March 8, 2012

I finished up this book this week. Darlene Schacht is the author of the blog Time-Warp Wife and co-author of the book Reshaping it All, (also a great, motivational read). She was kind to give me a copy of her new ebook, The Good Wife's Guide, for review.

The cover seemed to call to me...a throwback to Leave it to Beaver. . .The Brady Bunch, maybe?  I was surprised to find so much helpful information that really put the meaning of being my husband's help mate into perspective. I also love that she takes the vantage point  it doesn't matter if you are a stay at home mama or a working mama--we can all learn how to  make our families our first priority and serve them joyfully.  Often times this means prioritizing and gasp--planning ahead  (not my strongest suit when the demands of life seem overwhelming)--but necessary nonetheless.

The chapter titled, "Curb Appeal" resonated for me.  I liked the reminders that not dumping on my husband the minute he walked in the door and making both the house and myself somewhat presentable for him are definitely worth the effort. I love the scent of a clean home even when there is definitely some cleaning to do--and four nights out of five he will remark how good the house smells--never focusing on what it looks like.  I must admit, that is a plus to owning a smaller home.  The kitchen and living room are pretty easy to keep clean--and I'm blessed by a man who notices. She writes, "Life can be chaotic at times, but I've recently discovered that the key to controlling the chaos is sacrifice."  She then delves into what sacrifice means to our families and what it might look like.

One of my favorite parts of the book is one that deals with cleaning house.  She has supplied different bible verses to enable or encourage us to joyfully serve with a heart of worship.  I loved the verses and although I do not have them all memorized (yet--maybe someday) I have them written out on notecards and can flip through them when I have that nagging sensation that what I'm doing is mundane or unimportant. I like the reminder that "Scripture isn't a candy bowl by which we pick and choose our favorite words hoping to satiate our palette." ¹⁸ The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 

Darlene talks about submission and I guess that is where some women could get turned off. But really she defines it with, "The ideal picture of submission is that of two people loving and serving each other," not an overbearing husband making menial demands of his wife. Submitting to our husbands and not acting selfishly on our own behalf is not a bad thing!

The last portion of the book is filled with practical applications and housekeeping schedules.  While none of it is "rocket science"  I enjoy reading other people's plans and advice as it relates to managing my home environment so it runs efficiently--and Darlene did just that!