What I Wore Wednesday{with a twist}

Once in a while I run across a "What I Wore Wednesday" post from many of my favorite bloggers. It's an accountability post of sorts, you know, the mom mindfully not wearing sweats and "mom" jeans because she is going to be posting her outfits for hundreds of witnesses. I usually love seeing what others wear.  I have to say there are a lot of cute outfits on these people. 

So, in my quest to change up my blog a little bit, I thought it might be fun to post what I wore on Wednesdays{many bloggers post the whole week of outfits, but that just wasn't going to be happening here}.  It even worked out  perfectly because I'm a little more intentional on Wednesday's with my outfits since I go to a Bible study in the morning. I went to take the first picture, posed myself all cute, snapped, and felt all empty inside.  It took me by surprise.  Why was taking a picture of my outfit, making me feel like so crumby?  I didn't have much time to think about it as I flew out the door, I knew I would post it on my blog and worry about it then. I was pretty certain I was just being insecure. Who in the world would care about what I wore, other than my mom, right?

I walked into a new moms group that morning.  I knew nothing about the speaker and was surprised to see Betsy, a pretty woman, very much my{our} age, with a glorious smile and warm eyes walk up to the podium.  A mother of three boys she said, a cheerleader of Christ is how she described herself.  This morning, of all mornings, she was discussing fashion.  Fashion that is, that you wear on the inside of your body.  Her talk was titled: Clothed in Christ. Here were some of the highlights:

Taking off: Clean out your closet- finally putting to death: your anger, gossip, the comparing to others, concern of your outward appearance{hmm...}...

Putting on: in with the new-How we dress in the likeness of Christ: with compassion, kindness, meekness, patience, forgiveness, love, thankfulness, peace...

The New Little Black Dress-The calling on your life:The call that always fits. You can wear it anywhere.

Getting Dressed Everyday: Go into your {prayer}closet to get ready, embrace the opportunity, commit this to memory.

She was a dynamic, little, impressive person, and I took what she said and "chewed" on it for a long time.  What she spoke about, what I felt that morning, was all set out in front of me on my page of notes.  So what if  I managed to wake up early, get dressed, and do my hair all pretty.  What exactly does all that  say about me anyways?!  In my case, nothing.  What I woke up that morning wanting it to say was that I had my #$&% together.  I think I may have succeeded, I mean, isn't that the beauty of blogs-just one little snippet, of one little moment, of one very intentionally placed photo, and I would have walked away from my computer feeling all good about myself.  But that's not the full story, and it's not where I want the story to end .  Does a picture really tell a thousand words?  I have felt that way countless times when I have scrolled down the page of my favorite bloggers "What I Wore Wednesday" post.  Wow, she has really adorable boots, do you think she's nearly perfect in everything she does? No.

My "What I Wore Wednesday" post needs a twist, needs more explanation, needs to be a lot more real. 

What I wore on my body: "Always Skinny" jeans from the Gap, black patent ballet slippers from the gap, belted shirt from Francesca's

What I wore in my heart: That day I was happy to be headed to a meeting where I knew several girls.  I was so ,so thankful for Tisha{a wonderful Knoxville friend} and the church that has offered me many opportunities to connect with them. But, I was also unable to shrug off a guarded feeling that was creeping in and out of my thoughts.  The doubt when you least expect it. A{evil}voice that says, "Why would anyone care about you being there?" "Your certainly not good enough to be in a room full of nice little mothers, you should really give up and surrender to your loneliness" Ugh...

After listening to Betsy, I realized that I never dress my heart first, there was a lot of things I could stand to throw out of my closet, and the little black dress was something I only brought out on special occasions.  Christ lives in me everyday, and if I am ever going to see the reflection of the woman I dream about being, there just better be a heart wearing God's full armor on every morning before I do my hair.  I mean what good is a cute outfit without a heart of good. Amen.

Clothed In Christ

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other, as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. and above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body. And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colosssians 3:12-17

Please note that every Wednesday post will not be this long, so don't be afraid to come back.