Book Details:
Book Description:
Step into the cozy, snow-kissed world of Amish country with a collection of heartwarming Christmas stories by four of your favorite Amish storytellers. This holiday season, let the spirit of love, family, and faith fill your heart with these enchanting tales:
An Ideal Christmas by Mindy Steele
Ina Graber has decided on the perfect Christmas gift for her sister, Lavina, and she knows exactly who needs to build it. Now if she can only convince her childhood crush to help her when he doesn’t even know she exists.
Orders are piling up on local furniture maker and widower, Abner Fisher, but when a young woman from by a nearby community asks him to do the impossible, Abner discovers anything is possible this Christmas.
Gathered Around Love’s Table by Rachel J. Good
Miriam Lapp can’t bear to face a lonely Christmas table, which once held her large family, who’ve all gone to Pinecraft to care for her ill grandparents. Miriam has stayed behind to keep her rebellious seventeen-year-old brother, Abraham, out of trouble during Rumspringa. She decides to fill the seats at her holiday table with lonely and homeless people. Little does she know that this simple act of giving will lead her on a journey to warm her aching heart and provide healing for her brother.
One of her guests, Jerry Gingerich, has been struggling since he left the Amish. Reluctantly, he accepts her invitation, but the welcoming atmosphere and kindness he finds at the Lapp home begins to break through his walls. Miriam’s generosity becomes a beacon of hope to him as well as to the others she asks to share her table. But can Jerry open his heart completely, not just to the spirit of Christmas, but to the greatest gift of all – God’s love and forgiveness – so he can find healing, redemption, and love?
Trouble at the Christmas Tableby Jennifer Beckstrand
Eleven-year-old twins Alfie and Benji Petersheim are in big trouble. They’re stuck in the cellar because intruder Zeke Hostetler is sleeping in their bedroom. Worse than that, Zeke is in love with their schoolteacher Sarah Zimmerman. But the worst part is Alfie and Benji accidentally put a long scratch in Mamm’s new kitchen table, and Mamm is going to be very angry when she sees it. Zeke Hostetler comes to the rescue and agrees to secretly fix the table if Alfie and Benji will help him woo Sarah Zimmerman. Unfortunately, if they help Zeke, they’ll lose their favoritest teacher in the world. But if Mamm sees that scratch, she’ll probably put them up for adoption or, worse, give them the spatula.
Alfie and Benji are going to need binoculars, walkie-talkies, three chickens, an unruly dog named Tintin, and a lot of luck to get themselves out of this mess.
Love Beneath the Pine by Tracy Fredrychowski
In the heart of Amish County, among the enchanting snow-covered landscape of Willow Springs, Hannah Schrock’s kitchen buzzes with activity and delightful aromas as Christmas approaches. Overwhelmed by her baking orders and devotion to her ailing grandmother, Hannah finds an unexpected ally in Isaac Kauffman, a gentle soul whose silent love for her has endured for years.
Isaac discovers an antique table in the barn. Even amidst Hannah’s refusal to help him, Isaac embarks on a journey to restore it, uncovering hidden secrets and heartwarming tales of its past owners along the way.
As the holiday season unfolds, Hannah and Isaac navigate a delicate balance between duty and desire, discovering that sometimes the sweetest surprises often emerge from the most unexpected places.
My Thoughts: Absolutely Wonderful
While every story in this compilation is unique, each one will deeply touch your heart. There is love, faith, laughs, tears, reflection, second chances, overcoming, family, and so much more. It truly is a heartwarming read with an extra perk of recipes that are included. An Ideal Christmas by Mindy Steele Abner Fisher doesn’t know what to do when Ina Graber approaches him for help. While he is a man of few words, Ina has enough words and ideas for the two of them and then some. And besides that, he has no time. Oh, but that’s not a problem, as Ina has an idea for that as well. Although Abner has doubts about every idea that Ina throws his way, he begins experiencing a shift in his thinking. It seems Ina’s idea is just what he needs to pull him out of his protective shell to see a new possibility. Ina and Abner's story will take you on a wonderful and enjoyable ride to finally see how it all plays out. Gathered Around Love's Table by Rachel J. Good Jerry Gingerich is in for a huge surprise when Miriam Lapp literally crashes into his world. As their worlds intertwine, Jerry begins to rethink his choices and looks to forgiveness and new hope, while Miriam finds herself on a new path she didn't expect to be on. Their sweet story is sure to touch your heart. An Amish Christmas Table by Jennifer Beckstrand If you haven't met Alfie and Benjie Petersheim before, you are in for the ride of your life. They are out to spoil Zeke Hostetler's plans and save Sarah Zimmerman from him. Unfortunately for Alfie and Benjie, one little mistake has them doing what they never planned to do, and the result is one surprise after another and one laugh after another. It is sweet and entertaining. Love Beneath the Pine by Tracy Fredrychowski Hannah Schrock is on a mission to make sure she properly takes care of and provides for her grandmother. Isaac Kauffman, her neighbor, wants to help her and hopefully grow a relationship with her. When he finds his family's old table and chooses to restore it to help Hannah, he makes a discovery that takes him and Hannah on a hunt to solve a mystery. It also makes Hannah rethink her mission and consider opening up to possibilities. Hannah and Isaac's story is one of discoveries, faith, and love.
