The Power of Lipstick

Welcome to a new week! Let me start with a few verses on today's topic...

"The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord...all glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold. In embroidered garments she is led to the King..." Psalm 45:11, 13-14

"...She is clothed in fine linen and purple." Proverbs 31:22

"Your cheeks (we're going to go with ears!) are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels. We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver." Song of Songs 1:10-11 (insert added)

I have a confession, my friends. I have succumbed to a lifestyle in which I never thought I would embrace. I swore to never be one of "those moms." I vowed to my husband that, though I stopped working outside the home, this one area would remain unchanged. But yet, over the past year, it slowly crept up on me so that I not only fell into its trenches, I actually started to love it. What is it, you ask??? 

The love of yoga pants, wet hair, minimal make-up, and flip-flops...duh, duh, duh!

Oh, mommy friends, I have been so in love with this lifestyle that I considered naming my blog: Rockin' the Yoga Pants. No joke! Whenever I would go shop, I would go directly to the clearance work-out racks...and I certainly wasn't working out enough to warrant new wardrobe pieces. I assumed that if I put on cute earrings with a stretchy pant outfit, it made it totally okay. I actually convinced myself that my husband loved the "sporty sexy" look. I could be comfy and the super-hot wife all at once! At the root of it, my puffy c-section pooch didn't fit nicely into my non-elastic pants, so I slowly slipped into a lifestyle of sloppy mommy-wear...a place I never wanted to go.

Then, something really neat happened. I got back down to my pre-baby weight a couple of weeks ago and I started going to a small group at church focusing on empowering yourself as a beautiful woman of God (the first verse above came from that group). Our first class discussed dressing nicely, showing our confidence, and coming out of the shadows. It sure did wake me up! I came home and tried on every piece in my closet. If it was a size 6 that I would never fit into again (or at least by the time I have my breasts done and my tummy tuck, it would be out of style!), then it went to the Goodwill. Everything else got organized by style and color, and I decided to actually wear an outfit (with cute shoes!) each day, or most days. I even dug out some lipstick from the abyss of my cosmetic drawer!

Well that night, when my husband got home from work, you would have thought I was all-out dressed in my wedding day attire. He noticed my blown-dry (and straightened) hair, my outfit, my shoes, and my lipstick. He wondered what the occasion could be, and I simply told him that I wanted to start dressing nicely. I teased that it was time to retire the yoga pants to which he replied, "Yea, you wear those almost everyday." Ouch! But true...

As Christian women, there are many quoted verses about dressing modestly, refusing vanity, and fleeting beauty being unimportant. This is all completely true, since it comes from His Word. If your perfect look becomes your obsession, then there is a problem. But, God created women to be the beautiful creatures that He intended. Look again at the verses above. This is how He talks about women in His Word! 

We know our husbands respond well when we pay attention to taking care of ourselves. We also know that we feel much better about ourselves when we put in some effort in the morning. And, we know how great it feels to receive compliments on our outfits, our hair, or our make-up. So, why aren't we doing this everyday??? I'll tell you why. I've lived it!

• Pregnancy made us fat (we aren't sugar-coating here...)
• Our babies produced lots of fluids
• If we nursed, we constantly stretched out every shirt that we owned
• We rarely left the house
• We were lucky to get a shower every other day
• We constantly had a small creature attached to us

Need I say more? If you do something long enough, it becomes a habit. As new mommies, we were in the habit of always taking care of everyone else first, and then we would rest instead of taking care of ourselves. I still feel like this is totally fine and acceptable...at first! Truthfully, I can't wait to revive the yoga pants post the eventual baby #2! But, sweet mommies, we have to pull ourselves out of the cycle. The power of lipstick, in a sense, shows reverence to the Lord, our husbands, our children, and ourselves. If He created us, then He obviously wants us to care for His creation.

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

He speaks about women as His beautiful creation, our husbands love to see us dressed nicely and taking pride in our bodies (even if they aren't back to where we would like), our children need to see us caring for ourselves, and there's nothing like a cute new top from the Target clearance rack to put a bounce in our step. 

Just my thoughts! I hope you can find a blessing out of my musings today. This day and everyday, be blessed in your mommyhood :-)

MMSM #51

Don't be so quick to throw your grocery store receipts away! Check the back of your King Soopers, Safeway, etc. receipt after you check out and find a bunch of local coupons ranging in great restaurant deals, to cheap oil changes, to half-off haircuts. Love it when you get coupons for free!

Tip #38

I always keep plastic grocery bags in the car for stinky diapers, clothes, etc. Until recently, they would float around the trunk and fall out when I open the hatchback. Then, I had an idea from my own brain :-) We buy our wipes at Costco and each new box comes with new wipes holders. I've been trying to think of a creative way to use them (they will eventually be art supply holders), but for now, they will be bag holders! Pull the bags out just like wipes, and they will stay tidy and organized in their little compartment!