amish grace I picked up a film this past Christmas for my wife. I bought it to go along with a book by Kraybill et al on the same theme: the Amish school shooting of 2006 in Nickel Mines, PA. The title of both is the same – Amish Grace. Not having heard anything about [...]
As a writer of Amish novels, and therefore a researcher of their culture and heritage, I’m often asked how the Amish celebrate a specific holiday. The answer to that question, as with most regarding these fascinating people, lies within the particular sect they belong to, such as Old Order, New Order, Beachy Amish, Swartzentruber, Mennonite, [...]
Limitations on Amish life are dictated by the Ordnung, which is what the Amish call the unwritten set of rules and regulations that dictates their day-to-day life. The Ordnung deals with a wide variety of topics, such as clothing, transportation, technology, education, and much more. Passed along through an oral tradition, the Ordnung by necessity [...]
As a writer of Amish books, I’m often asked where I go to create my fictional tales. My answer? Just about anywhere. I’ve been known to take either my yellow legal tablet with a couple pens or my laptop to the local park, to the nearest coffee shop, to the local Subway restaurant (I’m hooked [...]
Hello, Amish Readers! I hope you’re having a great week! How many of you are Mary Ellis fans? If you haven’t discovered this author yet, then I highly recommended you pick up her first Amish novel, A Widow’s Hope. It is a sweet story of new beginnings set in the heart of Ohio Amish country. [...]
Virginia City used to be the capital of Montana in the territory’s gold rush days. About midway through 1875 Helena became the capital in its place. From a roaring boomtown Virginia City became a ghost town a few decades later once the gold had played out. Put yourself in the Montana Territory of 1875. The [...]
Happy Sunday, Amish Readers! As believers gather today to worship together, I thought I’d share these thoughts on faith from A Pocket Guide to Amish Life by Mindy Starns Clark… To best understand Amish life, it helps to grasp the basic values that guide almost every facet of their faith. The Amish… –surrender the self-will [...]
Happy Friday, Amish Readers! We have another hearty recipe for you today…great for a chilly Fall evening! (And I think I picked this recipe as much for its fun name as I did for how good it looks!) Thanks to The Homestyle Amish Kitchen Cookbook for another great recipe. Happy Eating! Shipwreck Stew 1 1/2 [...]
Hello, Amish Readers! I thought I’d help us here at mid-week by going into our “vaults” and recommending an Amish novel that was published in 2008–Rachel’s Secret by BJ Hoff. It’s set during the Civil War, where a wounded riverboat captain finds himself in need of the safety and assistance of an Amish community. If [...]
Though few of us would choose to limit our clothing options as severely as the Amish have, there is something to be said for the simplicity of the Amish way of dressing. Think about the amount of time you spend on clothing–shopping for it, coordinating outfits, cleaning it, storing it, finding the right shoes and [...]
