Homespun: Amish and Mennonite Women in Their Own Words, ed. by Lorilee Craker

I requested Homespun: Amish and Mennonite Women in their Own Words, edited by Lorilee Craker, primarily because I recently read an Amish romance and I know very little about the customs and beliefs of the Amish. I was hoping it would contain essays that were specifically about Amish and Mennonite traditions -- kind of a "Here's what we believe and here's what we do," type of book that would walk me through what it's like to be a woman living with a particular belief set and whatever goes along with those beliefs, whether that may mean going without electricity and modern conveniences or eating certain foods. What little I know of the Amish (I honestly know nothing at all about Mennonites) has been gleaned from the occasional fiction read set in an Amish community.

Homespun was really not at all what I expected it to be and for a while I was pretty much convinced I was going to abandon the book. And, then one of the essays changed my mind. The essays are divided into sections, each one written about a certain one-word topic:

• Welcome
• Abide
• Testimony
• Wonder
• Kindred
• Beloved

Those first few essays, I confess, came off as preachy to me. They didn't necessarily tell stories of "welcome" but would talk about what each woman believes "welcome" means within the context of her faith. They came off as a bit preachy. But, then I got to page 33, "On Appreciative Overnight Guests" by Linda Byler. Instead of describing her belief about the meaning of the chosen word "welcome," the author told a story about a time when one of her daughters came for a visit. It was funny, charming, and delightful. She playfully poked fun at herself in a way that's infinitely relatable.

We're supposed to be herrberg gerny: a Pennsylvania German term that means "be generous in hospitality." I certainly was. I was pious, devout, and well meaning. True, I did send our guests to bed with bombarding acorns, roaring traffic, mattresses like plywood, and a breakfast casserole that was a bit heavily salted, come to think of it. 

But it is a night that will be repeated many times. Everyone is already enjoying a good laugh about it. Hopefully it'll never be lost among the many humorous stories of our family's history. 

~p. 36

And, that was it for me. I was hooked. Yes, some of the essays are a bit on the preachy side and I'm pretty sure that in most cases I learned less from the essays than I did from reading fiction. It would have been particularly helpful to know what each woman's background was. Whether they were Amish or Mennonite was not always mentioned. It wasn't till I got to the end of the book, where each author has a brief bio, that I realized there was a place I could have flipped ahead to in order to find out which community the author hailed from.

But, some of the essays were quite informative. I particularly loved those that were closer to storytelling, in which the authors basically planted me in their shoes and went about their day. And, the "wonder" section spoke of miracles, which I always love. I was less enamored of the essays in which the essayists listed what they believed one should do to be hospitable, show love, share their testimony, or keep a household that Jesus would approve of. The book is as much inspirational as it is factual. I was looking for more of a factual read. But, in the end -- like any book written by a large number of authors -- I did find some favorites. I was particularly excited to find that there was more than one essay by Linda Byler. I'd love to read an entire book of her essays.

Recommended to a specific audience - I wouldn't particularly recommend Homespun highly to someone who was in search of a learning experience about what it means to be Amish or Mennonite. It's not a fact-based book so much as a peek into what each essayist believes a certain word to mean and how she applies that meaning to her life. But, Christians looking for inspiration and who like to read about Christian living will likely find it enjoyable and it would make a nice addition to a church library. The one thing I really learned about Amish and Mennonite women? They're not so different from the rest of us.

My copy of Homespun was provided by Audra Jennings for an I Read With Audra book tour.

©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Emotionally Healthy Woman by Geri Scazerro (DNF with link to free sneak peek chapter)

The Emotionally Healthy Woman by Geri Scazzero is subtitled "Eight Things You Have to Quit to Change Your Life".  I should have known better.  When I read the description of this book, I got the impression that The Emotionally Healthy Woman leaned more toward memoir than how-to, because the description talked about some pretty drastic things the author has "walked away" from.  But the subtitle is directed to the reader, clearly indicating that the topic is about how the reader can make changes, rather than how the author did so.  My mistake.

The Emotionally Healthy Woman was, in fact, a DNF for me because I was hoping to read about how one person walked away from or "quit" certain bad habits/practices in order to improve her emotional health.  As I was reading, though, I was frustrated to find that the author's personal accounts of changes she's made in her life ("quitting" the church at which her husband was the minister, for example, and becoming a member of another) were very, very brief.  Even if it was not a memoir, per se, I would have liked to read far more about the author's personal experience.  I only lasted about 50 pages.

The Emotionally Healthy Woman is also a little heavy-handed thematically.  I felt like I could get all I needed from the list of things the author "quit" and the actions with which she replaced them.  From what little I read, I was already getting fatigued with the use of the "quitting" concept.  It's not necessary to flog a theme to death; it's okay to just use it as a guideline.

You can read a free chapter from The Emotionally Healthy Woman at my free chapter blog, but here's a very brief excerpt to give you an idea what the author is referring to with the "quitting" theme:

When we quit fear of what others think, we choose freedom.
When we quit lies, we choose truth.
When we quit blaming, we choose to take responsibility.

If you need or desire to hear those concepts elaborated upon, the author appears to have done a nice job of seeking out scriptures and Biblical examples (The Emotionally Healthy Woman is a Christian book from Zondervan) to back up the ideas.  But, I didn't personally feel like I needed to make a Bible study of the concept.  I think, if anything, I'd be happy just tearing out the one-page list of 8 items to give up and their replacement actions -- to hang on the wall as a reminder.  At this stage in my life, I prefer reading a memoir because I'm just happier vicariously experiencing a concept via a personal account.

Recommended specifically to Christian women who feel like they need a little guidance and some Biblical reference points to help them make life changes for the improvement of their emotional health, particularly those who are heavily involved in church and feeling a little overwhelmed.  There's some good material in The Emotionally Healthy Woman; it just was not the right book for me.


©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris (DNF)

Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris

Copyright 2010/2011

Multnomah Books - Christian Living

271 pages, incl. Recommended Reading

Did Not Finish

I'll let the author tell you a little about what Dug Down Deep is, in his own words:

This book is the story of how I first glimpsed the beauty of Christian theology. These pages hold the journal entries of my own spiritual journey -- a journey that led to the realization that sound doctrine is at the center of loving Jesus with passion and authenticity. I want to share how I learned that orthodoxy isn't just for old men but is for anyone who longs to behold a God who is bigger and more real and glorious than the human mind can imagine.

--p. 16 of Dug Down Deep

I've wanted to read Dug Down Deep since it came out in 2010, but I'm not even certain why. I think I must have read something that said it's about digging down deep to build a firmer foundation so that you will be a stronger Christian (which is always my goal), and the title makes it clear that's the theme. But, it's not quite what I expected.

Author Joshua Harris starts off the book by discussing his early years as a Christian, which he entitled, "My Rumspringa". I wasn't familiar with the term "rumspringa" but it is an Amish term for a time of teen life that sounds like a complete horror to me. When Amish youngsters reach a particular age (I didn't mark it, so I can't remember if it's 18 or 21), they're allowed to run wild, drink, have sex, do drugs, wear non-Amish clothing, go to movies, etc. Basically, they're given a time to experience the outside world, apparently to help them decide whether or not they want to continue to live in the Amish world. I won't go into detail about that; the author talks about it quite a bit.

As a parallel, Harris tells about the years during which, for him, "the Christian faith was more about a set of moral standards than belief and trust in Jesus Christ." He talks about the way youth groups and church services have been redesigned to be fun and draw people in, but he felt like there was little teaching about Jesus, at least when he was a youngster.

Then he goes into his own study of theology and the growing process involved. I thought it was quite interesting how Harris transitioned from a young fellow who quickly became successful as a public speaker -- he confesses to knowing now that there wasn't a lot of depth to his understanding of God and Christianity -- to a man who was mentored and studied deeply in order to develop the depth necessary to be a leader.

Here's where Harris lost me . . . and it's unfortunate that it was quite early in the book . . . his definition of doctrine is not at all what I've been taught and I simply could not figure out how to reconcile his definition to the one I was (possibly wrongly) taught. I was taught that doctrine is the philosophies that are different from one church to another, such as the decision not to use musical instruments in one church while another church may actually even have its own band, in addition to the usual piano and/or organ accompaniment. Or, say, the difference between types of baptism or wine versus grape juice for communion.

Harris describes a definition by J. Gresham Machen: "Doctrine is the setting forth of what Jesus has done along with the meaning of the event for us." That, I was okay with because what Machen says indicates to me that the "meaning" can be translated in different ways. But, then Harris describes it in his own words: "Doctrine is the meaning of the story God is writing in the world. It's the explanation of what he's done and why he's done it and why it matters to you and me."

Ack. That is so completely different, much more personal. I continued to read to about page 53 and then, in the end, I decided to set the book aside for a while and ponder it. I need to figure out how to change my mental process before I can really move on with his mode of thought.

The bottom line:

Theology is rough. I think Joshua Harris is a very straightforward, humble and pretty entertaining writer. But I had so much difficulty with his definition of "doctrine" that I opted to set it aside, for now. This new edition includes an "in-depth study guide" and I'm hoping that will help me figure it out. But, I need to give what I've read, so far, a little space and time to sink in.

Here is a free chapter of Dug Down Deep. Apologies to the publisher for the late link. I was in transit and the chapter wasn't available before I left for vacation. It may be a couple days before I'm back to regular posting. I'll fill you in when I've recovered. It's been a long day.

In case you've been missing Fiona Friday, here's a photo I get a kick out of:

I snapped this shot of Fi on our glass breakfast table just after I started my blogging break. It makes me smile.

Hope everyone's had a fantastic June!

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.