Northkill

Jesus Lives!

2011-12-21T18:01:00.000-08:00

Most people have heard of the letter eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon sent to the New York Sun shortly before Christmas in 1897, asking if there really is a Santa Claus. Her letter found its way to Francis P. Church, an editorial writer, who responded with an editorial that has become famous.

In rereading Church’s editorial several years ago, it occurred to me that with minor adaptations it would make an excellent response to those who deny the reality of Jesus. So in this Christmas season I want to share with you my paraphrased version as a response to those who question whether Jesus ever really existed, and whether he, even today, wields power over humankind

Yes, Dear Christian, Jesus Lives!

Dear Christian, in this day and age when Christian belief is coming under increasing attack, be assured that those who insist that Jesus was not God’s only begotten Son, that, if he even existed, he was only a man like us who died and remained dead, are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of this skeptical age. They refuse to believe what they cannot see. They think nothing can exist that is not comprehensible by their small minds.

All minds, dear Christian, whether they be adults’ or children’s are little. In this great universe of ours, humans are mere insects, ants, in their intellect as compared with the boundless world about them, as measured by the intelligence of the One capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge—indeed, the One who created truth, justice, mercy, and love even as He created the universe and everything in it.

Yes, dear Christian, there is a Savior who lives as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that these qualities abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas, how dreary would be the world if Jesus had not entered it, died for the sin of all humankind, and returned to the heavenly realms to reign over His vast domain. It would be equally dreary if no one still nurtured the wavering flame of faith. There would be no childlike faith then, no hope, no love to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment except in what we could perceive with our senses. The Eternal Light with which Jesus filled His world would be extinguished.

Not believe Jesus lives! You might as well not believe in angels, yet through the centuries multitudes have testified to entertaining these heavenly beings unawares, those who have received protection, healing, and guidance for lives spun out of control. If your eyes cannot perceive Jesus in this physical realm, what does that prove? Human eyes cannot see what is spiritual, but that does not prove the spiritual realm does not exist.

The most real things in the world are those that humans cannot see. Have you ever seen God’s angelic hosts surrounding you in times of trouble or danger? Of course not, but the proof of their presence resonates in your spirit and guides you through the danger to safety. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the vast universe or even in our own small planet. You can tear apart a machine and see what makes it work, but there is a veil covering the unseen world that not the wisest man who ever lived can either remove or penetrate.

Only faith, hope, and love can push aside that curtain and view and describe the exquisite beauty and glory that lie beyond. Is it all real? Did Jesus really leave His heavenly kingdom to pitch his tents among us and reveal to us Almighty God? Ah, dear Christian, in all this world, there is nothing else so real and so abiding!

Jesus is not alive? Thank God! He lives and lives forever! A thousand years from now, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to reach down into our history and make glad the hearts of all who believe.

Copyright 2006 by J. M. Hochstetler.

All Things Amish

2010-11-17T14:14:00.000-08:00

Donald Kraybill released two new books last month: The Amish Way: Patient Faith in a Perilous World, and A Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites. Over at Amish America, Erik Wesner is giving away 5 copies of the Encyclopedia, so if you’re interested in all things Amish, head on over and leave a comment on the post in order to be entered in the drawing. Both books promise to be up to Kraybill’s usual standard of excellence.

In fact, while you’re checking that out, you’ll also want to check out Erik’s book, Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive for some excellent insights into how to run a successful business.

Sad to Say . . .

2010-07-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

Because of the amount of spam comments I’m getting on all my blogs, I’m reactivating comment moderation. That means your comments won’t appear until I have time to go in and approve them. Just another little task to add to my day.

The problem nowadays is Asian-language comments. If I can’t read the language, then I have no way of knowing what’s being said, and it more than likely isn’t nice. I figure if you can read my blogs, which are in English, then you’re capable of making comments in English. And if you don’t want to do that, then you’re not going to be allowed to add a comment at all.

As usual, all we good folks are going to be inconvenienced because of the evildoers. A pox upon your house, I say! Find something productive to do and leave the rest of us in peace!

Antrim Mennonite Choir

2010-06-06T07:03:00.000-07:00

I just found these videos featuring the Antrim Mennonite Choir on YouTube, and they are so lovely I just had to share.

How beautiful that they sing the original versions of these old hymns, not as they were later edited. This version of Rock of Ages is the one I remember growing up in the Howard-Miami Mennonite Church.

I found the album, Amazing Grace, and additional albums by this choir at Scroll Publishing Company. Amazing Grace includes 18 hymns and is on sale, so it's well worth the price. What a blessing to find these!

Controversy and Renewed Growth

2009-11-24T17:04:00.000-08:00

The renewed Amish Mennonite group initially met in members’ homes every 2 weeks, but in 1866 they began to meet in the Hochstedler School ¼ mile south of the current church building and started a Sunday school. The minister, Benjamin Schrock, was in favor of building a church house, and in 1876 the congregation acquired land to build on at the church’s current location, CR 600 N-700 E in northeastern Howard County near the Miami County line. The first structure the congregation built was a plain frame building measuring 22 x 40 feet.

Howard-Miami, like every congregation, wasn’t immune to controversy. One of the worst happened around 1885, when a disagreement arose over whether it was acceptable for men to use buttons on their vests instead of the customary hooks and eyes. Some men were already wearing them on their coats, but the more conservative members felt they should not be used on the vests.

It became such a divisive issue that the church held meetings to try to resolve the dispute, with ministers from Wayne County, Ohio, coming to help work out an agreement. Instead, the disagreement grew worse, and no communion services were held for over 2 years because of the rift. The church finally resolved the issue in the spring of 1887 by agreeing that the men should follow their own preference regarding hooks and eyes versus buttons.

During this time there were few young people in the congregation. That fall, John S. Coffman from Elkhart, who had been instrumental in resolving the dispute over buttons, returned to preach, and possibly due to his influence younger people began to attend the church in significant numbers. Coffman helped to persuade the church to begin holding services every Sunday.

With the Sunday school thriving, the congregation grew until they needed a larger building. So in 1888 the church sold the old structure to the Brethren Church, and it was moved 3 miles west to serve that congregation. The new building was only slightly larger, at 36 x 50 ft. It was dedicated by Coffman on August 3, 1888. In 1894, the widow Sarah Hensler sold ¼ acre from her farm to the church for $25, and the land was added to the west side of the church lot.

In my next post, I’ll bring the story of Howard-Miami Mennonite Church into the 20th century.

Howard-Miami Mennonite Church

2009-11-12T17:37:00.000-08:00

On November 8, Erik Wesner wrote about the Kokomo, Indiana, Amish on his blog Amish America. If you’re not familiar with his blog, I recommend that you hop on over and take a look. I was especially interested in this article since I grew up in the Howard-Miami Mennonite Church, which formed as a result of a church split due to the progressivism he mentions in his article.

When I married I moved away, and over the years I became a member of several different denominations. But deep down I’ve always considered Howard-Miami to be my home congregation. My parents, Alvin and Lula Hochstetler, remained members until their deaths in 2002 as the result of an accident, and we held their funeral there. They’re buried in the Christner Cemetery a couple of miles down the road. I still have cousins who attend, so the ties remain.

After reading Erik’s article, I decided to dig out my copy of the History of Howard-Miami Mennonite Church, published in 1998 for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the church’s founding, and share some of the history it records. The following condensed version, including the quotes, is taken from this book.

The first Amish settlers came to Miami County from Holmes County, Ohio, in 1848. While they established homes and farms, they met in members homes every other week, as is customary for the Amish. But in 1854, “changing viewpoints as to what was acceptable in regard to all of the new ideas and inventions coming into the world during a time of great and rapid advancement in man’s learning and technologies” caused a church split. “Some people began to see that not all change is evil, while others continued to believe that the more complicated the new things made life, the more readily the element of evil could also enter” (p. 21).

This difference in values led the members to break into 2 separate bodies. “There were many hard feelings among the people on both sides of the split. Each side felt very strongly about the position they had taken, believing themselves to be correct in God’s sight. People on one side looked down on th people on the other side, each thinking the other was falling into sin. Sadly this resulted name calling, and a lack of compassion and understanding created a great deal of ill will in the community” (p. 21).

The progressive group began to meet in an old school house a half-mile east of Waupecong. Roads were almost nonexistent, so getting to the church was difficult. Then the minister, J. Benjamin Schrock, left because of the ill will in the commuity. This led to a decline in the number of members of this group, and for some time they ceased meeting and some members joined other churches. Meanwhile, the conservative group initially flourished due to their continuing, stable leadership.

During the mid 1860s, the progressive group began to meet again for regular hymn sings. Eventually they ordained ministers and established the congregation that in time became the Howard-Miami Mennonite Church. Originally calling themselves Amish Mennonites, they now prospered while the conservatives, who took the name Old Order Amish, began a decline that lasted until around 1897, when Amish families from other areas began to move into the community. They then developed the 2 church districts that remain today.

The Howard-Miami congregation developed its own schisms as time went on. In my next post I’ll continue the history of this congregation.

Blog Tour for One Holy Night!

2009-11-01T08:09:00.000-08:00

Below are the dates and sites for the month-long One Holy Night Blog tour. Be sure to drop in on these blogs to check out my interviews, articles, and book trailer.

Some of the blogs are also doing a drawing for a free copy of One Holy Night, which received the Christian Small Publishers 2009 Book of the Year award. It would make a terrific Christmas gift for you or someone you love!

Monday, Nov. 2: http://thebookrack.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, Nov. 3 http://bookvideos.wordpress.com/
Wednesday, Nov. 4 http://www.thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/
Thursday, Nov. 5 http://theplotline.wordpress.com/
Friday, Nov. 6 http://theplotline.wordpress.com/
Friday, Nov. 6 http://www.thehotauthorreport.blogalogues.com/
Monday, Nov. 9: http://myheartbelongs2books.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, Nov. 10: http://reviewfromhere.com/
Wednesday, Nov. 11: http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/
Thursday, Nov. 12: http://www.associatedcontent.com/
Friday, Nov. 13: http://bookexcerpts.wordpress.com/
Monday, Nov. 16: http://reviewfromhere.com/
Tuesday, Nov. 17: http://rebecca2007.wordpress.com/
Wednesday, Nov. 18: http://thewriterslife.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, Nov. 18: http://www.divinecaroline.com/
Thursday, Nov. 19: http://www.cherylsbooknook.blogspot.com/
Friday, Nov. 20: http://thestorybehindthebook.wordpress.com/
Monday, Nov. 23: http://booktoursandmore.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, Nov. 24: http://www.broowaha.com/
Wednesday, Nov. 25: http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/
Friday, Nov. 27: http://therempels4.blogspot.com/

And coming up in December, Wind of the Spirit will be featured on a blog tour as well. Check back here later in the month for details!

Book Signing at 21st Century

2009-09-30T12:53:00.001-07:00

Wouldn’t you know I’d forget to post the time for the book signing! It runs from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, October 3. I hope to see you there!

Schedule of Events

2009-09-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

I’ve been out of town for several days, incorporating a visit with friends with a speaking engagement at a book club in the Warner Robins, GA, area. I had a great time while there, and the presentation to the Houston County Book Browsers went very well, with a number of the ladies buying my books. But the 7 hour drive home yesterday through storms was not nearly as enjoyable. It was a relief to finally get home safe and sound! And now I’m rushing to get caught up on the day-to-day minutia, as usual!

If you’re going to be in the Nashville area this coming Saturday, October 3, please join me and other authors from the Nashville Christian Writers Association for a book signing at 21st Century Christian, 2809 12th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37204. I’ll be signing copies of Daughter of Liberty, Native Son, and Wind of the Spirit, along with One Holy Night.

Also signing will be Darin W. Montgomery, Membership Guide to the Body of Christ; Dr. Etido Akpan, Strategic Alignment: The Business Imperative for Leading Organizations; Carol Harper, Through the Eye of a Needle; Robin Miller, A Biblical Journey of ABC’s; Sandy Griffin, Free to Be Me: Creating the Dance of Your Life; Chris Fenoglio, Kristin and the Santa Secret; and Catisha Asbury, Jesus Child: Christian Urban Poetry, Volume 1.

An American colonial and Revolutionary War reenactors event will be going on at the same time in Hendersonville. The annual Daniel Smith Colonial Days Reenactment and Fair takes place October 3 and 4 at Historic Rock Castle. I plan to drop by before or after the book signing or on Sunday as reenactors bring to life the period from 1779 to 1820. I attended last year’s event and it was excellent! This year I’m hoping to get some good high res pictures that I can use for covers for my series, including the new editions of Daughter of Liberty and Native Son we’ll be doing within the next couple of years. Bob Dulany of Dulany Printers, who participates as a reenactor, also has wonderful pictures available. Either way, I’m going to have excellent choices for covers for the entire series.

In addition to winning the Christian Small Publishers 2009 Fiction Book of the Year Award, One Holy Night also finaled in the Long Contemporary category of the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year contest along with 4 other excellent novels. Although it didn't go on to win, I’m greatly honored that it was considered worthy of this recognition. My heartiest congratulations go to Sharon Hinck whose novel Symphony of Secrets took top honors!

One Holy Night Wins CSPA Book of the Year Award

2009-04-17T01:04:00.000-07:00

Tuesday I received notice that One Holy Night has been chosen as the 2009 Fiction Book of the Year by Christian Small Publishers Association! Needless to say, I am thrilled—and admittedly a bit stunned. I’d forgotten I even entered the contest. LOL!

It’s also entered in the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year contest for long contemporary novels, and it’ll be interesting to see how it does there. Winners in all the categories will be announced at the ACFW conference in September, so I’ll have to wait a while to find out, and that’s always hard. In the meantime, however, Sheaf House will be doing additional promotions in upcoming weeks featuring the award and will also feature One Holy Night again for the holiday season.

Tomorrow, April 18, I’m having a book signing at the Perry Bookstore, 907 Carroll Street, in downtown Perry, Georgia, from 11 to 1. I’ll also be signing Wind of the Spirit, and will have copies of books 1 and 2, Daughter of Liberty and Native Son, available at a discount. I appreciate your prayers for a good weather and a good turnout, and if you happen to be in the area, I would love to have you stop by! This is also the weekend for the annual Dogwood Festival in Perry, and there’ll be lots going on downtown, not to mention the Mossy Creek Barnyard Festival, which is close by. Come on out and join in the fun!

Below is an excerpt from a recent review by Jackie Cooper, who is known in the middle Georgia area as the “entertainment man” for his entertainment reviews. His short stories have been used as commentary on Georgia Public Radio, and he is also a popular after dinner speaker as well as a noted author. Jackie’s latest release is The Sunrise Remembers.

“Author J. M. Hochstetler has crafted a story that will drive us to tears but also lift our spirits at the same time. . . . It is a “family” story that all readers can enjoy and one to which they can relate in some way. Hochstetler takes us on a journey with these characters as they move through times of joy and times of sadness. Each person described in the story comes alive and takes his/her place in the order of things. The author even brings in side characters to flesh out the story and she does it with inventiveness and skill. If you do not enjoy or appreciate a story of faith then this is not the book for you. But for those who do like this type of religious material as the backdrop for a good story, this is an excellent choice.”

Interview and Book Drawing on Amber Stockton’s Blog!

2009-03-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

Hey, everyone! Head on over to Amber Stockton’s blog and leave a comment on the March 13 post with my interview to be entered into the drawing for a free copy of Wind of the Spirit! You only have a week from yesterday to get in on the drawing, so you’d better hurry. I appreciate your support, and you may win a free copy of the latest installment of this thrilling story to boot!

Thursday my husband and I are heading off to Dallas for the Christian Book Expo, which runs from Friday, March 20th, through Sunday the 22. More than 200 of your favorite Christian authors will present seminars, do readings and book signings, participate in panel discussions, and more. The event is open to the public.

I’ll be signing Wind of the Spirit in the American Christian Fiction Writers booth on Saturday, March 21, from 3 to 4 p.m. So if you’re going to be in the Dallas area next weekend, I’d love to see you there!

Surviving Tough Times

2009-03-08T12:14:00.000-07:00

A dear friend from one of the e-mail loops I’m on, Lynn Zuk-Lloyd, and her husband, Paul, are working to be part of the solution to these tough economic times. Part of that effort is to publish several non-fiction books and host an event to celebrate God through the arts, with the first 2 books releasing in time for the May 2 event.

The first book is on solutions for tough times. The other is about planting what others throw away by seeing symbols in our everyday lives that lead us closer to Jesus’ plans for us. Lynn, who is a very talented illustrator, is doing the design, illustration, and layout for both book, so I know they’re not only going to be a great encouragement to those who read them, but also beautiful as well. Three additional books will release in late summer or early fall.

The event, Surviving Tough Times: Celebrating God Through the Arts, will take place on May 2, 2009. Following the workshops, Lynn says, “there will be a time of ministry/worship where there will be people from various ministries ready to pray and stand beside struggling people and draw them into Jesus’ light and speak words of encouragement and hope over them.”

Below is more information about this event for those who would like to attend, help spread the news, and/or join as prayer warriors to petition the Lord to move powerfully in the hearts of his people through these books and this event. I hope some of you will be able to attend what promises to be a life-changing celebration, but whether you can or not, I know your prayers for the Lord’s anointing on Lynn and Paul as they step out in faith will unleash the power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of all those they touch. The most powerful thing we can do is to pray!

Surviving Tough Times: Celebrating God Through the Arts
Saturday, May 2, 2009
1:00 pm - 8:30 pm at Cyrus Ministries, Route 30, Big Rock, IL

Choose one of three tracks or create your own:
Visual Arts Track
Solutions for Tough Times Track
Creative Arts Sampler Track

Workshops:
Dance, Manga Drawing, Sculpture/Montage, Creating Symbols, Photography,
Tough Times Solutions, and Worship

There will be an evening celebration using all the arts.

For more info: www.karitos.com or www.cyrusministries.com or call (630) 393-6516
Cost: $10 per person.

This is a Karitos Christian Arts and Cyrus Ministries International event organized by www.PromiseGarden.com.

Win a Copy of My Newest Release!

2009-02-26T06:59:00.000-08:00

In case anyone is interested in possibly winning a free copy of my latest release, Wind of the Spirit, Book 3 of the American Patriot Series, I have interviews coming up on several different blogs during the next few weeks. Here’s a schedule so you can check them out. Each blog is offering a drawing for a free copy of Wind of the Spirit, and all you need to do is to make a comment on the post to be entered!

February 25, Yesterday! I guest blogged about dreams on Jennifer AlLee’s blog This, That, and the Other Thing. Head on over right now and make a comment for a shot at winning the drawing!

February 26, TODAY! Lena Nelson Dooley, A Christian Writer’s World.

March ACFW’s Afictionado e-zine.

March TBD Tyora Moody’s ChristianBookwormReviews.com

March 5 Novel Journey.

March 10 Favorite PASTimes.

March 12 8:15 a.m. KREJ 101.7 FM Kelly Long Proverbs 31 Wannabe Club (the station covers southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma; call in to enter (620) 886-3537)

March 13 Amber Stockton Spotlight Interview. Hope baby doesn’t come early!

March 15 Wind of the Spirit is featured on this week on Christian Authors Network You’ve Got Books fiction blog. No drawing here, but sign up in advance to receive weekly excerpts of Wind of the Spirit and other new Christian fiction releases!

Wind of the Spirit and my other books are now available from Christian Book Distributors, Barnesandnoble.com, and Sheaf House. My other books are available on Amazon, and we’re hoping to also have Wind of the Spirit available there soon.

I’ll post additional appearances, interviews, and announcements as they come up!

The Northkill Amish Settlement

2008-10-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

The first Amish Mennonites began migrating to the United States in the eighteenth century, mainly to escape the religious persecution and compulsory military service they faced in Europe. The Northkill area in eastern Pennsylvania was opened for settlement in 1736, and that same year, Melchoir Detweiler and Hans Sieber arrived in Philadelphia on the ship Princess Augusta.

Within a year Sieber had settled along Irish Creek (between Bernville and Centerpoint), which became a sister community to the Northkill settlement, while Detweiler found land along Northkill Creek. The Northkill settlement lay on the edge of the Blue Mountains. At that time this ridge was the legal boundary of European settlement, according to treaties between the British and the Native Americans.

More Amish passengers arrived on the ship Charming Nancy in 1737 and found their way to the Irish Creek and Northkill settlements. These included Jacob Beiler, Christian Burki, Christian Hershberger, Christian Kurtz, Christian Lichti, Jacob Mast, Abraham Miller, Christian Miller, Jacob Miller, Ulrich Spicker, Henry Stehly, and Hans Zimmerman, and their families. The following year the Charming Nancy returned with my ancestor, Jacob Hochstetler, his wife, and 2 young children, among others, to Philadelphia. They were soon established among the earlier arrivals along the Northkill.

During the following decades the Amish continued to settle along the Northkill in increasing numbers. 1742 saw the arrival of Hans Gerber, Hans Gnagi, Jacob Good, Christian Miller, Christian Yoder, Sr., Christian Yoder, Jr., Jacob Yoder, Christian Zook, Johannes Zook, and Moritz Zook. By now the community was large enough to petition the Pennsylvania General Assembly for naturalization rights, which allowed them to purchase land, a right denied Anabaptists in Europe.

In 1744 the families of Christian and Samuel King, Hans Stephen Kurtz, Johannes Snyder, Michael Stuckey, and Yost Yoder expanded the settlement even more. The community welcomed Bishop Jacob Hertzler and his family in 1749, along with the Christian Fisher, Hans Lantz, and Jacob and Joseph Mishler families. Hans Blank, Andreas and Johannes Hooley, John Mast, and Michael Troyer expanded the settlement even more the following year.

According to S. Duane Kauffman in Miffllin County Amish and Mennonite Story, 1791-1991, at its peak the Irish Creek-Northkill community consisted of about 40 Amish families or between 150 and 200 persons, which would have made it the largest Amish settlement in America at that time. In spite of several attacks during the French and Indian War, including the one against my ancestors in 1757, it held that distinction into the 1780s, when it began to decline as families moved farther west in search of better farmland.

Although it existed for a relatively brief period, the Northkill settlement was fundamental in establishing the Amish in North America. It included the forebears of many Amish families, such as the Yoders, Burkeys, Troyers, Hochstetlers, and Hershbergers, and is generally considered to be the mother from which the other eastern Pennsylvania Amish communities sprang.

Win a Free Autographed Copy of One Holy Night!

2008-10-09T13:40:00.000-07:00

Be sure to visit Tracy Ruckman’s Pix ’n Pens blog next week, October 13-17. I’ll be judging her contest on holiday essays.

Enter an essay of up to 1,500 words with a Christmas theme, and you may win an autographed copy of One Holy Night! Go to the One Holy Night Blog to find out more about this inspiring story of God's grace for all seasons!

You can share your favorite holiday memory or offer a reflection on what Christmas means to you. Of course, your essay needs to revolve around the real meaning of the season—Jesus! I’ll read all the essays submitted and announce the winner Saturday the 18th. So get those entries ready!

Tracy is also signed up for the CFBA blog tour for OHN November 12-14, so we’d both love it if you’d swing by then too!

A Taste of New Wine

2008-10-05T08:29:00.000-07:00

Ever since finishing the bestselling novel The Shack the other day, I’ve been reflecting on the themes author William P. Young wove through this book. I read that Young isn’t a member of a church, and it occurred to me that more and more often I encounter believers who also have left the organized church. Young says that those who are wounded and damaged cannot find healing there. And in one way or another, all of us fall into that category.

I’ve been a long-time church attender, but in recent years I’ve come to believe that the traditional church—and by that I don’t mean the Body of Christ—is a spent husk. In the centuries since God founded it, the church has wandered far from God’s original purpose. It has added layer upon layer of administrative, organizational, and judicial encrustations, just like all the legalisms the Pharisees of Jesus’ day added to Moses’ Law.

That’s why The Shack, with its unconventional depiction of God and intense discussions of true spirituality, has reached so many people both inside and outside the church. This amazing novel holds more truth than the majority of sermons on a host of Sunday mornings. It offers new wine in fresh wineskins in the same way I’m trying to do through my stories, through One Holy Night, my American Patriot Series, and in my current work-in-progress, Northkill.

No—I’m not trying to do this. God is driving me to do it, just as he’s driving increasing numbers of hungry believers away from what is essentially empty calories so they can feast on true food. That’s why my husband and I also find ourselves pretty much on the outside of the established church. Only authentic spirituality with its total openness to God’s presence results in spiritual power that changes people from the inside out. Only a deep, loving relationship with the Father enables us to love in the same way God does and through that love to bring real heart change to a lost and hurting world.

Organizations are not able to do this. Organizations are by their nature impersonal and inescapably defective because they’re a creation of defective, limited human beings. Organizations cannot reach to the level of the human soul. Only God truly knows each individual’s heart and thus is able to minister true healing. But this is exactly where we humans always go astray. We insist on trying to organize the work of the Holy Spirit of God! We’re deaf to Jesus’ exhortation that the Spirit is like the wind. It moves as God wills and no one can tell where it goes or where it comes from! You can as easily control the wind as you can the true Body of Christ. To attempt to force the Spirit into the channels we think it should follow robs the Church of God’s power and inevitably wreaks destruction by separating human beings from the true Source of all meaning.

Jesus also told us that those who worship the Father must do so in spirit and in truth. Spirit and truth are rarely found in the church today, at least here in the United States. What we find are a multitude of empty activities to keep us busy, along with entertainment to distract us from what’s missing—God’s Spirit and God’s power! Only a relationship with the Creator of the universe can make available to us true love and healing and eternity. Imagine having access to the power Elijah received in 1 Kings 19:8! He ate and drank of the spiritual food given him by the angel, and he ran in its strength for forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God. That same spiritual food is available to all those who serve God!

As I’m writing the stories—truly the vision—that God gives me, I feel that power, that anointing, that breath of the Holy Spirit blowing through me. I pray that these words will reach many readers and accomplish in their hearts and souls everything God wills. They are for his glory, not mine.

As my character Terry says in One Holy Night, “faith isn’t for the times when life is great and everything is going our way. It’s for the times when we’re up against the wall and there aren’t any answers, when it feels like God’s gone AWOL and is nowhere to be found—or at least he isn’t talking to us.”

Have you felt like that recently, my friend? If so, I wish for you that faith that will hold you through the worst life can throw at you and empower you to stand on unshaken rock. If you do not yet know God, or don’t know him in that fullness, I pray you will stop running from the Holy Spirit and allow him to gather you in his arms. Oh, come home to the wholeness and the blessed life God prepared you for from the very foundations of the earth! Drink deep of that Living Water and be healed!

Cross posted on the One Holy Night and American Patriot Series blogs.

American Christian Fiction Writers Conference and Book Signing

2008-09-09T19:08:00.001-07:00

I apologize for going to long between posts! I’ve been deep into production on both Wind of the Spirit, book 3 of my American Patriot Series, and the other Sheaf House spring release, My Son, John, by multi-published author Kathi Macias. And my good buddy Peg Phifer has been doing a top-down redesign of the Sheaf House Web site. On top of everything else, I’m trying to get ready for the American Christian Fiction Writers annual conference, which takes place in Minneapolis September 18-21.

The feature of the conference is a humongous book signing by 127 authors that will take place at the Mall of America in Bloomington from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday the 20th. There will be lots of giveaways and a number of author panels. I’ll be signing copies of One Holy Night. So there’s lots to plan for.

Two friends and I, who don’t much like to fly, chose the route of adventure and are taking a road trip. Three ladies and all their baggage in a car on a two-day trip to a writers conference and back again just sounds like tooooo much fun! We’re leaving the 17th and planning to make it home the 22nd. If all goes well. With 3 women driving cross-country in a car you just never know . . .

If you happen to be in the Minneapolis area on September 20, be sure to stop by at the book signing, and look for me! I'd love to chat with you!

The Fifth Quinquennial Hochstetler Gathering

2008-09-01T15:45:00.000-07:00

Recently I was privileged to present a seminar at the Fifth Quinquennial Hochstetler Family Gathering, held at Bethany Christian School in Goshen, Indiana, on Saturday, August 2, 2008.
This was the first time I’d attended the Gathering, which is hosted every five years by the Jacob Hochstetler Family Association. I've never heard of any families that have a formal organization, so I was kind of amazed when I discovered a few years ago that the Hochstetler family does. The focus of this organization is to promote the heritage of the large and diverse Hochstetler/Hostetler/Hochstedler clan.

I’ve only belonged to JHFA for a few years, so I’m still learning about the extent of the organization’s work and involvements, much of which revolves around genealogical and historical research. However, I’ve already found the quarterly newsletter, edited by Daniel E. Hochstetler, to be a veritable gold mine of helpful information in writing Northkill, the fictional version of our family’s seminal story. Of course, the foundations of my research are the two massive genealogical volumes The Descendents of Jacob Hochstetler (DJH) and The Descendents of Barbara Hochstedler and Christian Stutzman (DBH). Both contain early research done into the history of the immigrant Jacob Hochstetler and his family and include oral traditions and stories passed down from generation to generation.

The Gathering started off on Friday evening at Fair Haven Amish Mennonite Church with a delicious catered dinner, followed by the singing of hymns in German and a presentation by Ervin Stutzman on his experiences in writing his published stories about his mother. The next morning offered a number of workshops related to the history of the 1737 immigrant Jacob Hochstetler, his wife and children, and their descendents as well as the opportunity to work with genealogists to trace individual family trees.

A business meeting of the JHFA and a general meeting followed lunch. A wide variety of research and genealogical books and other materials along with Hochstetler-themed items were available for purchase throughout the day, including prints of the famous painting by artist Sam McCausland of the Indian Tom Lions who was involved in the well-known massacre of several of our family members during the French and Indian War.

My presentation was on writing your family stories as historical fiction, and I decided to turn it into a dialog with participants. In addition to outlining the process of writing Northkill and sharing research materials, I was delighted to hear details of other family member’s work on writing their family stories.

During this day and a half event I became acquainted with relations from all branches of the Hochstetler family I’d never met before and engaged in numerous fascinating conversations. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and sharing our faith and heritage in the heart of Amish country. My husband and I are already looking forward to the next Gathering five years from now!

Photos provided by Daniel L. Hostetler.