by Prairie Song
Anna set her hand on Caleb’s taut forearm and took light steps toward the pastor. She had waited, and the right man had found her. Centered in front of the window, she couldn’t help but look outside. One lone wispy cloud floated in the blue sky, reminding her that Mutter was with her in spirit. Anna glanced at Großvater and returned his warm smile.
“Miss Goben?”
“Yes.” Anna answered the pastor but looked up into Caleb’s inviting brown eyes and said, “I do.” Her heart overflowed with praise that God had directed her path to intersect with Caleb Reger’s, and to give her a hope and a future with him.
READERS GUIDE
1. The Civil War brought devastating change to Anna Goben and the other women in the Saint Charles Quilting Circle. Anna joins the caravan of wagons going west, hoping the move will heal her family. Have you ever tried to “move” away from your problems? Did it work?
2. Caleb Reger set out on the journey west with a secret. He’d made mistakes that had possibly played a role in ending the lives of others and definitely scarred his own. He struggled with not feeling forgiven. Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (NIV). In light of the Scriptures, what would you say our feelings have to do with the reality of God’s grace?
3. Did you see other characters in Prairie Song who weren’t living in the rhythm of grace? Who? What was their struggle? What would you say to them?
4. In one scene, Caleb finds Anna in the pasture singing a hymn to an ox. Or is she? Do you sing in your daily routine … while doing chores? Any favorite songs we might hear you singing, dishcloth or the vacuum in hand?
5. Caroline Milburn left her sister, her nieces, and nephew behind in Missouri. Do you think she was right to do so? Why? Why not?
6. Garrett Cowlishaw is the captain of the wagon caravan. What leadership traits did you see in Garrett? What qualities do you look for in a leader?
7. Before the women in the quilting circle parted ways, they each contributed to Friendship or Album Quilts—one quilt remained with the women who chose to rebuild their lives in Saint Charles while the other quilt went on the road with the women who chose to rebuild their lives elsewhere. What was the significance of the quilts? What did the women in the Boone’s Lick Wagon Train Company do with their quilt?
8. Do you see meaning in the title Prairie Song for Anna, Caleb, Caroline, or Garrett? Has God given you a prairie song?
9. Caleb had studied for the pastorate and committed Scripture to memory, but he had not allowed his heart to accept God at His Word nor allowed God’s Word to change his heart. Is there a method of Bible study you use that moves you into applying Scripture to your daily faith walk?
10. Anna worked so hard to “fix” and protect her mother. Still, Wilma Goben’s behavior proved to be troublesome and embarrassing at the very least, and even dangerous. What truth did you take away from Anna’s efforts and her eventual loss?
11. Is there someone in your life you need to release to the Divine care and purposes of our Sovereign and Loving Lord?
Mona is available for conference calls where she joins your book club or reading group for a pre-scheduled conversation via Skype. When possible, Mona is happy to add an “in person” visit to a Book Club in a city she’s visiting. For more information, please contact Mona through her website: www.monahodgson.com.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Thank you for joining me on the road west with Anna Goben and several of the other women from The Quilted Heart stories.
I enjoy featuring actual cities and places, but in keeping with my commitment as a storyteller of historical fiction, I am sometimes required to play with facts and actual locations to best meet the needs of my stories. In Prairie Song, I adjusted the name of an animal.
Buffalo was the nickname given to the American bison due to its resemblance to the Old World water buffalo, although the two are only distantly related. For ease of reading in my stories, I’ve chosen to use the more common name, buffalo.
What you might call a recipe, others might call a receipt. Both refer to a set of directions for cooking a particular dish.
Speaking of recipes, remember the Company potatoes Boney served in the dutch oven at the campfire? Well, it’s a modified version of the Company Potatoes recipe by Jodie and her mother, Marjorie, who won my Wagon Train Recipe Contest. The recipe came from Jodie’s grandmother. Good news! It’s included at the back of this book. Congratulations, Jodie and Marjorie!
The unusual letter ß (esszet) you see in the word Großvater, translated as Grandfather, is the letter used for the double s sound in the German language.
Also, while I’m not writing my personal or family history in my fiction, bits and pieces of my experiences do make their way into my characters’ journeys. That’s the case with Davonna Kamden’s memory loss and personality shifts. Her symptoms are that of what we now recognize as dementia, and in some cases, Alzheimer’s disease, my mother’s unruly dance partner.
Please join me for the next two novels in my Hearts Seeking Home series. In Mountain Whispers, the folks in the Boone’s Lick Company set out from Fort Kearney with their wagons, intending to complete their trek west. At the end of their journey, will they enter the promised land or discover they’ve left it behind?
I look forward to our time together, discovering the width and depths of our true home—God’s heart. Until then, love and hugs.
Your Friend,
Mona
THE WINNER OF THE
WAGON TRAIN RECIPE CONTEST!
COMPANY POTATOES
by Jodie & Marjorie
1 lb. frozen cubed hash brown potatoes* (We cubed fresh Yukon Gold potatoes.)
1 pint Greek yogurt (Or sour cream, Grandma’s original ingredient.)
1 can cream of chicken soup (Boney wouldn’t have had a can of cream of chicken soup on the trail, so he most likely would’ve used chicken broth, cream, and flour as a substitute.)
1 cup chopped onion (Adjust to your preference.)
1 cup shredded cheese
Salt to taste (We didn’t add salt to the recipe.)
Crushed potato chips (We used about a cup, crushed, to evenly cover the top.)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9 × 13 pan with cooking spray. Combine everything, except the crushed chips, in a large mixing bowl. Spoon into baking pan and level. Spread a bit of extra shredded cheese on top! Cover the pan with foil, then bake 45 minutes.
Remove the foil, add the chips to top, and bake another 15 minutes. Allow it to set for a few minutes, then cut and serve. Enjoy!
*If you’re using frozen potatoes, allow them to thaw a few minutes before attempting to add them to the other ingredients.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am so thankful for all who moved through the various stages of this story with me.
My hubby, Bob, who takes care of everything else.
My agent, Janet Kobobel Grant of Books & Such Literary Agency.
My editor, Shannon Hill Marchese.
The entire WaterBrook Multnomah–Random House team.
My prayer partners.
A big thank-you to all of those listed, and to all who aren’t, who made it possible for me to accomplish my dream of writing novels for you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MONA HODGSON is the author of The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek series; Dandelions on the Wind, Bending Toward the Sun, and Ripples Along the Shore in The Quilted Heart series; and nearly thirty children’s books. Her writing credits also include hundreds of articles, poems, and short stories in more than fifty different periodicals, including Highlights for Children, Focus on the Family, Decision, Clubhouse Jr., The Upper Room, The Quiet Hour, and the Christian Communicator. Mona speaks at women’s retreats, schools, and conferences for librarians, educators, and writers, and is a regular columnist on the Bustles and Spurs Blog.
Mona and
Bob, her husband of forty-one years, have two adult daughters, two sons-in-law, and a gaggle of grandchildren.
Learn more about Mona, find readers’ guides for your book club, and view her photo album of current-day Saint Charles, Missouri, at Mona’s website www.MonaHodgson.com.
You can also find Mona here:
Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Mona-Hodgson-Author-Page/114199561939095
Twitter at www.twitter.com/monahodgson
Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/monahodgson/pins/
And be sure to follow Mona’s blog at MonaHodgson.com.
Coming in January 2014 for the first time in print—together in one book!
When three women form a quilting group in St. Charles, Missouri, just after the end of the Civil War, their growing friendships carry them through the burdens of life and the joys of love. Available now as individual eNovellas!
Read excerpts from these books and more at
www.WaterBrookMultnomah.com!
The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Greek
Four sisters, each seeking their own place in the world, travel to the booming mining town of Cripple Creek, Colorado, in the late 1890s. Kat and Nell Sinclair arrive only to discover their husbands-to-be have abandoned them. Ida follows her sisters West with dreams of big business, not of finding a beau. And Vivian, the youngest, flees a shameful past, hoping to find redemption in the hills of Colorado. Will the four sisters find the promise of God’s love in the bustling mountain town?
Read excerpts from these books and more at
www.WaterBrookMultnomah.com!
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