Modest Sewing for Plus Sizes
June 30, 2010 by Christian Bloggers
Filed under Christian Marriage
I used to wear a size four. That was a while ago. While I haven’t had to move to the upper teens in size, I have sympathy for my friends who find that advancing years have meant advancing waistlines. I say it’s a natural process, that our bodies get smarter about not wasting all those useful calories by running them off. That’s my rationalization, and I’m sticking to it.
While culture pushes us to look like pubescent girls or stick insects, men may not find that very attractive. Husbands in their honest moments may even complain if their wives have lost too much weight. They may like a certain roundedness to the womanly figure. My husband does. I was a runner when he started dating me, but aging and lack of time to run mean I’m back to my old seminary weight. I don’t like it, but he appreciates it. So I’ve come to accept it.
Dressing Plain means I don’t have to worry about tummies and soft padding. It pretty much gets covered up. I’m wearing clothes that allow me to move, work, lean over, stretch and reach without showing what doesn’t need to be shown.
But if you have gone past the point where off-the-rack fits well, and you have to hunt out speciality stores for your sizes if you want anything of quality, it may be time to get out the old sewing machine and oil it.
The following measurements refer to American sizing and inches.
Friends Patterns (http://friendspatterns.net) has sizes up to XXL, with a waist measurement of 34 and a bust of 48. Three of their patterns come in the largest size, the Ohio three-piece dress, the contemporary Plain dress, and the women’s jumper. I would recommend scaling the patterns to fit best, in case you aren’t tall as well as plus size.
Folkwear Patterns (http://www.folkwear.com) are sized for women up to 16, which I don’t find particularly “plus.” But some patterns are sized for men as well, like the Black Forest Smock, up to a chest size of 44. Made in a dress length, it would be modest, and attractive. The English Smock has nice detailing on the front.
Candle on the Hill (www.candleonthehill.net) offers a Kwik Sew button front dress in sizes to 4X (bust 47, waist 49). It is very modest and something beyond the a-line jumper so common in plus size patterns. They have a good variety of different patterns. Their Simply Modest Dress and Country Cape dresses are sized up to XXL, and work well for Plain women. The Jewel’s Apron pattern goes to XL, waist 47.
Sewgrand patterns (http:www.sewgrand.com) , while not specifically a modest dress company, does have some lovely and modest patterns. They have sizes up to 26, bust 50 and waist 42. They have a full range of modest clothing – tops, skirts, dresses, pants and a raincoat. They seem to really understand how to fit a plus size woman. I have never ordered from them; if anyone has any experience with them, please add a comment. They are a Canadian company.
Some commercial patterns (Simplicity, Butterick, McCall`s) are scaled to plus sizes, but it takes a bit of hunting amongst them to see what will work.
Unless you want to wear just caftans and muu-muus, I recommend that you borrow a book on fitting a pattern from the library, have a good friend help with your measurements, and most importantly, take your time sewing. You can try pinning the pattern pieces on what you are wearing, if you have an extra pair of trusty hands, or pin the pieces onto a dress you know fits. This can help you decide where things need to be modified.
I think plus size women often get discouraged about their clothing. Don`t be! No one has the perfect figure without a lot of life-threatening, expensive surgery, and whose idea was it that there had to be some ideal – not yours or mine!
http://magdalenaperks.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/modest-sewing-for-plus-sizes/
…nor Wooden Rails an Altar
June 29, 2010 by Christian Bloggers
Filed under Christian Relationships
[Please Join us for worship service. We have a small, early church service at 8:00a.m. on Sunday, Sunday School at 8:45, and another worship at 10:00. All are welcome. (Map) (Visit our Website)]
“Four walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cell.” Or something like that.
In absence of anything else to place on the blog from the church administration, I will place this short piece of opinion. It is my opinion, and may or may not be shared by others. This makes it a member of the CRC congregation speaking on behalf of himself, not official communication.
The more I look, the more I see folks using technology to communicate over greater distances, with more people, and in shorter time. This is nothing new. The telegraph and telephone created situations where single users could communicate almost instantly with other single users. With the appropriate network, one or both of those users could communicate with many more. Of course, the communication was generally one way at any given time. The printing press allowed individuals, or groups of individuals, to spread their views to many others and over a much longer period of time as well (meaning that what was written at one time could be read years later.) This was also one way communication, though. Television allowed a one-way broadcast to multitudes. Still, for the most part, if you wanted interaction with groups in real time, you had to be physically present with one another.
Now we have the Internet. Now we have social networking. Web 2.0. We have the ability to interact with thousands at the same time or in a short period of time, still with the luxury of letting our “publications” stay around for others to read later if we wish. People share thoughts in ways they did not before, and have relationships with others that they cannot physically see. Are such things real? I won’t answer that myself because I cannot. It is up to each of us, I think, to decide for ourselves. I will say this, I find praying with and for people thousands of miles away uplifting. I enjoy being reminded that four walls do not a church make. I know God is everywhere. I like supporting our troops overseas with communication and prayers, letting them know I am doing it, and asking them to pray for us. Church 2.0? Cloud Christianity? Who knows. I do know that those who have told me that such things aren’t real have mostly done so through one-way communication. In other words, their opinion is professed, mine is not. (At this time I wish to point out that comments are welcome on this blog. We filter them for spam and inappropriate language, not based on opinion. This can be 2-or-more-way if you so desire.)
A few months ago I asked a very sick woman whom I love dearly if she would be interested in participating in a project I was trying too get off the ground for the church. She wasn’t at first, because it involved the use of the Internet and she had given up e-mail. She wasn’t of that generation that lives online, but she became interested when I explained that if I could set it up, I wanted to arrange for video communication from her Sunday School class to her and back again. I wanted her to be able to “attend” to some degree, although it wouldn’t be the same as being there. She was very lonely at the time, so it had appeal. I wasn’t able to pull it off, and I think she would probably forgot about it. But, oh, how nice it would have been for her to talk to her friends of so many years and they to her for a few minutes each Sunday! She could have sung along with the rest at the beginning of class or asked a question or made a comment if she had wished. I thought about that at her funeral the other day.
When the Gutenberg Bible was printed in German, from 3%-5% (depending on who you read) of the German-speaking population could read. As far as allowing them to read the word, it did not reach many more people percentage-wise than Christ reached during his time preaching in the Hebrew lands. Yet with it and men like Martin Luther, the Reformation came into being. We know what happened with Christ and a handful of followers spreading the word however they could. Wayne Crews of the Creative Enterprise Institute phrased something quite well the other evening in an interview. “The Internet is still very young. The Internet of 2010 is primitive compared to what we will have in a few years.” We probably can’t imagine it. Still, there is much we can do with what we have now in the Internet infancy. How will we spread the word in a world where people communicate primarily in ways that are new to the many of us who don’t speak the language, “so to speak?” Food fore thought, anyway.
[The opinions and questions expressed here are my own. If you don’t care for them, feel free to let me know. Of course, they’re nothing compared to some of the stuff I have written elsewhere. Those really get a rise out of folks. Heretic is one of the nicest things I have been called.]
God be with all of you and yours.
Jim Havron
Communications/Memory Ministry Chairperson
http://cityroadchapelumc.wordpress.com/2010/06/29/nor-wooden-rails-an-altar/
Christian Parenting - Part 2
June 29, 2010 by Christian Bloggers
Filed under Christian Parenting
What saves and makes for good children is the life of the parents in the home
What saves and makes for good children is the life of the parents in the home. The parents need to devote themselves to the love of God. They need to become saints in their relation to their children through their mildness, patience and love. They need to make a new start every day, with a fresh outlook, renewed enthusiasm and love for their children. And the joy that will come to them, the holiness that will visit them, will shower grace on their children. Generally the parents are to blame for the bad behaviour of the children.
Tim Sisemore - moving beyond reactive parenting
June 29, 2010 by Christian Bloggers
Filed under Christian Parenting
World Proof Your Kids
My kids are growing up fast and so I’ve picked up Tim Sisemore’s excellent book “World-Proof Your Kids” again. I’ve found it a really useful corrective and especially this section on reactive verses authoritative parenting. It’s so easy, in the busyness of a new life and post, to not give the kids the parenting they need. This is a real rebuke to me:
Reactive parenting focuses on surviving the stress of life. The day has too much in it already to spare time for children’s problems, so they are met with little patience. Often such parenting is done in stress-filled anger, the parent reacting excessively to the provocation of the child. This may lead to the parent feeling guilt and a sense of needing to make it up to the child, thus beginning a pattern of erratic angry explosions followed by permissiveness. When we stop to look at this, no one sees this as healthy or biblical. Nonetheless, the reactive parenting style captures the predominant theme in parenting today: giving consequences for misbehaviour.
Sisemore goes on to outline the relationship between nurture and control. The diagram below shows four parenting styles (neglectful, indulgent, authoritarian and authoritative) and the resulting behavioural patterns in the kids:
http://transforminggrace.wordpress.com/2010/06/29/tim-sisemore-moving-beyond-reactive-parenting/
Book Review~ Gospel-Powered Parenting
June 28, 2010 by Christian Bloggers
Filed under Christian Parenting
This book, by William Farley, took me a really long time to read. Partially because I’ve picked up my husband’s bad habit of reading several books at once, and partly because it didn’t live up to my expectations. It was recommended to me as better than Shepherding a Child’s Heart, by Tedd Tripp, but did not live up to that recommendation. This is a good book, just not THAT good.
I found it a helpful, fruitful reminder of what the Gospel is, and how it should impact my parenting. I was reminded of the importance of living out grace and worship before my sons as well as resting in God’s sovereign will to save them.
Overall, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book. I don’t want to be too negative, because there’s nothing wrong with it. I’m just not really impressed or changed because of reading it.
http://mrsrachel.wordpress.com/2010/06/28/book-review-gospel-powered-parenting/
Tomboy, Princess or Hottie?
June 28, 2010 by Christian Bloggers
Filed under Christian Parenting
Lydia is our precious little seven year old treasure—our ninth born, sandwiched between four brother
http://frontlinemoms.com/2010/06/28/tomboy-princess-or-hottie/
Ouch! That hurt!
June 28, 2010 by Christian Bloggers
Filed under Christian Parenting
No amount of good parenting takes away all the owies from your child’s life. Whether by accident, or part of growing up or even self-inflicted, they will have pain in life. Teaching your child to sort through the pain and growing from it can be a monumental task at times. The common sense ones we have no trouble with like, ‘I told you the stove was hot’ or “see, what did I tell you about running on concrete?” These daily accidents, although sometimes self-inflicted, result in pain that brings many lessons in life. The pain of touching the hot stove after you told them not to is an obvious lesson and quickly learned because of the quick consequences.
But, what about the ‘stuff’ we push back and do not deal with until it is too late. As adults we do this in our life, waiting, procrastinating, deciding it will not matter. What you have to remember is that you are passing on this pattern to your child. They are always watching. How you deal with situations in your life is a daily lesson to them. I was thinking about this while working in my yard this weekend. The scripture Romans 1:19-20 came to mind:
Romans 1:19-20
“19For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”
Get rid of your life's weeds.
This is a great way to teach your child a Biblical truth. Your child is watching and observing you with situations in your life every day. What are they learing? Do you wait until it causes excruciating pain to deal with the issue?
Consider spring yard work, or storm clean up to illustrate my point. This past winter we had months of bitter cold instead of a couple of weeks. The unusual hard winter killed most of my yard, and what it did not kill, it severely crippled. This past weekend I finally got around to the last area. I had put it off because from the street it looked fine. There was plenty of green and flowers covering the winter damage. My procrastination became evident when I started pruning back the area that had been left to its own wild growing. Underneath were long, leggy stalks with no support that would have soon withered and not passed along nutrients to the beautiful outer growth and blooms. Near the ground was rotting debris from the storm that had not been dealt with. Eventually, the plants would have withered and died and I would need to replace them completely if I had waited much longer. Amazing how all around us in nature are lessons and truths from God. We have to deal with circumstances as they arise so that we teach our children to do so as well. Otherwise, we end up with root rot and wild unhealthy growth.
Of course there is the pain of growing up. Sometimes through no one’s fault, life happens and it hurts. The death of a pet, or worse a love one; financial hardship that takes away their piano lessons or football camp, these pains all hurt. A friend moves away, a teacher over looks them on awards day, these hurt. There are so many hurts as they grow that need to be handled. They will ask why, just like we ask God why when we lose a job, a love one or get sick. Life hurts. The Bible tells us that the trials and tribulations are testing:
“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith— of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire— may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
I Peter 1:6-7
Pruning. What's it doing for you?
Trials build character, patience and faith. That is hard to teach a child in concept if they are young. However, the way you yourself react to similar pain is how they will learn first. Are you patient? Does the situation make you mad and you explode? Mad is an emotion (my girls always hated this next phrase), “No one can make you mad. You have to choose to be mad.” It is true, you choose how you respond. How are you teaching your child to react to the pain in their life?
Sometimes though, our pain is self-inflicted. We have been away from Him in our walk for so long that the ‘pruning’ finally has to happen for us to survive and it is severe. Only you know if your season of pruning is simply growth in the Lord, a testimony for those watching you or if it is because you have gone your own wild way. What’s hurting you and why? Your kids are watching.
http://mom2momflorida.wordpress.com/2010/06/28/ouch-that-hurt/
What is wrong with this picture?
June 28, 2010 by Christian Bloggers
Filed under Christian Marriage
I wonder if you would indulge me a while whilst I share a thought with you?
Have you ever thought about creation? About Genesis 1 and 2 ? I don’t mean in a bible study kind of way but more in a Chris Rice “questions for heaven” kind of way? (For those of you who are unfamiliar with that – Chris Rice is a Christian singer/songwriter and wrote a neat little song called “Questions for Heaven” Check it out if you have the time.)
What I mean is have you ever just sat back and thought about how God created each and every flower, each animal, plant, fish, bird?
Its a bit of silliness in many way I know but I wonder, “did God sit painting each petal on the flower individually? Did God spend time fashioning each and every single feather on a bird, or carefully molding and shaping each star and hanging it into space?”
And what if when He did so, He placed that carefully painted flower into the ground and said, “Now spread your petals and bless everything with your beauty” and the flower simply stayed closed and said, “I can’t I am shy”
Or what if when He had finished fashioning each and every feather on the bird He opened His hand and said now spread your wings and fly, and the bird looked at God and said, “I can’t it’s too scary.”
Or what if when God had finished molding and shaping the star he hung it into space and said “Shine” and the star stayed dark and said “I can’t people will notice me!”
OK so for all you literalist’s out there I know it would never happen and I am not for one minute suggesting that stars and birds and flowers have the same relationship with God that we have ut my point it each were created with a purpose, equipped for the job at hand and resourced for what is to come.
And what about we HoH’s are we any different? Are we not created with a purpose, equipped for the job at hand and resourced for what is to come?
So much is made, in my opinion, of how much a HoH does for his dear wife when he disciplines her or holds her accountable and indeed it is or at least should be sacrificial or servant-leadership role. We speak of things such as “a husband/HOH is helping his wife grow in her faith” or to “do the Lord’s will” or to “be the daughter that God wants her to be” but what we should never do is lose sight of the gift that the wife is giving to her HoH.
I say this because if we truly believe that it is God’s design for the husband to be the HoH then in her submission to and her encouragement of her husband the wife is in fact helping the husband “grow in his faith”, “do the Lord’s will” and “be the son God wants him to be”.
I recently read of where a wife was saying that her husband doesn’t want to be the leader and indeed needs her to be the one in charge and the one doing the disciplining and this is the kind of relationship that makes him the most happiest and thus them the most happiest. She mentioned that it doesn’t make her see him as any less of a man and indeed she respects him even the more for admitting what he needs and submitting to her.
But I have a problem with this. I have a major problem with the statement “her husband doesn’t want to be the leader and indeed ‘needs‘ her to be the one in charge and the one doing the disciplining”
See there is a world of difference between the word ‘need’ and the word ‘want’ although we have made them so inter-changeable nowadays.
Let me be perfectly clear here. I am probably out side of the box when it comes to my opinion that it is good for a husband to be disciplined if he truly needs it BUT I just don’t believe it is in line with the scriptures (and thus I don’ t believe that it is God’s will) for the wife to be the one doing it or for the wife to be the one in leadership.
Do I accept that it may make it easier for the husband? Absolutely I can see how that could be the case. Do I understand that some folk prefer things that way round? Yes of course! But here is the deal. It certainly isn’t according to my understanding how the scriptures tell us things should be and thus isn’t God’s design for either the wife or the husband and certainly should not be called CDD or in my opinion encouraged within CDD.
Does the husband want it? Yes it seems he does. Does the husband need it? Absolutely not! What we all NEED is to follow the plan and live according to the purpose that we were designed for.
What if the flower stayed shut and said, “but people will look at me?” – That is what you were created for!
What if the star refused to shine and said “but people will notice me?” – That is what you were created for!
What if the bird refused to fly and said “but it is scary!” – That is what you were created for!
What if the husband doesn’t ant to lead and says, “Bu I don’t want to lead, I don’t want to discipline, I don’t want to ….”
What if the wife says, “but my husband doesn’t like to lead or discipline and prefers me to do it”
THAT IS WHAT YOU WERE CREATED FOR! – To worship God and being a husband and a head of house, and encouraging, empowering, supporting your husband in becoming the head of House God wants IS part of that worship!
What is wrong with this picture?
The fact that the husband is being disciplined? No, not in my opinion, men mess up just as women do and men need accountability and discipline too. What is wrong is the fact that the husband and wife have reversed the roles God set out.
So I encourage you, if indeed you are a husband and wife and have reversed the roles. Ask yourself this..
What does God TRULY desire for your marriage?
What is NEEDED for your marriage and indeed for each of you – temporal, temporary and short-term peace and/or ease and gain OR pleasing God, a long -term, eternal and essential life living in accordance with God’s perfect plan and becoming the son, the daughter, the husband, the wife the witnesses God wants you to be?
http://amitheheadofhouse.wordpress.com/2010/06/28/what-is-wrong-with-this-picture/
Christian Parenting Part 1
June 27, 2010 by Christian Bloggers
Filed under Christian Parenting
The Child’s upbringing commences at the moment of its conception!
A child’s upbringing commences at the moment of its conception. The embryo hears and feels in its mothers womb. Yes, it hears and it sees with its mother’s eyes. It is aware of her movements and her emotions, even though its mind has not developed. If the mother’s face darkens, it darkens too. If the mother is irritated, then it becomes irritated also. Whatever the mother experiences — sorrow, pain, fear, anxiety, etc. — is also experienced by the embryo. Read more
My Allowance
June 27, 2010 by Christian Bloggers
Filed under Christian Parenting
Charlie is the four-year old baby in the Summerfield family. He has one older brother, William, who is nine, and one older sister, Autumn Marie, who is six. He was born into a world settled and secure. He has an impish grin and a joke inside just waiting to challenge anyone who dares to befriend him. His mother adores the way he opens her heart to all the things in life which are imperfect, yet, truly filled with love, just like Charlie himself.
“Can I buy something too?” Asks Charlie as William and Autumn browse the toy store for the perfect little item to spend their hard earned allowance money on.
“You do not have money to buy anything yet.” Mom explains gently to Charlie.
“Yes I do!” Says Charlie with enthusiasm as he holds out his little hand with one penny resting on the palm.
“Dear Lord, all that I have is yours. You have given me everything I own, nothing is mine. You bless me with the opportunity to do the work that I do, and you multiply the blessings when I offer them back to you. Please Lord, teach me to give you thanks and praise for all that is yours which you have so generously chosen to share with me. Amen.”
http://evesummerfield.wordpress.com/2010/06/26/my-allowance/