his is by far one of the neatest books on Amish values and beliefs. Although I have no desire to travel north and join an Amish community I do see the benefits of many of their beliefs regarding family structure. This book explores this through personal stories of the Amish. It is truly an insight to a people that are truly set apart from this world.

If you are seeking to simplify your life - to return to a seemingly easier and maybe old-fashioned lifestyle this is a great book. The Amish have managed through the years to keep their life simple by focusing on the important things in life. I appreciated the reminders to value family above earthly things. From cover to cover this story is filled with encouraging ways to embrace a simple life in this hectic world.

I especially enjoyed the Amish Proverbs at the top of each new chapter. One I particularly like is "We Pass on our convictions to our children by the things we tolerate." (page 69). In fact this was posted on my FaceBook wall. I don't think people think about how what we tolerate effects our children. I have adopted this as one of our Proverbs to counter the inevitable "Everyone else is doing it" or "So and So's mom doesn't care". I want my children to understand that we must be different and must stand for what the bible says - tolerating no iniquities in our life but being quick to repent and turn.

At the end of each chapter is a section called Road Map: Getting There From Here. This section tells more in depth why the Amish believe what they do and how we can adapt this into our own lives. There is then a section called In their Words that has quotes from different scribes from different Amish Communities. I thought these were often funny and extremely personal. One that made me giggle was I have learned to be careful how I write Oleo when I send my husband to the store or he comes back with Oreos.

I would recommend this book for anyone needing some encouragement that the simple life can be attained even in this hectic world.

I received this book from Revell as a review copy.

Available August 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group ( )

I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Amish values is a book that should be read by any family that is looking to improve their family dynamics. The one thing I’ve always admired about the Amish is their sense of family and what is truly important. One thing that really stood out is how much family means to them. They love their children, but do not spoil them the way we who are not Amish do. For this reason they don’t grow up feeling like we, the parents owe them everything they desire. They raise their family around their faith. God is the center of the home. The author shows us through examples and stories of Amish families. This is not a book where the author spouts off, “do this or that to get this or that”.

I think one of the reasons I relish their lifestyle so much is because I pretty much grew up that way. We are not and never were Amish. Yet, growing up on a farm with all of our duties were so similar to the Amish lifestyle. I was never raised to expect anything except what God gave us. I worked hard as did all of my family. It carried over to my own children, even though we left the farm behind many years ago. My parents made sure that God was the center of our life. We started our morning with devotions and we ended our evening with devotions. I was well prepared for my day ahead.

This book, with all of its examples and proverbs at the beginning of each chapter, shows that we can go back to a simpler life, yet not as structured as the Amish live, and still come out with some of the same great results. ( )

NCLA Review: What a lovely book! Many admire the values of Amish Christians but cannot imagine living under the restrictions of their (often rural) lifestyle. Suzanne Fisher’s solution is to examine several key Amish values, illustrate how they play out in daily life, and encourage “the English” (non-Amish) to incorporate them into their own lives. A single-minded focus on God, healthy attitude toward children and little regard for material things, for example, bear the fruit of righteousness and peace wherever they are practiced. Fisher’s familiarity with the Amish, and the anecdotes and proverbs from Amish people lend credibility. Her account shows that Amish folk have foibles and weaknesses just like anyone else, though they may deal with them differently at times. Interspersed with points worth pondering are lines that elicit peals of laughter. As readers peek into Amish community life, they find examples to follow, and hope for emulating the peaceful ways and spirit of the Amish. Rating: 4 —DKW ( )

This is by far one of the neatest books on Amish values and beliefs. Although I have no desire to travel north and join an Amish community I do see the benefits of many of their beliefs regarding family structure. This book explores this through personal stories of the Amish. It is truly an insight to a people that are truly set apart from this world.

If you are seeking to simplify your life - to return to a seemingly easier and maybe old-fashioned lifestyle this is a great book. The Amish have managed through the years to keep their life simple by focusing on the important things in life. I appreciated the reminders to value family above earthly things. From cover to cover this story is filled with encouraging ways to embrace a simple life in this hectic world.

I especially enjoyed the Amish Proverbs at the top of each new chapter. One I particularly like is "We Pass on our convictions to our children by the things we tolerate." (page 69). In fact this was posted on my FaceBook wall. I don't think people think about how what we tolerate effects our children. I have adopted this as one of our Proverbs to counter the inevitable "Everyone else is doing it" or "So and So's mom doesn't care". I want my children to understand that we must be different and must stand for what the bible says - tolerating no iniquities in our life but being quick to repent and turn.

At the end of each chapter is a section called Road Map: Getting There From Here. This section tells more in depth why the Amish believe what they do and how we can adapt this into our own lives. There is then a section called In their Words that has quotes from different scribes from different Amish Communities. I thought these were often funny and extremely personal. One that made me giggle was I have learned to be careful how I write Oleo when I send my husband to the store or he comes back with Oreos.

I would recommend this book for anyone needing some encouragement that the simple life can be attained even in this hectic world.

I received this book from Revell as a review copy.

Available August 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group ( )