Cart ID087 - Maiden Daughters 
03 Nov 2008
Those of you who have been reading the Issacharian Daughters newsletter for awhile will know how passionate I am about Titus 2v3-5. In newsletter ID024 I said this:
I want to encourage you to look at the younger girls at Church and to think about your influence in their lives and how that can be an influence for good in a world which is trying to influence them for bad.
In newsletter ID026, I told about how I had begun to develop relationships with some of the younger girls at my church. In newsletter ID040, I wrote about how encouraged I was that so many of you readers have your own ministries to younger girls. I commented that our mothers more often than not did not have Titus 2 women in their lives, but that our generation may be the generation which brings back the Titus 2 woman. We are doing it by asking older women to share their wisdom, by studying and applying Titus 2 and by building relationships with younger girls (including sisters!), encouraging them, being a witness to them and pointing them in the right direction.
I have very much enjoyed building relationships with the younger girls at my church, and when I got engaged, I hoped that I could include them in the wedding somehow. I wanted them to have front row seats! After all, I thought, they were between 12 and 16 years and would be facing all the questions and struggles which go along with wondering about the future, learning about emotional purity, friendships with young men and the like. In the grand scheme of things, it wouldn't be long before they would be getting married themselves. If my wedding could give them hope for the future - show that we can trust the Lord for husbands and that there are people out there who are pursuing purity and as a result doing things such as saving their first kisses for marriage (and that this is possible!) - then I really wanted them to have a personal part in my wedding and to be able to see this first hand. In November, after checking with the girls’ mothers, I sent the girls a letter which said that I was going to be moving to Australia after getting married. Then I went on to say:
But before I go, I thought it would be lovely to get together again. A friend of mine, Amy Lees, is qualified in Fashion and Design. She is a Christian and like me believes it is important for us girls to dress and act modestly. And like me, she understands wonderfully that a girl can dress modestly and also look very attractive. I’ve asked her to meet with me and you and the other girls and tell us about what she knows and in particular about colour and how different colours suit different skin tones. Our hope is that she will be able to do a simple colour analysis of you and each of the other girls. At the same time we’ll have a discussion on beautiful and feminine womanhood. It’ll be a great afternoon for all us girls.
I also asked another friend, Grace Jordan, to come and give a talk on looking beautiful on a budget. She is a marvel at constructing outfits without spending a cent (or very few cents!) and always looks wonderfully feminine and glamorous too! (Never in a way which is over the top, but always in a way which simply lifts the standard. Seeing Grace is like having someone whisper in your ear, "We don't have to dress sloppily like is acceptable in our culture. We can do better than that."). The afternoon was wonderful. I gave a talk on modesty, femininity and beauty. I talked about how beauty ministers to people and how we can minister to our families by seeking to look our best for them...like beautiful pillars in a king's palace (Psalm 144v12).
I gave my testimony about how, in seeking to be modest, I became masculine, until I learned that as a woman, God desired me to be feminine (See Article: "Reformation in Your Wardrobe"). And then I talked about the hints God gives us in Scripture regarding modesty and how a Christian ought to be covered. After this, we looked at parts of the Modesty Survey together (www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey). Amy gave her testimony and then taught us about colours and how different ones will look more attractive on some people than on others and harmonise better with their natural skin, eye and hair tones. She talked about accepting our own unique body shapes and how to dress different shapes and build a wardrobe. Grace enhanced Amy's comments with a show-andtell explaining how old garments can be made to look new, how to snaz up or accessorize second-hand finds, how to lengthen skirts and adjust old clothes and how to make lovely jewellery.
At the end, I invited all the girls to be part of my bridal party as maiden daughters. My sister Charmagne and I had designed the dresses they were to wear, and Charmagne had drafted a pattern to match. She had already taken measurements of two of the girls and had sewn up two dresses. So we had the girls model these for the others to show them what the dresses would look like. Charmagne then took everyone else’s measurements and later drafted patterns and cut out dresses for each of the other girls. Their mothers then sewed the pieces together. I also told them that I’d arranged for a group of skilled young ladies and one skilled older lady to do their hair and makeup on the day. As well as being my cheerleaders on the day (I told them their job was to rejoice with me!), they would also be in charge of three tables each at the reception and serve drinks and nibbles to the tables and clear away dirty dishes.
On the Friday before the wedding, I invited them to another afternoon. This one was on purity and courtship. I shared Pete’s and my courtship story and talked about saving our emotions (our hearts) for our future husbands and gave some Biblical principles for conducting a relationship such as being under the authority of parents, not stirring up love until He pleases (for example, not entering into a relationship until you are ready for marriage) and being equally yoked; and I gave some secrets for living pure lives such as not keeping secrets from parents, having a diet of good media and living according to God’s Word. Mrs Jordan (Grace’s mum) gave a talk, too, in which she addressed female flirtatiousness, what Godly young men truly desire in a future wife and the dangers involved in young girls getting a job at McDonalds (or similar setting) where there can be a lot of temptation to give in to one’s emotions and start going out with a non- Christian young man. Then we had a dress rehersal where we made sure each girl’s dress, shoes and jewellery were a-ok. My team of hair and makeup artists were there, too, and did a run-through on each girl so she knew what to do on the day with limited time. While the girls were waiting for their turn to have their hair and makeup done, Charmagne and I did facials with the rest.
The girls were absolutely marvelous on the day. They were so excited for me, looked so splendid, behaved so amazingly and served so delightfully. I heard a lot of wonderful comments about them, including from some that this was the most beautiful wedding they had ever been to. These young ladies really did make the day beautiful. And taking their job as cheerleaders seriously, they went so far as to secretly draw up score cards for the reception. Whenever the glasses tinked, and Pete and I kissed, there were 14 girls giving us 9.9s and the like (very generous!).
Next week, Lord willing, I hope to tell you about the wedding
reception.
For the Greater Glory of God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
Genevieve de Deugd
Issacharian Wife