Women of Class

Hello, my dear friends. Last week I shared my heart with you regarding chivalry, and our desire for men to behave as gentlemen. Well, today I'd like to take a look at the other side of the coin. My dear beautiful ladies, it's our turn. Let's talk about class. And I hope you still love me by the end of this post.

Class:  Showing stylish excellence. A person who is poised, graceful, mature, or portrays any of these qualities in dress, mannerism, language, and everyday life. A person who possesses excellent self-control; is gentle, soothing and inoffensive. Classy. Elegant.

Elegant:  Gracefully refined and dignified; showing good taste; simple and clever. Graceful and attractive in appearance and behavior.

Grace:  Simple elegance, refined; poise, finesse; polite and thoughtful way of behaving; courteous good will.

This weekend, thousands of women in cities all across America are marching and taking a stand for equal rights. And yes, our voices need to be heard. There is power in our words. It's just so unfortunate, though, that the women's movement that was, and still is, intended to bring equality to women - including equal pay for equal work - has gone so much further than that and is taking away something that is precious and priceless. If we're not careful, this "movement" can take away our beauty as women. Our femininity. Our elegance. Our grace. Our charm. Our class. Equality does not mean that we should lose our identity as women and start acting like men:  becoming bra-less, cigarette-smoking, liquor-drinking, foul-mouthed, belching, slap-you-on-the-back, promiscuous 'bros. I'm sorry, but it's not pretty. It's not classy.

God created us as male and female, and we are different. It's ok. In this upside-down day we're living in, men are behaving as women, and women are behaving as men. Let's stop it. If we expect men to behave as gentlemen, well then ladies, let's start behaving as women.

Today I'm proposing a new challenge. If we really want to be heard and make a difference, let's embrace our femininity and be #WomenOfClass. There are thousands of powerful Women Of Class who have used their voices, skills, and influence to change a world that is hurting, and they should be celebrated.

Women Of Class are women who:
Love and honor God first and foremost, and look to Him daily for help.
Live their lives, privately and publicly, with honesty, integrity, humility, and self-respect.
Honor and respect men - starting in their own home - realizing that they are not in a competition for power.
Commit to loving their husband for a lifetime.
Commit to loving, nurturing and protecting their children.
Teach their sons to be gentlemen and their daughters to be feminine.
Are strong in spirit and courageous when facing challenges.
Are polite, kind and honest in their speech, not tearing others down with their words.
Are self-controlled - with their words and the way they live.
Are hard-working, both at home and in their careers.
Are creative trailblazers when pursuing their heart desires and dreams.
Are generous and help the needy.
Are stylish - poised, graceful, mature; elegant.
Are compassionate, gentle, soothing and inoffensive.
Tell the truth and speak up when injustices are present - defending the defenseless.
Do the right things, for the right reasons, in the right ways, at the right times.

Simply put, class is . . .
Carefully
Living
Always, with
Style and
Substance

Class is beauty, grace, charm, brains, and kindness extended to everyone we meet. And ladies, it all starts in the heart. When we recognize that God has created us to be kind, forgiving, gentle-spirited, and self-controlled, then we also recognize that we need His help daily, especially today in a society that tells us when we are embracing our femininity that we are weak. Nope - exactly the opposite. Ask any woman with class - is it really "weak" to live a self-controlled, kind, thoughtful, modest, respectable life? I think not. It takes a tremendous amount of strength and courage. So let's talk about that for a minute.

Ladies, you are more than just a beautiful face and a desirable body.

First, beauty is given by God, fades with time, and can be gone in an instant. Beauty is not determined by the color of your skin, the features of your face, the shine of your hair, or the shape of your body. True beauty oozes out of your innermost being through your eyes for all the world to see. Never forget that.

And let's talk about your body. You are beautifully made, but you do not have the right to do whatever you want with your body. Women Of Class have boundaries - God-given limits - on how they show respect for themselves and their bodies. Women Of Class understand that while their body may be a "wonderland" - it's not a "playground."

Your body is not an open attraction with a "come one, come all" mentality. Just because the world is screaming that you have the "right" to do whatever you want with your body doesn't mean that you should. It's beautiful and freeing to know that sharing the "secrets" of your body is meant for one man - your husband - for a lifetime. There, I said it. And I know that this is very controversial in today's way of thinking. But God set the standard. God loves you, and He knows that this adds value, respect, self-esteem and class to your life. Don't settle for anything less.

And speaking of self-control, I really don't think men like it or think it's pretty or classy when they see ladies falling down drunk and then crawling into bed with them. Oh, they will at times happily oblige, but they really don't think it's cool. Just ask them. If we want to demand respect, then we need to act respectfully.

While we're on the topic of bodies, let's also talk about how Women Of Class dress. The current styles of hemlines up to here, and necklines down to there have taken away the magic and the beauty of classy women. The trend today is that we're paying more-and-more money for less-and-less fabric, and it's even impacted the clothing styles of little girls. It's sad. I'm not saying that you should cover up from your chin to ankles, but I am saying that you don't need to show every nook and cranny of your body to be attractive. Let there be some mystery. Get up in the morning, shower, fix your hair and makeup, put on a bra, panties and a cute outfit, and face the world with class.

And while you're at it, teach your daughters that beauty starts on the inside. Teach them that class is beautiful. Changing course and turning this ship around starts in the home with moms training daughters, and daughters training daughters...from generation to generation. It looks something like this.

A Woman Of Class starts as a little girl,

Jovi - Future #WomanOfClass

And grows into a teenager,


Olivia - Becoming a #WomanOfClass

And becomes a young woman.

Heidi - #WomanOfClass

Little girls learning to love their siblings/brothers,

Jovi - #WomanOfClass

Become teenagers who love their siblings/brothers,

Olivia - #WomanOfClass

Who become young women who love their siblings/brothers.

Heidi - #WomanOfClass

Young women who love their siblings/brothers grow to love their future husband,

Heidi - #WomanOfClass

Become young married women who love their husbands and children,

Cortnie and Olivia - #WomenOfClass

Brittanica and Jovi - #WomenOfClass

Who become grandmamas and great-grandmamas who love their kids/grandkids.

Me and My 94-year old Mama - #WomenOfClass

The cycle of life. It is a beautiful picture of grace - passing the baton of beauty and class from one generation to the next. One woman at a time - one choice at a time.

As I am wrapping up this post, I want to tell you all that I love you. I want to honor all the women in my life who live with strength, dignity, respect, honor, courage, wisdom, and class. You are my friends and my family. You are God's medal-of-honor beauties, and I don't know where I would be without you. To my older friends, thank you for your love and encouragement, and for showing me perfect pictures of Women Of Class. To my younger friends - I know that I sound like a mom with old-fashioned thoughts and morals. Yep, I'm guilty - but I am fighting for these values because they are true and needed. Younger Women Of Class, I admire you. I know it's not easy today to live up to a high standard of dignity and respect. Keep it up - we need you. And just remember - class is timeless!

Just as we did last week with #MenOfValor, let's tell the stories of Women Of Class that you know. Use #WomenOfClass, and share/tweet your stories and pictures. We want to hear stories of your moms, grandmas, daughters, sisters, aunts, nieces, cousins, wives, coworkers, neighbors, and friends. We will all be inspired by these beautiful women and encouraged to do better. As iron sharpens iron!

With all my love and a heart full of gratitude,
Teresa/MamaT/GrandMama-T

May The Lord bless you and protect you.
May The Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
May The Lord show you His favor and give you His peace.

Class is alive and well in 2018. Pearls of beautiful lives - #WomenOfClass