Uncategorized
Wind Chill Factor
It feels like this winter has already lasted eons, and yet there is no end in sight. This is the fourth weekend in a row that we've gotten a snowstorm. Tonight the wind is whirling around the corners of the house again, trying to find a way in. The windchill factor is -28 degrees. Did…
Read MoreAmish and Sixteenth-Century Anabaptist Thought
I just finished reading the book The Life and Thought of Michael Sattler by C. Arnold Snyder. This is a scholarly book, and dense at times, but I feel I have gotten a better understanding of who Michael Sattler was and what contributions he made to Anabaptist thought and consequently to the Amish ways that…
Read MoreAmish Winter Breakfasts
Back on the farmette where I grew up, we used to have hearty breakfasts, especially on wintery mornings. Mem used to get up early in the mornings to get the fires burning, so that when everyone else got up, the house was warm. And that was important because those of us who slept upstairs slept…
Read MoreBlindsided by a Blizzard
Today I've been battening down the hatches for the epic winter storm that is predicted to hit us, starting tonight and lasting until Wednesday morning. Like everyone else, I bought groceries that will sustain us if our power goes out. I've boiled eggs, made tapioca pudding, and filled containers with drinking water. We will likely…
Read MoreBe Thou My Vision
My friend, Joan Z. Rough, asked a question on her blog today that triggered an unexpected response from me, and I realized I needed to share here on my blog what I discovered by answering her question. She had asked, "If you have intentions for the next ten minutes, this coming year, or for the…
Read MoreRespect for the Power of Words and Images
Words and images are powerful. They can be used to foster understanding — of ourselves, others, and the world in which we live. This is what the great artists and writers who have gone before us have left as a legacy. They serve as a reminder of the human love for beauty and the need…
Read MoreHot Snakes Media Continues to Exploit and Slander Amish Culture
What attracts men to evil acts is not the evil in them but the good that is there, seen under a false aspect and with a distorted perspective. The good seen from that angle is only the bait in the trap. When you reach out to take it, the trap is sprung and you are…
Read MoreRaffle for a Handbraided Woolen Rug
It seems I needed a hiatus from my writing these past few months when my creativity took on a different form than I had expected. I just completed the seventh braided rug since I revived one of the homespun arts I learned from my mother. Now I can feel my writing muse returning. I have an…
Read MoreIn the Dreab Midwinter…
Every year I experience this low energy feeling after Christmas is past. Sometimes I can dispell the feeling until after the New Year. It's usually around the time that the Christmas tree stops drinking water and starts looking bedraggled. Then I know it's time to take it down. We cut ours early this year, and…
Read MoreThe Color Purple
Where I grew up, purple was against the Amish Ordnung. I yearned for purple. When I got my first set of 64 crayons, the purple ones were the first ones to be worn down. Most of all, I wanted to wear purple. But it was against the Amish Ordnung, and that was all there was…
Read More