Modesty and Respect for Self and Other

I posted a few days ago about femininity and an experience that God used to affirm for me the goodness in being made a woman.  There was much discussion following that post about beauty, modesty and our responsibility for being good stewards of our feminine beauty, and it has really had me thinking the past few days about what modesty means, and why it is important for me.

Screens, Self-Governance, and Monkeys on your Back

Screens can be a tricky subject for families.  On one hand I don't think anyone can deny their adverse effects on modern children, especially if you have a child with a particular disposition to want to be on them all day, all the time.  In a lot of ways I suppose it would be easier to just not have any technology in the home, to avoid the constant fighting, the back and forth, and the occasion for temptation.  It's a subject each family needs to discern for themselves, how they are going to relate to technology and, more importantly, how to raise children who know how to be a part of a world where technology is a reality without completely losing themselves to it.

That time I wore a bikini at a Catholic Vacation

This is a topic I am certain will be at least a little controversial, and many may not share my views - and that's okay.  But it is something that has been with me since my vacation last year, and I want to share it because I believe the Lord is bringing about conversion in my heart - about femininity, about masculinity, and about how the two genders coexist. Prior to last summer for me that relationship was marred with shame and fear - shame that, like many women of religious conviction, showing any part of my body that might be attractive to anyone but my husband is a bad, bad thing, and that holiness means covering all of those parts and never allowing anyone but your spouse to even see a hint of your feminine body, lest they be lead into temptation.  And fear that in general men were wired to look at me with lust, to possess me and my body, to take advantage and misuse and bring harm.  I am certain that a lot of this was just my own misinterpretation of what I thought chastity and purity mean, but my concept of this was blown wide open last year, and the fruit of that has been a true freedom and confidence in being created in beauty as a woman.