Serenity, Amish Style

Book Review of Great Possessions: An Amish Farmer’s Journal by David Kline, with a foreword by Wendell Berry What a great read this book is! Some people think it’s a compliment to say “I couldn’t put the book down.” In this case, I deliberately did put it down after each chapter, savoring one each day,…

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Book Review of “The Amish”

The Amish by Donald Kraybill, Karen Johnson-Weiner, and Steven Nolt is a comprehensive look at the Amish culture and religion. It is well-researched and well-written and is divided into five sections and twenty-two chapters. Each chapter begins with an extract of the material to follow. I am focusing my review on several sections that stood out…

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Amish Descendant Scholarship Fund

I am announcing to all who might be interested that the Amish Descendant Scholarship Fund is now taking applications from eligible candidates. For more about this, please visit The Amish Descendant Scholarship blog. If you know of anyone who left the Amish and is in the process of acquiring a college education, please let that…

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Travels

This past week David and I drove to New York City. I had an interview with a Brazilian documentary company. The director wanted to get my perspective on the Amish concept of time. It was a great interview. It’s amazing how many different philosophical directions that topic can take. David and I had a short…

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Another Authentic Anabaptist Voice

Shirley Showalter grew up on a Mennonite farm in Pennsylvania. Her parents recognized that her intellectual curiosity could not be squelched, so they supported her in acquiring a college education. She started her academic career at Eastern Mennonite College (now Eastern Mennonite University). These are down-home beginnings for someone who has accomplished so much in…

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Wearing Amish

Wearing Amish the day of my sister’s wedding I have been writing my book lately, and so I have been remiss in posting new material here. I am happy to report that I have finished getting this part of my story on paper. Now three people are reading it and will give me their honest…

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On Magic Wings

Candelin Wahl with a pink dogwood in the background I am so grateful for friends. My friend, Candelin Wahl, came to visit me and stayed for two days. Our friendship goes back a long way. We met when we were going to the same church. We were twelve months pregnant between the two of us…

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Do Amish People Resent Tourists?

Recently Fran Shultis asked a very good question about vacationing in Amish country. I will answer this to the best of my ability. Here’s her question: Saloma, my family and I are going on an overnight vacation to Amish territory this Spring. In many ways I feel like an intruder because I know the Amish…

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