BKMT READING GUIDES
Seek Me with All Your Heart (A Land of Canaan Series)
by Beth Wiseman
Paperback : 320 pages
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Some Amish are making the trek to Colorado for cheaper land. Others are fleeing strict bishops with long memories.
For Emily Detweiler and her family, the move is more personal. Tragedy struck Emily in ...
Introduction
What would cause the Amish to move to Colorado, leaving family and friends behind?
Some Amish are making the trek to Colorado for cheaper land. Others are fleeing strict bishops with long memories.
For Emily Detweiler and her family, the move is more personal. Tragedy struck Emily in Ohio, shaking loose everything she believed was firm, including her faith. Her family took the bold step of leaving Ohio to resettle in a small Amish community in Canaan, Colorado, where they hope the distance will help erase painful memories.
David Stoltzfus's family moved to Colorado for reasons he doesn't understand. But Canaan is turning out to be something other than the promised land they all anticipated. Fearing that a health condition will cut his life short, David plans to return home to Paradise, Pennsylvania, as soon as he can. But then he meets Emily, who stirs feelings in his heart despite his apprehension about the future.
Emily's growing love for David surprises her, but she fears that he will find out the truth about her past and reject her. But what if the truth is that they are made for each other? And that God longs to give them the desires of their hearts if only they will seek Him first?
Discussion Questions
1. In the beginning of the story, Emily is fearful of men because of what happened to her in Middlefield. At what point do you see her beginning to heal and to trust again?2. Samuel and Lillian aren’t completely honest with David about the move to Colorado, choosing not to tell him about their financial hardships. Should Samuel and Lillian have told David about the cost of his medications or were they right to shelter him?
3. There are two issues of miscommunication. One is between Emily and Vera. How might things have been different for Emily if she and her mother had talked openly early in the story? What about David? What misconception does he live with that affects his choices?
4. Which characters hear “Seek Me with all your heart”? Do you ever hear the small voice in your heard that they refer to, and do you believe this to be God?
5. Martha offers Vera a box full of money, and Vera ultimately shares the money with Lillian’s family and Katie Ann. Neither Martha nor Vera ever seek credit for their generosity, but we hear Martha quote a scripture that she heard in church relevant to this gift. Have you ever felt motivated by scripture to give unselfishly, and did it change you in some way more than it aided the recipient?
6. Emily lives with fear of being unworthy because of her attack. David believes he shouldn’t marry because he might not live a long and full life. What other person lives with a misconception that affects his life and those around him?
7. What is the difference between Amish prayer coverings for Amish women in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and Middlefield, Ohio? What about the color of their buggies?
8. Vera wears herself out trying to provide a perfect household for her family, despite a past that follows them. At what point in the story does everything finally catch up with Vera? How are things different after that?
9. Katie Ann chooses not to tell her husband that she is pregnant, fearing he will return to her out of a sense of obligation. Did she do the right thing? Do you think Ivan would have returned to her if he knew she was carrying their child? If so, would he have returned for the right reasons?
10. An unlikely friendship forms first between Emily, David, and Martha—then later between Katie Ann and Martha. Why is this?
11. Emily must forgive James before she can truly be free and move forward. In what part of the book do you see Emily starting to forgive? Who does her inability to forgive affect the most throughout the story?
12. During the court scene, there is a correlation between God the Father and Emily’s father. Have you ever had a similar situation where you can see God working through someone for the good of all?
Notes From the Author to the Bookclub
Note from author Beth Wiseman: Writing Seek Me With All Your Heart was a challenging endeavor that I believe turned into one of my best books to date. It took me the longest to write, and the idea was a combined effort with my publishing team based on a real-life trend -- some Amish families are making the trek to Colorado for cheaper land prices and more room to expand for future generations. During my travels to the San Luis Valley, it was a wonderful opportunity to meet Old Order Amish families from various parts of the United States who share a common goal -- to establish these new communities and unite as uniform districts. They come with different colored-buggies, various styles of prayer coverings and dress, and slightly differing laws even though they all follow the Ordnung (code of contact). When reading Seek Me With All Your Heart, I hope that readers will walk away with the appreciation that while the Amish live a simpler life, the kind of peace that they have is available to all of us through a one-on-one relationship with God.Book Club Recommendations
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