SPECIAL OFFER on new necklace listen in my Esty store!!! :)

Just wanted to show off this new piece and inform you of a special offer...

Purchase this necklace with the matching "Summer Love - Aqua earrings" and save 10%!!!

Delicately handcrafted with fine glass beads in a stunning "aqua mix", silver plated charms and delicate glass pearls for a finishing touch. This necklace is sure to become a summer favorite for your day - and evening - at the beach, at home, or out to dine. Frames the throat beautifully as the heart shaped charm, dancing with beads and pearls, adds romance to your ensemble. Closes with an easy-to-use silver plated toggle clasp.

Necklace measures 15 1/2" long. Heart charm hangs at 1 1/2" and is 3/4" wide.
Please click on the image in the right hand menu for more photos and information.

Thanks for letting me share! I have a new piece that I'm very excited about coming up in a few days! :)

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The Modesty Police - Our Parents

I meant to do this as a Mother's Day post, but life ran away from me. Consider this a very late gift, Mom! ;)

I came out of my room on a beautiful Sunday morning feeling very satisfied with myself. I'd been clever enough to plan out the day's wardrobe earlier in the week and everything had gone together effortlessly. My white blouse and white/navy polka-dot skirt matched and I slipped on my heels without deliberating for 15 minutes over which pair best completed my outfit. Plus, I had on a new necklace and and earring set I had just made, which I had specially adjusted so that it fit well in the neckline of my blouse. I felt like I had everything together.

Then I trouped into mom's room to get what I thought would be a quick approval so I could run and eat before we left. Not so. Mom was looking at me with her "furrowed brow" face. Uh oh.

She began slowly, "Amanda, I'm not sure about that shirt..."

My first impulse is to sigh and begin explaining to her why it is perfectly all right, how I wore it only two nights ago when we had company and how she's just not used to summer fashions and exposed camisoles yet. Come on, don't I look lady-like and well put together?

Mom isn't so sure. It might be ok for other occasions, but she doesn't like the sheerness of the shirt, showing my camisole underneath. Just not for church. She reminds me to remember that there's lots of young girls there who look up to me and follow my example.

By now it has crossed my head that maybe God is trying to take down me down a peg. But, not yet willing to give it up, I run down to the basement where Pa is busy preparing music for the service and demand, "What do YOU think?", hoping that his opinion will be different. It's not.

Growling, I storm up the stairs, fuming at the world for being so darn picky and not letting me wear what I want. I say some things I shouldn't. I slam my bedroom door.

By the time I have changed my outfit (grimly taking extra care that it will meet the approval of the entire universe) I'm feeling rather bad. It's not like my parents are unreasonable. They don't expect me to put a bag over my body so that nothing but my head and feet show. There's been many times where I've been unsure about an article of clothing, tried to push my uncertainties away and then had them confirmed by my parents in such a way that I KNEW that I was the one who was wrong. In all possibility, it's probably ME who is off-kilter right now.

I go downstairs, get ensemble approval and apologize. And then I really start to think about why I wear what I wear and why I need to listen to the advice and counsel of my parents.

In Matthew 12: 33-37, Jesus says, "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

"Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." I think that this can also be applied as, "Out of the overflow of the heart, the body dresses." No joke.

The way we dress is very important. The condition of our hearts, is, of course, the most important, but I am convinced that our motives for the way we dress reflect who we are inside and are influenced directly by what we believe and our ways of thinking.
I am rather rebellious by nature and often enjoy doing things for "the shock factor", seeing how close to the edge I can push things and get a reaction. I need to be very careful of this tendency when it comes to what I wear. The really scary thing is that lots of times our real inward reasons for doing things get lost in words of excuse and just plain carelessness. It doesn't always enter my head that I am specifically doing/saying/wearing something out of rebellion or the desire to make a sensation. I've had to train myself to ask this question over and over again;

"For what reason am I wearing/doing/saying this? Am I striving to glorify God or myself?"

This is where our parents come in. You have to admit that when you are not closely or emotionally caught up in a situation, it's almost always easier to see the right and the wrong. On that momentous Sunday, I had planned my outfit out long in advance, spent a deal of time getting ready and was very satisfied with my finished appearance. I had become emotionally caught up in the entire ordeal and came to show off my ensemble to my parents with my head full of frilly thoughts that I had "dressed" myself up in. My parents, on the other hand, were able to look at me at face value and make a clearer decision about the suitableness of my dress for the occasion.

And they were right. :)

So, be encouraged - we are all on the journey of "to be or not to be?" a.ka. to wear or not to wear/to do or not to do/to say or not to say (and et cetera) as we strive to honor God and His Word in our daily lives. It's a long and complicated journey and one that I am thankful my parents are able to share with me. And even if we don't always agree, I believe that it is important to honor my parents, because God has clearly promised that if we do, "your days will be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you." Exodus 20:12

Sounds good to me! ;)

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AmandaBeth Boutique - Etsy.com Store Launch!!!

I am very excited to announce the opening of my new online store! Please click the link in the left-hand menu, take a look around and let me know what you think (including what else you'd like to see in the future). A lot of tiny details and hard work has gone into this and right now it is largely in the experiment stage as I play with techniques, pricing, materials and et cetera, but we are open and ready for business!

I am currently only listing jewelry but I hope to have up some really gorgeous and unique tote bags by the end of summer (can't promise anything until all the "wedding-ness" is over - which is going well! :). I am really hoping that God will bless this endeavor and that I will learn from all the experiences that come my way - your prayers are appreciated! :)

Thank you all for stopping by - have a lovely rest of the week!

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LIFE: Busy and Beautiful

Spring is here with a vengeance and I am thoroughly enjoying it. We had a weekend of pounding rain and our driveway was a swimming pool yesterday morning. Getting out to the car for church was a real job. I decided to wear my tan wedge heels (by Xhilaration) and was glad of it - both of my feet stayed high and dry as long as I was careful not to splash around too much. :)

My sincere apologies for the lateness of this post. Life is so wonderfully, crazily busy. For those of you who may not know, I am in the middle of major gown construction for my friend's wedding. This will be the fourth wedding I've been in (first time as a bridesmaid) and it's truly like nothing I've ever experienced before. I have a lot of other things coming up over the next few weekends; a girls night, a "Prince Caspian" pre-movie party, and a bridal shower. So, if the posts are a little less then consistent, you'll just have to forgive me. :)

STORE PREVIEW!!! OPINIONS, OPINIONS...

My Etsy.com store is almost ready to launch and I am really excited! I would have had it online before now, but I needed to get a new account to work out all the payment details. I can't believe how many tiny things go into putting together the finished product, but it's been very fun and rewarding. I will now proceed to tease you with a picture of one of my new jewelry items - the "Stroke of Midnight: Blueberry Ice" bracelet. Please leave your thoughts - I will keep you updated on the store opening!

I have also been picking up my drawing quite a bit and am working on a set of note cards/prints featuring fairies (always a favorite subject of mine :). I'll give you a preview of one of these as well and would like some opinions. Which would you be more likely to purchase - a set of varied note cards or a print? And do you prefer black and white designs, or should I add some color? Thoughts are very much appreciated as I am trying to decide in which direction to go.

FUTURE POSTS

I am hoping to do some reviews of different pieces of beautiful and feminine pieces of clothing (and et cetera) used in films, with hopes of inspiring you in the great adventure of searching for the lovely amidst all the muck that we find in department stores. Please feel free to throw suggestions at me (on other style and beauty subjects as well). I have a list of topics a mile long already, but it's a matter of matching the topic with my writing mood, so plenty of options are a huge plus.

Next Sunday being Mother's Day, I may just try and punch out a post on the Modesty Police a.k.a Your Parents. :)

Lots of exciting things going on - have a blessed week!!!

P.S. I now have a mailing list if you want to sign up for free email updates! This way, you will be notified when new blog material is updated, rather than having to keep checking to see if Amanda finally got her act together and posted! ;)

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