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| 1. |  | |
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding the Amish
| | From an author who grew up in a Mennonite community, this is an in depth look at the evolution, religion, and customs of a people who continue to live the pastoral life of their forebears, covering everything from language, clothing, cooking, and furniture to the impact of the modern world on the simple-living "Plain People." | |
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Plain and Simple: A Woman's Journey to the Amish
| | <I> "I had an obsession with the Amish. Plan and simple. Objectively it made no sense. I, who worked hard at being special, fell in love with a people who valued being ordinary." </I><P>So begins Sue Bender's story, the captivating and inspiring true story of a harried urban Californian moved by the beauty of a display of quilts to seek out and live with the Amish. Discovering lives shaped by unfamiliar yet comforting ideas about time, work, and community, Bender is gently coaxed to consider, "Is there another way to lead a good life" <P> Her journey begins in a New York men's clothing store. There she is spellbound by the vibrant colors and stunning geometric simplicity of the Amish quilts "spoke directly to me," writes Bender. Somehow, "they went straight to my heart." <P> Heeding a persistent inner voice, Bender searches for Amish families willing to allow her to visit and share in there daily lives. <I>Plain and Simple</I> vividly recounts sojourns with two Amish families, visits during which Bender enters a world without television, telephone, electric light, or refrigerators; a world where clutter and hurry are replaced with inner quiet and calm ritual; a world where a sunny kitchen "glows" and "no distinction was made between the sacred and the everyday." <P> In nine interrelated chapters--as simple and elegant as a classic nine-patch Amish quilt--Bender shares the quiet power she found reflected in lives of joyful simplicity, humanity, and clarity. The fast-paced, opinionated, often frazzled Bender returns home and reworks her "crazy-quilt" life, integrating the soul-soothing qualities she has observed in the Amish, and celebrating the patterns in the Amish, and celebrating the patterns formed by the distinctive "patches" of her own life. <P> Charmingly illustrated and refreshingly spare, <I>Plain and Simple</I> speaks to the seeker in each of us. | |
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Garden Spot: Lancaster County, the Old Order Amish, and the Selling of Rural America
| | Each year, millions of tourists are drawn to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to experience first-hand the quintessential pastoral--both as an escape from urban life and as a rare opportunity to become immersed in history. The area has attracted visitors eager to catch a glimpse of the distinctive religious community of the Old Order Amish, to appreciate the beauty of the farmland, to enjoy the abundant and delicious food of the Pennsylvania Dutch...and, most recently, to shop at the area's outlet malls. For nearly three hundred years, Lancaster county has been a model of agricultural prosperity, rooted in the family farm. The rural character of the place remains Lancaster's predominant tourist attraction, but is at odds with its rapidly rising population and the commercial and residential growth that has brought. It is the tension between rural tradition, progress, and urbanization that lies at the core of Garden Spot. David Walbert examines how twentieth century American culture has come to define and appreciate rurality, and how growth and economic expansion can co-exist with preservation of the traditional ways of life in the region. Will small farms fail in a culture that has increasingly come to value productivity over quality of life What impact will further development have on maintaining this region's character Can rurality and progress co-exist in the 21st century A vivid portrayal of the land and people, residents and outsiders alike, Garden Spot narrates the history of this region and considers the challenges Lancaster County and its people face in order to preserve their unique place. | |
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Powwowing Among the Pennsylvania Dutch: A Traditional Medical Practice in the Modern World (Pennsylvania German History and Culture)
| | <P>Known in Pennsylvania Dutch as <i>brauche</i> or <i>braucherei,</i> the folk-healing practice of powwowing was thought to draw upon the power of God to heal all manner of physical and spiritual ills. Yet some people believed, and still believe today, that this power to heal came not from God, but from the devil. Controversy over powwowing came to a climax in 1929 with the York Hex Murder Trial, in which one powwower from York County, Pennsylvania, killed another powwower (who, he believed, had placed a hex on him).</p> <P>In <i>Powwowing Among the Pennsylvania Dutch,</i> David Kriebel examines the practice of powwowing in a scholarly light and shows that, contrary to popular belief, the practice of powwowing is still active today. Because powwowing lacks extensive scholarly documentation, David Kriebel's research is both a groundbreaking inquiry and a necessity for the scholar of Pennsylvania German history and culture.</p> <P>The fact that powwowing is still practiced may come as a surprise to some readers, but included in this book are the interviews Kriebel had with living powwowers during his seven years of fieldwork in southeastern and central Pennsylvania. Along with these interviews, Kriebel includes biographical sketches of seven living powwowers; descriptions of powwowing as it was practiced in years past, compared with the practice today; a discussion of the belief of powwowing as healing; and a discussion of the future, if any, of powwowing, and what it will take for powwowing to continue to survive.</p> | |
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The Pilgrim's Progress
| | <HTML><BODY><p>ReadHowYouWant publishes a wide variety of best selling books in Large and Super Large fonts in partnership with leading publishers. EasyRead books are available in 11pt and 13pt. type. EasyRead Large books are available in 16pt, 16pt Bold, and 18pt Bold type. EasyRead Super Large books are available in 20pt. Bold and 24pt. Bold Type. You choose the format that is right for you.</p><p>John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress is an enduring classic in Christian motivational writing. It is the depiction of Bunyans special insight into Discipleship. The book describes the allegorical journey of a Christian pilgrim from the City of Destruction to the Eternal City. Human traits are embodied as characters and encountered by the protagonist. </p><p>To find more titles in your format, Search in Books using EasyRead and the size of the font that makes reading easier and more enjoyable for you.</p></BODY></HTML> | |
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The Yoder Case: Religious Freedom, Education, and Parental Rights (Landmark Law Cases and American Society)
| | Compulsory education has always been in the best interest of the state, as it fosters good citizenship and self-sufficiency. But what if a segment of society considers state education detrimental to its own values In the late 1960s, one Wisconsin Amish community held that view and removed its children from public schools. When the state claimed truancy and took Jonas Yoder and two other parents to court, a legal battle of landmark proportions followed. <P>Prize-winning historian Shawn Peters now offers a complete and compelling account of the Yoder case and of the tortured decision of simple Amish folk to break tradition and "go to law." He examines the breadth of First Amendment protections, the validity of compulsory school attendance, and the fundamental rights of parents and children. He also takes readers deep into the world of the Old Order Amish to show how their beliefs were often at variance with the very measures being undertaken to protect them. <P>While most accounts of <I>Wisconsin v. Yoder</I> have focused on its origins and implications, Peters lays out all the facts of the case to reveal their intrinsic importance. He draws on trial transcripts and in-depth interviews with participants to fully explore the backgrounds, motivations, and strategies of the people who shaped the case-particularly the National Committee for Amish Religious Freedom and its attorney William Ball. He then describes in riveting prose how the trial unfolded, explains the impact of First Amendment jurisprudence on ordinary citizens involved, and shows how a relatively obscure dispute became a conflict of national importance. <P>When the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972 ruled in favor of the Amish, its decision was hailed by many as a victory for religious freedom but was also criticized for conferring special protection on one faith. Yoder was subsequently cited in fundamentalist Christian efforts to excuse children from public schooling, but faith-based exemption to law was ultimately defeated in other tests. Peters traces the progress of such cases into the 1990s to show how <I>Yoder</I> in some ways marked the beginning of the end of an era for religious liberty jurisprudence. <P>In exploring the meaning and legacy of <I>Yoder,</I> Peters reveals not only the human element of a landmark case but also its continuing relevance for our times. <P>This book is part of the <I>Landmark Law Cases and American Society</I> series. | |
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| 10. |  | |
Hello God Its Me (Anselm)
| | A series of lively and humorous monologues for each month, suitable for house groups, Sunday meetings and others seeking a stimulating aid to following Christ's teaching. | |
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