Dreaming of a Pink Christmas...Homemaking Link-Up Weekend

Hello and Happy Weekend!

I must confess that I've spent WAAAYYY too much time on Etsy today looking at lots of beautiful pink goodness!  I'm so inspired and, ok, a little covetous too!

For this week's Homemaking Link-Up Weekend, I thought I'd share some of my gorgeous finds!  First up is this CUTE little cottage.  It's Red Riding Hood's Cottage!  Isn't that adorable?

Red Riding Hood's Christmas Cottage by TheUglyDuckling1962

 As I was looking for more pink houses, I came across one of Pink Saturday's favorite girls!  Olivia from Olivia's Romantic Home is offering up this stunning deer to go along with her adorable cottages.

Gorgeous Deer from Olivia's Romantic Home

Here's a fancy house for a fancy price!  Looks edible to me...ha!

Pink Christmas House from PerlillaPets

I also came across this really neat banner from Pink Pearl Studio.  She is selling the pdf for 6 designs and you just print it out yourself, mount and decorate!  I'll be buying this today!

Christmas Banner from pinkpearlstudio

I think I'm going to use some of the ideas I've found online today and see if I can create my own little Christmas village!  I'll keep you posted on my progress!




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I'd love for you to join in with my Homemaking Link-Up Weekend.  Feel free to link up your favorite posts below and make sure to grab a button for your blog so your friends can join too!

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Homemaking Link-Up Weekend

Welcome to this week's Homemaking Link-Up Weekend!  It's been a great week for our family as we're enjoying the cooler temperatures, lots of soup, and the crafty bug that always hits our home this time of year!  Please feel free to link up your favorite posts below and display this cute button on your blog so your readers can come visit too!


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Last night for dinner, I made my yummy Chicken Alfredo Lasagna.  My family loves this---it's so flavorful!

My birthday was October 23rd---the day my husband and two oldest sons went elk hunting for a week.  The other kids and I drove them up and stopped off at our cousin's new shop, The Dancing Elephant Gallery in Baker City.  Because it was my birthday, and because I wanted something to remember our first visit to the gallery, I bought this cute vintage PINK vase!  Isn't it pretty?  I finally unpacked it yesterday and put it up on the highest shelf---far from little baby fingers!

As Amy (owner) pointed out, one usually finds this style chipped in places---but this one's in perfect shape.  I love it!

  My little blog hit an exciting milestone this week as I had 750 visitors in one day on the day after elections!  This was my most popular post this week---and most popular of ALL TIME with over 1,000 hits in just 6 days!

My favorite post from last week's link up was this one for Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls from Stephanie at The Enchanting Rose.  I make a recipe similar to this and it inspired me to put together a batch for our Saturday morning breakfast tomorrow!  Please visit Stephanie to give your compliments and, if you are Pinning, please make sure to pin from her blog to direct traffic her way!

How do you plan to spend your weekend?  Today I'm going to clean my room and stock my Etsy shop.  Then I'm planning on making some skirts for my daughters and I over the weekend---as well as doing a major de-junking in the boys' bedroom!  

Hope your day is happy and blessed---please link up below and join the party!

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Femininity vs. Modesty...What's the Difference?

Recently, I had a conversation with another Christian woman who asked a question similar to this:  

"What standards do we, as Christian women, use to decide what is modest when it comes to dressing? Islam and Judaism both have very specific laws, but Christianity, as a spiritual system of relational obedience in freedom, has no such standard."

I think this question can be answered by thinking, as this woman pointed out, about one of the biggest differences between Christianity and other religions. In Christianity, we live by relationship rather than law. We obey God's laws, not out of fear or tradition, but because we have relationship with him and love him. Because we have this relationship, we are able to go to him with our questions about modesty and ask him what this looks like for our own lives. 

The Bible gives us very little to go on as far as what to wear. It is clear that we are to be modest (1 Tim. 2:9), we are to dress "like women" (Deut. 22:5), and that we are not to be obsessed or proud (as in not humble) about our appearance (1 Peter 5:5-6). I think it's clear in the heart of any woman who desires to dress modestly that she should be "covered up" in the essential places with clothes that are not tight-fitting. After that, I think a lot of it is dependent on what God knows we need to do to make our own hearts right and, in some cases, what the people around us need to keep theirs right. 

For instance, I don't think a woman in slacks and a button down top is dressing immodestly. I don't think it's the most feminine outfit---but it's modest as far as "avoiding lust of the eyes" goes. 

I think that many Christian women, when discussing modesty, confuse it with the issue of femininity.  This is where a lot of the bickering and belaboring of details comes in that those of us who discuss this face.  No Godly woman wants her femininity questioned---but that's exactly what ends up happening when we confuse the two terms.

Modesty: "Reserve or propriety in speech, dress, or behavior."
Femininity:  "A characteristic or trait traditionally held to be female."

I don't think that any true, Bible-believing woman would question the need for modesty.  This is of pretty obvious importance in Scripture, as well as in the conscience of anyone who has Jesus dwelling in her heart.  It's the femininity question that needs to be answered and I truly believe that is a personal choice based on interpretation of both the current culture and the voice of God in ones heart.

Before you get all up in arms that I mentioned our culture having an impact on what we consider to be feminine dress, just think of men in togas...or men in tights, if you'd like!  How about salwar kameez?

For me, I know that I need to be in skirts and dresses because of how it works in MY heart. When I am dressed in what I consider to be more feminine clothing, I automatically act more feminine. I function in my roles of wife and mother better and I speak, act and carry myself in a more peaceful and kind way. I know what God wants for my own personal walk---because I have relationship with him and can ask him! 

Does this mean you should also adopt a wardrobe of skirts and dresses?  Of course not.  You should, however, make sure that what you are wearing makes your gender obvious and is following the standards of modesty that you know in your heart to be right.  I don't need to spell those out for you---just ask God, He'll make it perfectly clear for you!