An Amish Christmas: December in Lancaster County (3-in-1)

This is actually three novellas by three different authors in one book.

The first two stories are similar in that they both involve young Amish men who left their communities for the "English" world but returned to their faith a number of years later. In both cases, they left their families with nothing but a note and broke a young girl's heart, but everything is resolved in time for Christmas.

The third story is very different from the first two and is also the best. A young Amish couple is facing the anniversary of the miscarriage of their first child at Christmas, as they try to hide from their families how unhappy they are that they haven't been blessed with children. They are helped in their grief when they help a young "Englisher" show more couple stranded in a snowstorm. It's just two weeks from the due date of the stranded couple's first baby, and they're understandably anxious about being isolated from medical care. This has the best character development and is my favorite of the three novellas.

These are all sweet, inspirational Christmas stories, and each is a quick read, with the three stories together totaling under 450 pages. show less

This was a set of three stories written by three different authors, but all take place in Paradise, PA and are centered around a specific Amish family. I really enjoyed all 3 stories, but "A Miracle for Miriam" by Kathleen Fuller was my favorite.

This is the first story in this Christmas Novella and what a good story it was. I was cheering for Miriam all the way through and so appreciated the change in Seth. I appreciated the fact that true beauty comes from within. Seth is no longer the arrogant young boy he once was when he made fun of Miriam and broke her heart at the age of 14. Now they have both grown up and after surviving an almost fatal car accident Seth is seeing life a little bit differently. I loved this section of the story show more when Seth is realizing the true beauty of Miriam, “Granted, there were women out there with curvier figures and prettier faces, but now that didn’t matter to him. At one time it had; he couldn't deny that. There was only one woman he was interested in, one woman who could drive him crazy one minute then sneak into his heart the next. Miriam Herschberger.” Seth must find a way to show Miriam he truly cares about her, and Miriam must come to learn to trust in Seth and in the fact that her beauty within can truly make someone like Seth see her as beautiful all over. Yeah for the way this author championed those young ladies who don’t think they are pretty. This was a good love story, very believable, and left me very well satisfied.

Story number two was about Miriam's sister, Lydia who has lost her husband and must now learn to forgive and trust her deceased husband's brother, Daniel when he shows up 18 years later on Miriam's doorstep after leaving long ago on Christmas Eve. He was Lydia's first love and she never understood why he left so suddenly. When the truth is revealed, Lydia must learn to forgive not only Daniel, but her husband as well.

I really enjoyed the way the last story was written. "One Child" was centered around David and Sarah, an Amish couple who lost their baby during the pregnancy last Christmas. Now they struggle through this one. But when a blizzard hits they find themselves taking in an "Englisch" couple, who are about to have a baby. I loved the way these two couples came to know one another, understand the different lifestyles and appreciate the simplistic way of the Amish. It was a heartfelt story as Sarah and David give of themselves when their own hearts are hurting and how the birth of a child can make a difference in each of their lives.

This was a novella I thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend. show less

As you know, Amish fiction is hit or miss with me. I don't mind Amish fiction that emphasis the way of life but I don't like reading stories where I feel as if I'm being preached at and made guilty because I don't want to live the way they do. This novella collection has none of that. I would describe this book as comfort reading. The stories, which are all connected, are written by three authors who are known for their Amish stories. I really enjoyed reading this books. What I liked best about this series was that there was no conversion to the Amish faith. It's a cliche I'm starting to abhor, that every Englischer who happens to wander in Amish land must become Amish. Thankfully none of that happens in this book. Instead what is shown show more is an introduction to the Amish way of life, which isn't pushy or preachy. There is also a lot of food mentioned which is always a plus.

If there was any story I was iffy on, it would have to be Lydia's story. This is mainly due to her stubbornness and refusal to listen to explanations. I just felt it created unnecessary drama that the story didn't need. Other than that blip, I really had no problems as all with any of the stories. They all emphasized more on the story than trying to be Amish. Other than the obvious differences between their world and the Englisch world, I really didn't see any differences between these stories and those set in modern world.

These three authors do very well with the novella situation. I don't normally like novella stories but I felt that all the stories ended well and the characters were fully developed. I liked how the stories are all connected yet each is distinctly different. The best part is that this book gives a taste of each author's style of writing and if you liked it makes you want to go and read the rest of their works. I feel that this team is good at writing together and I'll be looking forward to reading more works from them, both individual stories and more combined efforts. Amish fans will really enjoy this book and there's the added benefit of getting the reader into the Christmas spirit! show less

These three novellas by three different authors are set in the same time and place with some of the same people. I'm not sure which story I enjoyed the most, but it was nice to read some Amish stories tied in with the season. I think I related to Miriam the most because I have had hurtful remarks about my appearance affect my self-esteem for periods of time, though perhaps not as long. It took me a bit longer to warm up to Lydia because she was a bit bossy to Miriam in the first story. Although she was suffering, Sarah was always a delight and wonderful to everyone, especially to Kate.

I picked this book up from the library. I read the back on the cover and one of the story caught my attention or interest. So I picked it up and checked it out to read. It one I read from start to finish. It was hard to put down. I love Christmas stories anytime of year but the season is one of my favorites. In this case, these four novellas tell the story of one December in Lancaster County. These four some way connect to each other but not in a series kind of way.

In A Miracle For Miriam, you learn about the deep hurt that causes Miriam to disappear into herself. Seth caused the hurt when they were both fourteen years old. Most of us remember our hurts and some of us have allowed those hurts to influence us as adults. It’s a show more beautiful love story in which other characters from the other three novellas are introduced.

A Choice to Forgive opens with Lydia answering a knock at her door and discovering her first love, Daniel Smucker, standing confidently on her doorstep. He promised to marry her when they were young and mysteriously disappeared on Christmas. Lydia marries his brother, Elam, who happens to comfort her during her difficult heart break. She becomes a widow when he dies of a heart attack. Those feelings of love for Daniel rise again and she struggles to forgive him for running away. He tries to explain the difficult and complicated situation that sent him away, and the secret that he and his brother kept from her causes an enormous emotional struggle.

One Child by Barbara Cameron addresses Sarah and David’s struggle over their miscarriage. Sarah prays to Derr Herr for a child. It’s the only gift she wants on Christmas. Mysterious visitors bring unexpected joy during a particularly bad blizzard. It’s a story of healing, love, and friendship.

Christmas Cradles tells the story of Anna Stolis and Asa Mast. Anna has never been married. She has become a midwife. Asa Mast also never married. A tragedy occurred during his rumschpringe years that brought him to this point. His father is very ill, refusing to go to the hospital on Christmas. Anna has three deliveries during the night. Normally, his father, Samuel, accompanies Anna’s Aunt Ruth (also a midwife), but with Aunt Ruth taking the evening off and Samuel sick, Asa joins Anna in her delivery runs. It is a love story of two insecure people who never thought they could fall in love. show less

I don't think I could say this enough!!! It's WUNDERBAAR!!! These groups of stories relate so well and blend together so nicely. The three authors are outstanding in their own books but they really had it together when combining these 3 seperate stories for this one book.

I love Amish stories to begin with, and I love Christmas, and I was super excited to hear about the release of this book! As with Sound of Sleigh Bells by Cindy Woodsmall, I don't want to make my review too long, else I give away too much of the book! Once I get started on talking about this book I won't stop! It is just that good!

This is a must read book for all you Amish and Christmas lovers! MUST READ! It is a book that I will not get rid of! It is in my home to show more stay! I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars, for the ability to make me laugh, cry, and feel the movement of God through the words on the pages, but, I can not. So I will have to stick with rating this book with my normal 5 stars AND two thumbs up!

Highest, highest praises to 3 amazingly talented authors for a job well done with An Amish Christmas!!!

*This book was provided by Thomas Nelson Publishers for review* show less

I picked this book up from the library. I read the back on the cover and one of the story caught my attention or interest. So I picked it up and checked it out to read. It one I read from start to finish. It was hard to put down. I love Christmas stories anytime of year but the season is one of my favorites. In this case, these four novellas tell the story of one December in Lancaster County. These four some way connect to each other but not in a series kind of way.

In A Miracle For Miriam, you learn about the deep hurt that causes Miriam to disappear into herself. Seth caused the hurt when they were both fourteen years old. Most of us remember our hurts and some of us have allowed those hurts to influence us as adults. It’s a show more beautiful love story in which other characters from the other three novellas are introduced.

A Choice to Forgive opens with Lydia answering a knock at her door and discovering her first love, Daniel Smucker, standing confidently on her doorstep. He promised to marry her when they were young and mysteriously disappeared on Christmas. Lydia marries his brother, Elam, who happens to comfort her during her difficult heart break. She becomes a widow when he dies of a heart attack. Those feelings of love for Daniel rise again and she struggles to forgive him for running away. He tries to explain the difficult and complicated situation that sent him away, and the secret that he and his brother kept from her causes an enormous emotional struggle.

One Child by Barbara Cameron addresses Sarah and David’s struggle over their miscarriage. Sarah prays to Derr Herr for a child. It’s the only gift she wants on Christmas. Mysterious visitors bring unexpected joy during a particularly bad blizzard. It’s a story of healing, love, and friendship.

Christmas Cradles tells the story of Anna Stolis and Asa Mast. Anna has never been married. She has become a midwife. Asa Mast also never married. A tragedy occurred during his rumschpringe years that brought him to this point. His father is very ill, refusing to go to the hospital on Christmas. Anna has three deliveries during the night. Normally, his father, Samuel, accompanies Anna’s Aunt Ruth (also a midwife), but with Aunt Ruth taking the evening off and Samuel sick, Asa joins Anna in her delivery runs. It is a love story of two insecure people who never thought they could fall in love. show less