by Lori Benton
Thanks, Jeane Wynn, for your encouragement and for helping me get the Pathfinders series into readers’ hands.
Jodi Eleck, thanks for letting me borrow Autumn Moon’s beautiful name.
Doree Ross, Nancy Jensen, and Capri Mulder, thank you for the blessing of your friendship and for doing the intense, demanding, and love-soaked work of raising up sons and daughters who desire to follow God’s good path through life. My heart is full because you’ve let me come alongside you to pray for them through struggles and victories, and to watch them launch into their adult lives, bright arrows for Him.
And to a brave and faithful warrior I’m honored to know, Andrew Budek-Schmeisser, who inadvertently wrote some of the final words of this story—thank you for allowing me to put those words into the mouth of Daniel Clear Day: “He…make [s] our stride long enough, our legs strong enough, to carry us through. And when we reach our limits, He puts us on His back and He carries us.” He does indeed, Andrew, and you are a shining example of that.
READERS GUIDE
Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.
—Jeremiah 6:16
1. Scripture speaks of the paths we choose to walk. Read Psalm 16:11; 27:11; 119:35; 143:8; and Proverbs 2:9; 4:14–17. What are the promises God makes to those who seek to walk in His path of righteousness? Think about the characters in the Pathfinders series: Good Voice, Stone Thrower, Reginald, Lydia, Anna, Two Hawks, and William. Choose one word to describe each character’s path through these books.
2. Good Voice’s path encompassed long seasons of waiting, through which she clung to faith and hope in a heavenly Father who could, and would, bring healing and restoration to her shattered family. Has there been a season, perhaps when a dream was dashed, when you trusted that God is good and has good plans for you—no matter what? Encourage someone who may be struggling to trust by sharing your story!
3. For years Stone Thrower walked a path of bitterness, yet God enabled him to forgive Reginald Aubrey through an act of obedience. Have you forgiven someone who wronged you when it was the last thing you felt like doing? What happened in your heart when you did? Why do you think Scripture places such importance on our forgiving one another?
4. Just like our salvation is a work of grace, so is our sanctification. Why do you think it took so long for Reginald to understand he could never atone for his sins, or to believe he was forgiven and welcomed by God to rest in the finished work of the Cross? Have you ever caught yourself thinking (or acting as if) your sanctification or atonement was based on your performance?
5. Lydia was a woman of conviction and faith, yet she wasn’t immune to thinking God’s will in the lives of her loved ones must be accomplished by her strength, on her timetable. If you’ve ever rushed ahead of God when you were certain of the path He’d set for you, what did you learn about patience and trust through that experience?
6. Anna’s path in this book took an unexpectedly dark emotional turn when she failed to heed Two Hawks’s exhortation to honor her father. Why do you think God instructs us in His Word to honor our parents? Have you struggled to honor a parent or grandparent, or someone else placed in authority over you? Have you experienced blessing or fruitfulness in a relationship through honor?
7. Two Hawks was concerned with finding a path to a life with Anna Catherine. Finding William to gain her father’s favor seemed the answer, but he continually found the way forward blocked by circumstances or the choices of others. Have you had to be still and wait when the way forward was hidden or in question? What did you learn about trust, patience, and God’s sovereignty during that season?
8. William came to regret his hasty choice to abandon his life and family. If you’ve made a rash decision you wished you could undo, know that God can take even what we sow in the flesh and use it for good. Has He done this in your life? In what way specifically?
9. “But when Creator said He would make rough ways smooth, I believe He was not talking about moving us to an easy path. He meant He was going to make our stride long enough, our legs strong enough, to carry us through.” Do you agree with these words of Daniel Clear Day? Why or why not? If you agree, in what ways have they been lived out in your life?
GLOSSARY
ONEIDA/IROQUOIS WORDS
Satahuhsíyost—Listen
iyo—good
Onyota’a:ka—People of the Standing Stone, the Oneidas
Kanien’kehá:ka—People of the Flint, the Mohawk
Haudenosaunee—the Longhouse People, the Six Nations of the Iroquois
o-kee-wa’h—farewell
o’sluni’kéha’—white ways
a’no:wál—turtle; Turtle Clan
Náhte’ yesa:yáts—What is your name?
shekoli—a greeting
kawʌniyó—a good word
a’sluni—white person
Kunolúhkwa—I love you
ONEIDA 13 MOON CALENDAR
Moon Month
approximate
correspondence
Snow Moon January
Midwinter Moon February
Half-Day Moon March
Thundering Moon April
Planting Moon May
Strawberry Moon June
Green Bean Moon July
Green(orNew)CornMoon August
Harvest Moon September
Storing Moon October
Giving Thanks Moon November
Hunting Moon December
Long Night Moon
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LORI BENTON was raised east of the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by early American history going back three hundred years. Her novels transport readers to the eighteenth century, where she brings to life the colonial and early federal periods of American history. These include Burning Sky, recipient of three Christy Awards; The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn, an ECPA Christian Book Award finalist; and the first book in this series, The Wood’s Edge. When Lori isn’t writing, reading, or researching, she enjoys exploring the Oregon wilderness with her husband and learning to play the cello.
AT THE WOOD’S EDGE
CULTURES COLLIDE.
CAN TWO FAMILIES
SURVIVE THE IMPACT?
Book 1 of the Pathfinders series begins when British Major Reginald Aubrey steals a baby from an Oneida woman. He cannot anticipate the devastating consequences. He may never overcome his guilt. She may never overcome her heartache. The people who love them long for redemption, for reconciliation, for vengeance. Can a path forward be found?
WATERBROOK PRESS
www.waterbrookmultnomah.com