WayMaker

1.Voskamp argues that God didn't lead the Israelites the short way because the short way wasn't the safe way. Where in your own story has God's 'longer route' eventually proven to be the wiser one?

1.Ann introduces STOP as the first letter in her SACRED acronym. In her framework, stopping is not passivity — it is an act of faith. What is the difference between stopping in defeat and stopping in trust?

1.Ann points to Moses at the burning bush as the model of attending: he 'turned aside to see' (Exodus 3:4). What does it mean that God waited to speak until Moses turned? What does that suggest about the relationship between our attention and God's communication?

1.Moses spoke with God 'face to face, as a man speaks with his friend' (Exodus 33:11). What does that image stir in you — longing, skepticism, something else? How does your actual prayer life compare to that description?

1.The Israelites collected manna daily — just enough, not more. When they tried to hoard it, it rotted. Where in your life are you trying to stockpile security, certainty, or control rather than receiving daily grace?

1.Ann describes ENTER as an act of will — God's presence is available, but we must choose to step into it. What are the internal barriers (shame, distraction, doubt, unworthiness) that most often keep you at the threshold rather than walking through?

1.Voskamp defines spiritual clutter broadly — not just physical possessions, but anxieties, grudges, addictions, toxic relationships, and competing loves that block our path to God. What comes to mind first when you hear 'de-clutter your spiritual life'?

1.The two disciples on the road to Emmaus were walking away from Jerusalem in defeat, not knowing they were walking with the risen Christ. Describe a time when you were 'walking away' and later realized God had been with you all along.

1.Ann writes about the particular anguish of watching a child make choices that break both their life and your heart. Whether or not you are a parent, what relationship in your life involves that kind of helpless, loving grief?

1.The publisher description uses the phrase 'God pens poetry out of pain.' How does that metaphor land with you? Does it feel comforting, presumptuous, or something in between — and why?

1.Ann shares with remarkable candor about her marriage entering a severe wilderness season. What makes this kind of vulnerability in a Christian author's writing both powerful and risky? How did you respond to reading it?

1.Peter stepping out of the boat has been called the most audacious act of faith in the Gospels — and also a scene of sinking. Ann holds both parts together. What does Peter's story say about the relationship between bold faith and inevitable failure?

1.When you began WayMaker, where were you standing — what was the 'impossible sea' you named in Week 1? Looking back now, how has your relationship to that circumstance changed, even if the circumstance itself has not?