{"id":17390,"date":"2012-06-05T08:30:07","date_gmt":"2012-06-05T13:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=17390"},"modified":"2012-06-05T11:15:35","modified_gmt":"2012-06-05T16:15:35","slug":"to-bikini-or-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/06\/to-bikini-or-not\/","title":{"rendered":"To Bikini or Not?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Anthropologie "retro" swimwear<\/p><\/div>\n

“Moooommmm.\u00a0 WHY do we have to wear a coverup with our swimsuit?”\u00a0my oldest daughter whined.\u00a0 “Because, sweetheart, it’s what girls do,” I replied.\u00a0 But is it really what girls do?\u00a0 Do girls and women really know how to be modest?\u00a0 Do they know how to feel beautiful without adding sexy into the mix?\u00a0 I’ll be honest, it’s not really\u00a0a thought that entered my mind until I had two girls.\u00a0 And, as the summer season is upon us, the reality of raising my girls to be modest has moved up the priority list.<\/p>\n

Taking it a step further, I really hadn’t given much, if any, thought to the whole “Is it okay to wear a bikini?” question until I read two articles from Catholic women I greatly admire:\u00a0 Jackie Francois over at Life Teen<\/a> and Lisa Schmidt at The Practicing Catholic<\/a>.\u00a0 Add to the mix, a Facebook post\u00a0of a friend clad in a low-cut, revealing bikini.\u00a0 I decided it was time to give this one to prayer and see what happened.<\/p>\n

Just how much skin is too much?\u00a0 How early should we begin teaching our girls the lessons of modesty?\u00a0 And, I am just being a complete prude when it comes to the whole swimsuit thing?<\/p>\n

How much is too much?<\/strong>\u00a0 I’m reminded of a beautiful quote from a Dominican Sister.\u00a0 During theology class she\u00a0mentioned to her middle school girls, “Don’t wear anything that invites someone else to sin.”\u00a0 Those cute shorts with the writing on backside, yeah, too much.\u00a0 Wearing your bikini top with shorts, but\u00a0without a coverup into Target, yeah, probably too much.\u00a0 There is one scripture, in particular, that comes to mind:<\/p>\n

Avoid immorality.\u00a0 Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body.\u00a0 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?\u00a0 For you have been purchased at a price.\u00a0 Therefore glorify God in your body. – 1 Cor. 6:18-20.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Wow.\u00a0 When put that way, it makes you rethink everything you wear.\u00a0 I might just be posting that on a sticky note in my girls’ bathroom in a few years.<\/p>\n

How early does modesty begin?<\/strong>\u00a0 I say, it’s never too early.\u00a0 I’ve insisted my girls wear coverups since birth and that we buy swimsuits that help my girls develop a healthy body image.\u00a0 It probably has much to do with a mom who’s pretty modest herself.\u00a0 Childbirth and the entourage of people in the labor and delivery room was a huge leap for me!\u00a0 During a car outing several years ago, my oldest son (eight at the time) asked why we didn’t eat at Hooters.\u00a0 Quite the discussion ensued<\/a>.\u00a0 Ultimately, I ended the conversation with, “If it isn’t something that glorifies God, then you probably shouldn’t wear it.”\u00a0 It was at that point he made this declaration:\u00a0 “One day, when I am President, I will shut down all the Hooters.”<\/p>\n

Am I just old-fashioned?<\/strong>\u00a0 Perhaps.\u00a0 But, I believe there are some parts of a woman’s body that should only be seen by God and her husband.\u00a0 I pray my girls see their bodies as a gift, not an object to be flaunted.\u00a0 That they are valued for their brains, not their chest size.\u00a0 That they come to see the magnificence of the creation, rather than as a\u00a0way to seduce a man.<\/p>\n

So, to\u00a0bikini or not?\u00a0 What do you think?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Moooommmm.\u00a0 WHY do we have to wear a coverup with our swimsuit?”\u00a0my oldest daughter whined.\u00a0 “Because, sweetheart, it’s what girls do,” I replied.\u00a0 But is it really what girls do?\u00a0 Do girls and women really know how to be modest?\u00a0 Do they know how to feel beautiful without adding sexy into the mix?\u00a0 I’ll be… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[90,89],"tags":[779,55,778,111,192],"class_list":["post-17390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-faith-blog","category-family","tag-bikinis","tag-catholic-2","tag-modesty","tag-theology-of-the-body","tag-women","entry","has-post-thumbnail"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":40423,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/07\/mommy-i-look-fat\/","url_meta":{"origin":17390,"position":0},"title":"Mommy, I Look Fat: A Lesson in Self-Worth","author":"Kathryn Whitaker","date":"July 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cMommy, I look fat.\u201d Oh those are words every mom dreams her child will say, no? 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