Listen to this advice the Apostle Paul gives in Titus 2:2-5
“Older men are to be self-controlled, worthy of respect, sensible, and sound in faith, love and endurance. In the same way, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not addicted to much wine. They are to teach what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and children….so that God’s message will be not be slandered.”

Over the past few years, I’ve been able to observe something truly extraordinary; something that only God could plan and carry out. I’d like to share about some local women in the community of Athens who have sacrificed their time and spiritual investments in the lives of some of our women athletes at Georgia through the ministry of FCA.
One Wednesday morning in the Spring of 2005, I walked into Carolyn Rogers’ classroom at Briarwood Baptist Church. A man from a neighboring church knew I was looking for a Bible study in which to go deeper in my understanding of God’s Word, and he told me about Carolyn and the Precept courses she conducted. (Precept is an inductive Bible study ministry led by Kay Arthur, which is headquartered out of Chattanooga, TN…to find out more, go to: http://www.precept.org/) The day I walked into Carolyn's classroom was the beginning of something special.
Briarwood is a somewhat small, but growing, congregation off Hwy 53 in Watkinsville, GA. It is filled with families—young and old. The men occasionally get together and do community outreaches with other local churches, “chicken mulls,” and men’s breakfast outings/fellowships. The women of Briarwood are just as active, if not more, through weekly Bible studies, mission projects and annual retreats to Gatlinburg, TN. These women are simply amazing in their service to one-another and the new women who come to their activities! If you visit a Bible study, you can be sure that you will get your neck hugged half a dozen times and eat enough—homemade--- food to fulfill your caloric allotment for the day.
Carolyn became a member of the FCA Chaplain’s Board of Directors in 2007, and since then, her and I have developed an event called “Women’s Night.” Women’s Night happens once a month, on Thursday’s, and is for all the women athletes and students involved in the sports ministry on campus called Team United. Team United is a coalition of three athletic ministries: FCA, Athletes in Action and Georgia Athletes Outreach. We have anywhere from 20-40 female students and athletes (from various sport teams) who come to a local woman’s house and between 10-15 women from Briarwood cook. We even have Redcoats, Majorettes, and the Georgia Cheerleaders who participate. It’s like Thanksgiving every time we get together because everything is homemade and in abundance! As Grace Taylor (current Gym Dog who’s been participating for the past 2 1/2 years, says) “It’s a time where we get physically and spiritually fed.” The meal is followed by a teaching time in which Carolyn takes the young women through a passage in the Bible and reflects on how it relates to their lives.
Just recently, the women of Briarwood held a shower for one of the Gym Dogs who is getting married in July. During that time, we ate homemade sushi, Hummingbird cake and ice cream sundaes. Each of the older women (ages ranging from 25-60, and years of marriage ranging from 1 month to 38 years) gave marriage advice to the bride-to-be. Some of the advice shared:

“Learn to cook!”

“Get a king-size bed!”

“Learn how to say ‘I forgive you.’ “

“The man you marry should be your best friend.”

“Know when to hold your tongue when you want to say something negative.”

“Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.” Prov. 31:30

Through the relationships being built between these women and UGA girls, we see a picture of what Paul is talking about in the Titus verses: Women mentoring and setting the example for the younger generation. This vision is not taught, it’s caught. It’s caught when we see older women loving God, loving their husbands and families, and serving those around us. That’s exactly what the women of Briarwood have done for our Georgia Lady Dawgs!