Excerpt 1: Introduction to Biblical Womanhood

On the Other Side of the Garden . . . Biblical Womanhood for Today's World was written for your benefit and to the glory of God. There has been no attempt to manipulate your emotions or to appeal to your vanity in its message. Only the woman who desires to know the truth and to serve God is likely to complete the book at all. It is a straight forward, no apologies, presentation of biblical truths about God's design for the woman and for the most important human relationship of her life -- marriage.

After fifteen years of collecting notes on womanhood, my precious wife has overcome her fears and put her studies in writing. She read book after book, hoping someone else had already done what she believed was needed, but to no avail. More and more, she found that Christian books on marriage reflect a psychological approach to the husband/wife relationship. In other words, they promote people-managing techniques on how to get others to do what you want. Some of these techniques are just good ole' common sense like, "You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar." Others are unabashed recommendations on how to manipulate your husband to achieve your goals. Understanding where your husband is psychologically, and how to better communicate to him, are valuable assets for interpersonal relationships. However, this approach doesn't deal with who you are, what you should be doing, and what God's desire is in the issue.

The biblical approach is exactly what is unique about On the Other Side of the Garden. It deals with who you, as a woman, really are. You will learn God's truth, which will enable you to be successful in your own personal spiritual growth. This book defines your special design within the plan of God and even lays out the purpose of your life from God's point of view. It is not just another book on husband management designed to help you get the most out of your marriage. The information provided will allow you to live your life to the glory of God, even if your husband never does what he should with his own life.

Not only has my wife studied and taught biblical womanhood, she is a qualified "older woman" with the responsibility and the credentials to teach the younger women. In our thirty-nine years of marriage, she has faithfully lived up to all the truths presented here, as she came to know each of them. She patiently lived as my helpmate for over twenty difficult years while I searched for my manhood. I know of no other woman of whom I could better testify, "Ginny is truly a biblical woman who is living successfully in today's world." My prayer for each reader is that you might experience the relationship my wife and I now possess, which is largely due to her having lived most of her life according to the principals set forth in this book.

J. Richard Fugate

INTRODUCTION

The Christian woman today faces a more difficult task living her life according to biblical teachings than at any other time in history. She is surrounded by magazines, TV programs, billboards, textbooks, movies, and newspapers which contain information that in one way or another debases the biblical role of the woman. These influences are so dominant that even the Christian woman often forms her attitudes and opinions from human sources, rather than basing them on God's Word. Without the knowledge of God's Word, she has nothing but the opinions of others and her own feelings to guide her.

There is a wide variance in the level of understanding and commitment to biblical womanhood among Christian women today. This variance is proof that anti-biblical sources of information have successfully influenced, and confused, many Christian women. Although some women truly attempt to live their lives in accordance to God's will, a considerably larger number have been influenced into a life of combining Christian standards with whatever is popular opinion. Such women live suspended awkwardly between biblical womanhood and conformity with the world. Other Christian women have abandoned the biblical model entirely and have so conformed themselves to the world that they are indistinguishable from it.

On the Other Side of the Garden was written from a biblical perspective and is meant to offset the predominantly one-sided information that women see and hear about womanhood today. The purpose of this book is to provide biblical insight to all Christian women about the importance of biblical womanhood. It is my hope that God will use what is written in this book to foster a renewed commitment to the Word of God and to encourage Christian women to live their lives as testimonies to the correctness of God's design for biblical womanhood.

The book is divided into three sections:

Section One, Foundations, is the establishment of the principles of biblical womanhood from God's perspective. God created the woman and "designed" her for a specific purpose. The terms, "God's design for womanhood," or "womanhood's design," used extensively throughout this book, refer to more than just the woman's role as wife, mother, and homemaker. They refer to the purpose of God for the woman in every area of her life including her uniqueness, her importance, and her responsibilities. Foundations forms the premise on which the next two sections are based.

Section Two, Oppositions to Biblical Womanhood, alerts Christian women to the anti-biblical position of today's consistent attack against biblical womanhood. Satan's subtle deceptions are so masterful that women who desire autonomy have been easy prey for his conquest. This section will help to identify the lies that lead women away from biblical womanhood.

Section Three, Applications For Practical Living, expounds on the biblical foundations presented in Section I and applies them to real life. I have personally practiced these principles in my own life, or have observed them in the lives of those close to me. I have made many of the mistakes that I am now warning you about. I have fallen into pits of despair that you could easily avoid, and I have learned some of what I know the hard way. Although experience may be the best teacher, it is also the most harsh teacher in terms of heartache and stress. Learning the material in this section could help you avoid some of those heartaches. It could also help you climb out of your own pits of despair and correct errors in which you are already involved. The practical applications will lead you to where you can receive the blessings that God promises to those who live according to His design, to those who apply the principles of biblical womanhood to their daily lives.

My Prayer

My fervent prayer is for each woman who reads this book. May she be refreshed, encouraged, and stimulated to a renewed eagerness for God's truths. The results of her hearing and obeying God will be a heightened sense of self-worth, a reinvigorated marriage, and a strengthened family. For these things may she give honor and praise to God alone. I pray further that her life will present to the world a praiseworthy example of God's design for womanhood. This prayer is offered in Jesus' name and for His glory.

Virginia Fugate

_{This excerpt was taken from the Introduction to On the Other Side of the Garden
It is available at your favorite Christian book store, or from the author.}