Love's Abiding Joy

Love's Abiding Joy
Approx. run time	87 min
Genre	Christian drama
Written by	Michael Landon Jr. Douglas Lloyd McIntosh Bridget Terry Janette Oke
Directed by	Michael Landon Jr.
Produced by	Brian Gordon Erik Oslon
Starring	Erin Cottrell Frank McRae Drew Tyler Bell Mae Whitman William Morgan Sheppard
Editing by	Colleen Halsey
Music by	Kevin Kiner
Country	USA
Language	English
Original channel	Hallmark Channel
Release date	October 6, 2006
Preceded by	Love's Long Journey
Followed by	Love's Unending Legacy

Love's Abiding Joy is a 2006 Christian Drama made for TV movie based on a series of books by Janette Oke. It was directed by Michael Landon Jr. and stars Erin Cottrell and Logan Bartholomew. It is the fourth movie in the Love Saga, which includes Love Comes Softly (2003), Love's Enduring Promise (2004), Love's Long Journey (2005), Love's Abiding Joy (2006), Love's Unending Legacy (2007), Love's Unfolding Dream (2007), and Love Takes Wing (2009). The final installment of the series, Love Finds a Home aired on April 11, 2009.^[1][2]

Synopsis

Clark goes out West to visit his daughter and son-in-law. During his visit, Willie and Missie's infant daughter, Kathy, dies. A ruthless land baron and mayor, Doros, hires Willie as town sheriff, since grief-stricken Missie has quit her job as schoolteacher and the LaHayes need the money. Doros uses Willie as sheriff to try to evict ranchers that have fallen behind on payments. Missie helps one family by selling most of her most prized possessions, including the gold locket her mother gave her.

During this time, Doros' daughter, Collette, begins to like Willie and Missie's adopted son, Jeff. Collette is an eastern-schooled girl who is home from school on break. Jeff is a well-read young man who must take over for Willie on the ranch. Collette visits the ranch frequently and helps Jeff with his chores. Jeff also visits her at Doros' ranch. Doros secretly discovers this, but does not let on.

As Collette prepares to leave for school, her father lays a trap for Jeff using the unwitting Collette. Upon her departure, Doros charges Jeff with horse thievery and demands that Willie arrest his own son. Doros swears that Jeff stole the horse, but Willie produces Collette, whom Doros thought left for school on the stagecoach. In the end, Clark realizes that his daughter Missie is in great hands with her husband, Willie and returns home.

Cast

Differences From The Novel

• Marty and Clark both visited Missie in the novel, where Clark came alone in the film.
• Missie and Willie have another son, Josiah, in the novel, but is not in the film. They later have two daughters, Melissa and Julia, mentioned in later novels. Melissa comes east to stay with Clark and Marty in Love's Unfolding Dream. They do not have a daughter named Kathy who died as a baby.
• Clark is seriously injured while attempting to rescue two boys from a cave in. He is near death, but his life is saved by a neighbor doctor who amputated his leg.
• Willie does not become the town Sheriff in this novel.

References

External links

• Love's Abiding Joy at Hallmark Channel
• Love's Abiding Joy at the Internet Movie Database
• Love's Abiding Joy at Allmovie