Today was the first day of warm weather in the Northeast and so my mind has turned to the topic of appropriate swimwear.

Let me start by saying that I don’t dress like an Amish-Catholic. I wear non-tapered pants, and somewhat stylish tops. I wear make-up, and regularly shower before leaving the house. While I am not the most trendy dresser in the room, I will never be caught dead in the one-size-fits-all denim jumper or floral print prairie dress.

Overall, my appearance is important to me, as I believe a put-together and at least somewhat stylish mode of dress is an important part of my witness as a Christian wife and mother. My goal is to blend-in with my surroundings, all the while dressing in a modest manner so as not to cause an occasion of sin for my brothers in Christ.

And so I just don’t get those Christian women out there who wear a bikini. Every year, I come across another woman in my life, a woman who I know shares many of my deeply held beliefs about faith, and she surprises me by wearing a bikini.

Here are some possible justification I have heard, or can think up, for wearing a bikini–

1. There are bikinis that are more conservative than one piece bathing suits.

2. I look good in a bikini, how else can I show off my superior physique?

3. I look bad in a bikini, I’m not tempting anyone.

4. Christopher West has approved of the practice in his recently released CD, “Bikini-Clad Without Shame,” or something like that.

By discouraging bikini’s I am not encouraging the Pamela Anderson Baywatch one-piece. There are obviously non-bikini style bathing suits that are problematic. By ridiculing one form of beachwear, I’m not approving of all other forms (e.g., nudity). Overall, my point is simple–I cannot come up with a good reason for wearing a bra and underwear in public. Can you?

FRUIT FLIES

Any amazing fourth of July dessert inspirations you can pass along? The white cake with cool whip, strawberries, and blueberries is patriotic and summery but loses its charm after several years (decades), plus its fatal flaw is its lack of chocolate.

If you live in Texas, apparently you’ve chosen well in this uncertain economic climate.

I just wanted to share that our robins continue to grow and thrive. The children have been amazed and remember to check on them everyday through the dining room window. They have feathers now and their eyes are open. It has just been beautiful and amazing to watch them. I am so thankful for the gift of having them in a place where we can really observe. It is funny, we had been planning to take out that bush because it has really intense thorns, but someone who knows the property told me that a robin nests there almost every year — for this, we will leave it alone! I may add a bird bath and feeder to some other windows so we can continue to observe nature. We have a pair of cardinals, too, who visit whenever there are crumbs on our porch, which is often!