Do Amish youth work too hard?

It never ceases to amaze me how the Amish treat their young teens like grown-ups. It reminds me of other cultures where boys are considered men at the age of 13. Some of you may chuckle at that, thinking of an immature middle school teen right now. But is the immaturity of some teens the American culture’s fault?



My dad left his home at 15 to join the CC Camps during the Great Depression to send money home to his mother and other siblings. When I see pictures of him in New Mexico building roads, he looks like a man. When I visit Amish settlements scattered across Western Pennsylvania, I see young teens driving huge hay wagons on main roads. I know a few of them aren’t even teenagers, being 12.  Their self-worth is so much higher than English youth, it sometimes takes me back. If parents aren't home when visiting a family business, a young son or daughter will come out and explain the business and clinch a sale. It amazes me.

One Amish family I know, depends on the income of their oldest daughter, who’s the local schoolteacher at 16. The whole family of 12 works at the vegetable stand, greenhouse, make crafts, just about anything to pitch in. When I see this young teacher, I think of my mom.  She did the same thing as a youth. She too lived through the Depression, and handed her paycheck over to the family when she got her first job as a shoe clerk. She told us about that job with such pride; she was a part of something bigger, a family. My grandma was a seamstress, and my mom did embroidery or other fabric arts to embellish dresses. I see this all the time in Amish country; mothers and daughters working on something to sell, whether a craft or jam.

I got my certification as a Montessori preschool teacher, and the approach to training children is similar to the Amish. As soon as a child can do something for themselves, or for the group, they’re required to do it. So, if a child can push a broom, they can sweep. It’s almost comical to see little three year olds with their pint-sized brooms clean-up after an activity. Cleanup is a part of the program. But I see this in Amish families all the time.

Getting back to teenagers, I really believe that as soon as they’re able to work, or contribute, it makes them feel needed and important, and less self-centered. When I see rebellion in a teenager, I wonder if he/she doesn't feel needed. Everyone wants to feel like a part of something bigger than them, whether it's a family, a church, a Girl Scout troop.

Since I have a world-wide audience to this blog, I wonder if some of you can let me know if teenagers are coddled in your country or made useful when age appropriate. Thank you!



These Amish "men" are between 12 - 15.

 



Do the Amish vote in presidential elections?

A few years, people met at my place to carpool to a Tea Party Rally. I had several Amish men on my back porch taking a break from building our barn, so I asked them another one of my 1001 questions. “Do you vote?”

Noah, the Amish man that I talk about often, took the lead. “If we need to.”

“Huh? If you need to?” I asked. “You always need to.”

Noah went on to explain that they’re well aware of political views that directly affect them, and will vote in those elections. But they want very little to do with the government.

For some reason, my son-in-law asked about the Bush Stimulus checks they’d received. Did it benefit them? Noah made us all faint when he said he refused to cash it, and so did everyone he knew who was Amish. He said, “If we take from the government, we’re tied to it.” They don’t want to be.

The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 gave married couples approximately $600.00, AND $300.00 per child. The Amish have large families, and some could have made out quite nicely. Of course, I pushed the envelope again, emphasizing how much they missed out on. Noah said, “We don’t need the government. We take care of our own.”

What a role model the Amish are! Families take care of each other. The church meets the needs in their congregation. Friends pull together to make work light.

A new fiction book will come out in October that makes us wonder what this country would be like if we had an Amish president. "Not a career politician, but someone with a little old-fashioned common sense, someone who's not afraid of rolling up his sleeves and getting his hands dirty."

Old-fashion common sense to me means taking care of family and friends, not expecting the government to...not wanting the government to. I think  someone like the fictional Josiah Stoltzfus needs to president.

 

My Amish friend, Smiley, and his secret to loss and tragedy

I was in quite a slump all weekend. My daughter has fibromyalgia and though grown and married, I still can’t stand to see her go through a flare-up. I cry, even inwardly shake my fist at God. Why? Why so much suffering in one person’s life.

So I go through the regular routine of thinking of people who are having a harder time. I thought of my friend with Parkinson’s, another with MS…no relief. Then I thought of loved ones who are struggling with organ transplants, to no avail. No relief. I am a mom hurting because of her daughter's pain.

I was digging quite a cavern of self-pity and anger so deep, I just felt like staying in bed and reading all day today. Believing God always goes before me, making my path straight or more bearable, I thought of what transpired over last week, and I thought of Smiley.

Smiley is an Amish man in his mid-thirties who should be cast in The Lord of the Rings as a very merry hobbit. He has a permanent smile etched in his face and laugh-lines around his eyes. What’s so inspirational about Smiley is that years ago, he and his wife survived a tragic house fire…some of his children did not.  I’m sure he grieved, but now he has a secret glint in his eyes, as if to say, “I know something you don’t. I’ve been through the refiner’s fire, and came out as pure gold.”

When I first met this awesome young man, I asked his why he was called Smiley. He just said he smiled a lot, he supposed. He was working on putting a new roof on our house, and another Amish fellow pulled me aside and told me his tragic story. As usual, I have 1001 questions, so I asked how he could still be so merry. Didn't he grieve? Don't the Amish believe in crying? etc. etc. etc. “We move forward, jah?” Ray said. I stood there, dumbfounded.

When taking Smiley home later that day, I told him I was so sorry to hear of his loss. Thinking he wouldn’t want to talk about it, he surprised me and opened up. He said that he sorely missed his "first family" but God has given him another one, and he moves on in life.

I saw Smiley last Friday at a fishing hole with three young sons, laughing and having a good time. He has moved on, and today, I will too.  My problems are so petty compared to his lose, but the lesson is the same. Keep looking forward, and instead of shaking the fist at God, open it and take His hand.

 

Laughing George talks about "An Amish Journey"

The Amish have many nicknames, since there are so many Levi Millers, Dan Weavers etc. I know a man who goes by Short Laughing Roman. He's short and, well, laughs a lot. George Loughmuller has a German heritage, given his last name, but goes by Laughing George. Can you guess why? Yes, he's a very happy soul, and he's trying to show in his continuing series, Amish Journey, that a family wrapped up in the fast paced, rat race American culture, you have to be intentional and make some radical decisions to have a simple life. I especially like George because he's not a spring chicken, starting his writing career while retired. He has deep insight into what really matters in life, and along with his usual humor, a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down.

In An Amish Journey, a family with two teenagers mysteriously inherit a farm and end up living among the Amish. As you go through each short story, you'll be challenged. Could you do what this family is doing? Living totally off-the-grid, cold turkey?

Of course they go nuts at first, but then family relationships improve. I can't give it all away, but in the end, it certainly is more of a journey the audience takes, hence the name, Amish Journey. It's been quite popular, so George decided to write another series. Here's George in his own words about this new series, and his contact info.

An Amish Home. That’s what Allan has now. He found his path and so much goodness came into his life. My new stories are set in Karsten Field about eight to ten years after An Amish Journey. Allan is happily married with two young children. His oldest daughter, Alice, even has a family of her own. Life is good.

That doesn’t mean they don’t face any challenges. Sometimes, when life is that good, we need reminders. An Amish Home – Attainable is one of those reminders.

Karsten Field is suffering from a severe drought, something to which many readers can relate. However, having an independent, simple life could mean the end of Karsten Field. Without modern technology to save their crops, Allan and Ben Abrim worry about winter food shortages. They are in the presence of a metaphorical Goliath.

The story of David and Goliath inspired Attainable. A small Amish community is only as strong as its faith. A natural disaster could destroy everything they have. Escaping the drought seems to be unattainable. Although Allan has been set free, he still has plenty to learn and God is always teaching.

The big questions: If the people of Karsten Field are so faithful, why would God let them experience a drought? Why would He not send rain?

The answer is simple: No matter what comes before you, God will see you through it. That does not mean He will change weather patterns, mainly because His reward is not on earth. It doesn’t matter what happens to us here. Cancer, war, poverty are all people problems, not God problems. Bad things can and will happen to us in this life. God is not going to solve all of our problems for us, but He will be there to see us through them, as he did with David. God could have struck down Goliath or sent a flood. Instead, David had to stand up and face the giant. He was never alone, God was always with him.

God is in Karsten Field. Allan has to stand up and face his own giant.

If things seem impossible or insurmountable, Allan has to learn that everything is Attainable with God.

An Amish Home – The Flood is available now - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008OAFO04

 An Amish Home – Attainable will be coming very soon!

 Get Set Free – An Amish Journey from the beginning - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006K8U7CW

 

You can also find me on BN Nook and Apple iTunes!

 

Please have a look at my blog – LaughingGeorge.blogspot.com

And visit me on Facebook – Facebook.com/LaughingGeorge

Where can I find books about the Amish…written by the Amish?

Even though I’ve known Amish folk for years, when I wrote Knit Together, I went to the source of the spring: books written by the Amish. I wanted to read for myself what baptismal candidates had to study before I had my English character, Joseph, contemplate being Amish. My agent, Joyce Hart, laughed at my concern for Joseph, reminding me he wasn’t real. But to me, her was, and had a strong walk with God. If he turned Amish, would he be bound by laws of man that only kill? I was surprised at how rich, inspirational, yet challenging, these books were to my own walk with God.

I bought The Dordrecht Confession of Faith for a dollar. One dollar. Since I was paying shipping, I figured I should get my bulk-rate worth. So I added to my chart, Devoted Christian’s Prayer Book, which is a hardcover which includes Rules of a Godly Life, which consists of 47 proverbs. I couldn’t resist buying 1001 Questions and Answers on the Christian Life, just to see what question people not familiar with the Amish would ask… to my shock, I learned a lot!

Devoted Christian’s Prayer Book

Then I saw that they had magazine! I love magazines, so I paid a year’s subscription to Family Life. The blurb read:

It contains articles on Christian living, parenting, and homemaking. It also contains editorials, letters from readers, medical advice, poems, recipes, and children’s stories.

 

To date, this magazine is my favorite, even topping Country Living Magazine. It really gives you an inside look into an Amish home. An article written by an Amish woman called, “I Married Money”, told of her husband’s addiction to work, keeping up appearances with Amish neighbors, and never being satisfied with what he had. It was a strong warning to unmarried women, since she felt there were hints of his love of money during their courtship.

A yearly subscription of Family Life is only $12.00.

 

 

Since I homeschooled my four kids, I was familiar with Pathway Publishing and Christian Light Publications. We used the Mennonite curriculum by CLP and my kids all read the Pathway Readers, books used in Amish schools. Since we lived by the Amish, I thought it would be a “novel” idea at first, but then I got hooked on Pathway Readers.  They are so interesting!

All the books mentioned can be bought online at Pathway Publishing. It’s run by the English, and I’m so glad. You used to have to write a check and order snail mail to Canada. Visit http://pathway-publishers.com or Christian Light Publications at http://www.clp.org  I guarantee that once you start reading books or magazine written by the Amish, you’ll get the best education about their ways.

You can also buy historical fiction. A favorite author among the Amish and Mennonites is Christmas Carol Kaufman. Not Regina is not only well-written, but tells of the persecution of the Anabaptists.

 

             

The 1500s were stirring times in Europe. Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to a church door in Germany, exploding a powder keg of unrest that seethed for decades. Against this background, Regina Strahm found herself caught between two religious factions in Switzerland. Her parents repeatedly warned her against the Anabaptist heresy, but why then did Zwingli's official religion fail to satisfy? And why were the Anabaptists willing to die for their faith? Regina discovered why, and found a joy she had never before known.

If you've found a source to buy books written by the Amish, please share in a comment below.

 

 

Could you live without electricity like the Amish?

I’ve always wondered if I could live without electricity, like the Amish. Well, we lost our power for three days due to a thunderstorm: three long days. Yes, the days seemed lengthened without electricity. Time slowed down…as well as my mind.

After we got batteries for our flashlights, candles, etc. Tim and I looked at each other? Now what? But our son and daughter-in-law soon knocked on the back door, asking how we were (they live in back of us). We soon started chatting longer than usual. It reminded me of the Walton’s, and it was simply charming.

After an hour, they went back to their place. Tim and I read a lot at night, but we looked at each other: Our Kindles are dead! Did we have to read the old-fashioned way? Turning pages in a book is so….cumbersome. But I got out my Jan Karon book I’d been meaning to read, and by candlelight started  In the Company of Others: A Father Tim Novel . Karon helps us celebrate the simple things in life, so the book starts out with Father Tim and his wife Cynthia arriving at an inn in Ireland, and the power is off due to a storm. How ironic! They read by candlelight and talked into the night, relishing time together.

Karon always helps me see the charm in everyday life. So I looked for it over the next few days, as we lived without electricity. Without the distraction of the internet, (We don’t watch television, but I love watching things on YouTube or gabbing on Facebook) I closed my eyes to listen to the many birds at my birdfeeders. But I heard cows! I told my husband, and he said with a cocked eyebrow “There's cows down the road...” I’d never noticed them before. I see them all the time, but was thrilled to hear them moo. Then a rustling sound, a clanking. No way! I could always here the train whistle two miles away, but the boxcars? That was baffling because I love farm country and railroads, and to think that over the past 15 years I’d missed the sound of cows and the railroad. Tim said he hadn’t noticed how loud the crickets were. I hadn’t noticed them at all.

Over the next few nights, Tim and I lit all the candles we owned to make a brilliant light over our breakfast nook as we played 500 Rummy. Was it my imagination, or was it more fun? More romantic? (Tim had a winning streak, so I know for sure I need glasses…something else I noticed ;) And we talked, read Psalms out loud, talked about life. We were Father Tim and Cynthia.

We could have gone to stay at my sister’s place during this time, and I’m sure it would have been fun. But Tim and I lived “off-the-grid” for a reason. And it wasn’t to see if we could be like Marge and Joe in my fictional Amish Friends Knitting Circle Series No, we seriously needed to know if we could handle having a camp without electricity. We bought 15 acres of land in Smicksburg, PA, from an Amish friend, and hopefully next summer we’ll have a small cabin. These past three days helped us see that living without power makes time stand still, and who doesn’t want more time? We’ll be foregoing the electricity while at camp….and I really believe I could live without electricity like the Amish… as long as I had a place to charge my Kindle and laptop ;)

   

Do Amish women giggle? Do they have a sense of humor?

I got a one star review for Amish Knitting Circle 8 months ago, stating:

“characters that were not believable... from giggling grannies to very angry Amish characters. Their emotions jumped from happy and giggling to anger to fretful to anger and back to giggling.”

I just shake my head, because the series it’s about 6 women, so they would have varying emotions, but the part about giggling? Are there people who think Amish women don’t double over laughing?

Well, today I got a letter from my friend, Ida, who made me laugh, fret, then giggle, and then back to laughing. If you think Amish women are serious, somber and stoic…let me share with you parts of Ida’s letter. She starts out with:

“Here I am finally answering your letter! Isn’t this just terrible J I’m very sorry and hope you will forgive me J (She made funny looking smiley faces with huge eyes)

She has a paragraph of small talk about her husband and twelve children, but then goes right into shopping:

Today I go to Punxsy to buy groceries. I pay a taxi to take me, wish you’d be the one taking me, I haven’t forgotten our shopping trip! J (Really big eyes in smiley face) I love auctions, flea markets and yard sales J If we go to town, we stop at every garage sale we see. Saturday, (a week ago) we went to Blairsville to that big Flea Market and it was so much fun! Now I’d like to go to ______ of course, now I can’t think of the name but it’s up there near Spartensburg. I do a lot of my Christmas shopping like that since I have 12 kids other friends and relatives. It can get very expensive so I’m always watching my money $  J

Then she went on to tell me about her quilts:

Mom sent for more batting, but it felt too soft to handle etc. I was very disappointed in it cuz you can’t make fine even stitches, and hopefully the lady that owns the quilt isn’t fussy L (Here she has a big frowning mouth)

The problem with the batting was that they got a bad batch. It happens, but they had a deadline on this one quilt. All her quilts are exquisite. But she went on to say how hard it is to sell quilts now etc. and other personal things. She was actually fretting, and asking me advice on where to sell, etc. Then she reminds me that she still doesn’t have a copy of my book Knit Together that I promised to drop off at the store, seeming a tad bit ticked off, since it’s been over 2 months since I gave my word…hint, hint…but then she lightens right up again:

My garden is doing pretty good. We have radishes, onions, some early tomatoes, squash & lettuce. I have all this stuff in my garden because I want to lose some this unwanted fat! L (BIG FROWNING FACE HERE) I went on a 3 week diet and lost 20 lbs. which I was very pleased, but now I want to lose another 20.

Ida is an herbalist, and she tells me the herbs her family is taking:

I have an order to send out for some herbs and I want to make a ginseng tincture for Joe (her husband) That’s all he’ll takes. NO PILLS! And I want to make “Malissa Supreme” for the children. It’s for their brains. Helps their learning – like school children. (She has teenagers who are out of school, since Amish only go to eighth grade, so she’s saying her teens’ brains need some help ;)

She ends by saying:

Well here I am still scribbling, but I could go on and on, talking would be so much better! Love and God Bless, Ida.

Ida is a spunky Amish woman and went through a gamut of emotions in this four page letter, but notice the humor. She really cracks me up. She wants to be a character in one of my books. She said, “Don’t use my real name, but you could use Iva…sounds similar.” So, in Amish Friends Knitting Circle, she’s Iva, and I have to say, I use lines she comes up with. I sure don’t have to go far for material. And for fans of Amish Knitting Circle, Ida is the granddaughter of Granny Weaver…although Deborah Weaver is not Granny’s real name. So, Ida takes after her grandma, an apple that doesn’t fall far from the tree…since Granny Weaver’s a giggling granny…