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Passed along through an oral tradition, the Ordnung by necessity changes and evolves with every new issue that arises and every new technology that presents itself for consideration.  When deciding whether something should be allowed, church leaders focus on key questions like these:

• Will this force us to be more connected to the outside world?
• Will this create division in our families?
• Will this take us too far from home?

For example, members of some Old Order communities do not have bicycles.  After all, if one has a bicycle, he or she may take too much time away from home and family or venture into the outside world too fully.  Thus, with an eye toward the what-ifs of the situation, a decision is made for the district and becomes a part of its Ordnung.

(Taken from “A Pocket Guide to Amish Life” by Mindy Starns Clark)

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Passed along through an oral tradition, the Ordnung by necessity changes and evolves with every new issue that arises and every new technology that presents itself for consideration. When deciding whether something should be allowed, church leaders focus on key questions like these:

Will this force us to be more connected to the outside world?

Will this create division in our families?

Will this take us too far from home?

For example, members of some Old Order communities do not have bicycles. After all, if one has a bicycle, he or she may take too much time away from home and family or venture into the outside world too fully. Thus, with an eye toward the “what-ifs” of the situation, a decision is made for the district and becomes a part of the Ordnung.

Thanks to Mindy Starns Clark and A Pocket Guide to Amish Life for this insight into Amish living.

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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 to God

—submit to authority, to the faith community, and to its rules

—separate from the world and become a “peculiar people” by turning to family and the faith community, by honoring history and tradition, and by turning the other cheek

—simplify through the practice of humility, modesty, thrift, and peacefulness

Jesus lived surrender, submission, separation, and simplicity throughout his life and thus provided the perfect example of these values in action. Even the night before he was crucified, he knelt in the garden of Gethsemane and prayed, “Remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42 KJV). The Amish frequently cite this passage as the basis for trying to be as obedient in every area of their life as Jesus was in that moment. Their many unique lifestyle regulations are based on this overriding goal of Christlikeness.

We should strive for Christlikeness in all that we do, even if in practice that may look different for us than it does for the Amish.

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Imagine, then, how it would feel to wake up and face a simple closet or row of clothing pegs, knowing that your only choice is between three colors of the same dress. Many days I wish I could have such a streamlined wardrobe and spend my time on far more important matters!

Thanks to Mindy Starns Clark and A Pocket Guide to Amish Life for today’s insightful thought.

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On a recent vacation to upstate New York, my family and I stayed in a cottage near Lake Champlain. The place was surrounded by all sorts of opportunities for water sports, hiking, sightseeing, and more. When we arrived, I told my husband I was glad to see that the cottage had a television, as I had brought my Wii Fit just in case.

“Wii Fit?” he laughed. “How about we go outside and enjoy some real fit?”

It’s easy to forget how “simulated” our lives are these days. Studying the Amish way of life reminds us that we can survive without all of the gadgets and devices that we think are so indispensible.

We also need to keep in mind technology’s “dark side”: cell phones that stop us from ever getting away from the office, texting that lets our teenagers carry on conversations with their friends while pretending to listen to their teachers, cable television that brings things into homes that we would never invite.

Just as I put away the Wii Fit and picked up a canoe paddle at the lake, may we all pause now and then to evaluate our technological choices, weigh the pros and cons of each, and eliminate or moderate as necessary. By emulating the peaceful, technology-free evenings in Amish homes, may we bring peace and quiet back to our own.

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A New Normal

Recently, I dined in the home of one of the families whose lives were directly impacted by the incident. Though the tragedy itself was not mentioned, I couldn’t help but notice the sadness that still lingers in the mother’s eyes, the heavy feeling of loss that permeates the entire family. Certainly, they have continued on in the world of the living. Their gleaming floors, healthy animals, and overflowing gardens attest to that. For the most part, family life seems back to business as usual, their youngest child laughing at the dogs’ antics, their teenager flashing a shy smile at his girlfriend.

But despite the years that have passed, the whole family is obviously still learning to adapt to what psychologists call a “new normal,” one where children can be victims of a senseless crime but life goes on anyway. For this family and indeed for all the Amish families touched by the tragedy, forgiveness is something they did in the beginning, yes, but also something they must do over and over, sometimes each new day.

Among the Amish, the tragedy at Nickel Mines has come to be known as “the Happening.” They don’t talk about it much anymore, at least not with outsiders. The schoolhouse has long since been torn down, its replacement built in a different style at a different location. No longer the Nickel Mines School, it has been christened New Hope, a name that resonates with optimism for the future despite the past. Of the five victims who survived the shooting, one lives with impaired vision, they’ve all had numerous surgeries, and one suffered extensive brain damage and is confined to a wheelchair. All five are currently living at home with their families, going on with their lives.

My best impression of how the incident has impacted the Amish community at large came from a conversation with another Amish woman, one who wasn’t directly connected to the victims or their families but grieved nonetheless. She and I weren’t even talking about the shooting but about the Ordnung and infractions of rules and differences between districts. According to her, Nickel Mines put everything into perspective.

“We used to bicker more, have disagreements about this little rule and that little rule and who did what differently in which districts,” she said. “Then something…bigger happened, something terrible,” she continued, her voice faltering for a moment, “and we realized all the arguing was so pointless. There were far more important matters in life.”

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