From the Kauffman Amish Bakery Series, two bestselling books A Plain and Simple Christmas and Naomi's Gift are now combined in one ~*~ for new readers and those who are wanting to read them again!
Book Description
From Amy Clipston, the author of the Kauffman Amish Bakery Series, comes two books in one: A Plain and Simple Christmas---in which shunned Anna Mae doesn't receive the welcome she expects when she pays a visit for Christmas; and Naomi's Gift---re-introducing twenty-four-year-old Naomi King, who has been burned twice by love and has all but given up on marriage and children.
A Plain & Simple Christmas: A Christmas Novella
A Plain & Simple Christmas is a CBA Bestseller, a Christian Book Distributors Bestseller and received Romantic Times Four Star review!
Book Description
A Plain & Simple Christmas is the tale of Anna Mae McDonough who was shunned by her family three years ago when she left her Amish community in Lancaster County, PA, to marry an "Englisher" (non Amish) man and move with him to Baltimore. Now, eight months pregnant when her first child, she longs to return home for Christmas to reconcile with her family, especially her stern father, who is the religious leader for her former Amish church district.So Anne Mae writes a letter to Kathryn Beiler, her brother's wife, to enlist her help. Kathryn asks her husband, David, if she should arrange Anna Mae's visit. David cautions her that a visit would cause too much stress in the family and instead suggests they visit Anna Mae and her husband in the spring. However, Kathryn arranges the visit anyway, believing in her heart that it's God's will for the family to heal.
When Anna Mae arrives in Lancaster for Christmas, she doesn't receive the welcome she expects and her world begins to fall apart, leaving her to question her place in her family – and her faith in God.
A book filled with love, the pain of being separated from one's family, and the determination to follow God's will regardless of the outcome, A Plain and Simple Christmas is an inspiring page-turner that will keep you guessing what happens next…right to the very last page.
My Review
It is Thanksgiving, and Kellan and Anna Mae McDonough are excitedly expecting their first child. They met each other at the Kauffman Amish Bakery in Pennsylvania when Kellan was there visiting friends. They married a year later, moving 80 miles away to Maryland, where Kellan is from. Anna Mae is shunned from her Amish community, and it has been three years since she has seen her family.Kellan, sympathetic to his wife, suggests they visit her family for Christmas and to write to her sister-in-law, Kathryn. Anna Mae's request involves secrecy in her family to have her come. Her sister-in-law combines deception by asking her daughter not to tell, going against what she has been taught. As Kellan and Anna Mae's story unfolds, individual decisions will be made that will affect each life.
"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand." Proverbs 19:21
I liked how Kellan was so supportive of his wife. It could have been stressful for him but he kept focused on his beloved and child. He is loving to her family and keeps his cool head about him. Love triumphs. Kellan is a keeper and shows wisdom beyond his age. A peacemaker tells truth.
Naomi's Gift: An Amish Christmas Story
Book Description
Naomi's Gift re-introduces twenty-four-year-old Naomi King, who has been burned twice by love and has all but given up on marriage and children. As Christmas approaches - a time of family, faith, and hope for many others - Naomi is more certain than ever her life will be spent as an old maid, helping with the family's quilting business and taking care of her eight siblings.Then she meets Caleb, a young widower with an eight-year-old daughter, and her world is once again turned upside-down.
My Review
"Jesus looked at them and said, "It is impossible for people [to save themselves], but everything is possible for God." Matthew 19:26
Naomi King is happily tending the quilt stand with her friend in the indoor farmers market as Caleb Schmucker's driver comes near the market. They are on their way to his sister's for Christmas. His young daughter, Susie, asks to stop to take her Aenti Sadie a pie. Amid the English and Amish shoppers, Caleb and his daughter are separated and he frantically searches everywhere for her. Susie is comfortable where she is. She has found a maroon Lone Star quilt like the one her mamm had made in blues and creams, and heads for it. Thankful to be reunited, Caleb, Susie, and their gift pie continue on to his eldest sister's home. Happily content with her cousins, Susie is enjoying the many activities and a chance to interact with her new freind Naomi again. Susie had lost her mamm in an accident two Christmases earlier.
Her aenti is not so excited to have Susie make the connection with Naomi and steers her brother away every time he seems to get too close. She has plans of her own for her widowed younger brother. This includes his returning to their district in Pennsylvania, and leaving his home in Ohio behind. Caleb had plans for visiting as he always had for the holidays. That is, until he talks to Naomi and feels perhaps his life can go on, with new dreams.
I enjoyed this story of Naomi being true to herself and following God when talk and speculation of her motives are going on around her.
"I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will hear you." Jeremiah 29:11-12
The character of Naomi King in A Promise of Hope and A Place of Peace is revisited in a story of her own.
My Amish Books ~*~ Amy Clipston
All of the books in my Kauffman Amish Bakery series
have achieved the Christian Fiction bestseller lists, including the CBA
(Christian Book Association) bestseller list and the ECPA (Evangelical
Christian Publishers Association) bestseller list.I love writing about the Amish, and an Amish friend in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, reads my manuscripts for accuracy. I was always fascinated with the Amish when I was a child. I remember visiting Lancaster County, and my father, who was a German immigrant, told me that the Amish speak the same dialect of German as my relatives. I was drawn to their simplicity and faith. Due to my German heritage, I feel a loose connection to the Amish and their culture.
My plots come straight from my heart and all involve family issues intertwined with faith.
Author, Amy Clipston holds a degree in communications from Virginia Wesleyan College and works full-time for the City of Charlotte, NC. Amy lives in North Carolina with her husband, two sons, and "four spoiled rotten cats."
***Thank you to Zondervan's Linked to Lit for sending me this copy of A Kauffman Amish Christmas Collection in exchange for a review in my own words.***
Kauffman Amish Bakery Series
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The first book in the
Kauffman Amish Bakery Series |
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The second book in the
Kauffman Amish Bakery Series |
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The third book in the
Kauffman Amish Bakery Series |
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The fourth book in the
Kauffman Amish Bakery Series |
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The fifth and final book in the
Kauffman Amish Bakery Series |
I love Amy's books and have read them both. Enjoyed your reviews today. Blessings, Susan Fryman
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susan; I read the fifth Kauffman Amish Bakery book, A Season of Love, and really enjoyed it. My grandfather had a bakery before my time, and I have always loved the smells walking into a bakery, especially of fresh bread. Happy New Year continued blessings! Kathleen
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