Lauren, I am so excited for you! You have made a huge decision that I know pleased the Lord. He is smiling on you for sure!

But that doesn't help you feel more attractive, does it? I know, I've struggled with not feeling very attractive either. Then, I came across some GREAT encouragements. First of all, this open letter from a guy to all Christian girls. I think every Christian girl should read it, so I'll go ahead and post it here.

” Dear Girls,

There are two kinds of men: Godly men, and worldly men. What kind of man do you want? I'm betting most of you said “a Godly man.” Someday, you want to marry a man who loves God with every fiber of his being because he will be an excellent husband and father. He will honor and be true only to you. Most women want a Godly man or at least think they do. Well, I think I have found a way to tell you exactly what kind of guy you will get. I don't even have to know you! All I have to do is look at you. The kind of guy you want or will get is advertised by the clothing you wear. I know what men want. Trust me, I am a guy. I know more guys than you do and I know them better. I know what we think, what we talk about, what we want, and what we look for, and it is different for each one of us depending on our relationship with God. I'm sure you already know this, but men were created differently than you. We have different desires and priorities. Our eyes and minds react very differently to some things than yours do. It isn't disgusting, perverted, or wrong; it is wonderful and good! It is how God made us. It's how we handle these differences that separate a Godly man from a worldly man.

A worldly man doesn't control himself, rather, he looks at anything that attracts his attention or gets him excited. A worldly guy has no problem when girls wear clothes that show off skin, like boxers, high or low cut shirts, low rise jeans, and “cute” little swim-suits. He's a fan of tight-fitting shirts and pants that show off your form, he thinks they're fine! Worldly guy watches a lot of TV and R-rated movies, isn't really offended by sexual content or nudity and secretly dabbles in pornography. He's a “Christian” and makes up a significant portion of your church and youth group. He's a really nice guy and sees you mainly for your body. If you were to marry worldly guy, he'd bring lots of baggage into the relationship, have intimacy problems, entertain thoughts of other women, and possibly cheat on you.

A Godly man is in control of his drives and desires. He constantly seeks God and reads his Bible. He “walks in the Spirit” and isn't set off by everything he sees. When immodestly-dressed girls, magazine covers, or risqué advertisements come into view, Godly guy quickly “bounces his eyes” away from the image. He's constantly guarding his thoughts and what he allows into his mind. He hates being around girls that disrespect him and his struggles by wearing inappropriate attire. Godly guy doesn't watch much TV and is selective about the movies he sees. He views you as a person, knows you and respects you. He has your best interests in mind and guards against inappropriate thoughts of you. If you were to marry Godly guy, he would give you the emotional attention you need, he would ignore other women and remain faithful to you no matter what.

Unfortunately, there are more worldly men than Godly men. And to make matters worse, to the untrained eye, a worldly man can look a lot like a Godly man. So what can you do to only attract a Godly man? An important way of delineating between them lies in how you dress. As mentioned before, the clothes you wear advertise what kind of guy you are looking for. If you dress immodestly, you will attract worldly guys and scare away the Godly ones. It all comes down to the kind of man you want to spend your time around and eventually marry. You cannot afford to be complacent in this area of your life! You will pay the price someday.

This issue isn't limited strictly to you and your future relationship. The way you dress directly affects other men and women and their relationships. You don't see the struggles, the pain, the tears and the sin that you cause, but I can promise that you would be shocked if you did! Ask any Christian young man; we've all seen it. It's kept hidden but it is definitely there. By dressing immodestly, you effectually spit on the struggles of our weaker ranks, appearing to care more about toying with us than helping us. You'll never know how many broken relationships and lifestyles of sin you've contributed to simply by the way you dress. You want to marry a Godly man someday, well so do many other women. Don't just help yourself and your future, help all women and their relationships by showing discretion in your dress.

Of course, I understand the desire to look stylish, attractive, and “cute.” It's important to fit in and get attention. Trust me, it can be done modestly! I also understand that it is easier for some girls to find stylish and well-fitting clothes than it is for others. This is an area where guys really don't understand what you are up against. But just remember, for every sacrifice you make to honor God with your image, Godly men are making sacrifices in their lives that are just as hard, if not harder! They will and do respect you so much for choosing to be modest! A real lady is conscientious of the image she presents, and real men want a real lady. And you can forget about any guys missing out on how attractive you are because you don't wear revealing clothing. You could wear a circus tent and we would still know; it's a gift we have.

Devin Swecker”

Wow. That is always really powerful to me. Okay, so the next thing that helped me realize that I could dress attractively and be pretty was this WONDERFUL thing called The Modesty Survey. You can check that out here: http://www.therebelution.com/m…..estysurvey

The Modesty Survey is an exciting, anonymous discussion between Christian guys and girls who care about modesty. Hundreds of Christian girls contributed to the 148-question survey and over 1,600 Christian guys submitted 150,000+ answers, including 25,000 text responses.

Especially check out the petition, the general questions( like “Can girls dress attractively without being immodest?”), and the open questions. It will be a HUGE encouragement  to you, I garantee it. It is also a really helpful resource for deciding whether or not an outfit is modest.

Another thing is the HUGE wealth of online modest stores. Check out Christa Taylor(Christa-taylor.com) and Style J (denimskirts.com) for starters on some cute, chic, modest clothing. Just do an in ternet search for “Modest skirts”or “Modest clothing resources”, etc., etc., and you will find a HUGE amount of adorable modest clothes.  Obviousley, you will get some of the 'extreme' modesty sites, but there is a LOT of really good stuff out there. I don't even bother going to the mall–there's nothing good there! I get all my clothes from thrift stores, hand-me-downs, and online. 

Something I did not say in my original reply, I would like to add now. Someday, sometime, a Godly guy will look at you, a modest girl, and give you "That look" and you won't have any doubts that he thinks you are attractive. And you won't have to worry that he is thinking inapproprately about your body, but you will know that he thinks that you, as a person, a godly young woman, are beautiful. And someday you will marry a guy like that. And trust me, he will be so grateful to you for saving your body for him–it'll be worth it all. :-)

Another thing I forgot about as i wrote my original post is an article by someone who simply calls himself "Gentleman" on Christa Taylor's blog. You will smile, laugh, and maybe even cry as you read this. "Ten things Guys love about Girls" http://www.empoweredtraditiona…../#more-660

I hope this has encouraged someone! If anyone has any questions or comments about dressing modestly or femininely, please feel free to post or PM me!