I have bought several copies of this book as gifts! I tend to do that when a book helps me as much as this one has! I first read Almost Amish about the time I felt we were being led to learn to live debt-free - and how timely! We are working on it! Oh if we would all learn to live beneath our means! Such freedom! Very inspiring book!

Almost Amish is the true-story of how one Christian family took inspiration from how the Amish community lives and applied these principles in their own family. This book covers everything from technology and family to money and faith. Nancy Sleeth shares how her family adopted practices from the Amish into their modern, "English" lives.

The main idea behind the book was Nancy's quest for a simpler, slower life. This led the family to downsizing their home, planting a garden, buying locally, and embracing their community. There wasn't one thing that I didn't like about this book. It actually left me wanting to be Nancy's neighbor.

Almost Amish is not about trading in your SUV for a horse and buggy (although with these gas prices, one might consider it). It is not about unplugging completely from the grid. It is about balancing our dependency on technology so we can engage more fully with our families and communities. It is about taking better care of our environment. It is about putting God in the center of our world and putting our faith into everything we do. I encourage you to read it. It will make you think and question and, quite possible, make some changes in the way you live.

(Tyndale House Publishers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.)

''Something is wrong...terribly wrong. We Tweet while we work, text while we drive, and basically stare at our computer screens until we fall into bed at night....''

What an inspirational book of wise revelations this is! Although my family already makes our feeble attempt to live healthily, simply and for the glory of God, this was a deeper reminder to re-think how your are spending your time! Are you making technology your god? Are you making the modern world your god? Nancy Sleeth uses the Amish people as a very good example of how our lives as Christians COULD be lived to better serve God. She is not enforcing that we should BECOME Amish, but rather that we obey God's direction in changing our lives to make them more focused on eternal things- things of WORTH! I highly recommend this easy to read book.

Here are just a few wonderful quotes from the book:

'A calmer, more peaceful healthier existence. Many of us PLAN expensive vacations to seek these ver qualities and ''get away''. For the Amish, it's a way of life.'

''Too easily, our homes and the stuff that fills them can become false idols. Possessions should work for us; we should not work for them!''

''How can we hear the voice of God if we are multitasking nonstop? How can we see the face of God in still waters and green pastures when we are chronically refreshig the screen? The digital generation is a distracted generation.''

''Be not conformed to this world- Romans 12 :2''

Now...I have read other reviews which said that the author spent more time dwelling on our earthly lives instead of our spiritual. I don't know what the author's viewpoint is, but I can assure you : this book helped inspire me because I was NOT looking to as a spiritual growth book, rather as a practical living book! I don't think the author intended her book to be the only book for Christians to read! Besides, I think she does do a good job in explaining : all this healthful living IS to draw us closer in relationship to God, so we have more time for HIS service! I hope that helps explain any doubtful things in the book.

I do have concerns because Nancy Sleeth DOES use many terms that earth-worshipers (earth-friendly) people use. As Christians, we should use different terms than the world. Therefore, we don't use the terms ''earth-friendly'', ''go green'' ''carbon footprint'', or ''save the planet'', but rather say we are ''Creation conscious'', ''stewards of God's world'', etc. I don't know why the author chose to use terms as the world does. But I know personally I am able to overlook those phrases, and hope that the author really meant that we are not trying to ''save the planet'', but trying to take wise CARE of God's world!

Enjoy this book.

Going green and living Godly go hand in hand. I loved this book!

They say "Don't just a book by its cover," but that's exactly why I picked up this book at my library to read: something about the cover, title and subtitle, "One woman's quest for a slower, simpler, most sustainable life" really intrigued me. So kudos to whoever designed the very attractive cover and binding. :)

Now, as for the book itself, I'll tell you why I loved it after I give you a bit of background. I grew up in a very conservative home (both morally and politically) in the fairly liberal, tree-hugging city of Anchorage, Alaska. So although we eschewed the earth worship and extremism of many of our fellow citizens, we always recycled, composted, grew our own vegetables and fruit (at least what we could get to grow here :)), etc. However, I've always been rather discouraged and frustrated that looking for ways to sustain, replenish and preserve the environment are such a low priority for many on my "side of the aisle." I guess there's something to that old saying of "throwing the baby out with the bathwater."

All of this to say, I LOVED the balance Nancy Sleeth wrote about in her book! As Christians, we should be the most concerned about taking care of this earth we live on, as God entrusted us with it and commanded us to be good stewards of it. However, I think the radical extremism of putting the earth first, above all else and to the detriment of humans, who are MUCH more important, has turned off so many people that they just take the complete opposite view. So I think "Almost Amish" has some really helpful and important reminders, often from Scripture, that we should choose a healthy view somewhere in the middle.

In addition to her chapters on sustainability, Ms. Sleeth does a wonderful job of showing some of the most admirable aspects of the Amish, again showing the foundation of their beliefs and rituals in Scripture. And again, while I think perhaps the Amish are extreme in their simplicity and beliefs (and I say this with respect, I am not belittling their lifestyle), we average Americans have become just as extreme in the other direction! We have become far too much like the world in the areas of our homes, finances, families and community and we would do well to take a page or two from the "Ordung." :) Yet, we do have to take it all with a grain of salt, and not become so legalistic, but rather just try to pay more attention to the spirit of God's Law.

I would definitely recommend this book to my friends and family, and in fact have already done so. I really do think that it would be valuable reading for every person, as a lot the struggles and complications we face in this world are really new problems that didn't exist a generation or two ago, and we would really benefit from looking at our past to help us in the future. One of my favorite lines in the book is actually a quote from C.S. Lewis, "Going back can sometimes be the quickest way forward." I think that pretty much sums up the book and why YOU should read it! :)