I have a pet peeve – I get annoyed by derogatory tee shirts.  I’m not talking about band tee shirts with questionable content on them.  I’m not even talking about tee shirts with “bad words” on them.  (Although I’m not a fan of those either.)  I’m talking about the adorably cute tee shirts that puts down someone that you are supposed to love.  Warning, I think I might have just stepped on a soapbox…

How cute would a little boy be in that tee shirt? “For Sale Little Brother, by Big Brother”?  The wording of it looks adorable, and its probably a sentiment that is felt by all big brothers at some time.  (They also have “For Sale Little Sister” ones available.)  But then I wonder why a parent would buy that for their child?  Why do you want to encourage that kind of teasing?  Why do you want the big brother to think it’s Ok to not want the little brother?  And why do you want the little brother to think they are not wanted?  I know, I know… it’s cute, it’s funny, can’t I take a joke?  But at whose expense is the joke?  (For more on words that hurt, read this past post)

Then there’s also the tee shirts making fun of husbands.   “I hate my husband”  Sure, maybe a wife may feel that way some days.  But why would you, even jokingly, announce that across your chest.  I’m sure the husband doesn’t find that funny, and it’s not going to help him grow into a man that you desire him to be.  I’ve heard it said (from where I don’t remember) that in our lives, women desire to feel loved and men desire to feel respected.  Of course God knew that.  In His word, He commanded us, “However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” (Ephesians 5:33)  If we want our husbands to love us the way God asks them to, perhaps it would be helpful if we would respect them the way God asks us to… and I’m pretty sure that its not wearing a shirt like this, or bad mouthing them to our friends, or calling them idiots…

I just had the opportunity to go away with some girlfriends for a long weekend to a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) convention.  Knowing that women love to shop, especially when we don’t have our children with us, they had a huge resource fair with a ton of vendors.  My favorite was Union 28: Marriage Apparel.  “Union28 (formerly From*me Tees) was started by a married couple who knows what it is like to work through hard stuff and yet stay together and stay committed, choosing to forgive and be forgiven, only to grow in our love for each other MORE through it all.” (To read more, go to www.union28.net)  They have created really cute clothes that positively affirm your spouse.  I couldn’t resist and bought the “My Husband Rocks” zip hoodie… how could he be mad at me for spending money on that???  And you know what, my husband does rock (both in the awesome sense and the musical sense!)  But on the days that perhaps I’m not feeling that he rocks (either because I’m extra moody or maybe he simply is not being perfect), I think it would be better to put this hoodie on to remind myself that he does rock, rather than put on the “I hate my husband” tee shirt which serves no purpose other than tearing him and our marriage down.   (For more on our thoughts about our husbands, read this post)  Ok, I’m stepping off my soapbox now…

♥Becki