“Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you. “   Deuteronomy 16:17

“In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”  Acts 20:35

“Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. “    Martin Luther King, Jr.

  "You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give."    Kahlil Gibran

“The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands.”   Robert M. Pirsig 

The word “Give” has many meanings:

- To accord or tender to another

- To bestow, especially officially; confer

- To offer in good faith; pledge

The next steps my brother Jacob makes are very careful ones, as he is being helped and guided by Hannah through this reawaking and enlightenment. Jacob must come to grips with who and what he wants to be, the real Jacob, shedding the mistakes of the past and righting his way on the path to his and their future together.

Find out what “Giving” means to those that are trying to live in “Amish Paradise”.

Also included in this story is our recipe for “Fresh Apple Frisbee’s- Get Them While They Are Hot!” .

We bet you can’t eat just one!

Coming the first week of July- “Amish Paradise- Volume 5- Trust”

 Hi! First off my wife Sarah and I wish to thank everyone that has purchased our stories thus far. We are both humbled, happy and amazed at the response. We fully intend to deliver the best stories we possibly can and also have some great recipes for you. To date there are two stories, “Volume 1-TheEpiphany” and “Volume 2- Forgiveness”, in the series we have started called “Amish Paradise”.

The name comes from where I lived, a bit of a play on words let us say. I grew up on a farm on Paradise Lane right off of Route 741 in what most people would call Lancaster, Pa. but really for those of us that got mail delivered there it is Ronks. The Strasburg Railroad is right down the street from us and the trains would go by our farm all day filled with kids of all ages wanting to experience the great steam engines and get a glimpse of the Amish life. People that enjoy railroads and train modeling are like that, kids no matter what age.

I often wondered while I was doing my chores what it would be like on the other side, what my life would and could be like as an outsider, not in Plain clothes. When I got my chance, I chose to stay out but have held onto many of the ideals and core beliefs my family instilled in me. It is part of who I am and what I choose to do. My wife Sarah is not from an Amish Family but once she met everybody she finally got to understand “me” and really got to see what helped make me tick. Where my thought process came from and where I got my work ethic.

The stories in our series are steeped in reality. I got permission from my little but bigger brother to fictionalize his life so he could be an example to others. Hoping that they will not make the mistakes he made, instead hoping they see that living with open eyes, mind and heart they will live a much fuller life and gain the grace and peace they seek with their Maker.