The Timepiece by Beverly Lewis

 

The Timepiece by Beverly Lewis - 336 pages

As the only daughter, Sylvia Miller of The Tinderbox has always held a special place in her Old Order family, one Adeline Pelham jeopardizes when she shows up at the Millers' Hickory Hollow farm. It isn't that Adeline means to be a threat, but her very existence is a reminder of the painful secret that has so recently upended the Miller household. And with Sylvia and her mother still struggling to come to terms with that news, this is a challenging time to welcome an Englisher--especially this Englisher--into their midst.

Despite the Millers' unexpected hospitality, Adeline is well aware that she's treading on Sylvia's turf, and she feels guilty about doing so when Sylvia is grappling with issues of her own. Not only is Sylvia trying to rebuild her trust in her father, but she's uncertain what to make of her once-promising engagement to Titus Kauffman, who hasn't pursued her since she confronted him. Adeline wishes she could help Sylvia, but she's not sure that either she or Sylvia is ready for that level of closeness in their relationship.

Can God make something good come out of the mistakes of the past? Or does Adeline's
arrival mark one too many surprises for the Millers and their Amish community?

I am normally a horror/thriller reader but I challenged myself to read different genres, so this is what I chose for Inspirational.  To be honest, I really did enjoy it, and when I need a nice, calming palate cleanser after reading a few startling horror books I'll probably pick up more of her books.

The Heirloom by Beverly Lewis

 The Heirloom by Beverly Lewis - 314 pages

 

After her widowed father remarries, nineteen-year-old Clara Bender is no longer needed to help run his household. Marriage seems like her best hope of moving out, but there are few young men in her tiny Indiana Amish community. When she comes across letters from her mother's aunt Ella Mae Zook, she sets off to visit Lancaster County's Hickory Hollow to decide where her future lies.

Ella Mae is not quite ready to move from the farmhouse where she and her recently deceased husband spent over fifty happy years, but her children are eager to resettle her, making Clara's visit seem like an answer to prayer. The two women form a warm bond while restoring an heirloom wedding quilt and sharing their lives, with Ella Mae confiding about a tragedy from her courting years. Eventually, Ella Mae suggests Clara stay for the summer, allowing Ella Mae more time with her and giving Clara an opportunity to meet the area's eligible young men. But when the unexpected happens, will Clara find where her heart truly belongs?

The Orchard by Beverly Lewis

 The Orchard by Beverly Lewis - 344 pages

"She realized there was peace right here in the midst of this heavenly sort of place, despite the unpredictable storm churning around her family."

For generations, Ellie Hostetler's family has tended their Lancaster County orchard, a tradition her twin brother, Evan, will someday continue. Yet when Evan's draft number is called up in the lottery for the Vietnam War, the family is shocked to learn he has not sought conscientious objector status, despite their Old Order Amish belief in non-resistance. The faraway war that has caused so much turmoil and grief among their Englisher neighbors threatens too close to home.

As Evan departs for boot camp, Ellie confides her disappointment to Sol Bontrager, the brother of her best friend and cousin to her new beau, Menno. In contrast to Evan, Sol is a conscientious objector. Despite Ellie's attraction to Menno, she finds herself drawn to Sol's steady presence as they work together in the orchard. Suddenly, it feels as if everything in Ellie's world is shifting, and the plans she held so dear seem increasingly uncertain. Can she and her family find the courage to face a future unlike any they could have imagined?

The Beginning by Beverly Lewis

 The Beginning by Beverly Lewis - 344 pages

Susie Mast's Amish life in Lancaster County has been shaped by events beyond her control, with the tragic deaths of her Dat and close-in-age brother casting long shadows. Now twenty-two, Susie remains unmarried despite her longtime affection for friend Obie Yoder. 

Unfortunately, her concerns are soon multiplied due to her mother's worsening health and her younger sister's urgent desire for answers about her adoption. Once again, Susie faces the possibility of loss. Will long-held family secrets and missed opportunities dim Susie's hopes for the future? Or is what seems like the end only the beginning?

Once again, Beverly Lewis has come through with a thoughtful, yet realistic book about life. Her ability to speak to her readers about life, and keeping their faith, that God has a plan and if we follow His lead, he will be faithful to us, astounds me everytime I open one of her books.    

The Stone Wall by Beverly Lewis

 The Stone Wall by Beverly Lewis - 347 pages

Anna is eager to begin a new chapter in her life as a Lancaster County tour guide in the picturesque area where her Plain grandmother once stayed. Anna wishes she could talk with her grandmother about those long-ago days, but the elderly woman suffers from Alzheimer's, and beyond a vague hint about an old stone wall, much about that time is a mystery. Thankfully, Martin Nolt, a handsome Mennonite, takes the young Beachy Amish woman under his wing for her training, familiarizing her with the many local highlights, including Peaceful Meadows Horse Retreat, which serves children with special needs. The retreat's mission so inspires Anna that she returns to volunteer, and she quickly strikes up a friendship with Gabe Allgyer, the young Amish widower who manages it. 

As Anna grows closer to both Martin and Gabe, she finds herself faced with a difficult choice--one in potential conflict with the expectations of her parents. Will Anna find true love and the truth about her grandmother's past in Lancaster County? Or will she find only heartbreak? 

The Timepiece by Beverly Lewis

The Timepiece by Beverly Lewis - 326 pages


As the only daughter, Sylvia Miller of The Tinderbox has always held a special place in her Old Order family, one Adeline Pelham jeopardizes when she shows up at the Millers' Hickory Hollow farm. It isn't that Adeline means to be a threat, but her very existence is a reminder of the painful secret that has so recently upended the Miller household. And with Sylvia and her mother still struggling to come to terms with that news, this is a challenging time to welcome an Englisher--especially this Englisher--into their midst.

Despite the Millers' unexpected hospitality, Adeline is well aware that she's treading on Sylvia's turf, and she feels guilty about doing so when Sylvia is grappling with issues of her own. Not only is Sylvia trying to rebuild her trust in her father, but she's uncertain what to make of her once-promising engagement to Titus Kauffman, who hasn't pursued her since she confronted him. Adeline wishes she could help Sylvia, but she's not sure that either she or Sylvia is ready for that level of closeness in their relationship.

Can God make something good come out of the mistakes of the past? Or does Adeline's 
arrival mark one too many surprises for the Millers and their Amish community?

The Tinderbox by Beverly Lewis

The Tinderbox by Beverly Lewis - 306 pages

With her Amish parents' twentieth anniversary approaching, eighteen-year-old Sylvia Miller stumbles across a surprise--the old brass tinderbox her clockmaker father keeps in his Lancaster County shop has been left unlocked. Against her better judgment, Sylvia opens the cherished heirloom, not realizing that what she is about to discover will splinter apart her happy life. 

Sylvia's bewilderment grows when her father confronts her about snooping in the box. To her amazement, the respected convert to the Old Order reacts as if he has something to hide.

Burdened by the weight of his deception, Earnest Miller decides he must reveal the details about his past to his beloved wife, Rhoda. The long-kept secret alters everything for the close-knit family, jeopardizing Earnest and Rhoda's relationship, as well as threatening Sylvia's recent engagement to the preacher's grandson.

Can the Millers find a way forward through the turmoil to a place of forgiveness and acceptance?

The First Love by Beverly Lewis

The First Love by Beverly Lewis - 304 pages

It's the summer of 1951, and Maggie Esh is in need of some hope. Sweet-spirited and uncommonly pretty despite struggling with chronic illness, she is used to being treated kindly by the young men of her Old Order Amish church district. Yet Maggie wishes she were more like other courting-age girls so she could live a normal, healthy life.

To make matters more complicated, Dat has recently remarried, less than a year after her mother died. And while her stepmother is kind, Rachel is much younger than Mamm, and she simply doesn't understand Maggie or her illness the way Mamm did.

When tent revival meetings come to the area, Maggie is curious, and the words of the Mennonite preacher challenge her to reconsider what she knows about faith. Can she learn to trust God even when hope seems a distant dream?

The Road Home by Beverly Lewis

The Road Home by Beverly Lewis - 316 pages

Sent from Michigan to Pennsylvania following the tragic death of her Amish parents, Lena Rose Schwartz grieves her loss and the separation from her nine siblings. Beside the fact that Lena has never been so far from home, she hasn't met the family she will now be living with. But worse than that is having to live apart from her close-knit brothers and sisters.

 How will they manage without her to care for them--especially six-year-old Chris? And will her new beau, Hans Bontrager, continue to court her despite the many miles between them?

The Proving by Beverly Lewis

The Proving by Beverly Lewis - 342 pages


Amanda Dienner hasn't seen her Old Order family in five years when she receives word that her mother has passed away and left her Lancaster County's most popular Amish bed-and-breakfast. Now an Englisher, Mandy is shocked: Her twin sister should have been the obvious choice! What's more, the inheritance comes with a catch: The farmhouse inn will only truly be hers if she is able to successfully run it for twelve consecutive months.

Mandy accepts the challenge even though it means returning to Gordonville and the painful memories she left behind at eighteen. Still, she's determined to prove she is more than capable of running the bed-and-breakfast, no matter that its loyal clientele are expecting an Amish hostess! 

The inn isn't Mandy's sole test, however. Rubbing shoulders with her married twin sister reopens wounds that Mandy isn't ready to forgive. And an Englisher guest with a difficult past of her own just complicates matters. 

Can Mandy fulfill the terms of her inheritance? Or will this year in Amish country prove a dreadful mistake?

The Ebb Tide by Beverly Lewis

The Ebb Tide by Beverly Lewis - pages 328




Sallie Riehl has dreamed of traveling at least once before settling down to join church, so she is thrilled at an unexpected summer opportunity to nanny in Cape May for a well-to-do family. However, saying even a temporary good-bye to Paradise Township means forgoing baptism another year, as well as leaving behind a would-be beau. Yet the weeks in Cape May soon prove unforgettable as Sallie meets a Mennonite young man whose friendship she quickly begins to cherish. Has she been too hasty with her promises, or will she only find what her heart is longing for back home?

The Wish - Beverly Lewis

The Wish by Beverly Lewis - 326 pages

Leona Speicher got the "sister" she'd always dreamed of the day Gloria Gingerich and her family moved to Lancaster County Amish farmland. The Arkansas newcomers seem to be everything a devout Plain family should be, and Leona can't help comparing Gloria's engaging young parents to her own.

Leona's cousin shows a romantic interest in Gloria around the same time as Gloria's older brother expresses his fondness for Leona--it seems likely the two young women will marry into each other's families, remaining close friends for life. Thus, Leona is shocked when the Gingeriches suddenly pack up and disappear after being expelled from the church for reasons no one will discuss. Despite Leona's pleas, Gloria goes with them, leaving more than one broken heart behind.

When Gloria unexpectedly contacts Leona after a silence of several years, Leona makes up her mind to persuade her friend to return to Lancaster County and the Amish ways. Leona's fiancé, the deacon's son, is alarmed when Leona decides to go after Gloria. Will Leona's dearest wish lead to her own undoing?

The Atonement by Beverly Lewis

The Atonement by Beverly Lewis - 325 pages

The mistakes of the past haunt Lucy Flaud, now twenty-five and beyond Amish courting age. Instead, Lucy focuses on volunteering in both the Plain and fancy communities of Lancaster County. Yet no matter how hard she strives, she never feels she's doing enough. Then her father strikes up an unexpected friendship with an Englischer in search of a simpler way of life. Lucy forms a connection of her own with the thoughtful young man even as she rejects courtship with her longtime Amish friend. Is it too late to embrace redemption . . . and the power of love?

The Photograph by Beverly Lewis

The Photograph by Beverly Lewis - 314 pages




Eva Esch and her sisters are in a predicament. With the passing of their widowed mother, Eva's older brother Menno plans to move his growing family into the Eden Valley farmhouse where they all grew up, leaving little room for his three single sisters. Surely, Menno reasons, at least one of them will marry this coming wedding season. Eva does hope to marry, but she isn't sure she wants to give up her sweet shop for the life of a farmer's wife, and she has no other prospects.

When younger sister, Lily, disappears in the night, leaving only a brief note, Eva fears she has been wooed away from the People by an outsider. And when Jed Stutzman, a young Amish buggy maker from Ohio, shows up in Lancaster with a photo of a Plain young woman, Eva's world begins to tilt. She feels powerfully drawn to the quietly charming stranger--but the woman in the forbidden photograph is no stranger at all. . . .

The Love Letters by Beverly Lewis

The Love Letters by Beverly Lewis - 345 pages

Old Order Marlena Wenger is spending the summer with her Mennonite grandmother. Along the way she makes New Order friends. Unexpectedly, her sister has an accident and with her brother-in-law in Vietnam, Marlena is asked to care for their infant.  As she goes to church with her grandmother and learns more about a relationship with Jesus, her Old Order beau starts asking her to abandon her niece, stay away from her grandmother's church and her new friends. She is determined to keep focused on her future and doing her best for her niece, even as her hopes become drastically altered.

The River by Beverly Lewis

The River by Beverly Lewis - 316 pages.


She looked once more at the dreaded river. Since Anna's death, it had been such a barrier . . . a place and a moment she could not seem to move past.



Tilly and Ruth, two formerly Amish sisters, are plagued by unresolved relationships when they reluctantly return to Lancaster County for their parents' landmark wedding anniversary. Since departing their Plain upbringing, Tilly has married an Englisher, but Ruth remains single and hasn't entirely forgotten her failed courtship with her Amish beau.

Past meets present as Tilly and Ruth yearn for acceptance and redemption. Can they face the future in the light of a past they can't undo?

The Last Bride by Beverly Lewis

The Last Bride by Beverly Lewis - 330 pages



Old Order Amish Tessie Miller and Marcus King are in love.  Against Tessie's parents wishes, they elope to the English world, then return to their homes to live as singles, trusting they'll convince Tessie's parents to give their love a chance.  But then the unthinkable happens and Tessie is on her own with no proof of their marriage and a baby on the way.  Will she face almost certain censure from the People or will she find a reason to hope in a new love?

"The Secret Keeper" by Beverly Lewis

"The Secret Keeper" by Beverly Lewis - 343 pages

This is the fourth book in Beverly Lewis' Home to Hickory Hollow series.  Jennifer Burns shocks everyone when she bids farewell to her modern life in favor of the Old Order Amish world.  She settles in with Samuel and Rebecca Lapp, who have lost their own adopted daughter to the "bann" for leaving the church.  The people of Hickory Hollow are curious about the young seeker, one young man in particular.  Jenny faces many challenges in the Proving time that the brethren have set for her, Challenges of the heart as well as the spirit.

"The Guardian" by Beverly Lewis

"The Guardian" by Beverly Lewis -  341 pages




This is the 3rd in the Home to Hickory Hollow Series by Beverly Lewis.  The story is about Jodi Winfield who comes to Lancaster to house sit for her cousin.  One morning out on a run, she finds a little girl on the side of the road.  The child, unable to speak English and Jodi, unable to speak German cannot communicate.  She contacts the police and find that there are no reports of a missing child.  It is suggested that she go and ask the Amish Bishop if he knows of anyone missing.  As she gets close to her destination, the little girl, Sarah, is able to direct Jodi to her house.  Jodi, who had lost her sister a year earlier, has had a hard time forgiving God.  Find out how Sarah's mother, a young widow with 4 small children and a strong faith in God, lead Jodi to seek His wisdom and plan for her life.

"The Bridesmaid" by Beverly Lewis

"The Bridesmaid" by Beverly Lewis - 314 pages

This is the third book in Beverly Lewis' Home to Hickory Hollow series.  Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.  This is what Joanna Kurtz hears from her sister as she is asked for the third time to be a bridesmaid.  She is a secret writer, the Amish church not wanting her to make up stories, and has a beau that lives in Indiana.  While she waits for her beau to be able to move to Pennsylvania, she tries to keep her stories a secret.  Will she be able to keep her story writing a secret, will her beau be able to move to Pennsylvania and will her faith strong enough to help her wait?