A little more about the Amish

Since someone had commented about the music, please remember you can turn it off. The instructions are right above the "widget" which gives the titles of songs being played. I knew there would be some in settings where any kind of sound is not welcome.

Do be sure to read what I have said about the Amish over time. I don't idolize them at all. I know we are all "but dust" and wherever we have a community of humans, we will have good people and those who... aren't. I lived close to Amish families both in Iowa and when we lived in Elkhart, Indiana for a year. That was where we first started going to Das Dutchman (Essenhaus) just like the family in White Christmas Pie. I grew up in a community (and live there now) where we have a lot of Mennonite family farms.

I, too, have read a lot about them over the years so I know there are inherent challenges that can come up in such an environment. However, overall, I respect them and the life they live. I believe there is far more good among them than not. While their religious beliefs can very well lean toward legalism, their strong family life and sense of community create an environment where love can abound... especially in the kitchen! :)

I watched about ten minutes of that special about Amish teens. I didn't know it was on until Christopher (who was taking a break from studies) called me into the room to show it to me. Neither of us cared for the small amount we saw although we agreed we may watch it if it is shown when we have more time for TV. I found it quite annoying, probably because I'm used to the same kind of media coverage of homeschooling families.

Whenever any alarming news happens in the country involving a homeschooled family (almost always someone killing their parents!), the media all come out like locusts devouring crops trying to find all the dirt about homeschoolers in general. Now, I'm not saying there are not problems in the homeschooling community. Some of the very best kids in the world I know are homeschooled. At the same time, a few of the most troubled kids I know are homeschooled. Families are families, no matter what their religion or how they choose to "do school".

But the media loves to turn over every leaf and concentrate on that which is evil (a very small percentage) instead of all the homeschool families who are good, law abiding citizens and give back to their community. That was the feeling I received from this documentary. They were quite happy to locate Amish teens in trouble. Instead of following this poor guy around and filming him taking drugs, they could have intervened for good. Perhaps it got better and if anyone did view it, you could leave a comment and let me know.

I wanted to make one of my mother-in-law's recipes yesterday so I brought out the old church cookbook where many of her tried and true dishes could be found (I don't know why I have never transferred her chicken and rice recipe to a card...). My husband walked in the kitchen and saw the recipe book open and told me how nice it was to see the names under the various casserole recipes, all church women he knew growing up and how so many of them had certain recipes for which they were famous. It did his heart good to see their names and his mother's in that old church cookbook. These ladies have all passed on and all that is left to us are their recipes.

Just like the Amish and the homeschooling families, that Lutheran church had many saints and sinners. But the foundation of it (besides faith, of course) was in the family unit... and the anchor that held many of those families was a mom in the kitchen. My mom worked full time but even then, I remember both my mother and father showing they loved me with their cooking and baking. Perhaps that is why I love mornings in the kitchen, baking a treat, putting together a stew, or starting a meal to be enjoyed by my family later in the day.

It gets back to my mentor, Edith (Schaeffer) and that quote I write so often... "If you expect perfection or nothing, you will always end up with nothing". It is that way with any group of people, including the Amish. I am well aware of their imperfections but I choose to focus on all that is positive about the Amish for there is a lot we can learn about simplicity, hard work... and kitchens. For that is what I hope people would do for me and my family... look past our imperfections and see what is good.

Picture: Amish Country Home; allposters.com