Titus 2 Woman (part 2)

Titus 2 King James Version (KJV)

2 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

² That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
³ The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
⁴ That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
⁵ To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

On to verse 4...So we know that we need to be teachers of good things, especially to the young women: our daughters, our daughter's friends, our young women in our churches.
To be sober.  1) not intoxicated-we have been told that already,  2) habitually temperate-even keeled,  3) quiet or sedate in demeanor-NOT loud, overbearing, 4) marked by seriousness or gravity-in one definition they mention speech, 5) subdued in tone (clothing), 6) free from excess or exaggeration, and lastly, 7) self -control. 

At first glance, to me, this appears like one should sit with their back straight, feet flat on the floor, knees together, hands on the lap, wearing a gray, plain ankle length dress, speaking when spoken to, no smiles or conversations. A picture of a perfect pilgrim.  I don't really believe that is EXACTLY how one needs to be to exhibit the Titus 2 woman.  In contrast to the "modern" woman, however, it may seem so. 

Obviously, no partying like you did before you were of legal age to drink.  The bladder medication commercial says to be the one with the crazy loud laugh.  Personally, that person is distracting to me, so no, I think I would rather be a bit demure in most circumstances.  Growing up as an only child with introvert tendencies and less social than most anyway, this is not a problem.
Subdued in tone.  I think of this as attire, although it could be attitude as well.  I am over 40, I should not be trying to look 18 and wearing skimpy, showy clothing.  Yet, it seems so many women do.  Are we that skewed in our views of love and acceptance? Yes, we are.  We feel we need to emulate the "celebrities" who have NO sense of propriety.  Celebrities have to maintain a shock value, standout value to continue to be what they are.  We do not.  My love and acceptance first and foremost and sufficiently comes from the Lord, and if I am lucky enough, my family, but this is not always the case for everyone.  I am a lucky one.  I pity the women my age and older who must show skin to feel accepted.  On that note, I do love color.  I don't think we have to wear gray, black and brown (although I love brown too) all the time to be "subdued."  I would be more concerned with the cut of the clothes than the color of the clothes. 
To be free of excess and exaggeration.  Wow.  This could apply to so many aspects of a woman's life.  Items in the home, jewelry, clothing, speech.  I see a good number of anti-excess movements these days materially. Tiny houses, minimalist homes.  I like the idea of simplicity.  Yes, I am becoming archaic.  I have dumped the smart phone.  My husband has an old flip phone, pay-as-you go to have for his 2 hour commute everyday.  There was no reason for me to have a smart phone being at home.  I do have a "landline."  I am also ready to remove excess stuff from my home.  I have scores of books, dozens of knick-knacks that just sit there and bring no joy.  I feel a purge coming on!  Jewelry: As a teen I wore 8-9 rings on my fingers everyday, big earrings, bracelets, necklaces and other accessories with every outfit.  I even had a nose ring and tongue ring in the past.  Now, as I mature I wear my wedding band and a pair of gold dot earrings when I go out to town.  I don't even wear those here on the farm.  I had to sift through manure-filled straw to find my diamond ring one day and decided, unless I wear gloves, my rings don't need to be in the barn nor do I wear them when I make meatloaf or doughs. Speech. I have a tendency to be verbose (usually on paper or blogs) but not in big crowds, partly in due to my diminishing hearing (thank you transcription ear buds for 20 years) and again, my personality.
Self-control.  Saved the best for last.  We need to learn self control and then turn around and teach it.  Again, this is applicable to so many aspects of life.  Food, speech, emotions, perseverance, and this can go on.  Do we start with one?  Do we jump in with both feet?  I would think everyone has their own vice that needs to be addressed the most, and only oneself can know what that is.  I might have to flip a coin, or use dice, to pick one of mine to start with... 

That should keep me busy until the next part of the verse...