Interview With Dr. Patricia Ennis

Interviewer: Donna Morley

It is my pleasure today to introduce you to a very dear friend, Patricia Ennis. Pat earned her M.A. at San Diego State University and her Ed.D., from Northern Arizona University. She is a professor and establishing chairperson of the department of Home Economics at The Master’s College in Santa Clarita, California, where she has served since 1987. She previously established and chaired the department of Home Economics at Christian Heritage College at the request of Dr. Tim LaHaye. She, along with Dr. Lisa Tatlock (associate professor of home economics at The Master’s College) has written the book, Becoming A Woman Who Pleases God.  

Enjoy the following interview and benefit from the wisdom our dear Lord has bestowed upon Pat.

Donna: Pat, what prompted you and Lisa to write Becoming a Woman Who Pleases God?

Pat: Many women are unable to enroll as students in our program at The Master’s College. So, we have made a portion of the curriculum of the Home Economics Department made available to them. The key elements of the book are based upon home management, gracious living in the home, financial management and biblical hospitality.

Donna: Throughout your book, you use the phrase “Wise Woman.” Can you explain your reason for this?

Pat: We used the phrase “Wise Woman” throughout the book to emphasize that women who practice the principles found in God’s Word are women who have both understood and subsequently applied the truths found in God’s Word. Wise Women desire not only to know but also to implement the mandates of scripture.

Donna: Explain for our readers why you believe Proverbs 31:10-31 is applicable for twenty-first century living.

Pat: In this day and age, many believe that the woman described in this passage is simply a fantasy rather than a real woman whose life twenty-first Christian women are challenged to model. However, the immutability (changelessness) of God would be in question if Proverbs 31:10-31 is not timelessly relevant. If we think that God changed His mind about one passage of Scripture, how can we be sure that He has not changed His mind about others?

Donna: You mention in your book that there are 11 principles suggested in the Proverbs 31 chapter. Please share those with us.

Pat: J.I. Packer, in Knowing God, lists six attributes of God which are helpful to be reminded of before I share the principles suggested in Proverbs 31:10-31 that help the Wise Woman build her home. They are that God’s life does not change; God’s character does not change; God’s truth does not change; God’s ways do not change; and God’s purposes do not change. God’s SON does not change.

Since God does not change, then fellowship with Him, trust in His Word, living by faith, and embracing His principles are the same realities for twenty-first century believers as they were for those of the Old and New Testaments.

Society would have us believe that the description of the Wise Woman of Proverbs 31:10-31 is designed to develop an inferiority complex within us. This is untrue—the Proverbs 31 passage provides a biblical foundation for the creation of principles by which we, as Wise Women in progress, live our lives. While the outward historical context has changed since King Lemuel wrote Proverbs, the character principles have not.

These 11 principles (introduced in Chapter 1 and then woven into each chapter) are:

 1. Virtuous— Proverbs 31:10

 2. Trustworthy— Proverbs 31:11-12

 3. Energetic— Proverbs 31:13-16, 19, 24, 27

 4. Physically fit— Proverbs 31:17

 5. Economical— Proverbs 31:18

 6. Unselfish— Proverbs 31:20

 7. Honorable— Proverbs 31:25

 8. Lovable— Proverbs 31:28-29

 9. Prepared— Proverbs 31:21-22

10. Prudent— Proverbs 31:26

11. God-fearing— Proverbs 31:31

Donna: I appreciate what you share about the “Wise Woman Principles” and how these principles develop a heart of contentment. Please share with the readers what those principles are.

Pat: The two Wise Woman Principles that contribute to contentment are in being truthworthy and and economical. The principle of being trustworthiness is evident that the Wise Woman is satisfied with her marital status, while her application of the principle of being economical is seen in her biblical attitude toward money and material possessions.

Drawn from the Greek word arkeo, contentment primarily signifies sufficiency or satisfaction.

Scripture teaches that godliness with contentment is great gain (Ps. 37:16; 1 Tim. 6:6), God’s promises should lead to contentment (Heb. 13:5), and those who seek contentment from money are never satisfied (Eccles. 5:10).believers are instructed to exhibit contentment in their callings (1 Cor. 7:20), with their wages (Luke 3:14), with their possessions (Heb. 13:5), and with the food and raiment one has (1 Tim. 6:8).

* Wise Women develop a heart of contentment by:

    a.      cultivating a welcoming home environment,

    b.      embracing flexibility and forgiveness,