#Dressember – Advocating for Relief from Oppression

I love dresses. However, that hasn’t always been the case. I recall my mom having to declare a boycott on any clothing other than a dress for a whole week when I was younger in the hopes of changing my mind and bringing me around to liking them. But it didn’t work, and I still preferred to run in jeans or sweats, keep up with the boys (girls are so fickle, y’know? ;D) and pursue tom-boyish pursuits (though I still loved reading, did some sewing and you couldn’t keep me out of the kitchen).

While my mom’s plan didn’t work then (sorry, mom, for all the trouble I gave you :D !!), something is working now! Since having 2 little girls join our family of boys, I’ve slowly had my heart turned toward femininity and dressing lovely.

God designed women different from men for a reason, and he gave each of us an innate sense of inner beauty that sometimes just needs a little coaxing to surface. And there’s nothing quite like having little girls to dress up that helps with that process (though my friend Erin has 3 boys and she’s definitely got some great girly-girl style going on!). Not to mention the goal of teaching them gentleness and femininity and appreciation for beauty. (And lest you call me sexist, girls can still climb trees, play softball and enjoy hockey games, while boys can have fun with tea parties, baking and sewing, also!).

For the month of December, I’m going to be “ad-dress-ing” the issue of modern day slavery and oppression that is occurring across the globe. Men, women and children in Latin America, Asia and Africa are currently experiencing oppression in the form of sex trafficking, forced labour slavery, sexual violence, property grabbing, police abuse of power and hill tribe citizenship. A lot of it can be prevented by identifying the source of the corruption, lack of resources, and lack of good will in the justice system in these countries.

The International Justice Mission seeks to bring reconciliation for the innocent, freedom for the enslaved, justice to the oppressed and accountability for justice, while giving the governments the tools to prevent injustices from occurring.

And it doesn’t just end there! IJM also gives after-care support and training to change current corrupt justice systems and prevent these situations from recurring.

By participating in the #Dressember Project, my voice can be joined with hundreds of others as we raise a shout against oppression. WE CAN be their voice. We WILL make a change. We WILL make a difference.

Won’t you join with us in this endeavor to advocate for freedom and relief from oppression? Pray and consider joining our Justice, Love and Mercy #Dressember Team – the rules for participating are simple:

Dressember is meant to be fun (not the-worst-thing-you’ve-ever-agreed-to-what-were-you-thinking); still, a style challenge like this one demands some perimeters. So, here are the basic rules of Dressember:

Wear a dress every day for the entire month of December
You can repeat dresses (no one expects you to have 31 different dresses– in fact, consider your own sub-challenge, like: I will wear the same 5 dresses, styled differently, all month!)
When you’re working out, cleaning, sleeping, or if you have a job that requires you to wear pants, you can wear pants (we get that real life continues; just wear a dress when you can!)
You can wear skirts, but only over dresses
You can wear pants, but only under dresses

Think outside the box, the options are limitless! Yes, I know it’s December, and for some of us (ahem, hellllooooooo Canada :D) it’s going to be a cold month.

But try utilizing leggings (fleece lined are perfect, and there are so many fun options), pants, tights, and cardigans for some options. Vary your style with shoes or boots, belts, hats, scarves, jewelry and other accessories – you can’t go wrong with the myriad of ideas!

You can check out my Pinterest board if you’re still stuck and need more inspiration (because heaven knows, I’m terrible at coming up with my own ideas! I’m an idea-stealer – that’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it).

Follow Serving From Home’s board My Style Pinboard on Pinterest.

If you don’t want to join the challenge, but would still like to be a part of the project, we would love your support through prayer, encouragement, ideas and donations. Or hey, you can even start your own team!