Are you a fruitful wife?

As a wife my greatest goal is to be the best wife I can be.

Not only so that my marriage is enjoyable.

Not only so my husband is happy.

But because my marriage is an earthly example of Jesus' relationship with the church.

To be a fruitful wife is to embody the nine fruits of the Spirit. Or rather to cultivate the nine fruits of the Spirit.

• love
• joy
• faithfulness
• kindness
• self-control
• peace
• gentleness
• goodness
• patience

Haley DiMarco, addresses the need to be a fruitful wife. Her goal is writing this book is to answer the question: How can you be the woman God is calling you to be, a woman who bears the fruit of the Spirit in your marriage and in the daily grind of life?

She explores and unpacks the biblical significance of being fruitful. Many of us get married and we come to certain passages to help us understand our roles. Proverbs 31 is very popular. So is Titus 2. Ephesians 5 is getting there (although those who do not want to respect their spouses unconditionally may overlook or misinterpret that passage). But then we come to Galatians 5, where Paul gives us the fruit of the Holy Spirit working in our lives, how we will see it in others; how others will see it in us.

I like how Haley shares bits of her personal life in this book, so its not generic. So I, the reader, can feel like she's relating to my daily struggle as a wife and my daily goal as a wife.

I like that I have a visible way to apply the fruit of the Spirit in my life. And the greater beauty is that while I am seeking to improve myself in marriage, it will have a larger impact to extend to others as well. Because I can't truly cultivate the fruit of the Spirit and only use it some of the time, its all or nothing.

#Application is the key to change. It's one thing to read a book and like the message its another thing for that book to give application to reinforce change. Haley gives me meat for change. 

If you are married, get the book. If you are engaged, get the book.

If you are single, STILL get the book.  

This is applicable in ALL stages of life.

{FYI, I did receive this book from the publisher (Crossway) in exchange for my honest opinion.}