Live Like the Amish in Tough Economic Times

Money Secrets of the Amish: Finding True Abundance in Simplicity, Sharing and Saving, by Lorilee Craker is a delightful little book. Ms. Craker comes from a Mennonite heritage and decides to explore the frugal ways of the Amish when she runs into some tough economic times. She learns a great deal of how to live within her means as she teaches us some of the traditions of the Amish culture.

Saving money is the way of life for the Amish and we could all learn a lot from them. She translates some of what she learns into our own “English” culture. Living within means Amish style is a far cry from how the “Fancy” people live. Maybe we can’t live totally debt free but there can be a nice compromise. The Amish believe loans are considered “stealing” and tend to pay their debts not only on time but ahead of schedule. Needless to say, the Amish don’t have trouble getting credit – the lenders know full well that they will pay back well in advance.

Ms. Craker gives loads of hints of living frugally and many can be applied to our lifestyle as well. However, there are a few extremes. For instance, there’s no way I’d but a mixture of honey and vinegar in my eyes to avoid cataracts. Bring on the cataracts I say! Other than a few extremes, there is plenty one can take away from this book if they hope to change their spending habits. But the reader will also learn a great deal about these beautiful and happy people.

Money Secrets of the Amish: Finding True Abundance in Simplicity, Sharing and Saving is a quick read and quite interesting. There’s a lot of humor throughout the book and I must admit I laughed out loud reading some of the stories about both the “Plain” and the “Fancy” people. My only criticism is that I wish Ms. Craker had listed all the websites she mentioned at the end of the book for easy reference. I had to go through the book a second time to find the more interesting websites I wanted to visit. Other than that, take a chance reading this book. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed even if you’re not trying to live a more frugal lifestyle.

Cute Children's Book

Lee Pritchett has done it again. He has a new book titled, Bert Tumblefluff and Friends. As his last book The Tale of Greta Gumboot and Other Stories, this is also a collection of stories set in a magical world. Many of these stories are sequels to previous stories from the first book but they are easy to pick up even having not read the first book.

Greta Gumboot, Gilbey, and Mr. Bumble return to new adventures any child will enjoy. Broken up into many separate stories, this is a book that will be hard for children to put down. Yet with each story a complete tale in itself children can finish one and have the anticipation of a new one for tomorrow.

Holly and the Epheline were my favorites in Pritchett’s first book and they continue to be my favorite in the new book. Pritchett has outdone himself with stories and illustrations. Many of these stories could have been a storybook by itself, but Pritchett has compiled them into one big fun book. I think your children will enjoy Bert Tumblefluff and Friends as much as they liked The Tale of Greta Gumboot and Other Stories.

Too Far-fetched for Me!

The Final Summit: A Quest to Find the One Principle That Will Save Humanity, by Andy Andrews, is fiction with bits of non-fiction thrown in. It’s about a man, David Ponder, who is trying to save mankind. He does this with the help of Joan of Arc, Winston Churchill, Anne Frank, Abraham Lincoln, and other real-life characters. I find the story so far-fetched that I had a hard time forcing myself to continue to read it. I don’t mind fiction if there’s some basis of realism but this is way out there. I’m sure Mr. Andrews means well and I’m sure he has a large audience for this type of book. It’s just not for me. If you’re into this type of book you’ll enjoy it as it is a quick read.

Daddy Dates Helps Build Strong Relationships

Daddy Dates, by Greg Wright, is a great little book for fathers who want to create and/or improve the emotional connection with their daughters. Many fathers, busy with their careers, spend little time with the family. Wright gives pointers and suggestions in ways dads can connect with their daughter one-on-one.

This connection is far more important than just creating quality time for father and daughter. It also helps insure the daughter’s future relationships with boyfriends, husbands, and other males in their future. No, it doesn’t eliminate the chance that a young woman may end up in an abusive relationship, but it does help build that security needed to, hopefully, avoid that possibility.

The book is broken down into short chapters dealing with different topics and strategies for dates with their daughters. It’s a quick and easy read but also a book that you can go back to for a refresher course whenever needed. Dads need to take the time to work on their relationship with their daughters and this book helps the Dad build the relationship and prepare him for the daughter’s growing years. At the same time, it helps the daughter build a relationship with the number one man in her life. And it really is easy once the process gets underway. All dads should take the time to read Wright’s Daddy Dates.

Bach - The Man and the Musician

Johann Sebastian Bach, by Rick Marschall is a good book for anyone interested in this wonderful musician. It’s a quick and interesting read full of facts – known and little known – about Bach. Although Bach is well known as a musician, some may not know the depth of his faith. This book shows both sides of the man as well as the times in which he lived. If you’re interested in Bach and history, you’ll enjoy this book by Rick Marschall.

Hardy and Tiny are Back with Gusto!

Hardy Belch and Tiny Return, by William G. Bentrim is filled with real-life stories and situations and not-so-real life hysterics. This book is divided into four separate stories, each based on something Hardy Belch has read about or learned in school. Then a mystery presents itself and he and his 240-pound telepathic dog, Tiny, set out to solve it. With the knowledge he already has he and Tiny are able to solve each mystery. But the most fun in this book is the conversations between Hardy and Tiny. Yes, Tiny can converse - in Hardy’s mind, of course.

Children and young adolescents will love the mystery and humor in each of these stories. And they will learn something as they read through this book. If you have a good sense of humor, you won’t be able to help yourself – you’ll just laugh out loud reading Bentrim’s Hardy Belch and Tiny Return.

The Fight of Our Lives is Overstated

The Fight of Our Lives, by William Bennett and Seth Leibsohn had interesting points, most of which have been rehashed over and over again in the decade since September 11, 2001. I agree that most terrorists are from radical Islam, but I do not believe the majority of Muslim people are terrorists. Quite the opposite, in fact.

The authors seem to be saying that our national security is in greater danger because of political correctness. Give me a break! Why can’t we be open-minded and understanding of all people? No, I don’t mean we should bow down to radicals but we certainly shouldn’t be as narrow-minded as the radicals are!

According to this book, Bush got nearly everything right and Obama is getting everything wrong. I believe politics is politics. Bush’s administration certainly messed up and Obama’s administration isn’t perfect either. Why can’t our country and our politicians work together? Stop with the extreme conservative and extreme liberal side of politics – that’s nearly as bad as the radicals we’re trying to fight.

Don’t get me wrong, there was much truth in this book, but it’s nothing new and it’s certainly expressed from the extreme right. I define myself as a moderate and both extremes irritate the heck out of me. Let’s be a little more understanding of all peoples and all religions and let’s fight what we need to fight (the extremes).

OK, now I’ll calm down long enough to say that I wasn’t a great fan of this book. I truly hope we can, one day, achieve peace. I know, many say this is naïve but we can at least move in that direction by being a little more open-minded about all religions. And, no, I’m not saying we shouldn’t fight back when attacked but let’s try to do it responsibly. We’re in a war situation now that I know we can’t walk away from as much as many Americans would like to. But making comments about an entire religion is not the way to getting closer to some kind of peace.