"Dress For Success"

Every week I receive an "Evotional" in my inbox on Monday mornings. This was such a blessing to me, and something that I have been pondering so much lately that I simply had to share it. What gems of truth!

Verses for the week: Proverbs 31:22 and 23, "She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land."

This week I am writing an article to myself. I am reminding myself of something that is very practical yet very important. I admit that, sometimes as a mom of young kids with little time for myself, I need to press the reset button. I hope this article can be a help to you, but, truthfully this one is for me.

We are busy, ladies! I don't have to tell you that. There often seems to be more to do in a day than we have the time or energy to get done. If you are like me, once the first child wakes up, it is pretty much nonstop action until bedtime. Maybe you do not have young children, but you can relate because your job, coupled with your home duties, keeps you hopping all day long. In all this busyness, it is easy to feel that we do not have time to properly take care of ourselves, but this is a mistake. Our wardrobe and grooming are important and should not be neglected, even on the busiest of days.

Why is our appearance so important? I'll tell you why; how we feel about ourselves will determine how we perform our duties and how we relate with others. We need to feel confident in the work we have to do. Cleaning a house may not seem like important work, but it is. Rearing children is vital. Being a good wife is not only a job; it is also a wife's purpose in life. If you work a job outside the home, that, too, is very important. All of the things we do in a day should demand our best, and we cannot give our best when we do not feel good about ourselves and our appearance.

When I was a child, there was a family down the street from my house, consisting of a husband, wife, and four young boys. These boys were active, to say the least! The mother of the family, Sandy Goult, was a friend of my mother. Even as a young girl, I can remember my impression of this lady. She was always smiling, always kind, always fit, and always looked nice. She once gave my mom a piece of advice that I heard my mother repeat hundreds of times through the years. She said, "When I feel down, I dress up." Simple, yet life-changing!

We get up in the morning, and we don't feel well. Or maybe we are just in a bad mood. Perhaps we didn't get much sleep. Possibly we feel fine, and our mood is fine; but we are bored with the duties that lie ahead. In each of these situations, our natural reaction is to throw on something that reflects how we feel. Maybe we just stay in our pajamas. Maybe we put on that jean skirt that we've worn for the past three days. "Whatever, I'm just gonna be around the house today." But that is a mistake. All the times we least feel like wearing something nice and fixing our hair, those are the times we should make the extra effort. Why? Because our appearance determines our performance.

The military knows this principle. A soldier in uniform is going to do a better job than a group of guys in sweatpants and T-shirts. Most companies have a dress code at their work for this very reason. Every boss knows that production goes down whenever there is a casual dress day at the office. How you dress is a direct reflection of the importance you place on your job. Wife and mom, is there any job in the world more important than your job? I say "No."

If we don't get dressed and fix our hair and makeup before the "craziness" starts, then it will be noon before we realize that we still need to dress. If we take a few minutes to put on a clean, pressed outfit; brush our hair; and put on some makeup, we will be shocked at how our mood changes, and how much more we get done throughout the day. Another important task is to make sure that we have on a pair of shoes. This sounds really silly, but try it. If you get shoes on right away and keep them on all day, you will see a difference. You will get more done. This really works!

Mrs. Cyndilu Marshall is an assistant pastor's wife at our church. She once said, "I dress up because of who I represent. If I was the wife of just anyone, and he did just any old job, I could wear just any old thing. But I am the wife of Bob Marshall, assistant pastor of the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana. I want to dress to show that I feel the importance of my position." That advice really stayed with me. Every wife should feel that way about her husband. You are showing the world how important your family and your church and your duties are to you by the effort you put forth in your dress. Most of all, you tell the world the value you place on Christianity by your appearance. On two different occasions I have had young women approach me in stores and ask me where I went to church, simply because of my clothing. I had the opportunity to be a witness for Christ, because I dressed like I belonged to Him.

Proverbs 31 teaches us an example of a pattern lady. She takes excellent care of her family, her health, her business, and herself. She is a very hard worker. Verse 22 shows us that she wears beautiful clothing, and cares about her appearance. Verse 23 tells us that her husband is an important man with an important job. I feel that those two verses fit together. Quite possibly she is so careful about her appearance because she has great respect for her husband, and her dress is one way that she shows that respect.

We need confidence to face the situations we will face each day. Let me ask you? If I have to discipline my child and I take him into the bathroom for a serious talk about his behavior, do you think he is going to take me very seriously if I am in my pajamas and my hair looks like the birds are building a nest there? I don't think I am demanding much respect. Even little children are aware of our appearance. I need the confidence to discipline with authority. Often women feel disrespected by their husbands. Let's be very honest. Is our dress demanding any respect? If your husband leaves for work and you are in your nightgown and he comes home from work, and you have upgraded to the bleach-stained jean skirt, no hairdo, no makeup, is he naturally going to have tons of respect for your just because you changed ten diapers and mopped the floor? Sorry, it doesn't work that way. Our appearance plays large role in the amount of respect we receive.

Now that fact may make you bristle, but it is simply true. You feel the same way toward others. Employees feel a greater respect toward a boss who dresses up for work. We all unconsciously gravitate toward the clerk in the store who is nicely dressed. It seems to say that she knows what she is doing. Let's help ourselves gain respect from others by caring about our appearance. I don't mean that we have to be fancy, but we should look nice and put together. Personal hygiene goes without saying. Cleanliness is essential every day of our lives.

Silly as it sounds, we may feel vain if we spend any time on ourselves. Of course, there is a balance. Your family should not have to wait on you as you spend hours on your hair, nails, and makeup. But your family will appreciate the fact that you care about yourself. Husbands, children, employees, friends - everyone wants to feel proud of you when they are with you. Take those few important minutes each morning to make yourself presentable, even if it means getting up 20 minutes earlier. Your appearance will help you with your confidence level, which will improve everything you do all day long. We, as Christians, are to show the world the proper way to live. Let's set the standard in the area of dress as well. Christ deserves to be well-represented.

~Molly Audiss, Christian Womanhood


Just this Saturday, the Lord gave me the opportunity to share Him with a young woman who worked at a Yankee Candle store in the mall because I was dressed nicely.

She said, "Can I ask you a question? Do you have to wear skirts?"

I said, "No, I don't have to wear a skirt, I do it because I represent the King. I want to always give Him my best."

She said, "I have a neighbor who is a Christian and she always looks nice, and wears skirts and dresses, and she is just so nice, too! Her kids come over several times a week and train my horse for me! Just because. I figured as soon as you walked in that you were probably a Baptist like her. (I confirmed that I was) I was wondering, can you tell me what exactly is the difference between what Baptists and Lutherans believe?"

The opportunity to explain to her the security of the believer ~ that once you are saved you are always saved ~ was laid at my feet. I left her with the most thoughtful look on her face, giving God all the glory because "I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing." But for the grace of God, that could have been me, and I remember the impact that other godly women had on me when I was searching for God. I wanted to be beautiful just like them. I know now that their outward beauty was actually a reflection of their inward beauty. That which my heart was really longing for.

We received a vivid illustration of the importance of dress earlier in the week when we made a trip as a family to visit Camp Chetek. Our Pastor was preaching that night on putting on the whole armour of God. He had his three year old son, Timothy, dress up with a helmet, shield, sheath, and sword as an illustration for his sermon. To encourage him to wear all this stuff, his Momma told him she'd dress up like a princess so he wouldn't feel so conspicuous.

She wore a beautiful, purple dress with long, princess style sleeves, and even a small train. It was so gorgeous! It looked like a costume from a distance, but up close you could see that it was very simply, but meticulously made; practically a work of art. She positively glowed with beauty.

What struck me though was the reaction this drew from others. Everyone was looking at her with smiles, and looks of admiration and respect as they passed her. Girls kept coming up to her and telling her how much they liked her dress with awe in their eyes and voices. You could see the princess in them just longing to come out. They wanted to be just like her! I'm sure that when they think of her in the future, they will be remembering her in that dress, with that same spirit of admiration and respect. I know that will be true of me.

Do I always dress nicely, even when I'm just going to be home all day? No, but I am working on it. For some reason I've been doing much better in this area since we moved into our new house. Ironically, now that we live well off the beaten path and the likelihood of someone just dropping in is greatly diminished, my house is generally clean and I'm dressed for company. Go figure. But my productivity level has skyrocketed, let me tell you. :) Josh has been impressed. He even called and left me the sweetest message the other day thanking me for accomplishing so much so that when he comes home, he doesn't have to do anything except sit back and relax. I praise the Lord for the grace He's given me to do it, I really do.

The Lord has shown Josh and I over and over again the importance of raising the standard high (in all areas, not just in dress) because in all likelihood the following generations will progressively fall beneath the mark. This is the importance of leadership. Everything rises and falls on leadership. The lower our standard is, the lower our children's and their children's will be.

Psalm 40:16 "Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified."

The bottom line is: "Christ deserves to be well-represented!"