Amish Attraction

"What are you, Amish?" cried one of my youth group when I told them there would be no television on their work retreat. From then on, I was known as "the Amish Lady."  They were a difficult bunch but I laughed at their nickname. I secretly DID long to be that "Amish Lady."

I used a computer like no one's business. I was a shopaholic. I did not live on a farm. But after visiting Lancaster, PA and the surrounding area as a child, I was hooked on the Amish lifestyle. My favorite book was Roseanna of the Amish. I loved shoofly pie and the quilts.  But most of all, I loved the sense of community, simplicity, and daily purpose of these people.  

These days, it seem the Amish attraction I felt has become more commonplace. The world is more complicated. Technology has inserted itself even at the dinner table. The stress of life in a society where rules are ever changing can be overwhelming. People are seeking relief and have found it in a romanticized view of  Amish communities.

If you read inspirational women's fiction or romance, Amish books dominate the top seller's lists.  I have been reading a number of these Amish-themed novels lately.  Some show a working knowledge of and even past history as a person who lived in an Amish household. But sadly, some are only jumping on the Amish bandwagon. Simply by adding whoppie pie references, lavish meal descriptions, and cultural information, they hope to find a readership. It is not that simple.

The Amish themselves do not read these books because they view them as an often romanticized or over dramatized view of their lifestyle. The Amish have migrated to more than twenty-five states because they struggle to find affordable land to farm or new businesses they can run. Years as a tight knit religious community has produced genetic diseases which are considered a part of God's plan in their world but are still a tragedy. Violence, members leaving the communities, and accidents are commonplace.  There are so many sects of Amish because they have different views on owning a telephone, riding in cars, even what colors are allowed in their distinctive clothing.  There is a saying, "every time a disagreement starts, a new Baptist church is born." Same goes for the Amish.

Even knowing all these facts, I am still attracted to the Amish precisely because of their own struggles as very real people.  Now, reading all those Amish novels has reawakened my need to pick up some of those practices I have found so appealing over the years.  After two weeks of vacation without a television, I find I don't want to watch the emptiness of it nearly as much (okay, I still have a few favorites).  Due to illness, I have to stay off the computer more than you would think and I feel better for it.  I find purpose in the daily tasks of just keeping my household running. Humility and forgiveness are a big part of their religious beliefs. I need to practice these more in my own life. Lastly, I have decided I don't need to go clothes shopping for the rest of the year. If I could wear a simple black skirt, bonnet and colorful top, I would. But I am just going to have to simplify my wardrobe instead. Now there is a challenge! I will let you know how it goes.

Do you find the Amish life appealing ? Why? Are you wanting to simplify your life? What are steps you can take to do so?

What to take FROM Vacation

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1. 

Lots of folks write about what to take on vacation. The right clothes, survival aids, etc. But I am thinking about what I have taken from my latest vacation in Maui:



Gratitude - my central nervous condition flared because of a drug reaction which put me on bed rest the week before our trip and threatened the whole thing. Our university medical specialists actually got back to me the day before I left with a solution that meant I could hike and sight see. It wasn't easy but was doable. I was grateful I was there and didn't worry about being 100%.  I was happy with 70%!

Hospitality - the coffee shop cook who spent a half hour on the phone trying to find out if I could eat the locally made ice cream, the B and B owner who made me rice flour banana macadamia nut pancakes so I could eat them like everyone else at breakfast, the guy who showed us the trail to the hard to reach red beach, the family who shared the shade under "their" tree on Homoa beach.  All these folks where generous to a fault and they are just a few examples. Can I be this kind now that I am back home? I sure do hope so!

Serendipity - When we walked into the local potters' studio, a woman was working on turtle bowls (I am a turtle freak) and talking on the phone with her mother in law in New Bern, NORTH CAROLINA thanks to Hurricane Earl bearing down on the coast. That conversation starter led to a tour of the studio and more. We ate at Cheeseburger in Paradise in Lahaina, talking about missed sunsets. We paid our bill and walked out to the sun beginning set right before us...and that happened in another restaurant later...without planning. The right place at the right time for so many things...I need to recognize those times here as well.   

Smelling the Roses or, in this case, Plumeria - We visited two little churches on the Road to Hana. One was called the Miracle Church because coral was deposited in a storm, enough to build it after the town had despaired they could gather enough materials.  As we looked back up at the Road to Hana, there was a giant waterfall which could not be seen from the road, only from our spot! If we had not taken our time on the road, we wouldn't have seen the church for sure. But we definitely wouldn't have seen that magnificent waterfall.  I am determined to slow down now that I am back, for the right reasons.

Budgeting makes the memories even better - Our condo, half the price of the resort in Hana, had a paradise view. The Fish Market in Paia had a fish lunch that rivaled any high price dinner.  SEARS had the little aloha shirt for our grandson we had seen in other shops for half off!  The sunsets didn't cost a thing. No, it wasn't all free but saving money is its own reward.

Appreciate where you are - the Maui softball tournament was playing in normally quiet, isolated Hana the entire time we were there. Instead of music at the resort restaurant, we had cheers and cracks of bats from 7:30AM to 8:30PM. (We didn't bring food for the condo so ate at the resort restaurant, with a perfect view of the ball field!).  We delighted in the by the clock rain in the morning and evening in Hana because we knew it would stop and rainbows would appear.  I could not believe how many people complained about not having WiFi in the most beautiful of places. Or those who complain about the locals who live all the time on the islands.  I need to appreciate my own little neck of the woods more and those who know more about where I am than I do.

What have you taken from your vacation or what do you hope to learn from even a weekend away?



   




 
 

When planning goes awry

My husband and I are different sort of planners, especially when it comes to trips. He is into the details about what to do. I am into where we will stay, what we will eat, and finding those sort of spiritual places that make a trip transcend just being a tourist junket. It makes for a nice combination of talents and our trips usually turn out quite well. But, in spite of our best laid plans, unexpected things happen.

Sometimes, we are blessed with wonderful surprises. We stayed at a hotel in Hilo, HI which just happened to be next to one of the largest Japanese gardens outside of Japan. While hubby worked, I spent the days photographing the different sections of the garden. Bridges, stone lanterns, intricate plantings and pools of koi were unexpected treats next to our rather shabby hotel.

But there are times when we find ourselves in less than stellar circumstances. Early in our marriage when things were a bit rocky, we went to Rockport, MA (yes, I see the irony) to get away and work on our relationship. At a lovely waterfront restaurant, my clams tasted metallic and I didn't want to eat them. Hubby thought I was just picky so I downed them. Several hours later, I was in our expensive bed and breakfast throwing up in a trash can while I sat on the toilet. Twelve hours after that, I was able to take back my earlier statement of "I want to die." Why, you ask? My husband had been the most solicitous soul in caring for me, reminding me of why I married him in the first place. It also didn't hurt that my invalid self was stuck in a beautiful space including gazillion thread count Egyptian cotten sheets and a window with a view.

Thirty years later, we are thankful for those early lessons in things not working out as planned. Preparing for our upcoming vacation, I am dealing with unwelcome health issues which have changed our plans ahead of time and may change our plans when we are on our journey. Hubby has thought about changes before I bring them up, quelling my fears about ruining the trip for him. In turn, I am willing to go beneath the ocean in a submarine. If you have claustrophobia and fear of drowning like I do, you will understand my love for this man. If those plans change, we will still make the best of it. It is no wonder I believe in what Jeremiah says.

"For surely, I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." Jeremiah 29:11

What plans have you had that have gone awry? How can you look at those circumstances differently?

Hands, Hearts and Encouragement

Have you ever gone through seasons when favorite people enter your lives? They may not be friends. They may be strangers. They could be the new teacher of your pottery class. You anticipate seeing that one lady who always smiles at you at the ice cream shop or the friend who calls you on a regular basis just to check in. They may simply be people you realize you rely on.

My favorites, at the moment, are my massage therapist and my PT. Now, the rest of you, don't be upset. I like you too. I really do. But these folks literally have my life in their hands. Central nervous system problems have turned me into a less active version of my former self. Without my MT and PT, I wouldn't be moving around as much as I can, would be in more pain, and would not have the dose of encouragement I receive every time I see them. Their hearts are in what they do, as well as their hands!

Encouragers are my favorite people. Those who tell you there is light at the end of the tunnel or that it is okay to be moving at a slower pace. We all know them, those folks who drag us out of the depths and onto a better path. They keep us moving forward and make the world a brighter place than in those instances before we saw or spoke to them.

Who are those encouragers in your life? Who can you encourage?

Therefore encourage one another and build up each other..." 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Laying Fallow

Sometimes I get pulled away from what is important by stress, busyness, life in general and specific. I realized I needed to update this blog more than I needed to totally start from scratch!

Why? I am still a backyard hermit who ponders life from my deck for one thing. I miss my spiritual writing and observations for another.

I read today on the Seekerville blogspot about a writer who needed to take a break for a while and did so for two years. She discovered she was still a writer. Still a writer. That spoke to me in so many ways.

How I know I am still a writer:

• I thoughtfully consider my status updates on Facebook, looking for just the right turn of phrase.

• I appreciate the writing of others but often find myself saying, "I would have written it THIS way."

• I live to discover new words or to be reminded of words I once knew, loved, and used on a regular basis.

• I often prefer to write an email than pick up the phone just to see all the words in front of me.
  

• Yes, I can get long winded but I can also be pithy and to the point.

• Time flies when I write.

You get the point. More importantly, I get the point of writing daily so will be busy here. They say the blogosphere is almost overcrowded but we know, most of us, that we write from our hearts and for ourselves regardless of topic.