Longing for simplicity? Overwhelmed by demands? Tune in to “Amish Wisdom” to explore ways to slow down, de-clutter, find peace, and live a simpler life. You don’t have to “go Amish” to incorporate principles of the Plain People into your life. There's much to learn from them: simple living, everyday joys, and greater value on family, community and church.

Share an hour with Suzanne and give yourself over to a world that prizes old ways, where time slows down. Where people are more important than things, where nature is revered, where holding on is more important than letting go, where humility and peace of mind are treasured. Give yourself to an Amish moment.

Join Suzanne Woods Fisher, bestselling author of Amish fiction and non-fiction, as she interviews fascinating guests who can teach us to simplify our busy lives. So pour a cup of coffee, settle into your favorite chair, and tune into "Amish Wisdom." Thursdays, 4-5pm CST.

About the host:

Suzanne's grandfather was raised Plain. W. D. Benedict was born into a family of eleven children, started his career as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and ended it as one of the first publishers of Christianity Today magazine. Suzanne has maintained a close relationship with her Plain relatives. A wife and a mother to four, Suzanne’s work has been featured in many magazines. She is the author of Amish Peace: Simple Wisdom for a Complicated World and the bestselling novel The Choice, first in the “Lancaster County Secrets” 3-book series. Amish Proverbs: Words of Wisdom from the Simple Life will release in August 2010. Seven other books--both fiction and non-fiction--about the Amish are contracted with Revell. 

Have a question for Suzanne or one of her guests? Call the show at 1-877-864-4869.

To learn more please visit Suzanne's web site and for the latest news, her blog!

Missed a show? Listen here or on iTunes here!

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(header photo credit http://www.padutchcountry.com)

Join me in learning more about the Amish and their simple ways from author Kelly Long. Her latest book, Sarah's Garden, released in July. If you'd like to win a copy, or an Expanded Version of An Amish Christmas, leave a comment on this post and we'll select one winner at random to receive Kelly's book. (Don't forget to leave your email address!)

About Kelly: Kelly Long is the author of Sarah’s Garden, the first in the Patch of Heaven Series, Lilly’s Wedding Quilt, Christmas Cradles from the Expanded Edition of Christmas in Lancaster County and A Marriage of the Heart from An Amish Love. She focuses Amish fiction to represent the Amish culture of North Central Pennsylvania and the Allegheny Mountains, where she was born and raised. She previously taught both English and Latin at the high school level and holds degrees from both Penn State University and The University of New Hampshire. You can find Kelly on Amazon’s Author Central; Amish Living; Kelly Long Facebook Fans; and on Twitter as amishromance

About Sarah's Garden:  When Sarah realizes that she has fallen in love with an Englisch doctor, she must choose between loving a man and losing her family.
Deep in the heart of Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Mountains, shy Sarah King is happiest when working in her vibrant Amish kitchen garden, but new family responsibilities lead her into the confusing world of the Englisch.

Sarah finds her life turned around when she encounters the community’s new Englisch veterinarian, Grant Williams. His blue-gold eyes and his obvious concern for her people attract her immediately. Sarah seeks solace and direction from the Lord as she creates a quilt pattern which details her struggle between two worlds.

The Lord is guiding Sarah to follow His will, but will she listen?

For more about An Amish Christmas go here!

Join me Thursday for Amish Wisdom -  in June I had the privilege of interviewing Pastor Joel Kime and his parents. Joel shared an amazing story about God's grace and forgiveness.
I shared his story in my book, Amish Peace.

On a typical autumn Sunday afternoon, seventeen-year-old Joel Kime was driving to a local school for an afternoon game of football. "I saw an Amish buggy about a hundred yards in front of us in our lane, heading the same direction as us," Joel remembered. "I said to everyone in the car something like, 'I'm going to blow by these guys.'"

As Joel overtook the buggy, he didn't see the buggy's left turn signal. The car smashed into the buggy, killing a young woman--a bride on her honeymoon.

Listen to Joel's powerful story as he describes the authentic forgiveness offered to him by the young woman's family--and the freedom and healing that followed.

This is a story that will change your life. 

In Joel's words: It is a story familiar to us; perhaps too familiar.  All of us can share probably numerous personal illustrations of broken relationships, bitterness, and grudges.  We wonder when we'll ever experience the full life that Jesus promised he came to give us.  Jesus skillfully used this parable to illustrate that full life should never include grudges or bitterness toward people for anything they do to us.  Symbolically, and certainly in reality, forgiveness frees us.  We see in the parable the joy of the first servant, who, if he had not received forgiveness from the king, would have remained locked in a prison, despairing for his lost wife and family and everything he had.  Sadly, like us, he returned to that prison as a result of his inability to receive forgiveness and show it to others.  I know from firsthand experience that this parable is true-to-life.  I am that first servant.

More about Joel and his family: Michelle and I are beginning our ninth year of ministry at Faith Church, but third as Pastor. I graduated from Lancaster Bible College with a Bachelor of Science in Bible and Missions. I have been on the “eternity” plan at Evangelical Theological Seminary, and it felt so good to graduate with an MDiv in May 2010. Prior to coming to Faith Church as Youth/Associate Pastor, we served as church-planting missionaries in Kingston, Jamaica, with the Island Missionary Society. We are the parents of four children. If you catch me in a free moment, I’ll probably be reading a book, listening to U2 or REM, playing sports or Legos with my kids, enjoying a movie with Michelle or rooting for the Phillies or Redskins! More likely you’ll find Michelle and I talking about God’s heart for the oppressed and how we Americans can live the Gospel. We are so excited about how Faith Church is becoming a church that beats after God’s heart, removing the chains of injustice, freeing the captives, preaching the good news, feeding the poor, discipling the believers, praying for the world.

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.

About Lee Ann: Lee Ann Miller lives in Ohio’s Amish Country on 22 acres near the village of Walnut Creek. Lee Ann’s husband, Daryl was raised Amish and they have two sons. The Millers, along with family, own and operate The Miller Haus Bed and Breakfast. While enjoying country living, Lee Ann loves to write about faith and everyday life for a regional newspaper. She appears as a regular guest on FOX8 and abc9 in Ohio, sharing popular area recipes.  For more about Lee Ann, please visit her website.

Also, be sure to check out her Recipe Page! YUM.

So be sure to tune in at 4:00 PM Central on Thursday!

This week I'll be interviewing four authors. At the same time. (I'm sure I can do that, right?) Barbara Cameron, Beth Wiseman, Kathy Fuller and Kelly Long have all contributed to An Amish Christmas (expanded edition). The book is a celebration of Christmas through four Amish romances.

About the book: Spend the holidays in Lancaster County! Seth once broke Miriam's heart. Should she give him a second chance? As widow Lydia mourns, her old flame reappears---her husband's brother. Midwife Anna calls on Asa Lapp to help her as a blizzard rages. And a child changes everything for two couples on a snowy Christmas eve. 500 pages, hardcover from Nelson.

A bit more about each author's story:

“A Choice to Forgive” by Beth Wiseman

After Daniel disappeared that long-ago Christmas Eve, Lydia built a life with his brother. But now she's a widow and Daniel has reappeared, asking for forgiveness. Can she go back to her normal life with her long-lost love as her neighbor?

“A Miracle for Miriam” by Kathleen Fuller

Seth is no longer the arrogant young man who shattered Miriam's confidence and broke her heart. Will he be able to show "plain" Miriam that she is truly beautiful to him?

“One Child” by Barbara Cameron

The birth of one child forever changed the world two thousand years ago. On a snowy Christmas night in Lancaster County, another child changes the world for two very different couples. 

"Christmas Cradles" by Kelly Long

When Anna Stolis takes over for her aunt, the local midwife, Christmas night heats up with multiple deliveries, three strangers' quilts, and unexpected help from the handsome and brooding Asa Lapp.

About the authors:

Barbara Cameron: I’ve sold more than two dozen books (fiction and non-fiction) as well as three movies to HBO/Cinemax. Currently I’m finishing a three book series for Abingdon Books (Quilts of Lancaster County). The first book, A Time to Love, will be out in September. Then I’ll be following up that series with another three book Amish series. Just won the second and third place in the Romance Writers of America’s Faith, Hope, and Love chapter’s Inspirational Reader’s Choice award for my two novellas (they’re One Child in bestselling An Amish Christmas and When Winter Comes in An Amish Gathering).  Am finalist  for the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) novella category for both novellas. Have been on the CBA, CBD, and ECPA bestseller lists. I’m a former newspaper reporter who currently writes and also teaches part-time at the college level. For more info abotu Barbara please visit her website at www.barbaracameron.com

Win a copy of Barbara's A Time to Love - leave a comment on this post and one winner will be chosen at random. Please be sure to include your email address.

About A Time To Love: War correspondent Jenny King thinks she's just a temporary guest in her grandmother's Amish community while she recuperates from the devastating injuries sustained in a car bomb attack that changed her world.  But when she meets Matthew Bontrager, the man she had a crush on as a teenager, she wonders if God has a new plan for her.

Beth Wiseman: Beth is the best-selling author of the Daughters of the Promise series -- Plain Perfect, Plain Pursuit, and Plain Promise.  She is contracted with Thomas Nelson Publishing for ten Amish novels and three novellas - releasing into 2013.  
    
As she puts it, her writing has been "all over the place."  As a former newspaper reporter, she was honored by her peers with eleven journalism awards, including first place news writing for The Texas Press Association.
    
She has been a humor columnist for The 1960 Sun in Houston and published articles in various publications.  Those articles included a wide array of topics - an article on premature birth, an article about performance boating, and an article about her mother--a whitewater canoeing enthusiast who still paddles the rivers at the age of 75.  However, writing novels is where her heart is.  She left her job as a journalist in 2008 to write novels fulltime. For more about Beth, visit her website at www.bethwiseman.net.

Win a copy of Beth's Plain Paradise - leave a comment on this post and one winner will be chosen at random. Please be sure to include your email address.

About Plain Paradise: Josephine Dronberger was a scared young girl when she gave up her baby for adoption seventeen years ago.  But now, Josie longs to reconnect with the daughter she left in the permanent care of an Old Order Amish couple.

Linda—as the couple named the child—is promised to Stephen Ebersol, a boy in her community, and they plan to marry in the fall.

Will Linda be drawn into the world of the Englisch by a mother she’s never known?

And will Josephine discover far more than she bargained for as her world collides with that of the Plain People in Lancaster County?

Kathy Fuller: I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas, and now make my home in beautiful Geneva, Ohio. I’ve been married to James for 15 wonderful years (really, they have been wonderful!)  We have three terrific children, three dogs, and an overwhelmed cat. We have also raised cattle, pigs, and chickens at various times over the years. We would have gone into the goat business, but I had to draw the line somewhere. I started writing in 2000, and published my first short story a year later. Since then I have authored several short stories, novellas, novels, and have done a lot of freelance non-fiction work. I have also worked as an editor. I have a Masters degree in Special Education, emphasis on teaching the blind and visually impaired, and a Bachelors in Early Childhood/Elementary Education. I have taught all age groups ranging from age 4 to age 18. A few of my favorite things: my relationship with Christ, chocolate (of course!), autumn, a satisfying book, good friends, a sense of humor, people who don’t take themselves seriously, haunting melodies, NFL football, and did I mention chocolate? For more about Kathleen, visit her website at www.kathleenfuller.com.

Kelly Long: Kelly Long is the author of Sarah’s Garden, the first in the Patch of Heaven Series, Lilly’s Wedding Quilt, Christmas Cradles from the Expanded Edition of Christmas in Lancaster County and A Marriage of the Heart from An Amish Love. She focuses Amish fiction to represent the Amish culture of North Central Pennsylvania and the Allegheny Mountains, where she was born and raised. She previously taught both English and Latin at the high school level and holds degrees from both Penn State University and The University of New Hampshire.

Win a copy of Kelly's Sarah's Garden - leave a comment on this post and one winner will be chosen at random. Please be sure to include your email address.

About Sarah's Garden: When Sarah realizes that she has fallen in love with an Englisch doctor, she must choose between loving a man and losing her family.

Deep in the heart of Pennsylvania's Allegheny Mountains, shy Sarah King is happiest when working in her vibrant Amish kitchen garden, but new family responsibilities lead her into the confusing world of the Englisch.

Sarah finds her life turned around when she encounters the community's new Englisch veterinarian, Grant Williams. His blue-gold eyes and his obvious concern for her people attract her immediately. Sarah seeks solace and direction from the Lord as she creates a quilt pattern which details her struggle between two worlds.

The Lord is guiding Sarah to follow His will, but will she listen?

This week's guest is sure to be fun. Mary Ann is the voice behind the wildly popular, A Joyful Chaos blog.

Mary Ann Kinsinger lives with her husband and three children in the beautiful Appalachian mountains in southwestern PA only a few miles from the house where she grew up in an Amish family.
 
Mary Ann has enjoyed writing from a very young age and has had some of her work published in magazines. She is a busy mother who homeschools her children and enjoys spending time with her family, reading, crafts, cooking, and for the past year blogging... where she is chronicling her journey from a happy little Amish girl to where she is today.