Claire Knows Best
Page 26
“Are you wondering why I brought you here to ask you to marry me?”
“A little.”
“This is only if you agree… but Mom has decided to buy a condo in Twin Oak Hills. She wants to give us this house as a wedding present.”
“The Father of the Bride house?” I am awestruck. My insides are jumpy, shaky, quaky. If I could harness all this energy and bottle it into a fitness supplement, no one would ever have another lethargic workout.
Greg gives me a questioning smile. “I don’t get it.”
“My all-time favorite house is the one in the movie Father of the Bride. This one looks just like it, almost.”
A smile lifts the edges of his lips. “Just like it, almost?”
“Close enough.”
“So, I assume you’re happy with the gift?”
“Are you kidding me? Only, can we really take such an elaborate gift? Shouldn’t your mom sell it to buy the condo?”
“Trust me, she can afford it.”
Joy shoots through me. My dream man, my dream home.
Three months ago, I had my future mapped out. My career, my perfect yuppie marriage to Greg. Then a tornado hit, and suddenly I realized I had no idea how to salvage my splintered life. But God knew He had a plan that didn’t include the things I thought were important.
In hindsight, I guess I was pretty clueless to try to figure it out with anyone else’s help but God’s. Emma was a disaster and gave the kind of advice one might expect from someone who doesn’t know God. But it definitely wasn’t the right advice for me. And Penny, well, her heart was in the right place, but she had her own issues. The one thing I can say that I did take away from that experience is a good friend.
I glance across the table at my future husband/pastor. And I think, Man, how’d I get so lucky? But I realize I couldn’t have gotten to this place on my own.
Greg looks up from his meal and smiles at me.
And all I can think is, Thank you, God, for not giving me what I thought I wanted, because what you had planned is infinitely better.
READING GROUP GUIDE
Claire has worked hard to forgive her ex-husband for his adultery. But clearly she still struggles. Do you have an issue in your life for which you feel you must continually repent? By faith, can you trust that God is delivering you from this, even though your feelings don’t always back it up?
Claire struggles with the various input on how she should punish Ari, which has disastrous consequences. Has there ever been a time when you’ve taken someone else’s advice against what you knew in your heart to be true?
Claire battles insecurity. Do you? How do you push through those times and forge ahead to do what you feel like God has told you to do, regardless of your feelings or your fear?
At first, Claire has misgivings about Shawn being coached by an atheist. Why do you think she changes her mind? If you have children, do you feel it’s your job as a parent to guard your child from someone who might influence them in a negative way? How did Claire balance the need to protect Shawn with the knowledge that his faith would grow by being challenged?
Claire has decided that it may be time for her to end her relationship with her agent. Her mom talks to her about “seasons.” Have you ever had a season that you knew was over, yet you clung to it, refusing to move forward? Is there a way to prepare yourself to face change?
Claire breaks it off with Greg because she “knows” she can’t be a pastor’s wife. Is there something that’s holding you back from living your dream? Some failing or inadequacy you see in yourself? Do you truly believe God covers our inadequacies with His grace?
IF YOU ENJOYED Claire Knows Best...
I Love Claire
Book Three in the Claire Everett Series
Claire Everett has weathered a tornado, a breakup, and a reconciliation with the man she loves. She now has just a few months to plan the wedding of a lifetime while hunky fiancé Greg finishes a crash course in Bible school. The problem? Her career has hit a snag, and no new contracts are forthcoming. If she’s going to have the wedding of her dreams, she’s going to have to find another way to pay for it.
Claire embarks on a series of new business ventures: walking and washing dogs, detailing cars, a paper route, and teaching a weekly writing class at the local old folks’ home. As each new dawn brings her one step closer to The Big Day, Claire’s life is once again spiraling out of control. Can she have the wedding of her dreams, keep up with her work and kids’ schedules, and still manage to hang onto her sanity?
AVAILABLE JANUARY 2007
About the Author
Tracey Bateman published her first novel in 2000 and has been busy ever since. Tracey attended Southwest Missouri State University, where she majored in English. She began developing her writing career after her fourth child was born. She became a member of American Christian Romance Writers in the early months of its inception. Currently she serves as the president of American Christian Fiction Writers board. She lives with her husband and four children in Lebanon, Missouri.