mary's book basket ~ "amish proverbs" by suzanne woods fisher

"If you want to know a people, know their proverbs. These small, concentrated packages of insight allow outsiders to peek into a fascinating closed community. In Amish Proverbs, a collection of more than 200 proverbs uncover the rich heritage, folklore, faith, values, history, and essence of the Amish people. Ranging from the simple to the profound, from the serious to the humorous, these sayings will stick with readers through life's joys and sorrows." 


Author Suzanne Woods Fisher is known for her Christian Inspirational Amish novels. Her newest non-fiction book is a wonderful gem filled with pearls of Amish wisdom. She shares some wonderful stories in between these fabulous little quotes. I laughed at many of them. I could here my own Mom and Dad with some of these.

 A few of my favorites:

"Those who let God provide will always be satisfied" - This reminds me of my Dad. He lived this fully. "God never abandons a faithful servant" he would say. "He fills all those spaces that the world cannot." 

"The only time to look down on your neighbor is when your bending over to help"- This one sounds like something my mother would say. She is all about service. She would be the one to sign the family up for a different project at church every season. We did yard work, helped stock the food pantry, served meals at the soup kitchen and babysat for families that could not afford a sitter. "We are all neighbors." Mo would say. "We all need a hand from time to time." 

"Raising boys is as easy as digesting iron"- I grew up with six brothers. Oh the stories I could tell you! I have one son and he has enough stories for his own book. Oh Nellie the iron I have tried to digest! This particular "proverb" is my favorite. 

Now a saying that I heard most growing up in my house was from my Dad. Anytime we had something difficult to deal with my Dad would say "Smile like a donkey eating thistles." I hated it when he said that because I knew that I had to suck it up and just deal with whatever was coming. I found myself telling my son the same thing the other day. Sometimes you just have to push through no matter what. Funny what stays with you. 

I enjoyed Ms Fisher's stroll through the Amish culture. The proverbs made me laugh and a few brought back some great memories from my childhood. Pick up your copy from any of these online retailers: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Christianbooks.com, Borders.