Buying A Coat for Chicago Winter?

Question:
I am moving to Chicago soon, and my friend who already lives there advised me to only buy a Northface coat- she says any other coat, even though it has a down filling and feathers, will not be good enough. Any suggestions to if she is right or what other coats can I wear? I saw a nice Calvin Klein coat that looked warm but she thinks I will freeze to death in it. Is she right?

My Reply:
I've lived in Chicago most of my life…some winter days will get really cold, some not so bad, but your friend's probably cautioning you for the worst (or really bad for somebody used to warm weather).
I'm not too familiar with Northface, but I hear they're pretty good...and expensive!  I bought a really nice down coat from Old Navy a few years back for a good price, and it's still a great coat.
Either way, though it does have to do with the coat, the secret to keeping warm in Chicago mostly has to do with learning to dress in layers. When I say layers, I mean a tucked-in, skin-tight shirt, another tucked-in shirt over that, sweater over that, sweatshirt, turtleneck, or hoodie over that, then the heavy coat. For your lower body, wear 2 pairs of socks and long underwear under your jeans. It’s also good to buy gloves a little bigger than your hands so you may put those knit, 1-size fits all-gloves under them (one winter, I even lined my pockets with plastic sandwich bags to help block the wind)! Buy a scarf and/or performance face-mask, and a hat.
When looking for that heavy coat, be sure to buy one with a fleece—insulated hood.  Long coats, or the kind that come just below your butt, are nice, too, for they help to block the heavy winds. And you want it to zip up to your chin. A good coat to shield you from the wind-chill is one with some sort of plastic-like coating…something that will keep the wind from penetrating the coat...wool works well, also.

Honestly, I'm not trying to scare you, but I'm also not exaggerating here.  Some DAYS really do get down to -20 F with a colder wind-chill (what the wind feels like when it hits your skin). I once stepped off a curb to cross the street and I felt like my kneecap was going to shatter, it was so cold.

If you don't buy it online, then in order to buy a good coat for really cold weather, you’d be better off buying one when you get there.

---Pastor Andy

I found some coats on Amazon worth checking into, and that would DEFINITELY help you survive Chicago winters:

         

   

Proper Image of Women?

Question: Do you believe that women should always wear dresses, never wear makeup, and never cut their hair? Just wondering?

My Reply:

Often times when Scripture tells women not to wear makeup or certain clothing, it's talking about either cultural norms & insults, or keeping order in worship.
In terms of the cultural norm, the length of women's hair was what gave them their beauty. Also, for a woman to have short hair would get her confused with guys. So if a woman were to remain pretty and not confused with a guy, her hair was to remain long (same goes for wearing dresses). It was actually considered shameful for her to cut it for that reason, although women did sometimes shave their heads when in mourning. I think I read someplace that when they did that, their mourning period would last for the amount of time that it took to grow her hair back out.
In terms of keeping order in Worship: During the time of Paul, women would often attend service all decked out, which of course caught the attention of men. Paul addressed this, for in worship, the focus is supposed to be on God, not on some hot chick in the front of the room, ya know? Church isn't supposed to be a pick-up spot, but a place of worship.

Today, a woman's beauty is recognized by so many other means. Although we do still have the issue of women wearing provocative clothing in church, leading to the similar issues that Paul addressed in the Bible.  I believe that in worship, women (and men) should wear clothes that are comfortable and don’t bring attention to themselves (thus keeping the focus on the Lord).  Outside of worship, whatever she wants for the occasion, although I believe it would be most honorable for her if it's modest (especially a Christian woman/girl).  But that’s another blog for another time.

---Pastor Andy