The Titus 2:4 Project - Women Mentoring Women

I have a confession to make.  I watch that zombie show that everyone is talking about with my family. Don't be a hater.  Don't judge...and you don't even have to admit if you watch it, too.  I got 'sucked in' last winter, when the snow was piled sky-high and there was nothing to do.  My twenty-something daughter and her boyfriend watched it regularly and talked about the characters as if they were personal friends.  So my husband was the first to pick the fruit and take a bite.  He logged into our online movie provider and began a weekend-long, commercial-free marathon of that zombie show.  I wasn't interested at first, but once the dishes were done, laundry was folded, floors swept, and any other menial task I could come up with to keep myself busy was finished, I finally resigned to sitting beside him on the couch, with a bag of popcorn in hand, and began learning the plot and the characters.  By the end of the night, I too was hooked. L...

It's December 1st. Wow. I know it's very cliché...but this year has gone so, so fast!   We've survived Black Friday, Small-Business Saturday, and today is Cyber Monday...tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. Do you ever feel like everybody wants a piece of you?? My dream is just to get back to the meaning of the season. Love. That's the reason Jesus Christ put on a robe of flesh and entered this cold, selfish world in the first place. The love of God. Jesus brought it to us. We need to bring it to others.  Today's Advent scripture is found in John 1: -5. The NIV says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2  He was with God in the beginning. 3  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome [ a ] it. Jesus is the Word. He was spoken in...

Again, this morning's Bible reading reveals one of those stories that leaves me wondering how I've missed hearing this before...and laughing a little. I'm slowly (very slowly) making my way through the book of Acts (still)...and in chapter 19, verses 15 and 16, I read about this amusing, but painfully 'too-close-to-home' kind of situation. Paul is in the middle of a missionary journey and he is moving and shaking and God is working miracles through him.  So these seven sons of a certain Sceva (a Jewish high priest) decided to try casting a demon out of a man in the name of Jesus, "preached by Paul" (MSG).  The evil spirit talks back to them, saying "I know Jesus and I've heard of Paul, but who are you?"  I'm sure they weren't expecting this reaction....after all, Paul made it look so easy.  They probably stood there, dumb-founded, looking at each other, going, "I don't know...who are we??"  Then the guy jumps on the...

Somehow, here it is October 30th in central Indiana, and we have yet to turn on our furnace.  The 's-word' is in the forecast for tomorrow night, but my heels are dug in and I'm not budging...until Saturday.  November 1st is our goal for firing up the wood furnace - and it looks like we are going to make it.  So what if I have to sleep in a stocking cap, sweatshirt, wool socks and fleece-lined leggings.  As the sun comes up, so does the temperature inside my house...and I finally broke down and brought the electric space heater in from my husband's 'Man Cave' last night.  It has helped take the chill off.  I'm thinking we could go another week without the furnace... As I stood in the shower this morning, watching the steam billow from the top of the shower into the chilly air of the bathroom, I seriously pictured myself standing there until every last drop of hot water was gone from the tank.  Cold water would certainly chase me back to my woo...

Ever had a bad haircut?  I mean a BAD haircut.   I have.  As a woman, it can be emotionally devastating.   This haircut isn't that bad.  It's not my hairdresser's fault.  I pretty much got exactly what I asked for.   More or less.   It's a long story.   I wanted to embrace my natural color...which includes a great deal of gray and some other color I'm unfamiliar with.   My plan was to grow out my roots until I couldn't take it anymore then go shorter, removing as much of the fake blonde as I could.  Then my natural color would take over and I could grow my hair back out.  Easy. Peasy.   In theory.   The cut I was going for... In truth, here's what happened: I couldn't take the roots anymore.   Called my hairdresser.  Show her a picture of the adorable pixie haircut and told her my plan.    Her suggestion was to put some shades in my blonde to blend ...

I knew that title would get ya!  Who doesn't want better sex?  First disclaimer...God intended sex to be within the confines of marriage.  The best sex you'll ever have is with your spouse, because that's the relationship blessed by God. Ok, now that we've got that straight... let's talk. So many  things keep us from enjoying a good, healthy sexual relationship...stress, finances, exhaustion, the kids among others.  Assuming those other things aren't physical or emotional damage that is truly inhibiting us, then let's call ourselves 'normal' (for the sake of this discussion)...and before anyone gets upset with me, I'm not saying that someone with physical or emotional problems isn't normal...I'm just not sure how to get my point across without using common language, so if you would, please show me some grace as we approach this subject.  Deep breath...ok, so I'm not sure where we (my husband and I) learned these things - I beli...

Have you ever watched a movie more than once?  For me, it depends on the movie.  There have been a few worth watching twice because they were just that good...and some that required a second-watch to 'catch' the things you missed the first time. Yesterday my husband happened to stop channel surfing when he came across a movie that we'd seen years before.  The movie was about three-quarters of the way through and as my brain caught up with the action, I was able to recall a few details about the movie...but not many.  I did, however remember the BIG ENDING.  That's about the only part I was sure about. Same thing with novels and books.  I enjoy reading, but since I don't get to do enough of it, I rarely spend the time to re-read a book.  I can only think of one novel in my life that I enjoyed so much that I sought it out to read a second time.  I could remember the ending and the over-all story line, but the details and events had escaped me, s...