The Heart of the Amish Review

My thoughts:
The subtitle of this book exactly explains the entire theme of this book, Life Lessons on Peacemaking and the Power of Forgiveness. Suzanne Woods Fisher shares personal stories of families, and individuals from the Anabaptist faith (Mennonites, Amish, Beachy Amish, etc) as they share how peace and forgiveness affect their lives. I loved the stories and was fascinated by several of the stories, specifically the ones centering around the different people who were affected by the shooting at the Nickel Mines school.The parents, grandparents, inlaws, the shooter's wife, etc. all shared how the forgiveness of the Amish, helped them to heal also. Unforgiveness and bitterness are powerful weapons in the arsenal of the enemy of our soul, but this book shares how even the direst situations require forgiveness. A beautiful book, full of inspiring stories. 4 stars from this reviewer.

This book was provided for review purposes only, no payment was received for this review.

About the book:
Everyone has been hurt. Everyone experiences conflict, great and small. Everyone has someone to forgive. But sometimes we just can't bring ourselves to forgive someone who has wronged us or we don't take the need to forgive seriously--not like the Amish do. Forgiving others in order to live at peace is woven into the very fabric of their faith. To the Amish way of thinking, "You can't love the stream without knowing the source. " We must forgive others, they believe, because God forgave us.

The Heart of the Amish invites readers into the world of a people renowned for their ability to forgive. Through true stories gathered from a variety of Amish communities, bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher illustrates how they are able to release their pain and desire for revenge, and live at peace with others. Her in-depth, personal research uncovers the astounding yet fundamental way the Amish can forgive anyone from the angry customer at the grocery store to the shooter at Nickel Mines. Readers will learn how to invite God into theirstories, apply lessons from the Amish to their own circumstances, and find the freedom that comes with true forgiveness.