The Accidental Lawman (29 page)

1. When Amelia avoided telling Hank that she might have seen a second robber outside the bank, was her evasion of the truth the same as a lie? Have you ever kept silent just to avoid telling a lie? Was your silence as hurtful to someone as lying?
   
2. Dr. Esra Hawthorne devoted four years to treating the wounded on both sides during the War Between the States. Do you think Evan would have grown up any differently had Esra provided a stable home life for his children rather than moving them from one battlefield hospital to another?
   
3. The townsfolk more or less talked Hank into becoming sheriff. Have you ever been talked into a position you later regretted? Looking back, how could you have avoided the situation? Did it turn out for the better or worse?
   
4. Was Amelia right to go to Brand with her suspicions about Lemuel? Was she right to wait for proof, or did her hesitance put Fanny at greater risk? What do you think you would do in the same circumstance?
   
5. Hank vowed to uphold the law. He also made a promise to Amelia to help her brother. Have you ever made a promise that you couldn’t keep? How did you feel when you let someone down?
   
6. When her spirit was broken, Amelia remembered
   Sophronia’s words and refused to “believe in a God who doesn’t play fair.” How can we be certain that God does “play fair”? How do you hold on to your faith when all appears lost?
   
7. In what ways were Hattie and Amelia alike? Even though Hattie suffered great loss and hardship, her faith never faltered. Why not?
   
8. Amelia told Hank that she knew the Bible inside and out, which should have made her faith that much easier to hold on to. Do you agree? Does knowing the Bible inside and out prove one’s faith is steadfast?
   
9. Brand advised Hank to open his heart and let God in. Do you think that finding one’s faith is that simple? Why or why not?
   
10. Given what Hank had to do, if you were Amelia, could you have found it in your heart to forgive him? Could you forgive him enough to marry him?
    

ISBN: 978-1-4268-3508-7

THE ACCIDENTAL LAWMAN

Copyright © 2009 by Jill Marie Landis

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