I gave Lizzie my full attention and knew that she and her sister, Jeanette, would be the fourth generation of DuPree women whom I adored.
I told her I have a theory that every promise is heard in the celestial courts. Every promise has the potential of becoming eternal. It is very possible that God really does listen when young girls make “forever friends” promises under the pink ruffles of a canopy bed.
As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if every time one of those promises is fulfilled, a couple of angels stand side by side looking down on all of us twinkling bits of humanity spread out like diamonds far, far below them. I can just imagine how they might link their arms, tip their wings back, lift their chins, and proclaim at the top of their heavenly voices, “Ooh la la!”
Discussion Guide
1. As little girls, Amy and Lisa thought that walking down the Champs-Elysées and visiting Grandmere’s homeland would make them classy and refined. What symbolized “having arrived” to you when you were young? Did you ever do it, and how did it compare to your expectations?
2. Lisa reflects that every promise can be heard in the celestial courts, which gives every promise the potential of having eternal significance. What earthly promises have had eternal significance in your life? Why do you think promises matter to God?
3. Amy works very hard to lose weight before the trip to Paris. Have you struggled with weight gain? How has it affected your willingness to pursue your dreams? How have you been helped by supportive friends like Lisa and Shirleene?
4. Describing their childhoods, Lisa says that her life “provided Amy with roots in the richness of this good earth,” while Amy offered her “butterfly wings to soar above it all.” How have your friends offered you things you needed? How have you been able to enrich their lives in return?
5. When Amy prays that their luggage would be returned, Lisa wants to tell her not to bother God with this. Do you ever feel like your concerns are too petty for God to care about?
6. By going to Paris and visiting the du Bois family and the shops on Rue Cler, Amy catches a new glimpse of her grandmere’s life. Have you ever visited a faraway place special to past generations in your family? What gifts did that experience bring to your life?
7. Lisa comes to realize that she has been afraid of God. In Notre Dame, she sees a little girl hiding from her father, and the father’s loving, joyous determination to pursue his daughter helps Lisa understand this dynamic between her and God. Have you ever had an earthly scene help you understand God better? What was it, and what did you learn from it?
8. Lisa says that the gift of a true friend is seeing who you are inside and who you can become. Who among your friends have seen you this way? How has that affected you?
9. Lisa talks about waiting to approach God until she’s sure He’d be proud of her. Are there reasons you wait to approach God? What are they?
10. Lisa’s mother planted eggplants and parsley in the “garden of life,” while the DuPree women planted daffodils and forget-me-nots. What are you planting in the garden of life? And how is it affecting your children?
11. Amy’s grandmere says, “Hope is the most versatile and sparkling of all accessories and can be worn by any woman, regardless of her age.” How do you accessorize with hope in your own life?
12. Lisa comments later that Amy wraps her “in the accessory that is even more versatile and lovely than hope”—acceptance. Who have you wrapped in acceptance lately? Is there anyone in your life who needs to be wrapped up and embraced in this way?
13. God is described in the book as the Artist, and we as people as His maverick subjects, the ones who resist Him. How have you been resisting His creative touch in your life? What does He want to free you from? What might that look like in your life?
14. Lisa gave Amy her first Bible. Later in life, it’s Amy who gives the Bible back to Lisa again and again as the truths of God’s Word come springing out in her life. Do you have friends who you’ve gone back and forth with in this way? How so?
15. Lisa comes to realize that in the years since Gerard rejected her, she has guarded her heart so tightly that she hasn’t given it freely to God or to those she loves and trusts. Have you guarded yourself in this way? Has God freed you from a situation like this? How did your life change as a result?
16. In Paris, both Amy and Lisa face their fears and some old wounds: Amy’s fear of heights and Lisa’s fear of God and her grief over Gerard’s rejection. Are there fears and old wounds in your life that you are ready to face?
17. Lisa’s longtime view that God requires perfection from us was shaped by her mother’s judgment of her. Have you known Christians with a judgmental attitude? How did they affect you? How do you think their attitude affects their own lives?
18. When Amy and Lisa were teenagers, Amy’s mother encouraged her not to do anything that might alienate Lisa from her mother. But when they reconnect years later, Lisa tells Amy that she’s always felt alienated from her mom and still does. Have you gone through seasons of alienation from your mother? What kind of season is your relationship in right now?
19. Amy and Lisa’s trip to Paris is the fulfillment of a childhood promise. Have you had childhood promises fulfilled in unexpected ways? What were they?
TEENS CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF ROBIN JONES GUNN!
Robin’s beloved Christy Miller series will soon be available for the first time in collectible 3-in-1 hardback editions for the teen girls in your life.
Available February 2006!
CHRISTY MILLER COLLECTION, VOLUME 1
Book 1: Summer Promise, Book 2: A Whisper and a Wish, Book 3: Yours Forever
CHRISTY MILLER COLLECTION, VOLUME 2
Book 4: Surprise Endings, Book 5: Island Dreamer, Book 6: A Heart Full of Hope
Available April 2006!
CHRISTY MILLER COLLECTION, VOLUME 3
Book 7: True Friends, Book 8: Starry Night, Book 9: Seventeen Wishes
Available June 2006!
CHRISTY MILLER COLLECTION, VOLUME 4
Book 10: A Time to Cherish, Book 11: Sweet Dreams, Book 12: A Promise Is Forever
Robin Jones Gunn, Sisterchicks Say Ooh La La!
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