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theavidreaderandbibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
An Amish Singing by Amy Clipston contains four heartwarming Amish tales set in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. Hymn of Praise, Amazing Grace, Great is Thy Faithfulness, and O Holy Night are the four novellas. Love blossoms and faith is strengthened in these heartening stories.
Hymn of Praise has two longtime friends, Sharon Lambert and Jay Smoker discover that their feelings are changing. After Jay asks Sharon’s father permission to date, they begin spending time together. Then Jay learns that Sharon is singing hymns and their Amish traditional songs for her families’ English dinner guests. He is further astonished that Sharon has involved their friends. It goes against his beliefs and how Jay was taught by his grandfather. Can Jay and Sharon overcome this obstacle?
Amazing Grace has Dave Esh feeling alone and guilty after a tragic accident. He has isolated himself from his friends and, despite a number of invitations, refuses to join them. Dave had been planning on obtaining permission to date Alice prior to the incident. Alice Blank has been friends with Dave since they were kids. She misses her friend and wants to find a way to help Dave. She continues to invite him to sing with their group of friends to those in their community who are ill or who need cheer. Alice knows that Dave needs to forgive himself and find peace before they can pursue a relationship. Can Dave find a way to forgive himself?
Great is Thy Faithfulness has Darlene Bender and her family dealing with her mother’s cancer diagnose. Her mother refuses to allow anyone from the community to visit or help them. Darlene does not feel that she can burden her friends with her problems or her feelings. She misses spending time with her friends and singing. Andrew Detweiler can tell that Darlene needs someone to whom she can talk and share her troubles. He befriends Darlene and soon deeper feelings begin to bloom. Then Dave realizes something that could derail their relationship.
O Holy Night has Elaine Lantz and her parents the newest residents of Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. This is a fresh start for Elaine. She is afraid of making new friends because Elaine is unsure if she can trust anyone again. Sharon, Alice, Darlene, Dave, Jay, Andrew, and Cal welcome Elaine to the community and invite her to join them. Cal is especially captivated by their community’s newest addition. But Elaine has built a wall around her heart and Cal needs to find a way to break it down. Will Elaine be able to embrace the friendship and love offered her?
An Amish Singing by Amy Clipston has a group of young people who are close friends and enjoy singing. There are good messages in these four novellas with the most important being that God has a plan and He knows what is best. We must trust Him. I thought these stories were well-written and engaging. I started reading Hymn of Praise and became engrossed. I quickly read all four of these charming Amish stories. Amy Clipston is a special storyteller. Her love of writing shines in each of her creations along with her love of God. I like how these characters sang for people who were ill and grieving. Their singing uplifted their audience. The sharing of the Amish hymns allowed this group to pass along their love of God and their faith with Englishers. My favorite message from these four novellas was how we need to lean on God in time of great need (illness, hardship, grief). He is there for us and He has a plan. We just need to be faithful. These stories will leave your heart feeling full and soul satisfied. An Amish Singing contains four uplifting novellas about family, friendship, forgiveness, and faith.
Hymn of Praise has two longtime friends, Sharon Lambert and Jay Smoker discover that their feelings are changing. After Jay asks Sharon’s father permission to date, they begin spending time together. Then Jay learns that Sharon is singing hymns and their Amish traditional songs for her families’ English dinner guests. He is further astonished that Sharon has involved their friends. It goes against his beliefs and how Jay was taught by his grandfather. Can Jay and Sharon overcome this obstacle?
Amazing Grace has Dave Esh feeling alone and guilty after a tragic accident. He has isolated himself from his friends and, despite a number of invitations, refuses to join them. Dave had been planning on obtaining permission to date Alice prior to the incident. Alice Blank has been friends with Dave since they were kids. She misses her friend and wants to find a way to help Dave. She continues to invite him to sing with their group of friends to those in their community who are ill or who need cheer. Alice knows that Dave needs to forgive himself and find peace before they can pursue a relationship. Can Dave find a way to forgive himself?
Great is Thy Faithfulness has Darlene Bender and her family dealing with her mother’s cancer diagnose. Her mother refuses to allow anyone from the community to visit or help them. Darlene does not feel that she can burden her friends with her problems or her feelings. She misses spending time with her friends and singing. Andrew Detweiler can tell that Darlene needs someone to whom she can talk and share her troubles. He befriends Darlene and soon deeper feelings begin to bloom. Then Dave realizes something that could derail their relationship.
O Holy Night has Elaine Lantz and her parents the newest residents of Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania. This is a fresh start for Elaine. She is afraid of making new friends because Elaine is unsure if she can trust anyone again. Sharon, Alice, Darlene, Dave, Jay, Andrew, and Cal welcome Elaine to the community and invite her to join them. Cal is especially captivated by their community’s newest addition. But Elaine has built a wall around her heart and Cal needs to find a way to break it down. Will Elaine be able to embrace the friendship and love offered her?
An Amish Singing by Amy Clipston has a group of young people who are close friends and enjoy singing. There are good messages in these four novellas with the most important being that God has a plan and He knows what is best. We must trust Him. I thought these stories were well-written and engaging. I started reading Hymn of Praise and became engrossed. I quickly read all four of these charming Amish stories. Amy Clipston is a special storyteller. Her love of writing shines in each of her creations along with her love of God. I like how these characters sang for people who were ill and grieving. Their singing uplifted their audience. The sharing of the Amish hymns allowed this group to pass along their love of God and their faith with Englishers. My favorite message from these four novellas was how we need to lean on God in time of great need (illness, hardship, grief). He is there for us and He has a plan. We just need to be faithful. These stories will leave your heart feeling full and soul satisfied. An Amish Singing contains four uplifting novellas about family, friendship, forgiveness, and faith.
arjayebrewerforestfern's review against another edition
3.0
Hymn of praise was such an awesome story. A friendship that bloomed into more but they had differences in their beliefs. I loved how they bought signing hymns to the English people who came for dinner to share both their faith and God with them all.
robinlovesreading's review against another edition
4.0
In this beautiful group of stories by Amy Clipston, music and love find their place among an Amish community.
The first novella, Hymn of Praise, bring long-time friends Sharon Lambert and Jay Smoker together, but not without obstacles to overcome. Sharon and her family often host English guests for dinner, and they sing traditional hymns. This bothers Jay as he feels that this is crossing the line regarding their beliefs. He feels that some things should just be kept among the Amish. This is rather unfortunate to Sharon, because she is quite fond of Jay and had hoped they would eventually find love together.
Then there is Amazing Grace. This is the touching story of Dave Esh and Alice Blank. They are good friends, and Alice invites Dave to join a group that sings for their English neighbors. Dave sees how content and happy Alice is but he blames himself for a recent tragedy so he feels he doesn't deserve anything that will bring him joy, even if it means losing any hope he had for something to develop with Alice.
Great Is Thy Faithfulness is an even more touching story in this collection. Darlene Bender's mother is battling cancer and this affects Darlene's faith. She cannot believe that a God of love would allow her mother to suffer so. She depends on her singing group for strength and comfort. Andrew Detweiler sees sadness in Darlene, so he draws closer to her. Love definitely enters the picture, and hopes that Darlene's faith will be restored.
O Holy Night delivers another sweet story. Whereas the previous story was about faith, this one is about trust. Elaine Lantz and her parents have moved to a new town after experiencing difficult events. Calvin King sees a kindred spirit in Elaine, yet she is afraid to trust. Calvin hopes that she will learn to trust him - and find love between them.
I loved each and every one of these stories. I have come to truly enjoy Amish Fiction and this book rates right up there with the other wonderful books I have read thus far.
Many thanks to Zondervan and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
The first novella, Hymn of Praise, bring long-time friends Sharon Lambert and Jay Smoker together, but not without obstacles to overcome. Sharon and her family often host English guests for dinner, and they sing traditional hymns. This bothers Jay as he feels that this is crossing the line regarding their beliefs. He feels that some things should just be kept among the Amish. This is rather unfortunate to Sharon, because she is quite fond of Jay and had hoped they would eventually find love together.
Then there is Amazing Grace. This is the touching story of Dave Esh and Alice Blank. They are good friends, and Alice invites Dave to join a group that sings for their English neighbors. Dave sees how content and happy Alice is but he blames himself for a recent tragedy so he feels he doesn't deserve anything that will bring him joy, even if it means losing any hope he had for something to develop with Alice.
Great Is Thy Faithfulness is an even more touching story in this collection. Darlene Bender's mother is battling cancer and this affects Darlene's faith. She cannot believe that a God of love would allow her mother to suffer so. She depends on her singing group for strength and comfort. Andrew Detweiler sees sadness in Darlene, so he draws closer to her. Love definitely enters the picture, and hopes that Darlene's faith will be restored.
O Holy Night delivers another sweet story. Whereas the previous story was about faith, this one is about trust. Elaine Lantz and her parents have moved to a new town after experiencing difficult events. Calvin King sees a kindred spirit in Elaine, yet she is afraid to trust. Calvin hopes that she will learn to trust him - and find love between them.
I loved each and every one of these stories. I have come to truly enjoy Amish Fiction and this book rates right up there with the other wonderful books I have read thus far.
Many thanks to Zondervan and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
nataliesboooks's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the friend group, and how each friend got his or her own romance. I also really loved the hymns they sang - especially Great is Thy Faithfulness - and how they tied into each person’s story. Overall a sweet collection of novellas from Amy Clipston
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