we've made our home for years. We are asking God to lift us out of this dark pit...this cave that is self-absorption and show us clearly if He wants us to go or send.

This has been a time of many firsts for us as a couple.

The first time we're hearing Jesus speak and trying to quit ignoring Him.

The first time we're evaluating our lives in light of the great commission.

The first time we're asking God to help us to live for heaven.

The first time we're getting a real glimpse of how hard it is to live for something you cannot see with your eyes.

I don't want to live for this kingdom, but I do live for it. That's the only way to explain the size of our home, our flippant view of missions, and all the other ways we refuse to live generously and sacrificially. We aren't generous or sacrificial givers, because in order to be, we'd have to be convinced that this kingdom is not our reward. Our reward is waiting in heaven. In order to go, to send, to give in a way where we felt it as a family, we'd have to actually have faith. A faith that is alive, is meaningful and shaping every decision we make.

We want to be people whose greatest investment is in heaven...not in this earthly kingdom.

We need Jesus to grow our faith. We're asking Him to grow it.

I want to believe Jesus isn't a liar when He says:

Matthew 19:21-30
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?"

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

that couple?

It might be prideful, but it's true...I've often wondered what people would say about me at my funeral.

We all have our bumper sticker passions. One of the things I hope I'm remembered for is being institutionally wild about adoption.

Aaron and I want to be that couple..the ones who are constantly talking about adoption, reminding the church about the orphan, and encouraging God's people to imitate His heart when it comes to loving children who are fatherless.

The weird thing is, this post isn't about adoption. This post is going to be about missions. Ya feelin' it? No? Okay...

You see, I hope we are that annoying couple who gently asks hard questions of the church about the orphan and about adoption. It's not always a fun job, but I believe it is a God-handed assignment in our lives. We can't take credit for this passion. Like Paul on the road to Damascus, God intervened abruptly in our lives and changed us. We weren't asking Him to do that, He just did it. Because we could crank babies out at record speeds, there was a time when we could have cared less about adoption or the orphan. We were totally oblivious. We'd never considered God's heart for the orphan and for adoption. This love for adoption is straight from God, and so I pray we faithfully live it out as unto the Lord. How gracious God is to stupid people like us.

We want God to give us the faith and the grace to ask hard questions like, "Knowing God's heart for adoption in scripture, and that He commands us to care for the orphan, shouldn't every Christian couple at least consider whether or not they should adopt?"

Maybe not everyone is called to adopt. That's fine. We laugh at how quickly people throw that back in our faces.

But I'm just going to say...

With over 500,000 orphans in Haiti ALONE would it be too crazy to wonder if more people should be adopting?

We don't think asking that question is crazy. What we think is crazy is how many children will die today of preventable diseases...lots and lots of those children are orphans. Thousands of children will spend the first few years of their lives inside a baby bed with very little human interaction. They are hungry. They are covered with scabies. Couple those sobering truths with the fact that very few Christian couples have considered whether or not God wants to use them to intervene, to be His representative, to live out a picture of the gospel as adoptive parents, playing a part in restoring something terribly broken....and we may have a serious issue.

We may have issues. Can we in the least admit that? Maybe the issue is our hard hearts. Maybe the issue is that the church as a whole is not talking about adoption enough. Let's not get defensive. Let's just admit that there are a whole lot of orphans out there being neglected and a whole lot of us doing nothing to care for them in their distress. Let's quit defending ourselves and simply admit...crap. There's a lot of orphans. There are a lot of Christian families. This discrepancy is a problem.

As with anything God commands us to do, since He's good, we can be assured that saying "no" or "I'll pass" to something God wants for us means we are being robbed of something beautiful. A blessing. Life. Knowing Jesus better.

So...we believe that God has asked us to be that couple about adoption. We hurt for the church. How can we not? The entire Bible is one huge adoption story. How we long for others to live out God's heart when it comes to changing the direction of someone's life forever and setting the fatherless in the lap of a father. We also have a Hudson. Adoption brought us the sweetest gift ever. We can't help but wish others could have a Hudson too. We also know that God continues to ask us those questions..."There's more orphans, Hendricks. There's more money in your bank at the end of the month. There's more room in your house. Want to know me better? Want to live for what really matters?"

We need God to grow our faith and help us to trust Him.

But I said this post wasn't about adoption...

It's not.

This post is about missions. It's about our hypocrisy.

Just gonna shoot straight here:

Because I love adoption so much, and I truly believe God does, there are times when my passion turns to frustration. I'm a jerk in my heart sometimes. I'm immature. I rant. Not usually on here, but the people around me unfortunately get an ear full of stuff like this...."Why Lord? Why won't people consider adoption? How Lord? How can they read your word, hear your heart for adoption and the orphan and then not even consider adoption?"

"How can we read your Word, God and hear what you have to say about the orphan and then not assume we should adopt, unless told otherwise?"

Knowing what we know about God's adoption of us, and His heart for the orphan, shouldn't adopting/fostering be our default in the church? Shouldn't we assume we should do those things until the Lord shows us consistently and clearly that we shouldn't?

Those are our honest thoughts as a couple.

And yet how hypocritical of us.

Matthew 28:19-20
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Go. Go make disciples of all the nations.

We've asked..."How God? How can people hear your heart about the orphan and then not be burdened to action? It seems so straightforward. Very clear. So how can we ignore you?"

We're asking ourselves those same questions about going.

God said to go.

"But not everyone is called to go, Heather."

Let's all take a step back and have a good laugh at how quickly we all jump to the "but not everyone" argument.

I've used that excuse a bunch of times. I like America. I like hot showers, Cheetos and air conditioning. (the real cheetos...the hard ones. not those poofy ones. gag.)

I'm simply admitting to you that even though God says to go...even though that's exactly what HE did...came here, God with us, left heaven (a much better place than the USA, gasp!) to come here to this wretched place and serve us, teach us and bring us the good news, we as a couple have never asked God if we should go.

Did you hear what I just said?

Even though God's Word could not be clearer that we're supposed to go, we've never asked God if we should go. I'm guilty of reading God's Word like there are a lot of asterisks in it.

"Go and make disciples of all nations*..."
*this does not apply to everyone. just some people. especially not you, Heather."

I wish that's what the Bible says. It doesn't.

We thought we were that* couple, but instead, we're that** couple.

*the annoying, won't-knock-it-off-about-adoption couple.

**the annoying, won't consider that Jesus was probably talking to us, couple.

"Do you want us to go, God?"

That's what we're asking....for the first time in our lives.

The Wreckage

Lots of our days trot by. Unmemorable to us. Nothing out of the ordinary or spectacular enough to burn those 24 hours into our memory. The only one who will have any mental account of those ho-hum days is the one who knows all our days before any of them have come to pass.

Funny how life seems to be marked by the mundane and the monumental.

I'm sure we can all look back over our lives and identify specific moments or events that were powerful enough to shape the rest of our existence. Those days don't get filed under "Ho-Hum." Those moments get filed under "This Changes Everything."

A wreck. A speech. A sermon. Salvation. A secret revealed. The birth of a baby. A move from one city to another.

If my life was a map, I could decorate it with thumbtacks that represent those moments that shook and shaped all my remaining days.

One of those colorful thumbtacks would flag the week Aaron and I listened to the Radical Series by David Platt.

The things we heard in that series have forever changed us. We're not the same people we were. Our theology is the same. No one worry. However, for the first time as believers we have heard Jesus speak and we're desperately trying to quit rewriting the Bible. We're trying to hear what Jesus says...to really listen and then quit weakening His Words so that we feel more comfortable.

I'm not exactly sure why God has brought so many of you into our family's life. Many of you have been a part of this unique community for years and years. You've walked with us through the ho-hum days and the life altering days.

You've laughed with me about my kids peeing and pooing in all the wrong places, when they ate ants and when they grab the rears of perfect strangers.

You've hurt with me as we've said goodbye to foster kids, were going through our adoption and had two failed placements...

You've walked this road with us and we're thankful.

I don't know how to say this in a pretty way, so I'll just say it...

Maybe the Radical Series is another journey God wants us to take together.

What if...I mean really...what if God desires to add a new thumbtack to your life and He is using this blog and its annoying author to beg and plead with you to listen to the Radical Series. Maybe that's why you are here...reading...laughing...walking this crazy road with our family.

The Radical Series has changed us. We're going to continue to write about our journey and share our lives right here with the people we love. We want to have a written record of all the things God has done in our lives. But...if you haven't listened to the Radical Series, I'm afraid you're not going to understand us. I don't think you'll feel connected to this journey as much as I would like for you to be. We want you to come along with us...to be wrecked by Jesus, yes...but the good kind of eye-opening, life altering wreck that leaves us loving God more and wanting to find this life...real life...He has waiting for us.

This series shook us so hard that we can't find all the pieces of our old life. Unlike Humpty Dumpty, our family's old life can never be put back together.

This week I'm going to write about four major areas where the Lord is calling us to drastically change in order to live in obedience to His Word.

After this series we can't continue living the way we've been living.

We've neglected and oppressed the poor.

We've neglected the orphan and the widow.

We've been totally flippant about missions. We've not gone. We've not sent.

We've lived a gluttonous, self-absorbed life in love with our possessions and ourselves.

God has strong words to say to people like us.

We're trusting God...asking Him for more faith...because we desperately want out of this bondage of self worship. We want to love what God loves, and hate the things he hates. We want to learn how to live for a kingdom we can't see...the only kingdom that matters.

Please, pretty please...

Will you listen to the series?

You can access it here...you can watch or listen, or put them on your ipod or something.

To find out more about David Platt you can go here. He's the pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Alabama. This church is doing incredible things for God's Kingdom. Their story is incredible.

Jamie just informed me that The Gospel Coalition Blog is highlighting the Radical Series today. You can read what they have to say here.

I'm going to keep writing about all the things that God is teaching us.

If you don't listen to the series, you'll think we're getting crazier and crazier around here.

I know. I never would have thought that was possible.

Without listening to the series, you'll sort of get the 1D effect. If you listen to the series...believe us...it will be more like the 3D effect. We all know...3D can sort of make your stomach hurt, but it's undeniably cooler.

Let's Put Our Heads Together Ladies...

Heartline in Haiti needs a neurosurgeon/brachial plexus specialist to help one of their patients. Know one or know anyone who knows one?

Got any medical connections?

To read the full article you can go here.

I think between all of us, we can rack our brains and try to help this girl....think women, think!

And thank God we can pray. Let's pray.

And the Winner Is...

Thanks for playing along on this give away!

And thanks for giving me carpal tunnel syndrome as I wrote down over 200 entries.

Good thing I have a great doctor.

We wrote. We cut. We folded....

We used up a lot of our scrap paper like the hippes we are.

Aaron drew the winning name...

Congrats Gina Rock!

You just won yourself a Lime Ricki swimsuit.

Please email me at hendrickcrew@gmail.com to claim your prize.

If Gina doesn't claim her prize by Monday morning at 10:00 a.m. (my time) we'll draw another name!

Don't forget about the promo code...

LIME RICKI PROMO CODE

If you're not Gina, but you want a swimsuit as cute as hers, type in HENDRICK as you're checking out at the Lime Ricki website to get a 10% discount off your purchase.

Thanks Lime Ricki for hosting this incredible giveaway!

I pray we are all going to the Lord, allowing Him to search our hearts and teach us to pursue modesty.

May we live out all the LIFE God has for us at the swimming pool this season, being fully convinced that what we're wearing is honoring the Lord we love!

Guest Post: Modesty

Although God commands us to be modest, God's Word is very different from a youth camp packet. It doesn't spell out all the details about clothing choices. Are tank tops okay? Blue jeans? Spaghetti straps? How short is too short? What about cleavage...

When God gives us a command but not many details that means we must rely on the Holy Spirit to convict each of us personally as we desire to please the Lord in all things. We must allow the whole of scripture to mold our thinking.
We must personally go to God, ask Him to teach us, to search our hearts and help us to live out the life He has for us in His commands. It's always helpful to remind myself that Jesus came to give us a rich and abundant life. As I seek Him about everything (modesty included) I can trust that He has my best in mind (and your best in mind).
Modesty lived out is going to look different for all of us. No person can fully define modesty for us as women. We must work through modesty "issues" with the Lord, asking for a teachable, humble heart. If we're married, we need to ask our husbands what they think and then rest in their leadership. If we're not married, it's probably still very honoring to parents for their daughters to ask their thoughts on modesty. God has given women the blessing of authority. Husbands and parents (and their thoughts on these matters) are truly gifts.
I asked my friend, Rachel to write about how God's Word has shaped her convictions about modesty, particularly as they relate to swimwear. We love Rachel and Sherman, share the same convictions that God desires for us to live modestly, but probably look different in the way those things are lived out.

Even if our same convictions may cause us to wear different clothes (or swimsuits) I am always blessed to hear how the Lord has shaped convictions in others. It's always encouraging to hear about the process the Lord brings people through in order to teach, guide and train His people. I wish all of you could know Rachel and Sherman. We are crazy blessed to hear their hearts on lots of things (not just modesty).
Below is Rachel's story for you to consider (her words are in a different color). I hope as believers we are all asking the Lord what it looks like to live out modesty as we worship God in all things. I pray we're not following the ways of the world blindly, but honestly going to God and asking Him to shape our wardrobe like He's shaping our souls in every other area.

__________________________________________

Hi everyone! I just wanted to thank Heather for challenging me to get these convictions of mine sorted out and into the open, so to speak. My hope here is to challenge you also to sort out and confirm your convictions about modesty, especially concerning swimwear. Thanks for reading!

***

“And he said to the people, it is unwise and immodest to reveal more than one third of your skin.” 2 Opinions 3:5

Everyone is familiar with that verse, right? Yeah, I’m not either. It doesn’t exist. Even if the Bible did speak on the subject of modesty as clearly as it does on other issues, I think many would still bypass the Word to justify conformity. It happens all the time. Maybe that’s why God didn’t spell it out for us and left us to rely on our Spirit-led convictions. Personal conviction doesn’t give license to throw out the Bible, though. He may not have spelled it out, but He did give us what we need to know.

“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us,that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart so that you can do it.” Deuteronomy 30:11-14 (emphasis mine)

He’s given us His Word so that we can do it!

If you’re being led by the Spirit, your convictions WILL line up with Scripture. Too often we are bent to take our freedom in Christ and try to conform it to our desires rather than let that freedom conform us. This manipulation makes us look more and more like the world, and less and less like Christ.

That’s what we’re trying to do, right? To imitate Christ in all areas of our life? Do we ask ourselves, “Does this honor my Savior and point people to him?” in every decision we make. I know I don’t. It’s a slow and steady process, this sanctification (NOT justification, that’s through Christ alone). It’s the process of looking less like the world and more like Christ, of not just making an outward change, but truly not wanting to look like the rest of the world, and truly wanting to look like Christ.

Believe it or not, modesty is a part of this process (remember, sanctification not justification). Modesty won’t make me any more of a follower of Christ, but it will help to set me apart from the world. So, what does modesty look like?

If she were a woman, she would be very beautiful. But not because of her clothes. She would be beautiful because of the Spirit at work in her.

“likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.” 1 Timothy 2:9-10

Modesty here is listed among “respectable apparel” and “self-control” and “good-works” as something that women should adorn themselves with. From this verse, I would submit that modesty is not an adverb, but a noun. Additionally, it’s not attained by putting on a certain type of clothing.

I’ll explain that a little better. I’ve said before, “I wouldn’t wear that, it’s too immodest (too short, too revealing, etc.)” In saying this, I’m focusing on a thing that isn’t modest, thinking that I will be made less modest if I wore it. While an article of clothing will make a person look less modest, it will not make a person look more modest. Modesty is something that we are supposed to “wear” all the time, regardless of our apparel. It’s very possible for a woman to wear very covering clothing but be completely without modesty. Modesty is an attitude and one of the ways it is practiced is through wearing clothes that honor the Lord, respect our body, and consider our brother.

Concerning (but not limited to) swimwear, here are a few verses and questions that I have had to consider on this journey:

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2

What is the pattern of this world concerning swimwear?

In short, the sexier you look and feel, the better. Yup. Enjoying the day at the pool with the kiddos has been reverted to looking sexy (hot, fine, good) while enjoying the day at the pool with the kiddos. The world has also taught us a couple slightly different sides to this thought: 1) To know I look good and want others to know I look good, too, and 2) Just knowing I look good is enough.

The obvious problem with the first thought is my concern for what others thought about me, and finding some sort of fulfillment in that. So what’s wrong with the second thought? We all want to look good, right?

Let’s go back to practicing modesty. In my desire to look good, do I honor the Lord? Do I respect my body? Do I consider my brother? I can’t honor the Lord with a selfish motivation, and I’m not respecting my body by turning it into a canvas for people to see how good I can look. Our brothers usually suffer too if we don’t consider them in our choices. We must acknowledge that no matter what our body type, it may tempt the opposite sex to sin. The tough question to consider when choosing my swimsuit then, is, “Do I look too good (cute, flattered, etc.)?”

I went through a season last summer of wanting a new swimsuit that was feminine and cute and modest according to the world’s standards. After a period of time, I realized that I would be going against a conviction the Lord had given me if I got one of the suits I had put into an online shopping basket several times. I just couldn’t justify that I would be honoring the Lord, respecting my body, or considering my brother. I was being selfish and wanted this un-revealing suit to make me feel and look a certain way.

“Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” Romans 14:5b, 13

While this verse reminds us that we each need to be fully convinced in our own mind about our convictions, it also leads us to not cause our brothers to sin. WAY more important than how good I can look in my swimsuit. And while it’s still very possible for a person who practices modesty completely to cause a brother to sin, what’s important is to “be fully convinced” that you are honoring the Lord, respecting your body, and considering your brother.

So, receiving our influence from Scripture and our motivation from an attitude of modesty, seeking sanctification, we are led to consider others before ourselves.

And since I like to really seal in what the Lord is working in my life with practical application, I ask more specific questions to help hold myself accountable to my convictions:

Am I comfortable wearing my swimsuit anywhere but the pool, in front of other people who aren’t swimming or also in swim wear? Does my spouse want others seeing me in this?

Many of us have convictions about tops, bottoms, and dresses that we will or won’t wear, but the line is blurred around swimwear. Honestly asking myself questions like these leads to me to consider if I’d really be comfortable wearing my swimsuit outside of a swimsuit setting, according to the convictions I have about the rest of my clothes.

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:21-22

And ALWAYS see what your spouse thinks! There were times that I would wear something that I would have never considered to be inappropriate, but because I look at myself like a woman and my husband looks at me like a man, he was able to lead me to see that my clothes were actually a stumbling block. And I certainly don’t want to attract the attention of any man other than my husband if I can help it! Sherman has been very helpful in my selection of what I wear to go swimming. He’s honest and affirms me that I look good. I might not look good according to the world’s eyes, but I look good to Sherman, and that’s all that matters.

For the men…

I can speak for Sherman, from his conviction about what his swimwear looks like, that he would feel exposed if he went swimming without a shirt on. It’s not a conviction he had until a couple years into our marriage, but it stuck after he realized he was the occasional object of another woman’s attention. It’s true that over the years men have received some license to go shirtless, but in the spirit of considering others, those shirt-less men can cause a lot of stumbling! I know I don’t want any other woman lusting after Sherman because he’s not wearing a shirt. And he doesn’t want any other women noticing him either. Just something for you to consider!

So, what does that leave us with? Looking like tan-less grandma when going to the pool? Not hardly! I feel so cute and comfortable in my swimwear because I know it pleases the Lord and my husband. Also, some areas of my body will never be seen by anyone but Sherman, and he doesn’t care if they’re the color of vanilla pudding. I can say this with confidence because I know that modesty is not in my swimsuit, but in my attitude. If my motivation is based on anything outside of Scripture, I’m not being modest. I can still feel cute because my cuteness doesn’t have to be determined by the perfect swimsuit!

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I'm very thankful that Rachel took the time to share her journey and her heart with us. I pray we are asking God similar questions and longing to pursue modesty, going to God (and our spouse/parents) to help us to know how God's Word then determines what hangs in our closets.

The challenge will always be learning to live out our own convictions without imposing our convictions about less clear things in scripture on others. I pray we hear from God, live out our convictions joyfully, and then are okay when others around us wear clothing we do not wear, or vice-versa. May we be fully convinced in our own minds. That's the key. I pray as women, we want to be right with God and under the headship of our own husbands, and we rest in those things instead of blindly taking on someone else's convictions and making them our own.

As we look for swimsuits this season, maybe Lime Ricki will be a place that you can shop and still live out your own personal convictions about modesty. Maybe not. I pray that we are all fully convinced in our own minds, and then live out those convictions joyfully no matter what we end up wearing to the swimming pool this summer. Living out our convictions joyfully, knowing our hearts are right with the Lord and those hearts are reflected in our swimwear means hanging out at the pool becomes an act of worship. What freedom!

If you are working through modesty issues, here's something I wrote about my own journey. I pray it encourages you as you go to God and His Word.