Wednesday's Woman Guest Post - Amy

Today, I'm excited to have Amy from A Nest in the Rocks sharing with us today.  She's a perfect fit for sharing about Wednesday's Woman.  I hope her story will inspire you to pray for a mentor too.

When I got married nearly 9 years ago, I had lived in North Carolina less than 2 years.  As a new teacher, I worked nearly 12 hours each workday and had made many new friends – all of them transplanted teachers like me.  While my husband and I dated, it wasn’t a problem to have separate friends – but things changed after we got married. 

The teachers I knew kept moving away, and soon I found myself pregnant, moving across town, and swamped with the work of preparing for maternity leave.  The differences in the way my husband and I were raised became more and more apparent as we prepared for parenthood, and I worried about how we would make important parenting decisions.  With too much work, a busy husband, and no close friends, I found myself feeling very lonely.

Suddenly I began hearing people mention their mentors, and as the word kept popping up, I began to pray for a one.  I prayed for someone with similar parenting philosophies and ideas, a strong Christian, someone who would understand how difficult it was to be away from family and raising a family in a new environment.

Enter Susan, my new neighbor-across-the-street.  She came to school one evening before teaching her Pilates class and introduced herself, but then life kept us apart for months.  Eventually we got together, she with her grandchildren and me with my daughter, and we began to talk while they played.

I’m not sure how it happened, but somehow a friendship developed, and soon it was something more.  Susan proved to be completely trustworthy, and I found that we could talk about anything.  From meal plans to marriage tips, we’ve talked about everything. 

When one of us has a chocolate craving, we bake something and run some across the street – we can indulge without the temptation of an entire cake or batch of cookies.  We shop from each other’s pantries when ingredients go missing and pick up random items from the store for the other when out.  We even share a job at the moment – we split an assistant position in a local preschool.

Our relationship goes beyond just being good friends, however.  Susan often understands where I’m coming from because she’s been there herself.  Like me, she’s raised her children while living in a new state, away from her family.  She’s had to make new friends, deal with career changes, manage a household budget, cook healthy meals for a family, and grow with her husband. 

When I met Susan, I was just beginning to do all of that.  Susan has nearly 30 years’ experience on me, however, and she has the wisdom to match.  When something comes up, I know that I can count on Susan to let me talk it through and to give me wise advice. 

I don’t know what I would do without Susan across the street – and in my life.  Having a sounding board has proved invaluable – and knowing that what I share stays confidential allows us both to be open and honest.  With Susan’s example and experience to guide me, I don’t feel so alone anymore.

If you don’t have a mentor whom you can ask for advice, pray for one today.  No matter your stage of life, you can always learn from those who have more experience than your own – and who couldn’t use a good friend?

Amy is married to Dave and Mommy to one pretty princess and one tiny construction worker.  A former teacher turned SAHM, she blogs about homemaking, teaching, and living life at http://www.anestintherocks.blogspot.com./

Wednesday's Woman Guest Post - Teri Lee

Teri Lee was a little girl I watched grow up at a distance.  She is the same age as my little brother, so I saw her at school programs, awards days (and she racked up quite a few!), and cross country competitions.  I'm happy to see the woman she's grown into and delighted to have her share with us today.

Thank you, Teri Lee, for sharing your Wednesday's Woman with us!

Hospitality.

It’s more than just having people over for dinner, isn’t it?

My grandmother knows.  Her grown children and grandchildren (and now great grandchildren!) all live in different states.  She has been widowed for 12 years.  She has semi-retired and lives alone next door to the house in which she grew up.  It would be easy for a person in her position to sit at home and become lonely.  Grandma worked full time as a teacher and librarian, was a pastor’s wife who often led the music and/or played piano in her church, and raised three girls.  It would be fair for her to take these years to just rest and find things she enjoys to do.  But the Lord has work for Grandma to do.  So she gets up every morning and gives even more of herself to those around her…and in that act, brings life and love into her own home.

Grandma says that most recipes serve eight…so why would you just cook for yourself?  Instead of using this as an excuse not to cook, Grandma just fills her table regularly with (at least) eight people.  Her widowed neighbor across the street, single mothers and their children, and a constant stream of military families stationed far from home all come into “Grandma Shirley’s” house for a meal…and a taste of love that a real home brings.  She keeps a list of what she serves so she never serves the same thing twice (so if you love something, you better tell her you want it again…or you’ll never taste it twice!) and she always uses her prettiest plates.  No matter what is served, Grandma’s house is a place where the heavy-burdened can take a big breath, fill their stomachs, and refresh their hearts.

Matthew 9 talks about how Jesus ate with sinners because they were the ones who needed Him.  In a culture that is based on doing things to elevate and promote self, Grandma seems to specialize in calling people to her table that can offer her nothing but the joy of serving.  They are special guests to her…a chance to offer someone something they need in a hard time.  I know Grandma doesn’t see anyone as a “project” or a “charity case” but rather friends.  She has a gift of seeing them the way Jesus sees them…and loves them accordingly.

I’ve wondered before how Grandma meets all these people.  How does she always know people who need her table?  I think it has a lot to do with being obedient one time.  She meets a military couple who eventually asks to invite their neighbors over as well.  Those neighbors become her dear friends and eventually invite her over to their house where she meets their sister’s family who lives in the area.  Then, one of them moves and passes her name to the family who is being stationed in their place…and so on.  She stops at houses that she knows have been on the market when she sees the “For Sale” sign go down.  She tracks down every church visitor and notices the family shyly trying to get directions in town.  In other words?  She makes room.  Her life is busy (I’m talking about how hospitable she is…but she also sews nonstop for others, works part time at a college library in town, and is extraordinarily active in her church) but she is never too busy for people.  If you need her…there is always room.  She always has an extra card table, an extra hour, an extra ear for those around her.

Hospitality is more than opening your home.  Hospitality is opening up spaces in your life and heart for those who need the Jesus inside you the most. 

Teri Lee is a member of a little family that seeks after Jesus in all things.  She stays at home with her one year old son, Carter, and is wife to a wonderful man, Steven.  Teri Lee dabbles in all sorts of home hobbies with a great deal of enthusiasm and very little skill J.  She seeks to remember these moments that make up our lives at Castillo, Party of 4.

Wednesday's Woman Guest Post by Mindy

Yay!  I'm very excited to have my friend, Mindy, sharing about her own Titus 2 mentor today.  Mindy and I went to college together, and she was spiritually mature even then.  She met and married her husband their freshman year, had a baby a couple of years later, and she still graduated on time with a great GPA!  I was always very impressed! 

Here's what Mindy shares with us today:

My friend Tonya is the biggest Titus 2 woman in my life right now.   About 5 years ago I decided to make her my mentor, and I am so thankful that God put her in my life.  One of the biggest things that I’ve learned from Tonya is how to show hospitality.  She has a way of making you feel completely at home and welcome.  She gets what it really means to be hospitable. It’s not about spending  the 5 hours before people arrive super cleaning your house and cooking a visual masterpiece of a meal so that people will be impressed.  Instead, it’s about showing the love of Jesus in your life. By having people in your home, you’re opening up your life to them in a more intimate way.  If you have Christ, what better way to share Him than by welcoming people into your life?  There’s something about sharing a meal around a person’s table that opens up doors, that lets people see who you really are.  Some of the most encouraging times we’ve had have been spent hanging out in Tonya’s living room talking through  whatever questions we have or whatever is going on in our lives.

                Tonya and her family are also a part of an organization called RYFO that cares for touring musicians by offering them a place to stay while they pass through the area, feed them, let them take showers…really just helping them with basic conveniences that we take for granted.  Most travelling bands don’t have the budget for a hotel room every night so they will sleep in their van, outside, or wherever they can find.  Through RYFO, bands that are passing through the area can stay at a host home. Tonya’s family has had the opportunity to share Jesus in a tangible way.  She and her husband are effective because they are not only telling these musicians about Christ, she is offering them a place to sleep, cooking meals for them at 1am when the band comes in from a show, and staying in contact with the bands they meet through facebook (it’s NOT just a time waster!).

                Earlier this year, we moved to a new city so I don’t get spend nearly as much time as I’d like with my friend, but I hope I’ve learned enough to make people feel as welcome in my home as I have been in hers.

Mindy is a homeschooling mom of three kids.  She and her husband serve as a CARES team in their community through Apartment Life.  You can find her blogging at Mindy's Non-Adventures, a total misnomer!

It's Baa-aaack! - And She's a Good One!

I promised the return of Wednesday's Woman in November, and I'm going to keep my promise!  I've got some great ladies lined up to share about their own Titus 2 women, but I'm going to start us back with one of my own.  I believe she can be a source of hope and encouragement for other women too!

Because we live in a fallen world, and previous generations didn't instill too strongly the importance of Christian women marrying only godly men, there are so many women married to lost men or men who aren't bearing their roles of spiritual leader too well.  2 Corinthians 6:14 says, "Do not be mismatched with unbelievers.  For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness?  Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?" - and it goes on from there until the end of the chapter talking about our need to be separate from any unclean things or people.  We've got to train our daughters to only marry godly men, where to find them, and how to remain virtuous until the day God has appointed they find them.

I'm going to try not to run off onto a tangent that lasts too long here...But, I see single Christian women often flirting with the wrong kind of men while ignoring good catches altogether, and it drives me bonkers!  Bad boys do not bring lasting happiness!

So back to my Wednesday's Woman.  My husband's paternal grandmother, Louise, was a precious, godly woman in every way imaginable.  She was married to a lost man, Fred, for many, many years.  She bore him seven children.  She was a helper to him in their home.  Divorce was never a thought.  She only did what God commanded her, "Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even if some disobey the Christian message, they may be won over without a message by the way their wives live, when they observe your pure, reverent lives," 1 Peter 3:1-2 HCSB.

We don't see this often in today's culture.  Even Christian women may divorce their lost husbands because they don't want their children to grow up in a divided home.  Or, even more often, Christian women will live with their lost husbands but not bear submissive spirits and nag their lost husbands about what they should be doing (going to church, leading their families in Bible study, etc.).  This is why I share the example of Granny Louise. 

All those years that Fred was lost, Louise loved him, submitted to his leadership in every way that didn't lead her to sin, and didn't nag him about church.  She prayed for her husband, and she didn't beg him to read Scripture to the kids.  She did it herself, every morning at breakfast that she lovingly prepared.  Fred wasn't walking away from her biscuits, so he heard it too!

As for church attendance, she still got her children ready herself (no excuses that getting kids ready by yourself is too hard!).  Louise didn't have a driver's license, so Fred drove them.  Why not?  She was a good woman to him all the rest of the week, so he was willing to carry her there, even though that meant he had to sit in the car and wait on his family.  No air conditioning in the church meant the windows were open.  Fred heard the preaching of God's word! 

Those years of Louise loving and serving the Lord despite her husband's leadership bore fruit.  Fred accepted Jesus as his Savior in 1966.  Calculating from the time they were married (just prior to Fred's leaving to serve in WWII), I figure they were married about twenty-three years before Fred became the spiritual leader of his home.  And, he began serving in his church.  It wasn't a one-day deal.

Ladies, if your husband is lost, don't give up hope!  Don't stop doing the things you know to be right.  God's timing is perfect!

As for other fruit from this couple: Six of their seven children also came to know the Lord, and I personally know well four of the men were and are mighty men of God.  Three of their four grandsons are in ministry full time, and the fourth grandson is thirteen years old.  God gave Louise a great lineage of grace.  He can do it in your home too!

Wednesday's Woman - To be Continued

When I began this blog, I really desired to do profiles of Titus 2 women because so many women think they can't be Titus 2 women, that they are some way not prepared, that it is too difficult a task, etc.  I wanted to show how easy it can be if we keep our eyes open for the relationships God brings us.

I never want to pressure myself to stretch to come up with a Titus 2 woman or a woman who found herself in a Titus 2 moment, so I need to hear from more of you (blogger or not) about the women in your lives while I watch for more profiles I want to write.  Since volunteers aren't throwing themselves on me, I'll be looking for victims (otherwise known as friends willing to do a favor given a little encouragement).

I'm going to give myself until November to start Wednesday's Woman up again.  If this is the main feature you're interested in, hang with me, and read on some other topics in the mean time!

Biblical Wednesday's Woman

Have you started shopping for Christmas yet?  Not yet?  What about making your shopping lists?  That's where I find myself.  Last month, I actually began coming up with gift ideas for my children for my parents and others that ask for those ideas.  I have some ideas in my head for the shopping I intend to do, and I hope to make some orders soon so that I will be free come December to enjoy the season!

All this planning, preparing, and dreaming about celebrating the birth of Christ has me thinking about the biblical account.  I can't help thinking about Mary receiving word from Gabriel that she would conceive the Son of God by means of the Holy Spirit.  How appropriate that she would run to the other woman Gabriel mentioned, her older cousin Elizabeth!

Not much is said about the time the two women had together, but Elizabeth does encourage younger Mary's heart telling her, "How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me!  She who has believed is blessed because what was spoken to her by the Lord will be fulfilled!" (Luke 1:43-45).

Now, we had already seen the obedience of Mary's heart as she said to Gabriel (in verse 38), "I am the Lord's slave...May it be done to me according to your word," but I can only imagine Mary needed the encouragement from Elizabeth.  Many a time in my own life, I have set my heel, determined in my heart, and committed to the Lord something, but have found that at just the time I've needed it most, God has sent me word by way of an older woman to encourage me.  That's what I believe Elizabeth must have been like to Mary.  

Verse 56 tells us that Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months before returning home.  The birth of John comes just after that.  Even though Mary missed the birth, I'm sure the ladies enjoyed being pregnant at the same time.  It is such a fun thing to have overlapping pregnancies with a friend or family member.  The anticipation of multiple lives is a joyous time.  I was one of four teachers in my school at the time expecting babies during my pregnancy with my first child.  Another friend living in the same apartment complex had her first child just three months later.  My brother and his wife had their first child just nine days before my son was born, and I was also able to share that time of pregnancy with a friend at church.  If a younger woman is soon to become a mother, whether by natural birth or through adoption, she does well to look to older women who've gone through the joys and trials of early motherhood to have someone to pray with and share in her own new adventure.

I know many of you are just sick that Christmas decor is already out in the stores, and many of you just want to enjoy Thanksgiving first.  I'm right there with you, but God can use these times to help us to focus on the details of the birth of the long awaited Savior.  I'm thankful that God gave us the example of Elizabeth!

Rhonda

So many times in my life, I feel as if I've made a friend just in time to see them move somewhere else or for God to call my family elsewhere.  Praise God for the Internet and free long distance on cell phones! 

Rhonda was one of those friends.  Maybe four or five months before my family last moved over three years ago, I met Rhonda at McDonald's.  She was there having lunch with her two sweet little girls, both close to my oldest daughter's age.  I was there with my girls and my friend, Amy.  Amy and I both felt we'd seen Rhonda somewhere before.  I summoned the courage to ask her where we knew her from. 

As it turned out, we'd seen Rhonda at the library, but not during the story time we attended.  Having been the only two moms at story time for several months (Lord bless the librarian who worked so hard for just our four kids), we were all too excited to invite Rhonda and her girls to join us the next week.

Over the next several weeks, our friendship quickly blossomed.  I very soon saw what a quiet and gentle spirit Rhonda possessed, a lot like Amy, and nothing like me!  Our families all had fun together, and story time grew too!  It was through Rhonda's interaction with those newcomers to story time that I was most impressed.

You know that desire for your children to hang around other kids that have good qualities, manners, and parents that love the Lord?  Please tell me I'm not the only one who was picky about this even in the preschool years.  It makes sense in the teenage years, but preschool? 

I so admired how Rhonda opened her home with great hospitality to a lady at story time with a girl that was a little wild.  I was a young mom that needed to see someone carry out the simple act of allowing her children to be a part of a play date with someone that needed to come to know Christ.  I'm thankful I was able to hear Rhonda lovingly and gently correct a young guest in her home when her mom wasn't around to do it.  She provided fun and simple snacks that made the little girl feel welcome.  It opened the door for Rhonda and her husband to form a relationship with the little girl's parents and invite them to church.

In the meantime, Rhonda's girls weren't ruined.  Playing with this "wild child" for a few hours once a week didn't mess with the training they were receiving on a daily basis.  How I needed that lesson!

Rhonda, just a few years older than me, was a great Titus 2 woman to me, and continues to be through God's great gift of cell phones!


*Remember, if you would like to submit an article for a Wednesday's Woman, please contact me at titus2moments(at)hotmail(dot)com.

Mrs. Roxie

I talked about my camp roommate, Mrs. Roxie, yesterday.  I can't begin to explain what a great Titus 2 Woman Roxie is to me and many others!  First off, she's a great babysitter/stand-in grandmother for my children!  I feel quite comfortable leaving my children with her overnight.  That's such a precious gift to someone that lives far from family.

Mrs. Roxie has been married for forty-one years to her husband, Jimmy.  They have two grown sons and three grandchildren.  Mrs. Roxie strives to be a force in her grandchildren's lives that will lead them closer to the Lord. 

Mrs. Roxie is a breast cancer survivor and can tell you of the way God saved her life on at least two occasions in which others were praying for her.  She testifies of the good God has done in her life even in the midst of trying times.

Like me, Mrs. Roxie is a big believer in missions education!  She grew up as a Sonbeam and in Girls in Action.  I've heard her share with young girls what she learned in these programs.

I'm so thankful for this Wednesday's Woman!

Mrs. Diane

This is Mrs. Diane Faircloth, Wednesday's Woman for today.  Last week, she and her husband, Jim, visited our family and church.  Mrs. Diane was our featured speaker at our WMU's salad supper we hold every September.  It was a great time of refreshing for me to just be around another ministry wife.

Mrs. Diane is a rare jewel in ministry wives.  While I find there are wonderful ministry wives "out there", after moving to our church just over three years ago, few of them welcomed me.  All of them in our association work outside the home except me.  One ministry couple invited us out socially for an event the first Christmas we were here.  An associate pastor's wife at another church just recently invited me to lunch a few months ago.  So you can see why I was eager to soak up this time with Mrs. Diane!  In our visit, she was able to understand my concerns as only a ministry wife could.

Mrs. Diane is her husband's helper.  In their thirty-four years of marriage, she has aided him in whatever way she could.  For the most part, where he has gone, she has gone.  On overseas mission trips, he has lead teams, she has lead teams. 

Mrs. Diane talked to us about being "missions women", being prepared to do ministry at all times.  She challenged us so well as she shared her testimony about how God has equipped her and stretched her as needed to do whatever He has called her and her husband to do.  She hit the nail on the head when she told of us that there are people who's "hearts are expecting us".  It was a great evening, and I hope it got our ladies geared up and prepared to do missions this year!

I thank God for Mrs. Diane and her example to me as a Titus 2 Woman!

Wednesday's Woman will Continue!

For those who may be wondering, I'm still doing Wednesday's Woman!  I think this marks my fourth week of a hiadus from featuring a Titus 2 woman, but she shall return next week!

I happen to be hosting a wonderful woman and her husband this week at our home, and I hope to write about all I can glean from her while she's here!  So stay tuned!

And remember - I'd love to feature someone who has been a Titus 2 woman to you!  Contact me at clintandlauren@live.com if you're interested!

Sewing Moments

The last time I used a sewing machine, it wasn't pretty.  It was almost six years ago.  I was putting together a quilt top and bottom with the batting in between.  When I finished, I had the awfullest crooked line!  I proceeded to hand quilt the top.  The first square was beautiful, the second was okay, and the third was terrible.  I folded it up, put it in a box, moved it twice from apartment to house to another house, but it hasn't seen the light of day since I finished that third block.  Maybe one day...

I do desire to master the art of sewing one day.  I'm certain I can do it because when I was in sixth grade, I made an apron that still does a good job of keeping messes off of my clothes when I cook. 

Today's Wednesday's Woman is Mrs. Teresa.  She is our volunteer church secretary who does a better job than most paid staff secretaries.  We love her at our house!  Mrs. Teresa is currently teaching the art of crocheting to some of the younger ladies in our church through a new sewing circle they've created.  She is teaching the younger generation of women a domestic skill, having fellowship with them, and even reaching out to women who aren't members of our church through the time she spends with them in sewing circle.  I am so thankful we have Mrs. Teresa to serve as a role model to younger women.  She loves her husband and is a great helper to him.  She gave up her career to be home with her children, and the sacrifices she and her husband have made for her to be home has freed them both for ministry.  I am so thankful to have this example before me.  She is a great Titus 2 Woman!

Amanda

"Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall."
-Proverbs 16:18


I must've had too much pride in my clothesline use yesterday when I wrote that post because I didn't take my clothes off the line before heading to my oldest daughter's orientation at school.   Normally, I take the clothes off by 5:00 and have them folded before bed.  Some days, I even get a load off by lunch and hang more up in the afternoon.  Yesterday was incredibly busy and I forgot about them when I began dinner earlier than normal.  Of course, we had a major downpour in that one little hour I was away from home.  Praise God for the much needed rain, and today, I am embracing my discipline and being humbled.  I took the towels and sheets off the line last night to (gasp!) dry in the dryer, but I left the clothes on the line to dry today, and it will take all day because they were fully drenched.  Oh, well...


For Wednesday's Woman today, I would like to feature my friend Amanda.  She wrote a guest post a few weeks ago about her grandmother, but Amanda is a Titus 2 woman as well.  Amanda and her husband, Ben, work with our youth at church.  On Sundays and Wednesdays and through many youth activities, Amanda is able to teach younger women.  I'd like to focus on some simple time she gave to the girls this summer in hopes that it may encourage other women to do the same.


Every Thursday this summer, the girls met at Amanda's home for Thirsty Thursdays.  Amanda had the girls help prepare a lunch together and clean up afterwards.  I could've used some of that so there would've been more variety in my first year of marriage.  My poor husband had so much chili beans, spaghetti, and grilled chicken salad that he's still sick of those meals years later even though I've added to my repertoire quite a bit.  If I'd only had a young woman like Amanda teach me some more meals, I would've been better equipped!


Thirsty Thursdays also facilitated more women to be Titus 2 women.  Amanda had a guest speaker each week to share with the teenage girls about various topics.  Last Wednesday, I got a sweet thank you note from the girls with a bag of hard candies in appreciation for the week I spoke.  I think that I am like many other women in that I am all too willing to share from my life experiences but don't always see windows of opportunity to do so.  Amanda provided that opportunity.


I hope that by sharing about Amanda, you might see how simple it can be to be a Titus 2 woman.  This is a concept that could work not only in the summer, but also through the school year by doing a lunch one Saturday a month.  Look and see when you can train the next generation of godly women!


*If you'd like to share about a Titus 2 Woman in your life by writing a Wednesday's Woman guest post, please contact me here.

Granna

I am back from my anniversary trip with my husand, and we had a great time!  We decided to go to Charleston this year.  We've only been there together for one weekend for a wedding a couple of years ago, and despite the heat, it's a beautifully, romantic place to visit.  This Carolina Native Girl enjoyed seeing some historic sites and just going downtown to shop and eat, holding hands with my husband.  What's a vacation without getting "knee deep in the water somewhere"? - so we went to Folly Beach one day.  Also, having being a Baptist my whole life, I really wanted to see First Baptist of Charleston, the first Baptist church of the South, not that I got to see much of it.  I climbed as much as I could, with a boost from my husband, to peek inside the windows, and we walked through the graveyard, reading the tombstones of the Furman family.  

All of the fun we had wouldn't have been possible without the best babysitter ever, my awesome mother-in-law, Jennie, or as my kids and nieces call her, Granna.  In the midst of all that she has going on with her job, her church, and her elderly parents, she was willing to take a day off and care for our four children by herself while Papa was at work during two of the days my husband and I were in Charleston.  She showed my oldest daughter how to do some sewing, something which makes Granna a rock star!  

In the past, Granna has taught me about flower gardening.  I needed her help the first few times I put pots together, and from there, I couldn't get enough.  I can ask her expertise about baby care concerns because not only did Granna raise my husband and his sister, but she also was a foster mother for several years. 

I am so thankful for Jennie and how she is a Titus 2 Woman to me and to my girls.  She is a worthy Wednesday's Woman!

*I'd love to post more pics of Jennie and of First Baptist, but Blogger's not cooperating.  Maybe another time!

Anniversary Post II

Today is the day!  July 27th - our 9th Anniversary!  I'm just a wee bit giddy!

For Wednesday's Woman this week, I want to reflect back on someone who had a part in our wedding, the pianist, Mrs. Whitten.

Mrs. Whitten was my middle school music teacher.  She did a great job!  I always looked forward to going to music class in fifth and sixth grades.  I only saw Mrs. Whitten in the hall after that because I had Advanced Art and couldn't also take music.  I was only in Adv. Art because Mrs. Whitten didn't choose me for chorus.  I hold nothing against her for this - she has good ears.

I did see Mrs. Whitten's beautiful home quite often though because I passed by it many days of my life as she lived very near where I grew up.  On occasion, I would see her with her husband (the high school art teacher) and twin daughters.  I knew her only from a distance until my senior year of high school when one of her daughers was in colorguard with me.  That's the colorguard in the marching band, not the ROTC.  It was then that Mrs. Whitten began riding on the school bus to competitions with us as a chaperone, but mainly, it was so she could French braid our hair.

Let me chase a rabbit for a minute.  I love braiding my three girls' hair.  Not just anyone can put their hand in your hair.  It's a deeply personal space up there on the top of your head.  It feels good to have someone brush your hair.  I like to do special things with my girls' hair because it is their crowning glory as little women, it's a way to give them something special that doesn't cost any money, and most importantly, it's a way I can spend time with them and connect.  I envision them as preteens opening up and talking with me as I do their hair. 

It was just that type of thing that would happen for me with Mrs. Whitten.  She and I talked as she braided my hair.  It was just before my senior year of high school that I met my future husband.  She listened to me gush about my new found love and saw me as I gave a sign language "I love you" to him when he came to our competitions.  I don't think she thought it was silly, at least she didn't let me feel as if that's what she thought.

The two years following high school graduation, I worked as the colorguard instructor for my alma mater.  This afforded me many more opportunities to spend time on the bus with Mrs. Whitten.  I talked with Mrs. Whitten about the classes I took and the still present boyfriend.  It was during that time that Mrs. Whitten shared some with me about her dating experience with Mr. Whitten, her college sweetheart.  I soaked it in.  I don't remember how long they had been married at that time, but not too many marriages make it that long anymore.  I appreciated hearing this Christian woman share with me how she and her husband had made it.

Flash forward another eighteen months or so, and I needed a pianist for my wedding.  We were kind of between pianists at my church at the time, my roommate was a music performance major who was also an international student and was going to be out of the country at the time of the wedding, so I was feeling stuck.  I drove by Mrs. Whitten's house as I so often did and felt as if God had given me the answer to my problem.  I called Mrs. Whitten and asked if she'd be willing to play for us.  She was willing, but her fee was a little beyond the budget my parents had allocated for a pianist.  I called Mrs. Whitten back to tell her I'd have to find someone else, and she told me she'd do it anyway. If memory serves me right, my parents did come up with her fee after all was said and done, but the offer was unbelievable.

The music was beautiful, and it was a major part of some of my memories of the day.  I remember being nervous as I heard "Canon in D" being played fby Mrs. Whitten for the bridal party to come down the aisle.  I rocked back and forth to the beat waiting for her to begin playing "Trumpet Voluntary" for my dad and me.  I remember the recessional, "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" sounding just like my heart felt, exuberant.  

Mrs. Whitten gave me a great gift that day and on all the days that she spent time braiding my hair and listening and talking with me.  She was a wonderful Titus 2 Woman to me!   

Wednesday's Woman Guest Post

On Monday, I had the privilege of sharing a guest post with Heather at Raising Mighty Arrows.  Today, Heather is going to share with us about a Titus 2 Woman in her life.

My Titus 2 mentor was a previous pastor’s wife.  (Previous meaning the church I attended before I married…not previous in the fact that it was this particular pastor’s “previous” wife!!)  I was saved at the age of 19.  I wasn’t taught a whole lot about homemaking growing up.  Sure, I was taught to do my chores such as clean my room, do laundry, clean the bathrooms and kitchen, etc., but not in a cheerful, God-honoring way.  And definitely not with the intention to one day take on the role as a homemaker. 

Shortly after my conversion, I moved in with my pastor and his wife and three children for about a year.  It was in their home that I learned what a Godly home, marriage, and family looked like day in and day out.  It was there that I learned what submission looked like.  There was never any yelling or arguing….if there was I wasn’t there to notice it!  It was there that I saw first-hand the Mother and Father praying early in the mornings, and again at night with their children before bed.  There was peace and contentment and everyone seemed to enjoy one another.

About 8 years later, I am now the wife to a minister, a mother to two small toddlers, and a homemaker.  I try desperately to do it all correctly….or at least in a way that pleases God and my family.  I long to make my own home a haven of rest for all who enter here.  I long to teach my children the importance of prayer, and how that it’s best to start and end each day with it.  I desire to train my own daughter (and any future ones) how to be a Godly wife, mother, and homemaker. 

Heather joyfully works alongside her husband as they embark on a church-planting ministry in a small church in their community.  They have two toddlers, age 3 and under that keep them very busy.   Heather loves the Lord and her family with all of her heart and longs for the day her children come to know Christ as their personal Saviour!

Thanks so much, Heather!  I've enjoyed this week with you!

If anyone else would be interested in sharing, please e-mail me at clintandlauren@live.com.

First Guest Post!

My friend, Amanda, will be sharing with us today about her Wednesday's Woman. I'm so excited to have her write for my first guest post! Amanda is a Titus 2 Woman herself, working with the Acteens at our church. She and her husband, Ben, have been married for three years and have one great baby boy. I hope you enjoy her post as much as I do!

My Wednesday Woman is my kind, self-controlled, and godly Granny. Throughout the past 27 years, my Granny has continually showed me love in various ways. She has looked for opportunities to instruct me and she has helped me to become the woman that I am today and still striving to become.

“Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.” Titus 2:3

My Granny took the time to teach what was good to me. Numerous times, my Granny talked with me about the three most important decisions I would make during my life. They were: 1) Surrendering my life to God and allowing Him to be my personal Lord and Savior. 2)The man I chose to marry...a man who desired to live completely for God. 3) The job I chose to have. (Younger ladies....this is so true! I am getting to reap the blessings from these three decisions that I have made!!) My Granny and I went on many walks together and ate many bowls of ice cream together. As I went through different struggles as a child and teenager, my Granny would seize these opportunities that these difficult struggles brought to teach me and help me realize that when I faced similar situations in my future to make decisions that would honor and glorify God.

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.” Ephesians 4:32

During my senior year of high school, my Granny was mugged as she was entering her home. The man pulled her down the front stairs as he was trying to take her purse. She ended up being in the hospital for four weeks as she recovered from a broken pelvic bone and other minor injuries. Just before the homecoming dance, my friends and I went to the hospital to visit her. Rather than taking this time to complain or have bitterness about the mishap, my Granny told us how she was praying for the man. Wow! I remember the night she got mugged, riding to the hospital, ready to find the man and for him to suffer punishment for what he had done to my Granny. Praying for him was the last thing on my mind! The forgiveness that she showed during this time was an impressing and life changing lesson on my heart.

“...It is more blessed to give than receive.” Acts 20:35

My Granny has a very generous heart and is willing to give whatever she may have that she thinks you will need. If I drive her somewhere, she tries to give me gas money. If she comes over to our house, she will bring a roll of paper towels or a can of vegetables. She is very selfless.

Granny, for these reasons and more, you are my Wednesday’s Woman!

Thank you, Amanda, for sharing with us today! For everyone, there's more guest posts coming in a few weeks! If you'd like to share, just let me know!

Grandma Sallie

For the second time since our fourth child was born (he turned one on June 24), I'm alone to care for the kids. My husband is gone on our church mission trip. I'm not complaining. We enjoy the time, even though we miss my husband terribly. One of the positives is that I get a lot of work done staying up later because I can't sleep as well without my better half. I'm hoping to actually reach my goal of writing two to three blog entries this week. We'll see...

Anyway, this time alone makes me think back to the first time I was alone with four children. A few days after my son was born, my grandmother died. She had been my last remaining grandparent. I always called her Grandma Sallie. I didn't go to the funeral because we live so far away, and taking four kids five-years and under when my milk was just coming in wouldn't have been pleasant on the road, but my husband went to preach part of her service. He told me he didn't realize how much we were alike until after her death. I mostly take that as a compliment. I knew her godly characteristics, but I also know that some of the sins I struggle with were "inherited" from her.

Women don't have to be perfect to be Titus 2 women. Grandma Sallie was a strong woman who did whatever it took to provide for her family after the death of her first husband. At the time, the mother of five boys had three of them still living at home. My dad was the middle child of the five and fourteen-years-old. Grandma Sallie was a seamstress, working diligently with her hands. Not only did it put food on the table, but it provided my dad with a beautiful bride, as Grandma Sallie made my mother's wedding dress. Grandma Sallie was buried in a dress she made for herself to wear to my wedding. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to attend. A spider bite made her very sick with the frail health she already had regularly. It still touched my heart to know that the most beautiful clothing she had when she left this world was related to me in a small way.

Grandma Sallie had only a formal third-grade education, but she studied her sons' textbooks that they brought home from school to their homework. She always read novels, as long as I can remember, and most importantly, she read her Bible. We know that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight" (Proverbs 9:10), so Grandma Sallie had all she ever really needed to know. Every time I talked to her, Grandma Sallie let me know she had been praying for my family and me.

Back before the casinos came to town, my grandmother lived in Cherokee, NC for the better part of the year when I was a child. I thought I had the coolest grandmother because she spent many an evening dancing and clogging to bands that played at outdoor venues. She continued to "work at home" in her camper with her hands as she made beaded jewelry to sell. I loved my Cherokee looking earrings she made, and I felt a great connection to Grandma Sallie's grandmother who had been a full-blooded Cherokee. Just this week, my oldest daughter asked me if Grandma Sallie wore moccasins. I have no idea where the question came from, but she sure did where them most all the time!

I am thankful for the legacy of faith I have on both sides of my family. I look forward to seeing my grandparents in Glory. I'm thankful that Grandma Sallie was a Titus 2 Woman to me!

Greater is He that is in Me than He that is in the Woods

I'm baaaaaaack!

I'm sure you were holding your breath, wondering when I'd write again. Just kidding. Life is SO not about me.

This afternoon, I will be packing an overnight bag for my daughter and myself as we prepare to go to camp in a few days. This will be her first time at a GA camp, and my third time as a camper. The summer I graduated from high school, I worked on camp staff at Camp LaVida, South Carolina's GA/Acteen camp. It was awesome! I'm also a little tenderhearted toward camp because I met my husband at a youth church camp when we were seventeen, and my brother also met his wife at church camp.

The thing I love about GA camp is that the goal is to teach kids about missions. Lots of missionaries can trace back their first feelings and thoughts about becoming a missionary to camp days. My daughter just recently entrusted her life to Christ and was baptized, so I am happy to help her in early days of walking with the Lord by taking her to camp. She doesn't have to be a career missionary, but I do want her to be faithful to live a Great Commission lifestyle.

From my experience, camp staffers make great Titus 2 women for little girls. I'm not talking about me, but about the women who were a great encouragement to me as a camper. Some campers write letters to their cabin leaders for a long time because they admire them so much. It is wonderful for little girls to see young adult women with passion for the Lord and the desire to see the nations come to know Him. Church camp staffers, past and present, you are this week's Wednesday's Women!

*By the way, my title comes from when I was a camp staffer. We got to be up after the kids were in bed, though there were always staffers working cabin duty, so no kids were left alone. It was sometimes a little creepy to walk in the woods, and I remember a few of us jokingly changing the words of a hymn, "Greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world" to "woods."

Titus 2 Little Women

Do you remember as a little girl being in awe of some bigger girl? Maybe she was a babysitter or a friend's big sister. Maybe she was an older cousin. My selection for Wednesday's Woman this week is my oldest niece. She has been on my mind because this week, my little girls helped me sing a song they first heard her sing at a family get-together a while back. I don't put my kids names on here, so I'm not putting hers either. I hope it won't be hard to follow. We'll just call her E.

E is three years older than my oldest daughter. She is a smart, beautiful little girl who has been witnessing to her friends since she was very little. I think she was not quite three when she drew a cross on a piece of paper and told her friend about its importance. Before we had children ourselves, my husband and I marveled at her spiritual sensitivity. She has since accepted Christ and been baptized, and we are proud of her. I am glad that my girls look up to her because she has always been good at sharing with them and playing nicely, and she is a well-behaved girl. Proverbs 20:11 tells us that "Even a child is known by his deeds." When my girls look to her, I can trust that they are following a good example, though I know she's a child and will make mistakes.

I also looked up to older girls when I was growing up. I became a Christian not only because of the influence of my parents, but also because of a girl just a year older than me who told me of her salvation. The night she shared with me is the night that I knew in my heart I needed to make a decision to follow Christ too.

Never doubt the weight of the influences of older children in your own little one's life. Help him or her to choose role models carefully. Pray that those little women will point them to the One who leads them to make righteous decisions.

Paula

Pendergraph Women's Ministry is a fellowship for the community of women connected to the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I loved it from the first event I attended and never missed one during the time my husband was a student. There could be anywhere from sixty to over two hundred women that attended each month. It was so much fun to spend time with those women! After my first year, I was priviliged to serve on the PWM board. Our fearless leader at the time was Paula Hyche.

Paula is married to Greg, and together they have five children! Everyone on campus knew the Hyche family, and I believe most of us were in awe of what a great mom Paula was and how she seemed to keep so organized. Paula is one of the women that made me believe that a big family can be a really great blessing rather than a burden. When I first met Paula, I didn't have my first child, so this was great to see. Even now, I'm sure that I could ask her parenting questions, and she'd be glad to answer.

Paula prayed faithfully for the prayer requests that we received through the events we held once a month. She planned events so well and made sure she thought through every detail, though she was good about spreading the workload and motivating all of us to take our part. She was down-to-earth and friendly, easy to talk to should you sit at her table. I have felt better prepared to do hold women's events because of the time I had to work with this Wednesday's Woman. Thank you, Paula!