Comments on: Titus 2: Mentoring Younger Moms

By: Kimarie

Kimarie — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:11:52 +0000

We have also seen many families change convictions as their families grow and spread out, and it has been sad to watch. We praise God that it has also greatly saddened our children, as they speak of it frequently. It gives us more opportunity to remind them of all sorts of things we’ve been teaching them through the years.

By: Mama Mirage

Mama Mirage — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:30:03 +0000

There sort of is actually; it’s a blog called “At The Well- In Pursuit of Titus 2.” Various Godly women contribute their wisdom.

I also started a message board for conservative Christian homeschoolers called “God’s Homeschool” for the purpose of mentorship and swapping of ideas, inspiration, and uplifting each other in the Spirit. Any homeschooling Christian mommy who agrees with the statement of faith is welcome to join. It’s still new so it’s not huge yet. We’ve got 10 members. I keep the actual posting private from non-members for safety reasons.

By: Diana

Diana — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:55:48 +0000

I would love it if you e-mailed me with suggestions! I will tell you that while my husband is FOR homeschooling…when it comes to my 3 yr old’s antics/mischief, he sometimes wonders if it wouldnt be better if my 7 yr old was in school, so that I can focus on 3 yr old’s character issues. Did that make sense? 3 yr old does make it incredibly difficult to get through day-by-day, so whenever you have that extra time, I need suggestions!! Have a great weekend!

By: Raising Olives

Raising Olives — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:24:02 +0000

I’m not sure if there is something like this available. I do know that many personal blogs seem to have that type of focus and goal.

You may be interested in MOMYS.com. Have you seen that? I know that I have friends who have really enjoyed the resources available. I joined years ago, but have never had the time to keep up.

By: Raising Olives

Raising Olives — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:22:24 +0000

Never apologize for a long comment.

You’re right, the internet is not an ideal answer. Your encouragement to moms to “mentor” teens and college kids is a good idea. Hopefully it will help get them geared into helping others and when they hit the stage of life that that is one of their main priorities they will be prepared.

By: Raising Olives

Raising Olives — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:19:52 +0000

I really should see if I can become an affiliate for Swim Modest, we’ve sent so many customers their way.

By: Raising Olives

Raising Olives — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:19:07 +0000

I think that these are good points. I wrote more about these things in my next post (not published yet). So stay tuned.

By: Raising Olives

Raising Olives — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:16:07 +0000

Thanks for reminding me about the VERY busy 3 yo ideas. I may have to email you directly, because if I post it I want to have nice pictures and links and who knows when I’ll get around to that.

I’m not a public speaker, but I’ve learned to never say never. If you’re interested in coming to one of our mom’s meetings, just email me and I’ll give you details.

By: thesleepyknitter

thesleepyknitter — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:45:55 +0000

Just curious, after reading all these posts from women like me who use the Internet as our Titus 2 woman, since we don’t have a flesh-and-blood one around: What if some mothers of older children got together and created at Titus 2 website? Maybe there’s already something like that out there. Just wondering! Blessings, Sleepy

By: Amanda Sikes

Amanda Sikes — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:14:14 +0000

This post is so true. I am a pastor’s wife and have felt many times that I would love to have a mentor not only for me as a mother but also as a pastor’s wife. Someone that had been serving behind their husband for many years and could encourage and answer questions when they arose. I have not found any “like-minded” women in my church or local area. I have found several mothers to large famlies that I have gleaned countless ideas from but all on the internet. I don’t like that I had to turn here but until the Lord answers my prayer for a Titus 2 women to mentor me, I will use the tools He has blessed me with.

Longing for such a women though has showen me that I want to break that cycle and I am encouraging other mom’s with young children to “mentor” the teenage and college age young ladies in our church to prepare them for Godly motherhood and wifehood. May God spur on all of us to break this cycle and to be there for the next generation of mothers.

Thank you for such an encouraging blog. The homeschool information is priceless to me. I have used many of your ideas.
(Sorry this is so long)

By: thesleepyknitter

thesleepyknitter — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:49:00 +0000

Thank you, Mama Olive, for answering my off-topic question about the swimwear! I followed the link you offered and LOVED the suits. I’ll send this link to everyone I know who hates buying swim suits — these suits look so comfortable and so not-embarrassing. They make me willing to reconsider taking our daughter to our local swimming pool for lessons. Blessings! –Sleepy

By: Mama Mirage

Mama Mirage — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:08:28 +0000

I think that age isn’t always just physical age. A woman can be older in experience. Lots of women my age have twice as many kids who are twice as old as mine and though they are the same age, they might have some wonderful Godly lessons they’ve learned to share with me since I’m younger in experience. I’ll be 27 in December so with only 2 kids ages 1 and 3, alot of women my age and even younger might have good advice for me in the childrearing department. Likewise, some people my age or older than me may have just gotten married, and since I have been married for 7 1/2 years I might have something to say about marriage that would help them.
The internet is a great thing in that, in person it might be hard for a woman to take advice from another woman who is obviously younger. But on the internet we know each other by our stories, by our kids, by what we talk about. Not by our age. On the internet, we forget about age and look at experience and it’s easier to recognize the gems of wisdom from those who are younger because we don’t see them as an age.

By: Diana

Diana — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:55:17 +0000

Thanks so much for replying to my question! I look forward to reading more on this topic and I can’t wait to read your post on ideas for a VERY busy 3 year old boy that continuese to get into mischief all day long…especially during homeschooling…(I had asked for suggestions on that as well and you said you would write a post on that…this was a couple of weeks ago, so I can’t wait to read it, too!!) Looking forward to both posts! Not sure if you do public speaking, but if you ever do, please post on your site because I am only an hour from Knovville and would love to meet you! Again, thanks for taking the time to write so others like me can read and learn so much!!

By: Raising Olives

Raising Olives — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:15:18 +0000

I think that we sometimes mistakenly look at the wrong group of women to be our Titus 2 heroes. Now this is just theory because obviously Titus 2 just states that the women should be older, so in theory I can and should strive to be a Titus 2 mentor to women in their early twenties. I think that the women who have both the time and the wisdom to mentor younger women are women whose children are fully grown.

I don’t think that women with children still in the home are exempt, I just think that sometimes as we search for what we think that we need, we overlook what it is that we truly need.

OK, so this reply became a post, so I will post some more thoughts on this later.

By: Raising Olives

Raising Olives — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:57:41 +0000

Praying for God to provide a real-life Titus 2 woman for you.

By: Raising Olives

Raising Olives — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:57:09 +0000

Don’t forget to seek out “older” women. If your church doesn’t have other families with children, what about those women whose children are grown and gone? They probably have a lot of wisdom to offer and the time to share it with you.

See my response to Abba12 to remember the qualifications of a Titus 2 woman.

By: Raising Olives

Raising Olives — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:54:35 +0000

You are absolutely right. Titus 2 women are to teach younger women to love their husband, be keepers at home, self-controlled, pure, kind and subject to their own husbands, in addition to loving their children.

I also would counsel you to use your mother-in-law as a Titus 2 woman. Even though your views are very different, if she is a Christian she will have something to offer to you. Notice the Biblical qualifications of a Titus 2 woman. They should be reverent, not slanderers nor addicted to much wine and teach what is good. If your mother-in-law fills those qualifications, then God says she should be teaching younger women.

By: Raising Olives

Raising Olives — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:47:14 +0000

I do think that Titus 2 is a call to lay down our lives. I think that is why we see a dearth of these women, it isn’t that their aren’t any experienced, Christian women around, it is that many forget that just as serving their husbands and raising their children was their calling while their children were at home that they still have a specific, home-based call after their children have left home.

I think that the internet is a wonderful way to experience some of the benefits of Titus 2, but ultimately knowing someone face to face who can talk specifically to you is the goal.

By: Raising Olives

Raising Olives — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:43:07 +0000

Thank you Alice. I’m glad that you found my email helpful. I’m adding you and other moms out there who are seeking for Titus 2 women to my regular prayer list. There is a “gap”, but God also knows that and provides in many ways.

By: Raising Olives

Raising Olives — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:39:26 +0000

Yes, we purchase them from Swim Modest.com.

By: Raising Olives

Raising Olives — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:38:00 +0000

Sorry about the “commercial spurt”. I currently don’t have a choice in what and how many homeschool products that I review, (I’m contracted by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine) but my time with them will finish come summertime. Being so busy with reviews is frustrating as it is tough to write other content and that is the true focus of this blog.

Thanks for sticking around.

By: Dawn

Dawn — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:05:50 +0000

As they say, “It takes a village.” But the rest of the saying may include “to raise children”, “to encourage parents”, “to support a marriage”, “to help the elderly” etc. etc. Thanks for the reminder.

By: Diana

Diana — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:40:14 +0000

I, too, love reading blogs like yours for “mentoring” purposes…it truly is a ministry and I thank you for it! I have a question: if women are to mentor to the younger women and women are to “be busy at home”, how do they find the balance between the two? Over the years, i have prayed for a mentoring couple for me and my husband or even just a woman mentoring to me…when we talked to the couple and I to the women, they all 3 seemed to be too busy and I could tell they didn’t want to take time away from their own family (which is understandable) or they felt like they weren’t knowledgeable enough…I am 31 years old and new to homeschooling and being a helpmeet/keeper of my home…I do feel like I need a mentor and hope one day that my husband & I can mentor a young couple but in order to do so, I know we need mentoring first. Any thoughts??

By: Mama Mirage

Mama Mirage — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:43:48 +0000

Thank you. It would be so nice to have a mentor in person. Without the internet I know where I’d be and it isn’t pretty.

By: Sasha @ Small Town Mamma

Sasha @ Small Town Mamma — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:27:20 +0000

As one of the mums of little children, I too am struggling to find a Titus 2 role model who lives close by. My own mum is wonderful, but lives over an hour away and we only see her every couple of weeks.

Our church does not have ANY other families with young children who come on a regular basis! Not even any other families with older children!

We go to a playgroup, which is helpful to discuss things with other mums of young kids, but there are no older women who come to fill a ‘mentoring’ role.

I, too, use my spare time to follow inspiring blogs that give me strength, encouragement and some great ideas, for this mothering journey.