Discussion Questions for Island Dreamer

1. What happened on the trip to Hawaii? Do you think Christy handled the situation well? What would you have done in that situation? Does the fact that "it all worked out in the end" justify the lies that Paula told? How might her lies have affected other people?
2. Todd’s dad said that his life would be full of bridges and each bridge would come with a choice. He wanted Todd to always make his own decisions and then follow through on them, not because others influenced or persuaded him to make the choice. What were some of the “bridges” that any of the characters had to “cross” in this book? What are some examples of “bridges” that Todd allowed Christy to cross in this book or others in the series, without trying to influence her decisions. Can you think of any “bridges” in your life like this? Why is it important to make these decisions ourselves?
3. Christy and Paula are best friends, but their friendship has changed and come upon some challenges since Christy moved away. Why is this? Have you ever grown apart from a friend like this either through distance of different life experiences? What was that like? Were you able to continue the friendship?
4. Christy is eager for her friends to become Christians like she has. What did she learn about trying to help others become Christians? What is the best thing we can do for our friends as we wait for them to choose the free gift of Salvation that Christ offers us?
5. What lessons can we learn from the missionaries that never gave up in the face of difficulties in Hawaii?
6. Christy and Paula got to experience a lot of new things on this trip. They were faced with new foods, traditions and challenges. How did they handle these new adventures? Do you like to try new foods and go on adventures? What do you think of Christy’s decision to always eat whatever it says over the restaurant door.
7. Have you ever thought about your future husband? Do you pray for him? Have you ever written a letter to him? How are you preparing yourself to be the best wedding gift for your husband? How do you think Christy’s letter helps her in her relationships with guys?
8. Todd tells Paula to hold out for a hero. What does he mean? What did Christy and Paula learn about the best way to attract a guy? How does it affect boys when we flirt and tease them with actions or dress? What does that tell them?
9. As Todd gazed at the lights of Molokai,  he realized that the closer he got to them the easier it would be to tell which one he wanted to end up at. He used this analogy to help him in making a big decision. What did he mean by this? Have you ever had a big decision that you needed more details and clarity to decide on? What kinds of things might help you make those kinds of decisions?
10. Do you believe in "God Things"? What are somethings that happened in this book that might have been "God Things"? 
11. Who did you relate to most in this book?
12. What were your favorite and least favorite parts of this story?
13. What is the most important lesson that you learned from reading this book? 

Thriving Family's Questions

Ministry Opportunties

Please visit these sites, look over their information and prepare to vote on which ministry we will support this year.We will be voting on a ministry at our meeting Monday, so please choose one that you would like to vote for.

Blood Water Mission http://www.bloodwatermission.com/
(This is a ministry listed at the back of On a Whim, the book where Katie and Eli fund the African water projects.)

Living Water International http://www.water.cc/
Also listed in On A Whim

Compassion International http://www.compassion.com/default.htm
While the actual organization that the God Lovers sponsor children through is not named, Compassion is a good one. We would not need to sponsor a child, but could donate in other ways (provide birthday or Christmas gifts for children or add to the unsponsored children's fund for example)

Our Lady's Inn http://www.ourladysinn.org/
A local Maternity home

Christian Surfers International http://christiansurfers.net/AboutUs.aspx

February Meeting

Next meeting of the Peculiar Treasures Club will be :

February 18, 2013

We will be discussing

Island Dreamer

We are making posters featuring our favorite quotes from the books. You can make your poster with any kind of media, any size and using a quote from any of Robin's books. 

Future Meetings:

March 18: We will discuss Praying For Your Future Husband by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer

April 8: Skype meeting with author Robin Jones Gunn. No book assigned this month.

May 20: A Heart Full of Hope

June 24 (Date moved up due to FUEL trip): True Friends

July 27 (Saturday): 2nd Annual Christy Miller's Birthday Party. No book assigned this month.

Discussion Questions for Suprise Endings

1. What are some of the challenges that Christy faced in this book? Can you relate to any of them?

2. Todd memorized the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians in this book. The chapter that describes what real love is. What are some examples of this kind of love that we saw portrayed in this book?

3, In a future book, Christy makes a statement that Todd is not as perfect as everyone thinks he is. Can you think of some examples of areas where Todd could improve in this book?

4. What are some areas that Christy needs work on? Did she show improvement by the end? How?

5. Discuss the incidents that happened on the ice cream date. Both Todd and Christy were presented with situations that could cause jealousy. How did they handle those situations? What does the "love chapter" have to say about jealousy? What did you learn from this chapter of the book? What did Christy learn?

6. Christy helped Alissa without realizing how much her words meant. Does this encourage you to be a witness to those around you who may be making some bad decisions? How do our actions and examples encourage others?

7. Why did Christy give up her position on the cheer team? What kind of pressures and influences did she have that might have made that decision difficult? Have you ever had to make a hard decision like that in obedience to God?

8. Christy had a lot of people giving her advice and trying to influence her decisions. Who were some of these people and what were they trying to get her to do? Were they giving good or bad advice? How can we know who we should listen to?

9. Why do you think Todd took Jasmine to the prom?  Why did he believe that Christy would understand his decision to do so?  Do you think he should have taken Jasmine? What kind of relationship do Christy and Todd have at this point? Is it a healthy relationship?

10. How do you feel about the relationship that Rick and Christy had? Was it a healthy relationship? What was Rick's motivation for befriending Christy and encouraging her to go out for cheer and to go to the prom? Were his motivations pure?

11. What did Katie learn from her experience with the prom? What did Christy learn from Todd, Rick and Katie about proms and relationships?

12. What were your favorite and least favorite parts of this book? What is the most important lesson you learned from this book?

Thriving Family also has questions HERE.

Discussion Questions for Yours Forever

1.What kind of relationship do Christy and Rick have in the beginning of the book? How does Christy feel about it? How does she feel about the kisses from Rick? How were they different from Todd’s kiss? Why do you think Rick ignores Christy the rest of the night? Do you think it’s right that Christy wants a relation with both boys?

2. How does Christy ask permission to meet Todd for breakfast? Was there a better way to handle it? What do you think her parents would have said if she had been completely honest. How did Todd handle the addition of David to their breakfast? How would you have felt about him giving so much attention to your brother? What does it say about Todd?

3. Christy starts a journal entry with “It seems when dreams come true they never turn out the way you dreamed them. They twist and turn and disappoint, leaving you wanting so much more. I don’t know which to blame: the dream itself or the reality that dissolves the dream.” Have you ever felt this way? Have you had dreams that didn’t turn out quite the way you expected them to? Have they ever ended up even better than you expected?

4. Tracy chooses not to tell Christy who she is interested in because she doesn’t want to play games. Do you think that was a wise decision? How do you think the week would have turned out if Christy had known who Tracy was interested in? How might it have gone better? How might it have been worse? What usually happens when friends find out about a secret crush?

5. What word do you think best describes the relation that Christy has with Todd and her friends?

6. Tracy suggests reading and discussing a book of the Bible together. Have you ever done that with your friends? What book did you choose? What did you learn from it? What did these friends learn from reading 1 John?

7. What happens on the group outing to the skating rink? What kind of misunderstandings occurred? What do you think Christy and her friends could have done differently to make the outing turn out differently? Have you ever had a misunderstanding with friends like this? What did you do? How did it turn out?

8. Do you think Todd had a right to feel jealous? Did Tracy? What did you think of Heather’s advice to Christy? Is making someone jealous the best strategy for gaining their attention?

9. How did you react to the news that Alissa was pregnant? How did Christy react? How did Todd react? What did you think of their responses? What is the best thing we can do for a friend in this situation?

10. Christy takes her disappointment and anger out on Aunt Marti. How did that end up making her feel? Have you ever done that before? How did it make you feel?

11. Do you think Aunt Marti had good intentions in wanting to influence Christy? How might Christy have handled her conversation with Aunt Marti differently? What does she learn that helps her to understand her aunt a little better?

12. Doug is concerned that if starts a relationship with Tracy that it will affect his other friendships. Have you ever seen that happen? What is the best way to keep your relationships with a boyfriend/girlfriend and your other friends healthy and balanced?

13. Doug has a card on his visor with verses from Psalm 139 that say “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord”. Why do you think Doug chose this verse to place on his visor? What do you think this verse means and how does it make you feel? Christy wonders why if God knows all these things, why he lets her mess up so much. Why do you think God allows us to make our own choices, even when they may not be the best ones?  

14. Were you surprised when Todd was at the New Years Eve dinner? Why do you think Christy’s parents decided to let Christy go to the party with Todd?

15. Christy remembers seeing a little girl in the store who is learning to walk and keeps falling, only to get up and try again. Todd gives examples of people in the Bible who have messed up and reminds Uncle Bob that God gives us new chances. Have you ever felt like the little girl, or those in the Bible who have messed up? Does it encourage you to know that God doesn’t give up on us? What does Todd say it is important for us to do when we mess up? How do we get right again? What do we need in our life to encourage us to keep trying to get it right?

16. What lessons do think Christy learned in this book? What is the most important thing that you learned?

Thriving Family also has some questions HERE.

November meeting

We had a great time at our meeting last night! Our next meeting will be

November 19, 2012
7:00-9:00pm
Book:  Yours Forever

We will have a "God Lovers" jar at each meeting. We will be collecting spare change at each meeting and will save it up to donate to a charity for Christy's birthday in July. In May or June, we will choose the charity to donate to.

Discussion Questions for A Whisper and A Wish

1.      Christy moves to California in this book. Did she like this move? Were were some of the positive things about moving? What were some of the negative things? Have you ever had to move? How did you feel about that?

2.      When Christy learns that she missed a chance to see Todd when she arrived back in California, her friend Leslie tells her not to dwell in the “Land of If Only”. We can’t keep wishing our circumstances were different but must believe God is in control and nothing happens by mistake. This is a reoccurring theme in the book. What are some other situations that occur that Christy wishes might have happened differently? How does she learn to trust God through them? Can you think of some times that you have thought “if only”? How did you learn to trust God more through those circumstances?

3.      Uncle Bob gives Christy a journal to record her thoughts in. Do you have a journal? Does it help you to work through difficult times in your life?

4.      Christy’s mom is fairly cautious about Christy attending a party with girls she has just met, calling the parents and checking out the situation before leaving Christy. Why do you think she did what she did? What would you think if your mom did that?

5.      Have you ever TPed a house before, or has someone done that to your house? Were you surprised that Janelle’s mom helped them pull of the prank? What would you have done if you had been Christy in this situation? What would you have said to Rick?

6.      Christy and her friends discover that Brittany has an eating disorder. How did they handle the situation? What could they have done differently? What do you think you would do if you discovered that one of your friends was dealing with this issue? Why did Brittany feel that she needed to lose weight? Whose standards should we judge ourselves by when making decisions about our bodies and our images?

7.      What should Christy have done with the pills that Brittany gave her? Have you ever been in a situation like this? How did you handle it?

8.      Katie tells Christy that her pastor said that to grow as a Christian; we need to let the Lord into every area of our life. What would that look like to let the Lord be a part of everything we do? How would that affect the things we do and say and the decisions we make?

9.      In church, the youth leader talks about the scripture “Bad company corrupts good character.” Can you think of some examples of that in the book? Do you think Christians should befriend or date others who are not Christians? How can we be a good example to non Christians without letting them pull us down? How can we be better friends to our Christian friends? Which of Christy's friends helped her the most? Which ones should she have been more cautious about listening to?

10.  Christy allows her friends to lead her into a decision that had very bad consequence. Have you ever had trouble with letting others make decisions for you or are you good at standing up for what you think is right? How else could Christy have handled this situation so that it turned out better?

11.  Christy said she learned that no matter what happens to her, the Lord goes before her and is with her. How was the Lord with her in this situation? How did He help her during this trial? Can you think of a difficult time that you have gone through when the Lord helped you through it? How does it make you feel to know that no matter what we go through, God is there with us?

12.  More than one person tells Christy that the most beautiful girls are the innocent ones. What does that mean?

13.  Christy learns the importance of saying “no”, but Todd also teaches her the importance of saying “yes” to the right things. What are some examples of things we should say yes or no to?

14.  What was your favorite and least favorite parts of this book?

15.   Who did you relate to the most in this book?

16.  What lessons did Christy learn? What was the most important lesson you learned from reading this book?

Thriving Family also has discussion questions for this book. You can find them at THIS LINK.