My glamazon movements be it in the kitchen, scouring the toilets with a pumice stone (spent a large chunk of time making a big splash there yesterday), the car, the line at the post office or waiting on a bench outside Sephora for our daughter have purpose.  God  consistly  guides my day through selected readings from each section of the bible.  I use the YWAM personal prayer diary daily planner.  My first reading  today is Matthew 23 from the Message. 

 Eugene Peterson titled the chapter Religious Fashion Shows.  Jesus is warning religious leaders not to place beasts of burden (my Rolling Stone take on Eugene’s words) on their people.  I found the whole chapter completely intriguing…

I am a “religious leader” who loves fashion shows.  Saturday mornings were filled with excitement, Elsa Klensch came on at 6am with shows from Paris, Milan, Tokyo and anywhere you can imagine. 

 Growing up in Iowa does not sound so chic, but it is.  Women in my home town dressed beautifully, and my mother was and is vivacious and  very, very elegant … extremely funny to boot…. Praise God.  The men were not so well dressed with the exception of my gracious Dad and several others to include Ray and Mike.  The  big joke was that I had to go out of state to find a man to marry who would wear a collared shirt.

  Resting here at the breakfast table my handsome collared shirt hubby has delivered scrambled eggs to my place mat.  Perhaps my days of pudge will fade. 

Back to fashion…the current fashions are stunning for spring and flattering for all.  The traditional 50’s knee length A-line skirt is in vogue and complements all figures. 

Sooo what are religious fashion shows and how can I avoid them. 

Very fashionable prayer…Notre Pe’re qui es aux cleaux, ton nom soit sanctife’e; ta volonte’ soit faite sur la terre comme au ciel; donnenous aujourd’hui notre pain, quotien; pardonnons a ceux qui nous ont offens’es; et ne nous induis point dans la tentation; mais de’livivre-nous du main; car a toi appartient la regne, la puissance, et la glorire a’ jamais.  amen   Impress all your hip peeps with your french, but how will you lead them to Jesus if they cannot understand the language your speaking? 

2006 had a conference “Wake Up Call”…Christianity in America won’t survive another decade was the tag line to hook you to the conference.

  Our Father who art in heaven boiled it down for us in all sorts of practical ways in Matthew 23.  Our pure clean heart washed with our  Saviours blood is the breakout fashion statement for all times.  Gorgeous gold belts and chains are not necessary for this type of hip,  the chains broken from the enslavement of hypocrisy are hip.

  “For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then turn him into twice the son of hell as you yourselves are”  Matthew 23 v. 15  NLT 

 Well ouch and douple ouch…I crossed 15 hours of land to get to Texas, making new converts twice the sons of hell was not what I had in mind.  Our sign of beauty will not be from bejeweled prayer shawls. 

Leading others to the presence of the Lord is all the leading I want to do…

I’ll be leaving the religiousity to those who want to make fashion statements.  My heart is trembling my friends and resting in His peaceful presence all at the same time.

True alive faith in Christ is the only style…Rest in Him Alone, Trish