Seek Me With All Your Heart (34 page)
“I hope the next moment wil top that.”
Emily gasped as David dropped to one knee. The sun seemed to shine even brighter as he spoke. “Wil you marry me, Emily?”
Emily looked up at the statue of Jesus, standing tal and protectively above them. Then she looked down at David, the man she would spend the rest of her life loving.
“
Ya
. I wil .”
David stood up and wrapped his arms around her. “I wil love you forever.”
“And I wil love you forever.”
She glanced up toward heaven and smiled.
And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart
.
EMILY WALKED THE SITE OF HER FUTURE HOME, THE colorful wildflowers brushing against her legs. As the sun set behind the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east, she scanned the area and tried to picture her home.
David’s father gave him a large chunk of land the week after David proposed to Emily, and shortly thereafter, Emily and David had found the perfect spot to build their new home. In November, Emily would become Mrs. David Stoltzfus.
Her hands grazed the tips of the flowers as she breathed in the smel s of summer. July was pleasant in Canaan with long days fil ed with sunshine.
Emily came to this spot often, not only to visualize the home David would build, but also to commune with God. She knew that she was as close to God here as she would be on the top of any mountain.
She closed her eyes, the warm wind in her face, and thanked God for the many blessings He had bestowed on her. When she was done, she spun around, picturing her den, kitchen, four bedrooms, mudroom, and large walk-around porch spanning two sides of the clapboard house. And two bathrooms. One upstairs and one downstairs.
Her garden would be on the west side of the house, and a white picket fence would enclose the front yard. There would be two barns. One for animals, and one for David to build furniture in. In the beginning, David’s job at the furniture store had been to assemble prefabricated furniture for
Englisch
customers to buy. The ready-made furniture was a combination of wood and particle board, but David offered to build some solid wood furniture for the owner to sel . And what started out as a hobby quickly blossomed into much more. David had orders for fourteen rocking chairs and two cradles.
Emily hoped that he would be building a cradle for their own little one soon after they were married.
She gathered some of the flowers in her hands and arranged them into a tight bouquet, careful to select a colorful variety. David’s Aunt Katie Ann loved the flowers that grew wild in the fields, and Emily enjoyed col ecting them for her when she came here. Her new baby would bless al their lives in September. It was unusual for an Amish woman to raise a child on her own, but Katie Ann had her friends and family, particularly Martha, who’d stepped in and made herself at home in Katie Ann’s life.
Emily eyed her selection and decided it was perfect.
Yes, a new baby in September for Katie Ann, and a wedding in November. Her own wedding—to David Stoltzfus.
She closed her eyes and thanked God again for His divine blessings in her life.
NATALIE HANEMANN, it is an honor to dedicate this book to you. Our paths crossed for a reason, and I hope that we are always on this incredible journey together. Peace, prayers, and love to you my friend—and to the rest of my Thomas Nelson family.
Special thanks to Sherry and Tim Gregg for your friendship, hospitality, and research assistance. By the time this book hits the shelves, we wil have shared another fun-fil ed adventure visiting the Amish folks in Colorado. Blessings to both of you always. Big hug to you, Sherry, for reading the manuscript prior to publication.
Thank you to an Old Order Amish friend in Monte Vista, Colorado, who spent time with me while I was there, and also to my Amish friends in Lancaster County, who answer questions and al ow me to use their fabulous recipes.
Barbie Beiler, you rock! You’re a Daughter of the Promise whose namesake wil forever be a part of this series. Thank you for reading each book prior to publication to verify authenticity. AND for answering my many, many questions on a regular basis.
To my husband, Patrick. “Who do you love?” “You, baby.” Always and forever.
Janet Murphy, you are the best assistant a girl could have. What a blessing you are. You wear many hats, and they al fit you perfectly. So glad to have you on this wonderful ride with me.
To my mother-in-law, Pat. I have yet to find one person whose mother-in-law cooks for them twice a week. You’re the best!
Jenny Baumgartner, as a line editor, you go above and beyond to make my books the best they can be. And the fact that you are a super sweet, loving individual is a huge bonus. Blessings to you and your beautiful family.
To my agent, Mary Sue Seymour, thanks for al you do to strengthen my career and for being a super friend.
Eric and Cory, Seek Him with al your heart. Always.
Friends and family not mentioned here, please know how much you mean to me and how much I appreciate the day-to-day things you do for me.
Without You, God, I’d be a lost soul scribbling words that make no sense. Thank you for guiding my hand in an effort to draw folks closer to You.
Reading Group Guide
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 Lil ian aren’t completely honest with David about the move to Colorado, choosing not to tel him about their financial hardships. Should Samuel and Lil ian 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 al your heart”? Do you ever hear the smal voice in your heard that they refer to, and do you believe this to be God?
5. Martha offers Vera a box ful of money, and Vera ultimately shares the money with Lil ian’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 ful 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 fol ows them. At what point in the story does everything final y catch up with Vera? How are things different after that?
9. Katie Ann chooses not to tel her husband that she is pregnant, fearing he wil 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 al ?
Amish Recipes
Chocolate Shoofly Pie
1 unbaked pie shel
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/3 cups boiling water
1 1/2 cups (16 oz. can) Hershey’s syrup
1 tsp. vanil a
1 1 /3 cups unsifted al -purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup butter
cinnamon
Dissolve 1/4 teaspoon baking soda in boiling water; stir in chocolate syrup and vanil a. Set aside. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender to form coarse crumbs.
Set aside 1 cup each of chocolate mixture and crumbs. Gently combine remaining chocolate and crumbs, stirring just until crumbs are moistened (mixture wil be lumpy). Pour reserved cup of chocolate mixture into pastry shel .
Pour chocolate-crumb mixture evenly over liquid in shel . Top with remaining 1 cup of crumbs. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 375° for 50 to 60
minutes or until set. Cool completely.
—From Renee Klevenhagen, Slatedale, Pa.
Cabbage Casserole
3 cups fresh cabbage,
shredded
1 pound hamburger,
sautéed and drained
3/4 cup diced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
10 1/2 oz. can of tomato soup
1 soup can of water
1 cup cooked rice
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup shredded cheddar
cheese
Shred cabbage and place in a greased, 2-quart casserole. Mix in meat and onions. Then stir in remaining ingredients, except cheese. Stir the whole casserole wel . Cover and bake at 350° for one hour. Top with cheese before serving.
Chicken Lasagna
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 medium onion, diced
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ tsp. garlic salt
¼ tsp. pepper
4 cups cooked chicken, cut in bite-size pieces
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarel a cheese
1 box lasagna noodles, cooked
½ cup parmesan cheese
Mix al the ingredients except the noodles and parmesan cheese. In a 9” x 13” baking pan, alternate one layer of chicken mixture and one layer of lasagna noodles. Repeat. Top with the parmesan cheese. Bake at 375° uncovered for 45 minutes.
Return to Canaan, Colorado,
in the Fal of 2011
as Katie Ann experiences new joys and trials
in this beautiful land.
The Next Daughters of the Promise Novel
Available March 2011