The Amish Firefighter by Laura V. Hilton

Book Description:

A Beautiful Young Woman Banished from Home 

Abigail Stutzman thought it was bad enough being dropped at the nearest bus station and sent to live several states away with some relatives she'd never heard about, much less met. But now, just a week after her arrival in Jamesport, Missouri, she finds herself at the scene of a barn fire. An intentional barn fire. And all fingers are pointed at her. She's desperate to prove her innocence and protect her reputation, but nobody's making that easy to do. And God certainly doesn't seem willing to help. 

A Brave Firefighter with an Agenda of His Own 

Sam Miller is in the process of turning over a new leaf. Determined to atone for the follies of his past, he is a volunteer firefighter, an EMT, and a doctor–in–training. When local barn fires escalate, everyone suspects arson. And since the Miller family are among the victims, no one is more determined to see the perpetrators brought to justice than Sam. 

A Kindled Flame Neither One Could Have Anticipated 

When their paths first cross, at the site of a barn burning, the emotional intensity rivals the warmth of the flames. Soon, they must decide whether this fire is one they should feed or extinguish. And they'll discover that the truth can prove more dangerous than a blazing inferno. 

My Thoughts:

There's absolutely no denying it.  Once I pick up one of Laura V. Hilton's books, I cannot stop reading it until I've read the entire thing.  No matter how much I tell myself, "Just one chapter," it never happens, and The Amish Firefighter is definitely no exception to that rule.  It is a beautifully written can't put it down page turner with a perfectly woven mix of romance, mystery, humor, and inspiration.

Abigail Stutzman is a young woman who has been thrust into a new place, with family members she barely knows, and with no real explanation as to why. This question of why nudges at her constantly, to the point of even affecting her faith.  There are too many unanswered questions and too many people telling her, "It's not my story to tell."  Even though she doesn’t understand everything, Abigail attempts to find her place in her new home. Unfortunately she ends up befriending the wrong people and finds herself being falsely accused of setting a barn on fire, all the while claiming that she is innocent. 

However, Sam Miller doesn't see it that way. As a volunteer firefighter and EMT, Sam knows arson when he sees it. And from what he sees, he thinks Abigail definitely had a hand in starting the fire.  No matter how much Abigail claims her innocence, Sam is bound and determined to prove that she was involved in some way.  

As Sam takes on the task of discovering Abigail's involvement, he and Abigail find themselves more and more in each other's company. They discover that things aren't always what they appear to be on the surface, and this ultimately brings them to some discoveries about themselves and each other.  As Abigail and Sam venture through this journey, they also find out that these discoveries often involve very difficult answers which result in some very difficult, life impacting decisions, all of this while trying to discover who the real "feurezeug" is.

Laura V. Hilton has once again written a lovely story that will not only tug at your heartstrings, but will also have you doing some reflecting and discovering of your own.

Prayers Where I Don’t Speak at All

Prayers Where I Don’t Speak at All: In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. — Romans 8:26 Thought for the Day: When we sit silent before God, the Spirit will intercede with perfect prayers on our behalf. .....

¿Dónde Se Ha Ido el Arte de Colorear? by Dali Castillo

     Acabo de ver otro de esos anuncios donde unos adultos están cantando elogios sobre los beneficios y maravillas de "colorear". Sí, colorear. De verdad. Por lo tanto, todo este fenómeno de colorear para adultos me hizo pensar en dos cosas. 1-Alguien muy inteligente le esta sacando dinero a esto. 2-¿Dónde se ha ido el arte de colorear? Puesto que ya sé que el punto número 1 es un hecho, me quedé pensando más en el punto número 2. ¿Dónde se ha ido el arte de colorear? Bueno, te puedo decir dónde no se ha ido. No se ha ido a la clase de kinder ni a cualquier otra clase, y, en mi humilde opinión, esto es realmente una situación muy triste.


     Fui maestra de kinder por nueve años y mi salón de clases de kinder era de estilo de moda antigua. O mejor dicho, usted sabe qué tipo de salón de clases eran antes. Tenía una área para jugar equipada con estufa, refrigerador, ollas, sartenes, platos, toneladas de bloques de construcción, camiones, muñecas, rompecabezas, caballetes, pinturas, pinceles, y un armario lleno de ropa para jugar a los disfraces. Mis estudiantes pasaban unos 10-15 minutos de su tiempo de "instrucción" ahí mientras yo observaba y tomaba notas. El tiempo de "instrucción" consistía en la mejora de las habilidades de comunicación, habilidades de vocabulario, habilidades sociales, y añadiendo células cerebrales a través del juego y la imaginación. Además de eso tenían tiempo para usar el barro, no el Play-Doh que es suave, pero el barro. La materia dura que hace que utilizes los músculos en las manos para hacer objetos mientras desarrolla los músculos pequeños los cuales son necesarios para escribir, cortar, pegar, (¿Fuí yo la única que comía pasta a la madura edad de 5 años? Había algo que tenía ese goo grueso, incluso el aroma, ... totalmente demasiada tentación para no haberla probado por lo menos una vez.) y también, lo has adivinado, para colorear. Ah, y no podemos olvidar las habilidades de amarrar los zapatos, abotonar los botones, y subir el zipper. Y también cantábamos. Cantábamos una multitud de canciones que era aún más divertido porque era un salón de clases de lenguaje dual/mantenimiento. Eso significa que aprendíamos todo en dos idiomas, Inglés y Español. Oh, sí, esos días eran especiales.

     Sí, esos eran días eran muy especiales. Los días en los que realmente parecía que los niños eran los más importantes cuando se trataba de hacer lo mejor para ellos en su educación. ¿Entonces qué pasó? Aquí está la versión corta. El juego es prácticamente inexistente en la clase de kinder. Cortar, pegar, pintar, amarrar, abotonar, subir un zipper, y conversar prácticamente han desaparecido, y el arte de colorear está colgando de un hilo. Todo eso ha sido sustituido casi exclusivamente por la lectura y la escritura. ¿Esto es malo? Sí y no. No, no es malo, porque la exposición a la lectura y la escritura en el kinder es necesario. Sin embargo, sí es una cosa mala cuando la lectura y la escritura casi han completamente (y en algunos casos completamente) reemplazado el cortar, pegar, conversar, atar, y así sucesivamente. Currículo, las limitaciones de tiempo, y las expectativas han eliminado el equilibrio necesario entre la lectura, la escritura, y el resto. Lamentablemente, este equilibrio no se encuentra en el kinder o en los años posteriores al kinder.


     Por lo tanto, he dicho todo esto para decir ¿qué? Dije todo esto para decir dónde el arte de colorear no se ha ido, y por esa razón los adultos han vuelto a conectar con ese arte. Es posible que simplemente sea porque les recuerda de sus días en kinder.

Where Has Coloring Gone? by Dali Castillo

     I just came across yet another one of those commercials where some adult is singing accolades about the benefits and wonders of "coloring."  Yes, coloring. Really.  So, this whole adult coloring phenomenon made me think of two things. 1-Someone is pretty darn smart making money from this.  2-Where has all the coloring gone?  Since I already know that point number 1 is a fact, I was left thinking more about point number 2.  Where has all the coloring gone? Well, I can tell you where it hasn't gone.  It hasn't gone back to the kindergarten classroom or any classroom for that matter, and, in my humble opinion, this is truly a sad state of affairs. 

     I spent nine years teaching kindergarten in an old fashioned kindergarten classroom.  You know the one.  It had a full play area with a stove, refrigerator, pots, pans, dishes, tons of building blocks, trucks, dolls, puzzles, easels, paint, paintbrushes, and a full wardrobe of clothes for playing dress up.  My students spent about 10-15 minutes of their "instructional" time in that area while I watched and took notes. The "instructional" time there consisted of improving communication skills, vocabulary skills,  social skills, and building brain cells through play and imagination.  On top of that they had time to use clay, not that soft Play-doh, but clay.  The hard stuff that makes you use the muscles in your hands to make things, which in turn builds small motor skills necessary for writing, cutting, glueing, pasting, (Was I the only one that ate paste at the ripe age of 5? Something about that thick goo that had this aroma to it,...entirely too tempting not to have tried it at least once.) and, you guessed it, coloring. Oh, and let me not forget the skills of tying shoes, buttoning buttons, and zipping zippers. And then there was singing.  We sang songs, lots of songs, which was even more fun because it was a maintenance/dual language classroom.  That meant we learned everything in two languages,  English and Spanish.  Yah, those were the days.

     Yes, those were indeed the days.  The days where it really did seem that kids were first when it came to doing what was best for them educationally.  So, what happened?  Here are the cliff notes. Play is pretty much nonexistent in the kindergarten classroom.  Cutting, pasting, painting, tying, buttoning, zipping, conversing are pretty much gone, and coloring is hanging on by a thread.  All of that has been replaced almost exclusively by reading and writing.  Is this a bad thing?  Yes and no.  No, it's not a bad thing because exposure to reading and writing in kindergarten is necessary.  However, it is a bad thing when reading and writing  has just about completely (and in some places it has completely) replaced cutting, pasting, conversing, zipping, tying, and so on.  Curriculum, time constraints, and expectations have eliminated the necessary balance between reading, writing, and the rest. Sadly, this balance is not found in kindergarten or in the years beyond kindergarten.  

     So, I said all that to say what?  I said all that to say that that is where coloring has not gone, and that is why adults are now reconnecting with the art of coloring.  Maybe it just reminds them of their days in kindergarten.  

Seriously Write: Be Strong and Very Courageous by Laura V. Hilton

Seriously Write: Be Strong and Very Courageous by Laura V. Hilton: Laura V. Hilton “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the ...