Redefining the Strong-Willed Woman

Cynthia Ulrich Tobias does an excellent job (as always!) in helping readers to understand and appreciate how God has made us. In this book, she focuses on the strong willed woman (SWW) and how God uses us, yielded to Him, to further the work He has for us to do. One of my favorite chapters is "Strong Willed Women in Leadership". The Three A's of leadership were most helpful - Attitude (staying positive), Accountability (finding ways to keep ourselves accountable to those we lead), and Action (never hesitating to step forward when needed). For anyone who lives with (or IS) a SWW, this is highly recommended reading.

Being married to a strong willed woman, I have encountered many of the symptoms of what was described in this book. The book helped me better understand my wife's internal makeup (pun intended). Tobias succinctly covers a difficult topic that has caused friction in both Christian and non-Christian marriages for years. She gives an encouraging, thoughtful approach to harnessing that strong willed temperment into positive direction. I found the book a huge breakthrough in an area I hadn't realized was so important to understand. An all around excellent read.

In response to comments written in on a recent review, strong-will is not just simply rebellion nor is it purely sin. In chapter nine of Cynthia's book, the first quote is from 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5 "It is clear to us, friends that God not only loves you very much but also has put his hand on you for something special. When the Message we preached came to you, it wasn't just words. Something happened in you. The Holy Spirit put steel in your convictions." This qoute says to me that God does not want us all to conform to any particular style, wouldn't this world be boring? He simply is asking, not telling us to "Trust and Obey" him. In Cynthia's book, she never once tells the reader not to obey God. Quite the opposite, she is always telling the reader that the key to happiness and fullfillment in life is to submit your strong-will to God, so that he can use it for his glory! To me one of the greatest assets of being a strong-willed woman is that I know it is ultimately my choice whether I accept Christ into my life or not. The fact that I realize that and still accept him with open arms just makes it that much sweeter! I think Cynthia's book is a wonderful gift of encouragement to readers everywhere!

As a man married to a strong-willed woman, I was searching for some understanding to better understand my wife. For years, she claimed I was the strong willed one in the family. We both love God, but have had this area of impasse in our relationship for years. Not knowing what to expect, I was amazed at the insight gleaned from this book. The author vividly conveys the temperment and essence of the strong-willed woman, and included a chapter for the husbands in the reading audience who were looking for answers. Frankly, I am quite excited about my wife reading this book, as it really shows the incredible freedom of harnessing and directing that strong will for God. Thank you for writing such a timely and prolific book.

An earlier review of this book implied this book was calling the sinful rebellious woman strong-willed in an attempt to disguise it. Nothing could be further from the truth, and I can only imagine she has not read the book. The whole premise of the book is that there are strong-willed women who use their strong will to bring honor and glory to God. There is NOTHING in the book that suggests the strong-willed woman should in any way not conform to Bible standards or should get away with sin. I challenge anyone to read the book yourself--truly read it, and see what you think.