I have read more fiction with an Amish setting than I care to admit. I have even been to Lancaster, PA to gain a better understanding of their simple lifestyle. If you enjoy any of the many authors who write fictional stories about the Amish, then Plain Wisdom might need to be your next read. Without compromsing the privacy of the Amish, the authors do an excellent job of allowing the reader to peek into both of their everyday lives.
Plain Wisdom captures the relationship between an Old Order Amish wife and mother, Mirium Flaud, and an "Englisher" wife and mother, Cindy Woodsmall. Cindy desires to write about the Amish but truly wants to understand their life before doing so. In order to gain that understanding, she develops a friendship, through a mutual friend, with Mirium who has lived her entire life in the Amish ways. Mirium opens her home and her life to Cindy.
One might assume that the two women were so different that they couldn't possibly learn anything from one another. However, just the opposite is true. Each brief chapter contains a personal account from both Cindy and Mirium. Even though the manner in which they live their lives are so vastly different in many ways, their experiences through life are very similar and they developed a deep friendship based on their faith. Cindy's everyday life is filled with the busyness that each of us experience each and every day. Through her time with Mirium, Cindy realizes the simple pleasures that she is typically too busy to recognize, even the pleasure of having morning chores to complete while the day is fresh and a time to rest in the evening as the Amish must do. My favorite quote of the book comes from Mirium when she writes, "in the garden of life, being successful isn't just about hoeing your own row but also about slowing down enough to help your brother hoe his row until he is caught up, then hoeing the rest of the field together". If only I took the time each day to slow down and help my brother!
Adding to the charm of the stories told in the book are scriptures opening each chapter and the scattered Amish recipes from Mirium which range from main courses to vegetables to desserts. Plain Wisom will be released in bookstores on March 15, 2011. It is currently available for pre-order from barnesandnoble.com and Amazon.com.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Radical by David Platt
When I first began reading this book, I was at the eye doctor when one of the staff made a comment on what I was reading. He mentioned that he had read the book so I asked him what he thought of it. His response was two words--life changing.
I chose to read Radical because I have felt for years that American churches have made a movement toward the church (lower case "c") blending in far too much with the world rather than going into the world, teaching and making disciples as is commanded in Acts for the Church (upper case "c"). When we walk into many churches in the US, there is a beautiful sanctuary, the music has been practiced to perfection and is very performance-like, the pews or chairs are cushioned, the air conditioning and heat making us quite comfortable in our surroundings.....There is nothing wrong with comfort BUT have we also gotten away from the Word and made God into the god (lower case "g") we feel comfortable with, ignoring all 360 degrees of God and instead only accepting those attributes of Him that make us feel good? I think we, as Christians, are in danger of doing so if we have not aleady done so.
David Platt, a pastor in Birmingham Alabama, encourages us to search the scripture to see what being a Christian really means and to follow the Jesus of the Bible. To borrow some of his words, Mr. Platt says that "We are settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves".
If you are searching for the answers about what being a true Christ follower really means or what God intended the Church to be, I encourage you to purchase a copy of Radical and read for yourself what Mr. Platt and scripture have to say on the subject. Radical is available through your local Christian book store, on Amazon.com, or through Barnesandnoble.com.
I chose to read Radical because I have felt for years that American churches have made a movement toward the church (lower case "c") blending in far too much with the world rather than going into the world, teaching and making disciples as is commanded in Acts for the Church (upper case "c"). When we walk into many churches in the US, there is a beautiful sanctuary, the music has been practiced to perfection and is very performance-like, the pews or chairs are cushioned, the air conditioning and heat making us quite comfortable in our surroundings.....There is nothing wrong with comfort BUT have we also gotten away from the Word and made God into the god (lower case "g") we feel comfortable with, ignoring all 360 degrees of God and instead only accepting those attributes of Him that make us feel good? I think we, as Christians, are in danger of doing so if we have not aleady done so.
David Platt, a pastor in Birmingham Alabama, encourages us to search the scripture to see what being a Christian really means and to follow the Jesus of the Bible. To borrow some of his words, Mr. Platt says that "We are settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to ourselves when the central message of Christianity is actually about abandoning ourselves".
If you are searching for the answers about what being a true Christ follower really means or what God intended the Church to be, I encourage you to purchase a copy of Radical and read for yourself what Mr. Platt and scripture have to say on the subject. Radical is available through your local Christian book store, on Amazon.com, or through Barnesandnoble.com.
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