The Titus 2:4 Project

Originally written July 2021 | Edited July 2025 Have you ever watched that show American Ninja Warrior (ANW) ? It’s the one where highly trained athletes compete on a course filled with intense physical challenges. You often see clips of their training beforehand — practicing monkey bars, rings, climbing, jumping — they come prepared. Their friends, families, teammates, and coaches are nearby, cheering them on, waving signs, holding their breath, and gasping in unison. These wanna-be warriors do their best to make it through the course, but if they fall into the water below, it’s game over. Still, their fans shout, “We love you anyway!” Then there’s that other show… Wipeout . You know the one — where contestants get bounced, punched, flung, and generally pummeled while trying to qualify for the final round. All the while, the announcers laugh, mock, and tease from the sidelines. When a contestant falls into the water (or mud), they scramble to get back to the last obstac...

Last Sunday was Mother's Day. At our church they did a child dedication service. Several families presented their youngest children before the congregation to publicly profess their intentions of raising the child in the way of the Lord. A beautiful, albeit brief 'ceremony' of sorts. I remember the day I did that with my first born.  Many years ago now.  And something occurred to me, now that this child is in the throes of adulthood - facing adult struggles. The verse that the pastor had spoken over my sweet little infant that day was from 1 Samuel 1:27: "For this child I prayed..." I have tossed this verse around in my head for the past few days and this morning, as I laid awake in the wee hours of the morning, I was suddenly in grammar class with the Holy Spirit before me at the chalkboard, walking me through this simple verse, using a long pointer stick as we read it over and over, each time emphasizing a different word... FOR this child I prayed...      For...

Part 2 So now that Jesus has adjusted my attitude (see yesterday’s post if you missed that backstory), I spent Friday morning walking around and observing people —all kinds of people. Those working, vacationing, sleeping on cardboard, those who seemed like me, and those who didn’t at all. As I watched them, I kept reminding myself: JESUS LOVES THEM. JESUS DIED FOR THEM. I must’ve thought it a thousand times. The day began with a short run and a terrible breakfast. Then we met up with friends and wandered down Fremont Street. We stopped at Pink Box Donuts—yes, I got one. I ran a mile, so I figured I earned it. It seems to me that there's not much to do in Las Vegas except to eat, drink and gamble. Having already eaten and not being much for drinking, I was left with one thing: gambling. I wondered if it was wrong to put a $20 bill in a slot machine. Was it a sin? Maybe, like with drinking, the issue isn’t the activity itself but the lack of self-control. Jesus tu...

I just got back from a short trip to Las Vegas. 🎰 And honestly? That’s really all anyone can stand— short. Vegas is kind of like glitter: fun in theory, but overwhelming in practice. Truth be told, I didn’t even want to go. It was my husband’s annual get-together with his Army buddies. The wives always tag along, and in years past, we’ve met up in someone’s hometown—usually for a wedding or a milestone birthday. But this year, for reasons unknown, they decided on Vegas. Now, full disclosure: in the not-so-distant past, I actually used to enjoy Las Vegas. Probably more than I should’ve. But over the past year, the Holy Spirit has been doing some serious remodeling in my heart, and these days, Vegas is not high on my list of “must-visit” places. My husband handled the travel plans—booked our hotel and, in true Army fashion, waited until the last possible moment to book our flights, which meant we paid top dollar. Awesome. Now, while I’m not exactly thrilled with how much social media ...

  I love that women today are feeling more empowered to do hard things. Whether it’s working toward a healthy lifestyle, seizing a career opportunity, facing parenting or relationship challenges, or even literally fighting for their very lives—women are stepping up to do the hard stuff. I also deeply appreciate how we are supporting and encouraging one another in these battles. There’s beauty in the way we rally together, lifting each other up in the fight. But I want to offer a loving word of caution to the many women I see standing confidently in their own strength:   Sister, you DON’T got this . As much as you might want to believe that you’re tough and can handle it all—you can’t. Not in your own strength. Not alone. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Apart from Him, we simply don’t have the strength we need to face the battles that inevitably come our way. So, while you’re gearing up to fight and your friends are cheering y...

In 2017, my husband surprised me with a fabulous trip to Europe for our 20th wedding anniversary. We spent three days in each, London, Paris and Germany, traveling between cities by rail. It was truly the trip of a lifetime and according to our fitness trackers, we walked more than 20 miles in those nine days.  Walking seemed safer for us. Maybe for everyone around us as well because most of the streets were narrow, cobblestone streets that often intersected with roundabouts. Roundabouts are helpful, I suppose. They mitigate stop lights and stop signs, but you have to be a confident driver to jump in or out when you have the opportunity...And we were not confident drivers in Europe. Street signs were a in foreign language and the steering wheel is on the right side of the car! These roundabouts were basically a free-for-all. No lines to mark lanes of traffic. No signs. Just say a prayer and hope for the best. The intersection at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris was the 'Mac Daddy' ...

Back in 1998 my husband and I started attending Northview Christian Life Church in Carmel, Indiana. We joined the adult Sunday school class for couples called "Home Improvement" led by Randy and Patty Reimersma. We made some great friends in that group that we still keep in touch with 26 years later - and Kim and Bob Johnson were part of that group. I have always loved Kim's spunk and sense of humor - and her heart for Jesus! She is one of the most down-to-earth Christian women I have ever met. I invited her to be a guest blogger here so you could meet her and love her like I do.  I grabbed this photo of Kim and Bob with their four beautiful girls - you'll see why when you read her story below.  💜    Be blessed! ___________________________________________   We just celebrated my 58th birthday & our 30th wedding anniversary this past October! We got married the day after my 28th birthday.  We always recall that October 15, 1994 was the most beautiful f...

Thursday morning, after the hurricane, as the sun rose above the trees, we nervously stepped outside to assess the damage. Despite the winds that had howled all night long, our neighborhood was in surprisingly good shape.  As we surveyed our neighbor’s lots (neighbors who had not yet returned for “the season”) we began dragging big, green palm fronds to the street and loading them into the bed of our truck. First this lot. Then that lot. I snapped pictures and messaged friends to let them know if there was any visible damage to their property. T hey would reply with their gratitude and then ask “can you check lot ‘such and such for so and so’…” so we would. More clean up. More pictures. More messages. And our 8ft truck bed filled up fast. Very fast. Over and over. As the day wore on, my mind was filled with thoughts like, WOW! These palm fronds are heavy! I asked my husband how much he thought they weighed on average… he guessed about 25 pounds.  Lifting them over an...

I enjoy talking to people I've never met before.  I start with a warm, genuine smile and a sincere compliment, and just let the conversation take a natural flow, like rain water rushing through the countryside.  On a trip to Key West, Florida several years ago, I exercised this strategy.  We were crowded into a shuttle bus that would take us from the plane to the tiny little airport.  Somehow over the course of the very short ride, I engaged another female passenger and her sister in a conversation about our pedicures.  She had hot pink toe nails with little white flowers...and from there it went to our purses, our dogs, our trip, our names, and by the time we stepped off the shuttle we were Facebook friends.  (And six years later we still are!) Another perfect example, I was at a large park with my in-laws.  Our men were out riding bikes and we girls were responsible for cooking out.  No one remembered aluminum foil...but there was another wo...

What a busy weekend!  I hope you all had a good one as well.  I was blessed to be able to help move my daughter and her boyfriend back 'home' (an hour's drive from my house) from Nashville, TN.  Last Thursday I was dreading the weekend.  I have a strong dislike for the entire process of moving a household, be it mine or anyone else's.  Add to it a 12 hour round-trip drive and I might pull out the H-word.  (Hate is a word I try not to use lightly.)  I started having anticipatory back pain to such a degree that I had to take medication to get through the day.  Not a good sign... My youngest son, who is a nice, strong, healthy 15-year old, went with me.  Not because he has an overt fondness of assisting his siblings in their time of need, but more because he was able to miss a day of school.  And yes, he does love his sister...and thinks her boyfriend is pretty awesome as well.  I was happy to have some company on the dr...

Oh my gracious!  I am so excited... I found a NEW book in the Bible today!!  Let me explain... I've been feeling a little stagnant lately...like the icky pond in my front yard - yeah...just like that.  And when you feel that way and you KNOW that you feel that way, it's so frustrating.  It's like having a third-person view of your own life...almost like watching a movie of yourself; and you can see yourself slipping, sliding, falling away from where you want to be.  Or like watching yourself turn left when Jesus kept going straight ahead.  It's more frustrating than trying to tie your shoes with one hand.  Pretty soon, you just want to throw your hands up and scream. So I've been watching this happen for a few days - and I really think that the ability to recognize this process is a sign of maturity, so I praise God for it.  But today, I had finally had enough.  I was determined to claw my way back up the mountain, through the mud and bac...

Today I got to help deliver lunches to several school-aged children that the local school has labeled as the ones most in need of proper nutrition during the summer, when they are not able to get free breakfast and lunch from the cafeteria.  It's a city-wide program that some group organizes, then recruits other groups (like Rotary Club) to pick three or four days during the summer to provide meals.  That's how I got involved - as a Rotarian.  We delivered boxed Subway lunches, which always draws a smile from the little faces that peek through the window to see who's knocking on their door. Only a few (usually an adult) acted as if they expected or were owed this lunch for their children, but when we were greeted at the door by a youngster, their eyes lit up and they always thanked us, some in a mere whisper, others with a boisterous "Thank you!" as they waved enthusiastically.  That's why volunteers do what they do...for the happy faces left in their wake a...