Amish Wisdom Podcasts

Kelly Long, author of the ECPA bestseller "Sarah's Garden," shares her journey to publication. Quilters will enjoy hearing Kelly's perspective about quilting as a form of literacy. Kelly has a strong interest in literacy and even taught literacy at a men's prison in New Hampshire. She grew up among Amish districts in a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania.

While I'm away this week escorting my son to college (sniff, sniff) Judy Christie (you may remember her interview a few weeks ago) has graciously agreed to fill in for me as the host extraordinaire of Amish Wisdom. This week she'll be interviewing TV personality and columnist Lee Ann Miller.

Four popular authors of Amish fiction come together to discuss their book, "An Amish Christmas" (Thomas Nelson).

Mary Ann Kinsinger was raised Old Order Amish and writes a wildly popular blog, A Joyful Chaos, about growing up Amish.

Mary Ellis wrote "The Miller Family Series" (Harvest House), three novels about an Amish family in Ohio. Her latest book is "The Way to a Man's Heart." Wanda Brunstetter is a bestselling author of more than 50 books. Her recent release is "Lydia's Charm" (Barbour Publishing).

Judy Christie writes non-fiction books about simplifying your life, slowing down, and finding more joy in the day to day. The series is called "Hurry Less, Worry Less" by Abingdon Press. Just released is Judy's new fiction series, "Gone to Green," about a newspaper reporter who moves from the big city to a small town.

Ann H. Gabhart writes popular historical fiction about the Shaker religion.

Brad Igou runs Amish Experience in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, is the editor-in-chief of Amish Country News, and is the author of "The Amish in their Own Words" (Herald Press).

Carol Steffey owns and runs a bed-and-breakfast called Garden Gate Get-A-Way in Millersburg, Ohio. She customizes visits to the Amish for her guests.

Joel Kime shares a personal story that occurred when he was seventeen years old, growing up in Lancaster. He was driving to play football and sped up to pass a buggy, not realizing the buggy was turning left. The story doesn't end there--it keeps going, in a remarkable example of the forgiveness of God.

Both my son and daughter have recently graduated, one from college and one from high school. On to the next stage of life. :) So in the midst of all this crazy activity, Erik Wesner has (once again) agreed to guest host for me while I'm away. Be sure to tune in on Thursday as he interviews author, Karen M. Johnson-Weiner. She is a linguistics professor and studies Amish and Mennonite cultures and communities. Sounds like a FASCINATING woman!

Join me on Thursday afternoon for an hour with authors Shelley Shepard Gray (fiction author) and Mary Ann Kirkby, author of "I Am Hutterite" - leave a comment to win a copy of their books.

Don't miss Amish Wisdom on Thursday at 4:00 PM Central! Blogger and author Erik Wesner will be expertly manning the hosting helm while interviewing fascinating ex-Amish blogger Ira Wagler. I'm excited to see what kind of mischief these two get into ...

A fun discussion about a classic Penn Dutch dessert with cookbook authors Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell.

This week's guest is the fascinating Cheryl! She has lived among the Amish for many years. She has observed their way of life and will have much insight to share about living a simple life. I'm also looking forward to her gardening tips - I hear she has an amazing green thumb!

Join me on Thursday as I interview my distinguished quest, Joe Wittmer, author of Gentle People: An Inside View Of Amish Life. Dr. Wittmer was raised Old Order Amish and although he is no longer Amish, he has chronicled the life and customs of the Amish accurately.

This week's guest will be fascinating as we get a behind the scenes look at the acclaimed and controversial UPN show from 2004, Amish in the City from the Emmy-winning television producer Jon Kroll. Not only does he have an impressive career (see below), but he's also had an interesting child hood. "I was raised in Northern California without television, telephone or electricity." Wow.

This Thursday's show should be fabulous. Pat Sloan has graciously agreed to fill in for me this week while I'm away doing a bit of research. Pat's guest is an extraordinary quilter, Joe Cunningham. In March Joe was the Artist-in-Residence at the MH de Young Museum in San Francisco.

The Comfort Quilt was taken by the Amish to Virginia Tech, after the tragic shootings that took place on April 16, 2007. Dr. Bryan Cloud, both of Virginia Tech, will be joining us on Thursday. The Cloud's only daughter, Austin, was killed in the shootings. Renee and Bryan Cloud have developed a strong bond with the Nickel Mines families and, says Dr. Dooley, the couple has inspired many with their demonstrations of Amish grace. Join me on Thursday as the Clouds share their story and show us how they turned a tragedy into a blessing through service.

Please join me on Thursday March 11th at 4:00 pm CST for the debut show with guest Erik Wesner, author of Erik the popular blog "Amish America"! We'll be chatting with Erik about all things Amish and about his new book coming out about Amish businesses.