DISCUSSION & STUDY GUIDE SAMPLE

DISCUSSION GUIDE

1. Were there any poems in the book that struck you on a personal level and why?

2. Were there any poems in this book that seemed to have come directly out of the author’s personal experience? If so, which ones?

3. Are there any areas in your life where you feel like you are being plagued by something? If so, by what?

4. What do you think the childhood trauma was that the author referenced in “Nightshades”?

5. Have you ever experienced being consumed by anything in life whether it’s a person or a substance as referenced in “Addiction” and “Locust Lust”? If so, what did you do to find a remedy for it?

6. In “You Want Me Quarantined,” the author seems to be talking about two different things--one more upfront and one more covert--what do you think they are?

7. In “Who Said You’re Naked?” Adam and Eve were enticed to do something God told them not to do and it had disastrous consequences for their children. Have you ever been enticed to do something in your life that you knew you shouldn’t, and your family was affected by those choices?

8. What lesson(s) did the author have to learn in “Bashing My Head Against the Wall?”

9. Have you ever dealt with friends constantly pointing out your flaws, as in “They Just Wanna Fight?” If so, how did you get rid of them, or are you still allowing them to leave their droppings in your life?

10. In “Body Mass Index” the author points out how obesity in the church isn’t a good witness and keeps some people from wanting to hear more about God. What do you feel are some other elephants in the room that people don’t talk about that keep people from wanting to hear about the Lord?

11. In “Freedom’s Not Born But Taken,” the author chooses to have an Egyptian family’s firstborn son saved in the same way the Israelites were saved (by putting the lamb’s blood over the door) and in turn, an Israelite’s firstborn son who was supposed to be saved, dies. Do you agree that some of “God’s chosen people” could suffer an ill fate not originally meant for them through their own disobedience?

12. In “Struggling Against Myself,” the author seems to indicate that sometimes getting a sickness that lays you flat out on your back is the only way that you’ll stop going down the wrong path and change your ways by looking up to God. Have you ever experienced a hardship that made you seek out God even more than when everything was going great?

13. In “Count Blessings, Not Flies,” what do you think the author meant by “Make sure screen doors and souls stay closed…”?

14. Regarding the author’s trouble in “The Spider and the Cobwebs,” can you identify any areas of your life where the problems are like webs that keep being rebuilt because you haven’t done your part yet to kill the spider?

15. Who do you think the author was speaking to in “Wake Up, You Walking Dead” and why?

16. In “It Doesn’t Have to Be This Grim,” the author is sharing how she had trouble trying to convince someone that God loved them and wanted the best for them. Have you ever tried to share the love of God, but it wasn’t well received so you felt inept in sharing? If so, tell us about that time.

17. In “Miracles Need No Tricks,” the author insists that if God has healed us and helped us, we’ve got to tell someone about it. Is there anything God has helped you with or prayers of yours that have been answered that you’ve not shared in public yet? Would you care to share about it now?

18.  Which of the Ten Plagues was referenced in “Zach, the Good Boy?”

19. The author tells us in “When Language Fails” that our prayers don’t have to be perfect or sound beautiful. Have you ever not prayed because you didn’t have the words to say? If yes, did this poem bring you relief to find out that all you have to do is call on God’s name?

20. In “Rising Up,” the author tells us that it’s likely our calling is tied to things that irritate us.  Have you ever felt that your calling could be tied to something that bugs you? Discuss.

21. Is there a significant lesson you’ve taken to heart from reading “Poetic Prescriptions for Plaguing Problems?” If yes, what was it? Discuss how you were affected and why.