January 2021 is lost to me. Diagnosed January 4^th, my husband and I both are still recuperating from the dreaded COVID 19. Praise God we were able to stay home and take breathing treatments, but the sheer exhaustion and being out of breath all the time were brutal. However, we are on the mend now and I went back to work full time this week.

While laying around for a month without energy, I reviewed my life. I thought of the books and people who influenced me when I was growing up, as well as when I was in the throes of life, raising kids, paying bills. and especially during times of marital joy and heartache.

I thought about the Sugar and Spice Blog posts.  Although the Fifty Ways to Keep Your Lover series has been a beautiful trip down memory lane for me, it is my goal to finish the series in the next few months. I hope you gain understanding through the experiences I share.

We all need resources

I can’t emphasize enough how much help I’ve gained along the way and I want to recommend the resources I found useful through the years. You know already that I have discovered the Bible is not only a resource, but a companion. I’ve learned so much about myself and life through reading it, but other sources of insight came from books I discovered back in the late seventies. I don’t know where my marriage would be without the insight of these four women and their books:

• The TOTAL Woman, by Maribel Morgan
• The Art of Homemaking, by Daryl V. Hoole
• Disciplines of a Beautiful Woman, by Anne Ortlund
• Fascinating Womanhood, by Helen Andelin

Each of these books served to encourage and teach me how to manage my life, my marriage, home, and family. I must warn you, however, the Women’s Liberation Movement considered these books backward thinking.  I may not agree with every word, but still, even in the face of ridicule and controversy, I stand by the concepts taught in them. They are definitely Biblical, and I must say they were of utmost help to me.

The Women’s Liberation Movement was going strong when I was in high school. Their goal was to free women from the oppression of male dominance. I don’t understand why women aren’t granted equality. I believe women deserve to receive the same salary and recognition in the workplace if they can do the work. However, in the seventies, women were going on strike at home. Laundry piled up and dishes weren’t done. The movement confused a lot of men. They didn’t know whether to open the door for their date and let her pay the bill or take the risk of being a gentleman.

I was a country girl and grew up a tomboy. If you’ve read any of my previous blogs, you’ve heard the stories of my changing flats, chopping wood, and milking pigs (yes pigs). When I married, I was happy to be a lady and be free of what I thought of as man’s work. I welcomed a man to open the door for me and change my flat.

Over the next several weeks as we conclude the Fifty Ways to Keep Your Lover series, I’d like to share some of the most meaningful tips I learned from these books and how they helped our marriage make it fifty years plus. So, search these titles or check them out at the Library. Let me know what you think. Where do you stand in today’s Feminist Movement?

Remember wherever you are, you are at the right place when you visit my website and read my blog. Come on back and share a slice of life with me.