- By the time the book opens, Ginger has been with the wagon train for two months and has come to admire the goodness displayed by the pioneers she’s grown close to. If someone like Ginger were to walk into your life, would you be salty enough to make her thirsty for God?
- Loyalty runs as a thread throughout the book, showing Ginger’s true heart beneath the gruff exterior. Who do you know like this? How difficult do you find the task of looking beneath the surface dirt to the cry of the heart?
- Following up on question number two: What about your own gruff exterior, or the walls you throw up for protection? How deep do people have to look to find your true nature? What will it take, do you think, for God to wipe away all that isn’t transparent?
- As you read Dangerous Heart, who did you most identify with, and why? Ginger, the outlaws, Miss Sadie? Or someone else? What do you think your choice says about your self-image?
- Often Ginger makes wrong choices, knowing there might be consequences she won’t enjoy—for instance, being put on water detail when she wants to be free to join the hunters or scouts. God’s discipline still offers us a choice. We can either submit and move past the test with confidence, victory, and a new step in our walk with Christ; or we can rebel further and cause more distance between us and God. Do you ever find yourself in the middle of a rebellious choice, having to deal with the consequences of those choices? What do you do when put on the “water detail” of the Lord?
- When Grant apologizes to Ginger in chapter one, it catches her off guard and chips at her defenses. When was the last time you gave a smile when someone expected you to frown? How does sometimes doing the unexpected tenderize the moment between you and someone you care about? Are you up to a challenge? Give the “soft answer that turns away wrath.” Or something equally unexpected to thwart a potentially volatile situation in your life. And if you want, write to me and share the testimony: author4god@embarqmail.com.
- I love the way the people that God has brought into Ginger’s life tend to see beyond who she is now to the potential in her, and they tend to speak to that part of her. Grant sees her loyalty; Miss Sadie sees her purity; Blake sees her as a capable scout and gives her chances despite her stubbornness. What does this say about a person “becoming” what people expect—good or bad? Can you give examples of this in entertainment personalities or people you know?
- Ginger chose to go to the outlaw camp and nurse the men, even though cholera raged. In a parallel, when we become “clean,” we often go back to where we came from because we so want our friends to see the new life and want what we have. Was this true in your life? How difficult was it to remain friends with your unsaved friends after you came to Jesus?
- Ginger believes she can’t be with Grant because she feels responsible for his first wife’s death. One of the major tools of the enemy of our souls is condemnation. 1 John 3:21 says if our heart doesn’t condemn us we have confidence before God. We can know that we belong to Jesus and come before Him with the confidence of a woman who knows she’s loved. Do you find yourself believing you aren’t worthy of God’s goodness? How do you face that lie from the devil?
- Ginger has trouble believing God can truly forgive someone like Web. She wonders how God can possibly forget, if He’s God. Miss Sadie shares scripture with her that God blots out those sins for His own sake. Sometimes it’s hard to believe God can forgive someone we can’t seem to forgive ourselves. Is there someone in your life you need to forgive, as you realize the very sin you are holding against them is something God has blotted out for His own sake? It can be a process or an instant step. As you pray for God’s grace, let Him show you how to walk free of the bitterness of your past.