Paula Penn-nabrit

The Power of a Virtuous Woman Paula Penn-nabrit

Five years ago nobody wanted to teach the women?s Sunday School class, so the group settled on Proverbs 31 as an easy read-but soon realized they actually knew very little about it. The Power of a Virtuous Woman is the book written as a guide. It examines Proverbs 31 from beginning to end with hard questions all along the way. Questions like how did David?s relationship with Bathsheba affect her relationship with their son Solomon? And exactly how did Bathsheba get Solomon to listen to her when he was already a grown man? It explores ancient, yet ongoing conversations about gender, power, submission, obedience and sacrifice. The questions at the end of each chapter beg more for analysis than answers and sometimes elicit anger. Are these conversations okay in the 21st century or are the inquiries just too dangerous for women? The class grew from nine to more than twenty women in a few short months. Amid the privacy of the church library, the comfort of coffee, tea and homemade goodies and the growing confidence of true sisterhood they explored every verse of the chapter they thought they already knew. The Power of a Virtuous Woman covers various perspectives on life, marriage and parenting presented in Proverbs 31 because the class roster is varied. Some of the sisters are in their 20s, some are in their 70s and some are in between. They are single, married, divorced and widowed, with and without children, and some are raising grandkids. Some of the sisters have beautiful homes, some live in shelters and some have been incarcerated. There are professionals with advanced degrees and others working on their GEDs, but like many women around the world they all struggle with issues of virtue, power and submission. Perspectives on that struggle form the basis of The Power of a Virtuous Woman.