The Titus 2:4 Project - Women Mentoring Women

Today I had the pleasure of a face-to-face visit over delicious coffee with a friend I hadn't seen in 13 years.  I almost said that I 'reconnected' with a friend...but thanks to modern technology, we were never really disconnected.  I  just moved 60 miles away.  But we have kept track of the big events, the silly things, the sadness and the successes in each other's lives.  A couple of things that stuck me as I drove away from our two-hour visit... I realized that it's great to have godly friends.  We shared prayer requests for the things that are going on in our lives now and we talked about God's faithfulness and mercy over the things that have happened since we last talked.  We talked about what's going on in the world and the second coming of Christ.  We talked about death and spending eternity with Jesus.  We talked about our kids and the challenge of parenting.  We talked about careers and the opportunity to be a witness for...

Tempers flaring, we stood toe-to-toe.   "Well, what did you expect? " He roared. "Not this! " Tears pooled in my eyes. I stormed away and locked myself in our room.   I don't even remember what we were fighting about that day, only how I felt when my expectations had not been met.  I felt like he just didn't care.  I was disappointed.    In all my years of marriage,  I have come to understand one thing.  Every single frustration, no matter what it's about or the degree of emotional turmoil, always boils down to one thing: unmet expectations.   I expected one thing to happen, and it didn't...or I didn't expect something to happen, and it did.  Plain and simple.    I expected a card for Mother's Day.  He forgot.  I expected him to let me sleep late on Saturday.  He woke me up before the sunrise. I expected him to put his dirty dishes in the sink before he ...

I had the privilege of having lunch with a dear friend and mentor the other day.  She's recently retired from her career as a National Sales Director with a prestigious cosmetic company...you may have heard of it: Mary Kay Cosmetics.  To some of you, that may not mean much...but to any of you who have ever attended a corporate Mary Kay function, you know what a big 'o deal it is. My friend has been on lavish trips around the word; she's been slathered in diamonds and furs; she's driven free, pink Cadillacs for more than 30 years...and she, of course looks amazing.  She calls me her 'young' friend, but she somehow looks closer and closer to my age every time I see her.    In the world of Mary Kay, it's all about the SUIT.  A National Sales Director has 'the suit' .  At an event, you can be brand new and know virtually nothing about anything - but when a NSD walks in, you know it.  So naturally, I count myself privileged that I get to bend ...

I've heard hundreds, maybe thousands of good sermons over the course of my life, but every now and then I hear one that just makes so much sense, that it sticks.  Ya know what I mean?  About 14 years ago,  sitting in a comfy chair at Northview Christian Church, Pastor Steve Poe delivered one of those kinds of sermons.   He talked about a dad who bought some French fries for his young son.  Those yummy, crisp, hot fries that everyone loves... The son was enjoying those fries when the dad asked for one.  Seems simple, but I know my kids would furrow their brow at me and give me that 'ugh!' sound if I dared to reach for a fry from their tray.  Never mind who paid for them.   My memory is a little fuzzy on the rest of the story, but the point was that when our Father gives us something,  it should be our pleasure to give some back to Him, but sadly, so often I tend to act just like my own selfish children and furrow my brow and offe...

Proverbs 4:23 is a serious warning about guarding your heart.  To get a feel for how important Solomon believed this was, you must start at verse 20 and read all the way through 27.  The 'heart' is not referring to the organ in your chest pumping blood throughout your body...it's the subconscious mind. Our being is made up of different parts, as referred to in the Bible:    1. the physical body - often referred to as our 'flesh'    2. the mind  - our conscious thoughts    3. the heart - our subconscious thoughts    4. the spirit - the Holy Spirit within us When God says to hide His words in our hearts - that means to dwell on them so much that they are tucked away in our subconscious mind, influencing everything we think, say or do.  That's the part of us that is influenced by the music we listen to, the movies we watch, the things we say to ourselves...that 'self-talk' that we play over and over in our head. How do...

Yesterday, as I was cutting the grass (as you'll find that I really do enjoy - just read my profile!), I had my headphones in my ears, and was listening to Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church out in California.  There's a cool app called One Place (can't remember who turned me on to it) that has a list of different ministries and you can listen to a large number of archived messages any time you wish.  What a great use of technology!  (You can get it too!) Anyway, Pastor Rick was preaching on having the courage to follow your calling.  I'm positive it was no mistake that I picked this message to listen to, since I had been praying in earnest for days, even weeks, about my calling...my purpose in life.  I eagerly listened to every word.  As God began to speak to my heart and show me the path I had been searching for, I couldn't wait to get started. Later that night, as I sat at my computer, creating the blog site, I was completely lost for a title...