Comments for More Than Serving Tea

Comment on WWJW or What Would Jesus Wear (if Jesus Was a Tween/Teen Girl)? by Kathy Khang

Kathy Khang — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:51:08 +0000

I should’ve used the threat of lace earlier this week. Elias looked a bit sloppy for the winter sing the other night.

So many teen girls dress so scantily that there is hardly any “dress” to remember. That is my fear….or rather, I fear that my daughter and her friends will wear so little that others will think little of them. But it seems rather unfair to bombard them with images of models wearing short-shorts, lower-than-low rise jeans and tops that would fit the dolls they just stopped playing with a year a two ago and then expect them to know the difference between fashion and obscene. There are many days when I wouldn’t mind school uniforms.

And unfortunately it doesn’t get that much easier for us the older we get. You’re right. Dressing impeccably feels like a lot of pressure.

And if any of you are still following the thread…what about swim wear for you or for the teen girls in your lives? One-piece? Tankini? Bikini?

Comment on WWJW or What Would Jesus Wear (if Jesus Was a Tween/Teen Girl)? by Kathy Khang

Kathy Khang — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:34:39 +0000

I haven’t run into clothing issue with my sons yet, but I’m sure it has more to do with location/demographics. I saw a ton of boys dressed like thugs for Halloween, which made me cringe for a variety of reasons. So far my boys prefer to wear their pants at their waists instead of around their butts, and they’ve laughed at the pajamas as daywear look.

But I appreciate the POV you bring – struggling with the concept of being a new creation in Christ, godliness inside and out, while living out their teen/preteen years in 2009. The pressure to fit in is real because no one, especially our youth, want to feel or be lonely and excluded based on our appearances.

Comment on WWJW or What Would Jesus Wear (if Jesus Was a Tween/Teen Girl)? by hopeintheghetto

hopeintheghetto — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:55:16 +0000

I don’t have kids myself, but through our ministry I spend a lot of time with tweens and teens. I see the girl tweens (ages 12 or s) already shopping at Forever 21. I see the girl teens wanting to fit in and look like their peers, but struggling too with the concept of being a new creation in Christ and learning what it means to be a Godly woman (on the inside and outside). And our teen boys too.. they struggle with this as well, but in a different way (they want to dress and look like thugs because everyone looks like one here). I really like 2 Cor. 5, how it reminds us we are ambassadors in Christ (so yes, we should be asking ourselves WWJW).

Comment on WWJW or What Would Jesus Wear (if Jesus Was a Tween/Teen Girl)? by Spiny Norman

Spiny Norman — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:58:19 +0000

disclaimer: I don’t have children. But, when shopping with my niece I refuse to buy anything for her that a Bratz doll would wear. It makes her laugh every time and helps me make the point that some things are not appropriate.

My mom never dealt with me on the fashion front but I remember she used to threaten to sew lace on my brothers’ shirts if they didn’t tuck them in for church.

I saw this quote on a friends Facebook page: “Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.” -Coco Chanel

I kind of like the quote except for the fact that it feels like a lot of pressure to dress impeccably. Perhaps the quote works for me if I can change it to “dress your body” (or, “dress your age”) and they remember the woman. Something like that. I like the sentiment that there is a way that a woman can dress that brings out HER.

Comment on WWJW or What Would Jesus Wear (if Jesus Was a Tween/Teen Girl)? by Pauline Chiu

Pauline Chiu — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:45:39 +0000

Thanks for the honest sharing on this topic. I think it’s great that you have that balance between being beautiful in heart and also in how we dress as women. It’s great that you would allow your daughter to grow in finding her own taste but at the same time making sure that it doesn’t go overboard. I hope there are more mothers like you who would be able to find such balance in raising their daughters. I hope I’ll one day be a good and balanced mother if God would give me daughters in the future.

Comment on WWJW or What Would Jesus Wear (if Jesus Was a Tween/Teen Girl)? by eliseanne

eliseanne — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:41:15 +0000

Lisa, I am right with you on all those issues. I work with teens, and boy, do I see all that often.

My mom used to have a rule that if a shirt I was wearing made those horizontal lines between the breasts, showing how tight it was, I couldn’t wear it. She also made me sit down before I could by pants. And if the pants were too tight that they showed panty lines and necessitated a thong, I couldn’t get them, because she didn’t like thongs on teens.

I always check the distance from the top of my pants to my belly button and make sure it isn’t more than a finger length, otherwise I know my shirt won’t cover me.

Investing in long tank tops or camis to wear under cute but short shirts was one of the best decisions I ever made.

Comment on Do You Watch What You Eat? by Phantom Dentist

Phantom Dentist — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:25:56 +0000

I too remember frequent rides in the bus through junior high, with someone yelling “banzai” every few minutes from the back. Being the only Asian person in the bus besides my brother, not hard to figure out who it was directed at. Haven’t thought about it in years, but even thinking about it now riles me.

Comment on Do You Watch What You Eat? by t-hype

t-hype — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:04:49 +0000

thanks for asking about little 뻬뻬로. she’s as cute as ever!

Speaking of cute AND fragrant food, I should add that people shouldn’t worry too much about “food breath”.

Last week, my super cute salsa partner inadvertently let out a kimchi-laden burp while we were dancing. HILARIOUSLY embarrassing. Didn’t hurt his cuteness quotient at all…just made him all the more memorable!

Comment on WWJW or What Would Jesus Wear (if Jesus Was a Tween/Teen Girl)? by Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:37:37 +0000

Things that make/have made me cringe: the low rise jeans with showing thong phase. i rejoiced mightily when longer shirts came into style again to cover whatever was low-rise. I prefer low-rise jeans, but sitting is a necessity.

On the topic of leggings, I think the most awful trend I have seen currently is leggings AS pants. A few NU girls and I regularly discussed how awful it was to see leggings that looked merely like tights worn as pants. Now, with an appropriately long shirt, a sweater dress, or some other long tunic top, I’m fine with it, but otherwise a) it’s really revealing and not any more flattering that a leotard is on a person’s backside b) it looks more like exercise pants c) it just looks ridiculous. I once saw a girl at an NU cafeteria wearing sheer leggings with a short NU t-shirt. Doesn’t seem like a look anyone should try to pull of, but if anyone could have, it would not have been her.

I think classic is always a good way to go. The say it’s better to use trendy accessories than the whole outfit. Trends that are revealing end up looking ridiculous in 10 years. Right now in California, tween girls in my town are are wearing skirts that just barely cover the butt (like Rachel on Glee wears) and sheer black panty hose. Not the best look for awkward teens.

Comment on Do You Watch What You Eat? by Kathy Khang

Kathy Khang — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:01:05 +0000

Thanks for reading, and I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog!

I love fish and seafood in general. I would have come over in a heartbeat and enjoyed your mom’s fried fish! Have you found that “Southern” cooking has gained enough acceptance and a level of familiarity that you are more comfortable with those “embarrassing” smells or does the memory of the embarrassment still affect what you will cook and serve to friends and guests?