Thursday! Where do my days go? It feels like Monday rolls into Tuesday and so on until my week is gone! It’s been a good week, I have no complaints.
Today is a very special day. Long ago, in a land far away (at least across town) a little boy was born. He would later grow up to be my sweet hubby. I will be eternally grateful to my mother and father in law for this wonderful gift. I couldn’t have asked for a better husband.
Happy Birthday, Paul. I love you more than I could ever tell you. I hope that your day is absolutely wonderful!
Today I’m thankful for:
My husband!
My daughter who is learning to cook….it makes getting the day started much easier when I have help in the kitchen!
The time I have with my children…I cherish each and every day.
My Great-Aunt Dot who spent some time pampering my Grandmother. She is so sweet to do things for her.
Please pray for:
My sleep! I’m really tired. Ms. Emma was up again in the middle of the night. I see a night or two of baby training in my future!
The weather today. It’s supposed to be really nasty.
My cousin Joey, and his family. I’m so proud of the changes that he’s made in his life. Please continue to keep them in your prayers.
Things I’m learning:
Not to get too excited yet about my programming abilities….I’ve got a long way to go. I also need to get much better about proof reading what I post.
Name brand ziplock freezer bags really do make a difference when you are preparing food to be stored in the freezer. We had a huge chili mess last night! I hate I didn’t take a picture of that! The ziplocks on the generic freezer bags that I had purchased would not stay closed! UGH! Chili is a horrible thing to have to clean up!
A house full of littles can wreak havoc on a bathroom. I have to clean my bathrooms everyday or they get nasty!! We also sweep, mop and vacuum every day. Even still, if someone drops by unannounced you can’t tell sometimes. I guess that’s the price you pay for having so many people in such a small place.
I wouldn’t trade it for the world!!
Today, we’re moving on in our verses:
Titus 2:4-5
“Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. NIV
We are discussing purity today.
What does it mean to be pure?
I’ve quoted the NIV in the above verse but let’s look at the verse in other translations:
“to be self-controlled and pure” NIV
“to be sensible, pure” NAS
“be virtuous and pure” The Message
“To be self-controlled, chaste”
“To be discreet, chaste” KJV
“to be discreet, chaste” NKJV
“to be sober-minded, chaste” ASV
The American Heritage Dictionary defines “chaste” as:
Morally pure in thought or conduct; decent and modest.
“pure” as:
Containing nothing inappropriate or extraneous
The Bible tells us that we must be self-controlled (disciplined), we must also be pure. We have to guard our hearts and minds from things that are not of God.
This goes back to yesterday’s discussion of having a well trained mind. It also spills into several other areas including inappropriate relationships, things that we watch and listen to that introduce things that my contaminate our mind and hearts.
The whole point of these verses in Titus were to show us that teaching younger women these things didn’t come from a “I’m the teacher–you’re the student type setting”. This is supposed to be an older woman teaching by her example. We have to learn to be self controlled and pure so that our example will teach younger women.
Everywhere you go you are being watched by someone else. In the grocery store, you are teaching by your example. In your home you are certainly teaching by example. Believe it or not, in your church, you are teaching by example. In fact, you might be the only real example someone sees on a Sunday morning.
What are you teaching? What kind of example do you set for others?
It’s a tall order. We need to pray that the Lord would refine us and help us to be the women that we need to be.
I’ll close with these verses:
Psalm 51:7-10
“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
