Letters to My Daughters: The Art of Being a Wife

Having been married a long time, boy do I have stories to share. This is probably one reason I absolutely loved this book by Barbara Rainey, Letters to My Daughters: The Art of Being a Wife. She is my example of the Titus 2 woman that we are commanded to be in scripture.

Marriage is a complex work of art, and the callings of husband and wife are important individually but must work in harmony to create a beautiful whole greater than the sum of its parts. Throughout this lovely, gift-worthy book, Barbara uses the arts–painting, dancing, gardening, etc.–to reveal this truth in a wise, insightful, and visually captivating way.

For example, have you ever thought that your husband doesn’t do things the way you wish he would? Barbara Rainey describes her experience in dealing with this in her marriage.

The book starts with a letter to daughters everywhere from the author. She explains what her purpose is in sharing.

Dear Daughters,
Across the landscape of time, women have depended on other women for answers to the questions we all face. We’ve bravely asked one another about husbands and children, about work and worth, about cooking and cleaning, about friendships, finances, fears and failures. And if we found ourselves in a time and place without anyone we could ask, we found that we were a bit lonely, a bit lost.

Barbara Rainey, who has been married for over 40 years, shares that this book idea started in 2001 when she began a series of emails (which later became the basis in this book) to help her daughters with advice on marriage with the goal to encourage them as they began their new role as a wife.

The layout is what makes this book special (along with the advice) to me. Each chapter includes a letter followed by a Dear Mom question or a response and closed with the sage advice from Mom on the topic at hand.

Topics are covered in such a loving and sweet way so to speak to the heart of her daughters.

1. Marriage Is a Masterpiece
2. Marriage Is Like Fine Cuisine
3. Marriage Is Like Grand Architecture
4. Marriage Is Like Elegant Music
5. Marriage Is Like Beautiful Dancing
6. Marriage Is Like a Secret Garden
7. Marriage Is Like Masterful Photography
8. Marriage Is Like Watercolor Painting
9. Marriage Is for Ever After

One of the letters is discussed in the video below on How Marriage Is Like Beautiful Dancing. It is so sweet and yet so on point that we wives need to understand the basic concepts if we want to have a strong, Christ centered marriage.

Dancing from FamilyLife® on Vimeo.

Book Details: From the Inside Flap

When my mother was a young bride in a faraway state, she was part of a round-robin letter with six or seven other women from back home. She always looked forward to seeing the thick legal envelope in the mailbox, for it contained letters from each woman in the group. She read them all, enjoying each touch with that woman’s life. Then she removed her original letter, wrote a new one to the group, and sent the packet on its way to the next woman in line.

I invite you, any woman who wants to create beauty in her marriage, to read these letters and see if my journey might provide you courage and hope. Just as no woman pretends to have all the answers, neither do I. Any good within these pages is what God, as the divine Author, has written through me. It is His work I share. As my mother used to do when the much-anticipated letters arrived, I hope you can set aside your work for an hour, pour a fresh cup of coffee, and read a few letters at a time as if they were written for you alone.

Through more than four decades of marriage, Barbara and Dennis have seen it all–triumphs, tragedies, mistakes, and enduring love and joy. As Barbara’s daughters began their own married lives, she wanted to share with them lessons she’d learned through her own marriage as well as those gleaned from years of ministry to couples. In these thoughtful letters she answers tough questions compiled from a multitude of young wives, addressing the realities of marriage with honesty and warmth.

Hands down, this is a treasure of a book I will give to my daughters and their friends. This book will save marriages before they begin and help restore marriages that hit those rough patches where we want to quit. Barbara’s writing is simply art and beauty all in one.–Lysa TerKeurst, New York Times bestselling author of The Best Yes and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries

About the Author:

Barbara Rainey and her husband, Dennis, are founders of FamilyLife and have spoken at Weekend to Remember conferences around the world. Together they have written more than two dozen books, including the bestselling Moments Together for Couples. The Raineys have been married for more than forty years and have six children and twenty-one grandchildren. They live near Little Rock, Arkansas.

After graduating from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, Barbara joined the staff of Cru in 1971. Her husband, Dennis, whom she married in 1972, is the President and CEO of FamilyLife, a ministry of Cru. Together they have six children, plus five grafted in by marriage, and 22 grandchildren.

Barbara is a frequent speaker and resource for FamilyLife Today®, (Facebook || Twitter) the award winning nationally syndicated daily radio broadcast. She is the author or coauthor of more than 35 books, including the Moments Together for Couples, and Moments With You marriage devotionals, the Growing Together series of books for families, A Symphony in the Dark and her most recent Letters to My Daughters: The Art of Being a Wife.

Having faithfully served alongside Dennis for more than 43 years, both in ministry and at home, Barbara has recently launched a new endeavor called Ever Thine Home®. This new line of home décor and teaching tools for families makes it easy for women to express faith at home in a way that is both biblical and beautiful.

This book is available on Amazon and at your local Christian bookstores. You can also read more about Barbara’s work at EverThineHome.com.

Make sure you listen to the broadcast series on this book that was shared by FamilyLife Today®

Do you have sage thoughts that you would like to share? I would love to read them. Share yours below in the comment section.

Sherryl