Each Sunday during this 31 Days series, I’ll be touching on a different aspect of womanhood from the Five Aspects of Woman by Barbara Mouser.

You are a Lady of Wisdom.

This aspect first unfolds in the Bible in Proverbs 1-9, but Lady Wisdom was around even before Eve.

Wisdom and folly are both women in Proverbs and I’m pretty sure I know which one I want to be. It’s just not that easy. We fall into the traps of gossip and flattery and such – all marks of folly.

Becoming a lady of wisdom takes work…

“A lady-of-wisdom is like a diamond which has formed under the pressure of reproof, discipline, and self-control.”

Reproof? Discipline? Self-control? That does not sound like a whole lot of fun.

But I do want to be a lady of wisdom and I know where to start…

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” ~Proverbs 1:7

Where do we go from there?

The Bible is a great next step in growing as a lady of wisdom. It is God’s great love letter to us, but it is also an instruction manual and is FULL of wisdom.

But Mouser gives a caution especially for women seeking to gain wisdom for life only from the most famous verses about womanhood – Proverbs 31.

“I do not teach this passage very often for two reasons. First, I think it has been over-done to the exclusion of what the rest of the Bible says about womanhood. Second, this woman is so powerful in her strength and diligence, she often overwhelms women instead of encouraging them, especially if she is taught in isolation from the rest of the Bible.”

Please raise your hand if you’ve ever felt discouraged and overwhelmed after reading about the Proverbs 31 woman?

{raising both hands over here}

There is so much wisdom for becoming a woman of excellence in the verses of Proverbs 31, but it can be TOO much. The Bible has so much to say about womanhood. Don’t let Proverbs 31 be your only guidance in becoming wise as a woman because it is talking about one very specific woman – not you. It is also written as an ideal, not a command.

Take ALL that the Bible has to say about you as a woman and be encouraged!

To me, the next most important step in becoming a lady of wisdom is to learn from wise women around you.

When I went through this study as a college student, I was not in a mentoring situation. I have since learned the great value of surrounding myself with wise women who point me in the right direction. These are women who are living out lives of excellence, but who are also willing to share the highs and lows of their real life.

There are no ideals in a mentoring relationship, only the passing along of wisdom from one woman to another who has “been there, done that.”

Mentoring relationships aren’t always possible, however. And that brings me to…

Books.

We are blessed to live in a time where wise women are writing books to share with us and help us grow all the time. Books by Sally Clarkson, Elisabeth Elliot, Kathi Lipp, Ann Voskamp and so many more have inspired me and led me to be a wiser woman.

Since we all have access to books, I thought this would be a great way to share wisdom with one another today!

What books, other than the Bible, have helped you grow as a lady of wisdom? I want to know the books we MUST READ!

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A perfect example of the impact of a lady of wisdom? This beautiful tribute post by Penney, who was randomly chosen as the winner of the beautiful Rusted Chain necklace. Congrats Penney and thank you to everyone for linking up!

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Want to get caught up on all of the posts from 31 Days of All Things Woman? Check out the full list here!