Review: Waiting for Wonder

Waiting for Wonder
By Marlo Schalesky
Abingdon Press, 2016


Summary

What if, in this waiting, God is calling us to more?

It's easy to believe God when a promise is new. It's hard when the years pass and nothing changes. It's even harder when desperation strikes, your plans backfire, and still God does not fill the emptiness. But what if, in this waiting, God is calling us to more?

Join author Marlo Schalesky on a unique, contemplative journey to reveal the wonder that is often missed when we find ourselves struggling to wait well. Walking through the life of the biblical character Sarah, one who knows what it means to wait, you will discover a glimpse of God's character that will give you strength to keep hoping and praying for the desires of your heart.

Waiting for Wonder is a journey into the heart of God where you will wrestle with personal questions, think deeply about God's true character, and learn to appreciate His divine work as you discover your own path to the promised land. Recapture your hope, restore your soul, and renew your vision of a wondrous Savior when you learn to live on God's time.

Leader guide also available.

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/2h7r1zt


My thoughts

I am impressed by Marlo Schalesky’s Waiting for Wonder, a moving and thought provoking study of Sarah and Abraham, with an emphasis on personal application. Each chapter covers a defining moment in Sarah’s life and consists of biblical teaching, personal experiences that were eye opening for the author, and creative vignettes written from Sarah’s perspective.

Historical detail of the culture in which Sarah lived brought out things I either didn’t know or had forgotten, and I came to realize how relevant Sarah’s struggles are to all of us. For instance, the first chapter focuses on the somewhat harsh biblical introduction of Sarah that emphasizes her barrenness. I loved this takeaway: “He is the God who calls us at the very place of our deepest shame, our deepest pain, and transforms that place into something with breathtaking beauty.”

Each chapter ends with a “Who Is This God?” section that really spoke to me, and I want to go back and delve into all the examples and Scripture references provided. How many of us could readily testify to vast amounts of time spent waiting for God to move, to deliver, to simply “show up”? Waiting for Wonder reminds us that not only is God in control, but His plans are being carried out in our times of waiting, when we’re in the dark – and that, rather than a place, what we’re really longing for is a Person.

Waiting for Wonder is perfect for personal study, but would also work well in a small group setting.

Recommended.

I was provided a free copy of this book through Litfuse Publicity. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

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Marlo Schalesky is an award-winning author of ten books, including "Wrestling with Wonder: A Transformational Journey Through the Life of Mary." A regular speaker and columnist, she has also published nearly 1,000 articles in various Christian magazines, including "Focus on the Family," "Today's Christian Woman," "In Touch," and "Marriage Partnership."

Marlo lives with her husband, six young children, nine horses, two dogs, five cats, two parakeets, ten rabbits, two chinchillas, three hamsters, and a bunch of fish in a log home in Salinas, California.

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