The Fruit of Her Hands - Part 2

Chapter #5 - Contentment

Summary: I had to laugh at Nancy’s description of "morbid thoughts" after 11 pm. I thought she was privy to my thoughts. Her point was how we can often get out-of-control in our thought-life late at night... overly introspective, overly guilt-ridden, overly hopeless. Then she went on to address our western idolization of health and our bodies. Although I appreciated her ideas, I actually think Debi Pearl does a better job of addressing the great problem we, as women, have with discontentment. Personally, I’ve found this is a struggle that is fed sub-consciously with every advertisement I encounter, every trip I take to Wal-Mart, every self-‘help’ trick I face, etc. I feel I need to be mounting a mental fortress against the "more, better, stronger, higher, etc." philosophies of our present day.

Best lines: Hold it! This is not the time for self-evaluation! After a long, draining day, you are not qualified to do any evaluating! This type of thinking, any time, especially after 10:30 pm, is unfruitful. It only breeds self-pity, condemnation, hopelessness, and ungodly sorrow.

Chapter #6 – Duties of Homemaking

Summary: Nancy talks about working hard as a home-maker. She addresses being busy with the wrong things, such as gossip, as well as being busy with the right things. She encourages us to work hard. In contrast to the busybody of 1 Timothy 5:13, she gives guidelines about female friendships, pointing out the proverbs that tell us to choose our friends carefully. The last point she addresses is decorating our homes. Nancy points out that our homes are for our husbands too, and therefore should not be overly feminine. She suggests we might even ask our husbands to contribute to the choices of paint colors, etc. I know my husband likes dark wood and dark colors, so this encouraged me to keep his preferences in mind as I work on our home.

Best lines: One time when my children were still very young, a woman stopped by for a visit. "How do you keep your house so clean?" she asked. I thought for a moment, and I remember answering, "I work really hard – all the time."

My comment: I was glad to be reminded to work hard at keeping our homes. It’s good to get encouragement to that end, because we often don’t get a ‘report card’ on our work and can become ‘sloppy around the edges’ without a periodical check.

Chapter #7 – Lovemaking

Summary: Mrs.Wilson addresses this topic with a great deal of respect and appropriate modesty. Her manner of sticking to principle as opposed to method is very helpful in this topic, and I found it refreshing amidst today’s overly graphic treatment of sexual relations.

Best lines: The picture I get is of a husband who is so completely sexually satisfied by his wife that he is… not strung up tight because of a feeble sexual relationship, but is married to a woman who makes it her objective to delight and enrapture him all the time. This may seem like an overwhelming command…. Now I am not telling you HOW to do this. I am simply telling you that you must. It is your duty before God… to satisfy him, to delight him intensely and to rejoice with him. There is an important reason why I am not telling you HOW. That’s because you need to ask your husband. He is the only one who can tell you what will delight and enrapture him.

Chapter #8 – Leftovers

Summary: Nancy Wilson ends her book with some odds ‘n ends. Topics such as handling criticism, widowhood, engagement are mentioned.

Generally, this book was helpful because it pointed me back to my role as Dan’s wife. In seeking to "help" him, there are many things that I need to work on. But I’m glad for the advice in how to respect him, serve him, and be content along the way.