The Holiday Nanny (20 page)

Hello again!

I adore Christmas. Somehow the joy and hope of celebrating the Messiah's coming birth glows brighter every year. The happy carols, the wondrous gifts and the love of family and friends never grows old. I guess I'm a lot like Connie.

I hope you've enjoyed this first story in my new series, Love For All Seasons. Isn't it curious how we often allow fear and worry to steal the joy and peace we could have? Connie wants to find her dad, but her hopes stumble at the hurdles she comes to, as do Wade's when he faces up to his biggest fears. How great to know that this God of ours is big enough to handle any problems we encounter. Look for book 2 in this new series, coming in April.

During this blessed Christmas season, I'd love to hear from you. Contact me on my website: www.loisricher.com, or at Box 639, Nipawin, SK, Canada S0E 1E0. In the meantime, I wish you inner joy to carry you above the stressful moments. I wish you peace that can't be shattered. And I wish you love—the ageless, endless love of God that fills your heart just as fast as you give it away.

Merry Christmas to all!

Blessings,

1. Connie felt God led her to Tucson to find her father. Comment on ways we can discern God's leading in our own lives.
   
2. Consider Wade's situation. How should we as Christians react to such deep betrayal?
   
3. Amanda blamed Wade for her family's deaths. Suggest ways we may fault others as a means to lessening our own sense of loss or betrayal. What are some alternative ways to deal with our feelings of grief and loss?
   
4. Connie felt Wade needed to act as if Silver was his daughter until he learned differently. Do you agree? What suggestions would you have for someone in Wade's situation? Is blood truly thicker than water?
   
5. Connie used the internet as a resource for locating information about her father. Many adopted people do the same to find their birth parents. Discuss pros and cons of this approach and how it may impact the parent, who may be unprepared for a reunion with the child they left behind.
   
6. Eleven-year-old Connie felt abandoned by her father, Max, yet he had prepared a place for her to be cared for. Do you condone his actions? Suggest ways Christians can help people like Max who might need support but will not ask for it.
   
7. Silver desperately craved her father's love. List ways we can ensure our own children know they are loved and cherished, besides our actually telling them.
   
8. Connie desperately wanted the Abbots to find joy together at Christmas. Do you feel we sometimes place too much emphasis on having the perfect Christmas? List ways we can de-stress the holidays for family, friends and those we don't know.
   
9. Wade found a dinner at the center for the family to help with. At this dinner, Amanda discovered a measure of joy she hadn't realized she could share. Suggest some things we can do to assist those who find the Christmas season difficult and even painful.
   
10. Wade's friends were a great help in finding Connie's father. Discuss the importance of friends and the roles you expect your friends to play in your own life.
    
11. Max did not want a reunion with Connie. He felt diminished—as if he'd failed her because he'd lost so much to cancer. Comment on ways we skew the truths in our own lives when reality becomes painful.
    
12. Connie withheld Wade's letter in hopes of saving the Abbots' Christmas. Wade didn't tell Connie about her father, because he wanted to surprise her. Discuss how good intentions can go awry and cause pain to those we love.
    
13. Wade's issue of trust took a long time to resolve. Consider how our actions can cause deep hurts in others.
    
14. Connie worked hard to create a wonderful Christmas for everyone. In the end she, too, experienced a joyful Christmas. Think about ways we can make Christmas more meaningful for ourselves and others by adjusting our attitudes.
    
15. Connie's mother passed on the Christmas spirit to her daughter through her actions. Take a few moments to dwell on your Christmas habits and traditions. Consider the future. Will your children have a legacy they will carry on, one you've established? Is it too late to start one?