Spring Creek Bride (19 page)

Ida’s German Sausage Sauerkraut Balls (Makes 24—30 balls)

½ pound bulk sausage

¼ cup chopped onion

16 ounce can sauerkraut

2 tablespoons dry bread crumbs (fine)

4 ounces softened cream cheese

2 tablespoons snipped parsley

1 tablespoon sweet hot mustard

dash garlic salt

dash pepper

¹
/
₃
to ½ cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs

2 tablespoons water

¹
/
₃
to ½ cup fine dry bread crumbs

cooking oil for deep fat frying

Cook sausage and onion in a large skillet until the sausage is cooked thoroughly (meat broken into small pieces). Drain sauerkraut, then combine it in a mixing bowl with the sausage mixture, as well as the bread crumbs, cream cheese, parsley, mustard, garlic salt and pepper. Cover and allow this mixture to chill overnight. Shape into balls (approximately 2 tablespoons each). Beat eggs and water together. Roll balls in flour, then egg mixture, then bread crumbs. Fry a few balls at a time in hot oil (365 degrees) about
two minutes or until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels. Place on baking sheet and put in a 275-degree oven to keep warm.

Dear Reader,

In 2004, while eating lunch at Wunsche Brothers Café in Spring, Texas, an idea struck me. Why not write about Texas? Why not share with readers the state I knew and loved? Through the large plate-glass window, I observed a train rumbling by, and another idea took hold. Perhaps I could share what happened to the quaint farming community of Spring in 1902, just after two hundred railroad men moved in and took over.

As you read this “quintessentially Texas” tale, I pray you catch a glimpse of the spirit of the characters. May you also come to fully understand the words that drove Queen Esther when she said “…who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (
Esthe
r 4:14b).

I love to hear from my readers. You can contact me at [email protected]. Please visit my Web site at: www.janiceathompson.com.

—Janice Thompson

1. Ida’s town of Spring Creek, Texas, changed when railroad men moved in and took over. Has your town ever changed so dramatically? If so, how did that affect you? How did the Lord help you cope?
   
2. Ida lost her mother at the tender age of twelve, and at one point feared she might lose her father, too. Have you ever struggled with similar losses or fears? If so, how did you handle them?
   
3. Mick Bradley comes to Texas with a huge dream. What’s the biggest dream you’ve ever dreamed? Did it come true? Was it God’s dream? If so, did you wait for His timing, or move out on your own?
   
4. Ida admires the biblical character of Esther, and believes she, too, was born “for such a time as this.” Have you ever felt like that? Explain.
   
5. Ida has a tendency to take matters into her own hands. She’s a fixer. What about you? Do you try to fix things, too? If so, how has that worked out for you?
   
6. Mick remembers praying with his mother as a little boy. What about you? Did God begin to woo you as a child? If so, did you walk with Him
   from childhood on, or did you go through a straying season?
   
7. Several times in this story Ida catches Mick and keeps him from falling. In similar fashion, she’s trying to keep him from falling spiritually, though she doesn’t always go about it the right way. Have you ever tried to keep someone else from falling? What was the result?
   
8. Johnsey is the best sort of friend—the kind who encourages instead of bringing condemnation, who nudges people toward the Lord in a gentle way. He’s there for Mick when he’s most needed. Who is the Johnsey in your life? How much do you value this person?
   
9. Johnsey uses the analogy of the train tracks to tell his story of salvation. Have you ever been on the wrong track? If so, what did the Lord do to turn you around?
   
10. Carl and Eugene are local young men who are led astray, even though they know better. What about you? Were you raised to know right from wrong, and yet chose wrong at one point in spite of what you knew to be right?
    
11. Dinah has been through a terrible tragedy in her life, and yet finds love again. Do you know anyone who’s been through the valley of the
    shadow and experienced a second chance at love? What happened?
    
12. The reverend in this story has a past. How do you feel about people in ministry having a “sinful past”? Would a sinful past cause you to doubt a spiritual leader’s ability to minister, or somehow make you feel he or she was more human?
    
13. At one point in the story, Mick accuses Ida of being as “unbending” as the railroad tracks. Her stubbornness, at least to his way of thinking, presents a problem. Have you ever struggled with stubbornness? If so, what was the result?
    
14. Mick is physically crippled, but Ida says, “You’re not crippled in the usual way. It’s not your bones that haven’t mended—it’s your heart.” She goes on to explain that he needs to make his peace with God. Have you ever been spiritually crippled? How was that “brokenness” mended?
    
15. In order to reach her “happily ever after,” Ida has to let go of a lot of her preconceived notions. What about you? Have your preconceived notions ever gotten in the way of your own happiness? If so, how did the Lord rid you of them?