In The Know and In The News

Welcome!

I am so glad that you stopped over to the Wednesday Know-How and News!  This is the first in hopefully a long line of these fun days...a tip of some kind for "In The Know," and news from around the world for, "In The News."  Sweet, simple and to the point!

In The Know

This week, we are going to address ironing.  I enjoy ironing.  That was my chore from when I was about eleven or twelve until I moved out (amongst many other things).  We were always dressed up for Sunday and there were many other occasions in which we wore nicely ironed clothing as well.  The ironing basket was always heaping, but I did not mind it, I rather enjoyed it!

Now, my husband needs to dress well and present himself well on the job, and my sons are starting to dress better as well.  Men look so professional, clean and neat in a nice button down shirt that is crisply ironed. I am teaching my sons that how they dress on the outside should and does reflect on the man they are becoming on the inside.  In other words, "Dress to impress (when the occasion calls for it)."

On a more personal note...perhaps even a selfish perspective on ironing for my family.  I was raised to believe that how my family presents themselves is a direct reflection on me.  My Grandmother always said, "If my husband walks out of the house looking like I do not take care of him, some other woman will take him home and take care of him."  Hmmmm...those are some deep words to ponder.  And as we all know...Grandma was always right!

In The News

Government Spending  Do you expect the government to stay within a budget like your own household?

More on Government Spending  When the funds are just not there...do you do major spending cuts and live frugally or raise your families debt ceiling?  What do you expect from "Professionals?"

Your Privacy  Do you understand just how much privacy you do not have?

Israel  We stand with Israel.

The Cowboy Libertarian  Some much needed straight talk.

The Blessings of Etiquette

"Righteousness exalts a nation,
      But sin is a reproach to any people.
       The king’s favor is toward a wise servant,
      But his wrath is against him who causes shame."

Proverbs 14:34-35

Today I had a lovely visit with my Grandmother.  The boys and I made the trip south for a nice luncheon and afternoon visit before heading home again.  We are never at a loss of topics to be discussed, but today one thing really caught my attention.  My Grandmother's love of etiquette.  We live in an age where most people have not heard the word let alone know it's meaning.  Table manners, hand written Thank You cards, and elegant conversation are a thing of the past.  My Grandmother remembers the days when etiquette was taken seriously and appreciated by good society.

Etiquette (n.):  the conduct or procedure required by good breeding or prescribed by authority to be observed in social or official life ~Merriam-Webster

My mother learned proper etiquette from my Grandmother, but did not enforce it with my siblings or myself.  There are things that I have learned from experience...such as the proper way to ladle soup into your spoon at a formal dinner.  But alas, there are things that I am missing.  I have endeavored to undertake etiquette training for myself and add this to our already exuberant curriculum.

Who else to go to for this massive undertaking?  Emily Post of course!  She is the author of the most popular book on manners that has ever been written.  The very name Emily Post is synonymous with etiquette!  But there is more to excellent manners than just good breeding.  Emily post says this very well,

"Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use."

~Emily Post

Etiquette for those that love the Lord is another way to practice servant hood.  Being aware of others around you and caring for them the way Yeshua commands in His word,

"Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Matthew 22:37-39

Now, I can hear the groaning already...but etiquette is so old fashioned...  Well, to each his own.  I personally love old things and the old ways of life!  I enjoy reading literature where there are strict rules to society, where even the slightest sniffle indicates that one should remain at home so as not to contaminate the atmosphere of someone else's domain.  I enjoy the thought of profitably spending time learning how to make others around me more comfortable with the help and grace of our Lord.

There are many women that have chosen to reawaken the role that God planned for the fairer sex.  They are choosing to defy culture norms and embrace Scripture.  Think of what etiquette can do to help strengthen the role of Biblical Womanhood and the Stay At Home Daughter!  How exciting to find a way to help promote a culture revolution...right in your own home!

The Old Testament is full of wonderful resources on etiquette for believers.  I am a firm believer that Jehovah, Creator and King of the Universe, did not allow one jot or tittle in His Word that did not have significant meaning.  You will find everything from what to eat to cleanliness.  For the believer, the Bible is the best place to start.  Then, I would recommend Emily Post's book, "Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home." 

As I mentioned before, this is an excellent topic to add to any curriculum.  Teaching your children the blessings of etiquette and teaching them how to respect those around them is an incredibly invaluable tool! 

"Remove from me reproach and contempt,
         For I have kept Your testimonies.
 Princes also sit and speak against me,
         But Your servant meditates on Your statutes.
  Your testimonies also are my delight
         And my counselors."

Psalm 119:22-24

My Grandmother, an elegant and refined lady.

This post is linked to: Raising Homemakers, Muthering Heights, Renee's Joy Journey

Prime Time to Evaluate Real Femininity

Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

And Adam said:

“This is now bone of my bones

And flesh of my flesh;

She shall be called Woman,

Because she was taken out of Man.”

Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

Genesis 2:22-24

The word "woman" can be found 379 times in the New King James Version of the Bible. Obviously, God loves women to have them mentioned so often. Sadly though, too many Christian women do not see this. They have been blinded by the feminist movement. Some have been blinded willingly, some have been blinded through ignorance. I never called myself a feminist, but looking back on my life, I see that I did act and think as a feminist. I have repented, that is a lifestyle...a god that never should have been worshipped. I have now embraced my femininity, the way God created me to be. Other women too are waking up and realizing that something is very wrong with our culture. It is not enlightened, it has been blinded.


A hot story in the news right now involves the sexulization of little girls, primarily by the store Abercrombie & Fitch. I can see progressive feminists waving the banners of freedom to allow girls to dress like a seductress at younger and younger ages simply because, "they can." That is what the women's liberation movement was all about, "my way!" Or another good analogy would be, "I, me, myself, mine...it's all about ME!" The feminists who use this tactic subdue their victims (men) in their weakest area, the mind. They use sex and sexulization to their advantage and encourage other women to bare it and share it with the world.


That is not entirely true though because we have the other side of the feminist movement as well...the ones that chop their hair off to look like a man, dress like a man and act like a man. In their hatred of men they try to superimpose themselves in place of men even encouraging science that would literally try and displace the male species such as eugenics, controlled in vitro, and cloning. Even laws are passed to suppress masculinity! Both sides still agree though, "It's all about ME!!!"


Feminists do not play well with others. They are the first ones to cry out when they have been mistreated, but are never found when someone else has been mistreated with whom they do not agree. I have watched them mock, ignore, file biased lawsuits, stomp on the weak, gorge themselves on power, and the list goes on. The feminist movement may have started out with a few good ideas, perhaps even motive that was not selfish, but has become an uncontrollable monster that cares for no one and nothing.


 So, why do we allow this in the church? I have asked this question several times and I believe that part of the answer lies in the fact that the church itself has become corrupt. The church has gorged itself on power and prestige and with huge buildings being built and "programs" that need funding, the church cannot teach Biblical Womanhood. To teach Biblical Womanhood, they will lose that second income tithe and giving, for churches with schools and daycares, they will lose that income if women choose to follow the Bible...literally. The churches will lose the income from counseling from the unhappy and dysfunctional families where women follow the feminist movement instead of Biblical Womanhood.


Now, I will say, that yes, there are a few churches that do teach Biblical Womanhood. However, they are few indeed. But, God is raising up a generation that is hungry for true Biblical teaching. A generation that desperately wants the truth and what is real! A generation of women that is tired of the lies and tired of doing everything themselves. They have witnessed the failure of the feminist experiment in their own lives and in the lives of their mothers. There is a generation that has realized that two are better than one...even in the simple things. This generation is waking up to the excitement of a reality that has been suppressed for over a century...that it is okay to be a feminine woman and enjoy it!

"Let your fountain be blessed,
      And rejoice with the wife of your youth.
       As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
      Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
      And always be enraptured with her love.
       For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman,
      And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?
       For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD,
      And He ponders all his paths."

Proverbs 5:18-21