Laurie Polich Short - Grace-Filled Stepparenting: Help and Hope for This Unique and Loving Role

This book is a grace-filled gift. In blended families, possessiveness divides while grace connects. Reading Grace-Filled Stepparentin g feels like sitting with a wise friend who is gently leading you through the unknown into connection. Laurie Polich Short will help you find grace for your home.

Ron Deal , bestselling author of The Smart Stepfamily , coauthor of Building Love Together in Blended Families , and director of FamilyLife Blended

This book is filled with hope and practical wisdom by a woman who has lived out these principles in her own journey. Ive known Laurie most of her adult life, and I find her, like this book, refreshingly authentic. She is a wonderful communicator and a great storyteller with truth and lots of grace.

Jim Burns , president, HomeWord, author of The Purity Code and Doing Life with Your Adult Children: Keep Your Mouth Shut and the Welcome Mat Out

Laurie has been an insightful writer on difficult topics. There is none more difficult than stepparenting, and this grace-filled book will help anyone turn what can be a nightmare into a great blessing.

Steve Arterburn , bestselling author, host of New Life Live! , and founder of the Women of Faith conferences

With 40 percent of all families being stepfamilies, this book brings needed hope! Its not only an amazing resource for stepparentsevery church and minister should have it in their library as the go-to resource for this growing community of struggling and searching-for-help parents. Ive known and worked with Laurie for many years, and her experience and wisdom as a stepmom make this book a must-read for anyone trying to navigate this challenging road with grace.

Doug Fields , author, youth pastor, and founder of Downloadyouthministry.com

Laurie Short has written a book filled with practical help and hope for stepparents. Every stepmom and stepdad will find a wealth of encouragement in these pages. Grace-Filled Stepparenting shows you how to keep loving your kidsno matter how long it takes or how thick the emotional walls may seem.

Les & Leslie Parrott , #1 New York Times bestselling authors of Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts

Laurie Polich Short has done an excellent job of weaving her stepfamilys story into a resource that contains deep biblical wisdom and compassion. With a humble heart, Laurie explores how acts of kindness and daily tenacityeven in complex and challenging situationscan lead to victory.

Laura Petherbridge , international speaker, stepmom, and author of The Smart Stepmom (with Ron Deal) and When I Do Becomes I Dont

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Verses marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Italicized emphasis in Scripture quotations is added by the author.

This book includes stories in which peoples names and some details of their situation have been changed.

Cover photo rambo182, amtitus, xamtiw / Gettyimages

Cover design by Bryce Williamson

Interior design by KUHN Design Group

Published in association with the literary agency of WordServe Literary Group, Ltd., www.wordserveliterary.com.

is a federally registered trademark of the Hawkins Childrens LLC. Harvest House Publishers, Inc., is the exclusive licensee of the trademark.

Grace-Filled Stepparenting

Copyright 2021 by Laurie Polich Short
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97408
www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN 978-0-7369-8235-1 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-8236-8 (eBook)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Polich-Short, Laurie, author.

Title: Grace-filled stepparenting / Laurie Polich Short.

Description: Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020054242 (print) | LCCN 2020054243 (ebook) | ISBN 9780736982351 (paperback) | ISBN 9780736982368 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: ParentingReligious aspectsChristianity. | StepfamiliesReligious aspectsChristianity. | StepparentsReligious life. | StepparentsAnecdotes.

Classification: LCC BV4529 .P645 2021 (print) | LCC BV4529 (ebook) | DDC 248.8/45dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020054242

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020054243

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For Jordan

Since the day your dad and I married,
you have owned a piece of my heart.
You always will.

Special thanks to

The steps, halves, and nonrelated loved ones who make up my pieced-together family.

Vivian, Linda, and Natalie, who make motherhood and daughterhood very loose terms.

My dads beloved wife, Bernie, whose grace filters our Polich story.

My editor, Gene, who gently and expertly held my manuscript after I squirmed and cried my way through.

And finally, my amazing husband, Jere, for without him this book would not exist.

M y stepson gave me permission to write this book.

Writers inadvertently bring their loved ones into the limelight, so it would seem disingenuous to write a book about stepparenting without asking your stepchild how he felt about it first. I told him I could try changing his name, but there would be some obvious problems given the fact that I write nonfiction and we live in the same house.

I always knew in my heart I wanted to write this book, but timing was an issue, and the end of my stepsons high school years seemed the right time to do it. The more years Ive been able to actually live as a stepmom, the more Ive been given to say. But first I had to make sure he was okay with me saying it.