Friday, October 2, 2009

lilies of the field

i have been encouraged to take a weekly sabbath rest from blogging,
and i like the idea.  in lieu of a new post, i will be re-posting an old
one.

lilies of the field . . .  october 31, 2009

when i was in highschool, all the kids listened to fleetwood mac, james taylor, or kenny loggins, but i idolized barbra streisand. it was so uncool that i didn't tell anyone besides my boyfriend, who promptly bought me four of her albums.

i, of course, married him.

i recently read a quote of barbra's, "i always wear the same thing at home. i can't be bothered with jewelry. my pants have elastic waists. i like to be comfortable." now she is totally my idol.

sometimes i'm afraid my kids will turn me into "what not to wear". stacy and clinton would have a field day with my uniform of sweat pants and oversized denim shirts.

there were only two hard and fast fashion rules in our home, modesty and well, modesty. shelby was the basketball trainer in highschool just as low rise jeans became popular. i told her that anytime i saw skin between her shirt and jeans at the basketball games, she would have to pay me two dollars. 

we didn't purchase expensive handbags, etc. for the girls, because it seemed foolish to allow them to think that fashion was that important. the boys, on the other hand, did wear 'michael jordans'. such a double standard!

when the kids were little, they mostly looked like little street urchins
from fagin's band of pick-pockets.    i sort of liked them that way.  



we wanted those little urchins to know that what you wear is less
important than what is in your heart.



matthew 6:28
'consider the lilies of the field, how they neither toil or spin, yet i tell
you, even solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.'

love,
lea



16 comments:

Single and Sane said...

Don't tell anyone, but I was listening to Barbra, too. I'm sure you sounded better when you sang with her though!

Anonymous said...

Just tonight I was noticing that I already put more into what Samara looks like than what the boys do...this is a great and timely reminder to be purposeful about what our values really are...thanks!

myletterstoemily said...

i can assure you, that if i had samara with me, we would spend hours
dressing her up!!!! :)

Inday said...

Oh, I certainly would recommend this value pass through our children. My father did that kind of teaching to us. So I really did not care much about fashion either. You are right there.

Barbra Streisand? I love her too! People .... love that song.

Rosie said...

Oh Lea...You continue to amaze me with your very inspiring words...I raised my children in the same manner. When my babies were young I owned a children's clothing store, in which we had our own little girl's dress line. Fancy little frocks crinolines, bloomers, pantaloons,and my all time fav "the reversible jumper"...We'd have lunch out, Lizzy would enjoy her meal THOROUGHLY, and we'd visit the ladies room and turn it around.
So, the kids looked the put together, but I made most of their clothes for pennies...oh how I enjoyed that...such a sense of accomplishment...we were not wealthy, but we were very happy...

Thanks for this W*O*D*E*R*F*U*L memory...We used to do little fashion shows for the store...so funny...we never knew what our little models were going to do...I always made sure Lizzy wore leggings, incase her dress went over her head :O

Smile on Rosie

Joan Elizabeth said...

I find the idea of a sabbath rest from blogging amusing since I do most of my blogging on Sunday, advance posting for the week and find it very restful :-)

I love that lillies of the field verse ... my all time favourite passage.

myletterstoemily said...

joan! all i think is we are on different
hemispheres. :)

Bree said...

amen to the kids (and ourselves) being modest. it grieves my heart how quickly they want to grow up and the "things" they think make them grown up. sometimes I think about up what it would be like to live out in the country somewhere outside of all of the "stuff." well, i know our precious Lord has plans for us and that might not include running to the country :) And I must say-how thankful I was you had a "potty" mouth that one moment. Bless you!

Lynn said...

My kids still laugh at all the pictures of them in their early years of playing organized sports. There would all the kids be, decked out in their fancy baseball pants, baseball stirrup socks, batting gloves, baseball cleats (at age 5 or 6!) and there would my little urchins be, in sweat pants with bright colored patches on the knees ;) I figured they really didn't need the fancy equipment while they were still figuring out if they even liked the dadgum game. Turns out, they did, and eventually we got them the gear -- but lots of it was used. I'm happy to say both have grown up to be frugal and good with money. But it doesn't happen automatically! Great post.

Michelle said...

Well, I didn't have any children, but I came from a house full of children. We were all about hand me downs, or homemade. Since then, I don't and never have had an extensive wardrobe, because, well, I don't have a glamorous body. Never have, never will. Shopping for clothes is very discouraging, as nothing ever fits the way I would like. Most times, I just say, 'forget it'. I wear what fits me (mostly men's shirts-- baggy enough to cover me up, and men's jeans. I don't have the girly waist either). I'm not shabby, I'm comfortable. I'm not in fashion, and I don't care. I'm covered up, and my clothes are always clean. To me, that is what is important. I can either be comfortable or hate myself for not having a 'normal' girly body. I chose comfort.

Have a great day!

Southern Lady said...

I'm right there with you. My girls are very easy to please in the clothing department; a fact I'm sure my future son-in-laws will appreciate! Carla

Lisa said...

I could not agree with you more! :)

Fr. Christian Mathis said...

love the post.....glad you have joined the ranks of sabbath bloggers.

TeriGigi/Girl Meets Paris said...

My home outfits are pretty hilarious. I will put something on, because I'm going to be home all day, with only a quick run to pick up the kids from school. Then, on the way, I'll decide to run in the grocery store. By now, it's been a good 8 hours since I got dressed... I will look down at myself in line at the store... and to my HORROR, realize I didn't change clothes. Too funny.

The other day hubby called at the last minute to meet him for lunch. I grabbed my keys and was out the door in under a minute. I was dressed fine, and had my makeup on, but when I went to the bathroom at the restaurant, I noticed myself in the mirror, and realized I hadn't done my hair... AT ALL. He either didn't notice, or decided not to say anything... he's a KEEPER.

Rosie said...

Hey Girlfriend,
thanks for popping by...hope your enjoying your Sunday...love Rosie

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

hee, hee...stopping by to read old past, how much fun
Well I was a Barbara fan also, and one of my competition dances was to "Second-hand Rose", which goes with this whole post. Haven't liked her politics as I grew up, but still enjoy her voice.

Blessings...enjoy your singing...who knows I might just come set in that audience to hear you!