I Love Claire
by Tracey Bateman

List Price: $12.99
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0446696072
Publisher: FaithWords

Lovable and quirky Claire Everett finally snagged a man, but how will she pay for the wedding when her writing career hits a snag of its own?

She was busy enough as a novelist and mother of four, but after Claire Everett finds the wedding dress of her dreams complete with a nightmarish price tag, she kicks it into overdrive to find a way to afford the heavenly gown. She soon discovers that walking dogs and doing odd jobs are a piece of cake compared to fending off her client's drop-dead gorgeous son and dealing with her kids' antics. When her magical honeymoon plans crumble into dust, she has to wonder what disaster lies in store for the Big Day.

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1. Claire battles insecurity about Greg's love for her. Why do you think that is? Is it reasonable for a Christian woman engaged to a godly man to have such insecurities?

2. Claire has a lot of ideas about the way things should go and tends to resist any change of plans. Are you a roll-with-the-punches kind of person, or are you easily thrown for a loop? Read Proverbs 19:21. How does that verse apply to this kind of thinking?

3. Just when Claire's daughter is starting to straighten up her act, Claire's son is found to be hiding drugs. Do you think Claire handles Tommy's discipline properly? Why or why not? What would you have done differently?

4. Have you observed differences in the child-rearing strategies of single moms as opposed to married moms? How and why do those strategies differ? Is it about marital status? personality differences?

5. Claire wants to make Greg happy, but she's not sure she can be an effective partner to him if he takes on a senior pastorate. Do you think she's being selfish, or is she genuinely concerned for his sake?

6. In Proverbs we find the "virtuous woman." Claire desperately wants to fill those shoes. What do you think are her biggest obstacles? Do you face any of the same obstacles? Is it even possible to be the kind of woman described in Proverbs 31?

7. Claire is far from perfect and has a stubborn streak that causes her to hang on to the ideal of the perfect wedding gown even if it means doing a job she hates in order to obtain it. Is this admirable? Explain.

8. Claire's daughter announces her decision to marry fresh out of high school and go to missions school with her fiancé. Claire is mortified but eventually gives in. Speaking from your own life experiences, what would you have done in that situation? Why?

9. Greg is portrayed as a good man who has his priorities in line. But when a job opportunity arises, he has no problem delaying the dream honeymoon he and Claire had planned. Is that selfishness on his part?

10. Claire ultimately reconciles with and even looks forward to the ministry aspect of her marriage. What are some challenges she might face as a pastor's wife and the mother in a blended family?

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