Review: Waiting to be Wanted

Thank you to Cheryl Shumake for sharing her book and workbook with me!  "Waiting to be Wanted: A Stepmom's Guide to Loving Before Loved" arrived and I was so excited to see the content. With a just a cursory flip through, my heart soared thinking of the stepmoms who struggle and I knew would be touched.

The workbook is about the size of a full sheet of paper. It walks you through moments of faith to your stepmom journey. There's plenty of room to jot notes and write your thoughts. The questions are thought provoking and dare I say, almost like a visit with your therapist in some cases.

I particularly appreciate sections like "Treasure Hunt" taking us beyond the surface and causing us to dig deep into Scripture.  I also want to draw your attention towards the second half of the workbook to a section on writing your stepmom mission statement. Wow, so powerful! This section will be very defining for some of us.

I love the topic of this book. It addresses the stepmom and stepchild relationship. Cheryl doesn't spend just a chapter on this, but gives a entire book of faith filled hope.

This book visits the topic of the relationship with your stepchild. It doesn't get into the nitty gritty, it's not heavily detailed on all the things your stepchild could be doing to annoy you. This book is about you. Cheryl focuses on the stepmom and her relationship with Jesus. Through our faith, we can wait, hope and have peace in the building of our relationships in our family.

I love the hope that is offered. Just like in the workbook, each chapter has a Treasure Hunt section where you spend time in the Bible and your journal. The final two chapters are so special. Cheryl gives us verses of encouragement and some prayers for this season.

This is a beautiful book, I love the heart behind it. I believe it be empowering for many struggling stepmoms.