As a young child trying to make his mother smile, Dan realized he could use his playful personality to make others feel better. I loved creating Dan’s character. Discuss the aspects of his life that shaped his character.
Dan realized at the end of Her Baby Dreams that he was letting Satan deceive him with fear and insecurities from his past. How? Have you let or are you letting the “master of deception” keep you away from God’s blessings? How?
Ashby’s childhood was one of privilege. It was very different from Dan’s life, yet she had her own problems. How did her home life affect the choices she made in adulthood?
Ashby’s mother and Dan’s mother each had an impact upon their child’s life but in very different ways. Discuss the differences between these two women and what they thought was important.
What kinds of values do you want to instill in your children? What do you hold important in your life that might have a negative effect on your child? A positive one?
Dan tried to leave his past and his ministry behind, but when No Place Like Home moved into town, he felt that call again. Do you believe we each end up where God wants us? Do you believe God is in control of your life?
Have you ever felt as if God was ignoring your prayers? Ashby and Dan each believed that God was ignoring them. What did Dan want most? What did Ashby want most? Does it seem God ignores you at times? Why? Do you think He was ignoring Ashby and Dan? What lessons was He actually teaching them?
Ashby fell in love with Dan, a man who wasn’t sure if he could overcome the deep emotional scars that made him afraid to become a father. What sacrifices were they each willing to make for the other in the end? What are your thoughts on this? What does the Bible teach?
Rose told Ashby that it was much easier to tell someone else to trust the Lord than to do it. Do you find this to be true? The Bible says in Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Why do you think sometimes even those of us who believe this verse and claim it as our own sometimes struggle in the midst of turmoil to trust that God is still in control?
Dan had prayed all his life that the Lord would take away his fear of fathering children. Were his fears valid? Why and why not?
As I wrote Her Baby Dreams I was reminded that God loves me. And He loves you, too. In verse after verse He reminds us not only that He loves us but also not to be afraid, that He is with us always. Why do you think He repeats these messages so many times?
Did you identify with any of the characters? If you answered yes, would you like to share with the others in the reader group? If you enjoyed Her Baby Dreams, what did you like the most?
Here are a few of the Bible verses that inspired the plotting of this book. Read and discuss how they helped form the characters in Her Baby Dreams.
Galatians 5:6, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love.”
Romans 8:25, “If we hope for what we do not have, we wait for it patiently.”
Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”
ISBN: 978-1-4268-1564-5
HER BABY DREAMS
Copyright © 2008 by Debra Clopton
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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