There are a few times in life when something happens you didn’t expect that blows you away! I had that happen to me, and I want YOU to help me celebrate.
Rebecca’s Amish Heart Restored won the 2023 Faith, Hope & Love Reader’s Choice Award.
I don’t put much stock in awards and accolades, especially when my only goal as a writer is to offer books that lift my readers up and show them there is always a better way through Christ. If it weren’t for God giving me the ability to craft a story, I wouldn’t be writing this email. But he did, and I love sharing that gift with you. Just as much as I love being able to share this special offer with you.
I have ten copies of Rebecca’s story in my office, and I am giving them away to the first ten readers who click on this offer. (They will go fast, so act quickly.)
Claim your free copy here>>
Rebecca’s Amish Heart Restored
The rhythmic movement of Rebecca Byler’s spinning wheel picked up speed as she thought about her run-in with her younger schwester, Emma. In all her twenty-three years, she’d never been more aggravated than she was at that moment. When the roving of alpaca fiber she let slide through her thumb and index finger hit a clump of dark matter, she pulled back and let the draft of yarn fall to the floor. “Ugh! I don’t have time for this.”
Rebecca’s twin, Anna, stopped the drum roller and turned her way. “Now what?”
“I’m still finding bits of hay in the roving. You’re not getting it clean enough.”
Anna stooped down and picked up the tan cloud of fiber and held it toward the light of the window. “I don’t see anything.”
“I felt it. Look closer.”
Anna held it out. “I don’t see a thing; show me.”
Rebecca waved her off. “Just be more careful when you’re picking and carding. We can’t afford to have our customers complain our yarn isn’t clean enough.”
Anna threw the clump back in the carding box and asked, “What’s got you all worked up today?”
Irritation crept up Rebecca’s neck as she replayed the argument that she had at the bakery earlier that morning. “Can you believe Emma had the nerve to tell me I was hateful?”
“Why did she say that?”
“Things would be so much better around here if she would’ve stayed in Sugarcreek.”
Anna tilted her head. “I bet you provoked her. It doesn’t sound like something Emma would say.”
Rebecca snarled, “Why do you always insist on taking her side?”
“I’m not taking anyone’s side, but I know how you get.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You tell me. You’ve been harping on Emma for months and nit-picking about every little thing. If you don’t watch it, word is going to get back to datt, and then you’ll really have something to fuss about.”
“Me? It’s Emma who should be worried. I don’t know what she and Samuel are up to, but they’ve got something they’re hiding, and I’ll figure it out one way or another.”
“Rebecca, why are you so set on causing them trouble?”
“She’s the one who thinks she’s better than everyone else.”
“How do you figure?”
“Think about it. First, she runs off to Sugarcreek to spend time with her birth family and leaves Mamm when she needed her most. In my books, Mamm would still be alive if she hadn’t spent the last few months of her life worrying about Emma. Next, she strings Samuel along for months only to come back assuming he’d drop everything and take her back.”
Anna laid a cloud of fiber in front of the teeth of the drum. She turned the handle to feed the batt through, combing it in long, smooth batches. “Why are you harping on this? That was three years ago.”
“Because it was the start of her prancing around like we all owe her something.”
“You’re exaggerating. Emma doesn’t act like that at all. You don’t give her enough credit. How do you think you would have felt if you found out Mamm and Datt weren’t really your parents after sixteen years?”
Rebecca snarled, “Elated that she wasn’t really my schwester!”
Anna gasped. “You take that back. You don’t really mean it.”
“I won’t, and I do.”
“You are hateful, and I can see why Emma said that to you. You best take your attitude to the Lord before it gets you in trouble.”
The bell above the door to their father’s shop jingled, and Rebecca snapped, “I’ll get it.”
Their father built a room off the side of his furniture shop for them to sell the yarn they produced from the alpacas raised on their farm. A divider kept the washing, sorting, and spinning area separate from the display floor and the customers. In the two years since they’d opened their store, Stitch ‘n Time, their alpaca and specialty wool yarns had become a popular stop for both the Amish and English. They even started offering hand-made products, on consignment, from the women in their community.
Rebecca made her way around two spinning wheels and pulled the curtain aside to step out into the store. Their father had built display racks along the outside wall to hold the hand-dyed fiber. An array of baskets sat on the worktable in the middle of the room that contained mittens, hats, socks, and scarves available for sale. Canisters of different sized crochet hooks and knitting needles adorned the counter by the cash register.
It didn’t take her but a second to recognize Samuel’s broad shoulders and wisps of hair that flipped up from behind his straw hat. “Samuel?”
He turned toward her and in an irritated tone, stated, “I’d like a word with you.”
“What about?”
“Let’s step outside.”
Her lip turned upward before saying, “The porch? Not so sure that would be the honorable thing to do with your wife’s schwester.”
“I’m in no mood for your shenanigans,” he moved her way and whispered, “I can air your dirty laundry right here so Anna and your datt can hear, or we can take this outside.”
She moved to the door and to the far end of the porch. “So, what is so important that we had to come out here?”
“We can start with your visit to the bakery this morning. Don’t you think Emma’s had enough to deal with the last six months? She doesn’t need your verbal abuse to add to it.”
Rebecca crossed her arms over her chest. “I only spoke the truth.”
“I don’t believe a word that comes from your mouth. It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve stirred up trouble for your own benefit.”
She snapped her head in his direction. “Like I’ve said before, if you bring any of that back up, I’ll tell your sweet little Emma exactly how her wonder boy behaved while she was away.”
He moved closer and snarled, “Don’t threaten me.”
She backed up. “Ohhh …did I hit a nerve?”
“Don’t think for a minute that I’ll stand by and watch you harass my wife. Whatever you think she’s done is no concern of yours, and I’ll warn you one last time. Keep your snide remarks and accusations to yourself.”
“Or what? You’ll tell whom, the bishop?”
“I mean it, Rebecca, don’t go there.”
Rebecca walked back to the door, held her hand on the knob, and said, “The way I see it, you have a lot more to lose than I do.”
He walked toward her, stopped at her shoulder, and muttered in her ear. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve already made my peace with God …have you?”
She snapped back. “But have you made your peace with my schwester?”
He didn’t respond to her question but walked off the porch and into his waiting buggy.
Her nails dug into the palm of her hand, and she clenched her teeth at his comment. She’d kept his secret for years, holding onto it until just the right time when it could cause the most pain. If he thought for one minute that, she wouldn’t use it to get her revenge, then he was sadly mistaken. If she planned it right, her little schwester would be sorry she ever stepped foot back in Willow Springs.
Rebecca’s personality is anything other than the typical sweet Amish woman. Her past continues to haunt her as she struggles to not allow others to come to close to her. She is definitely in need of something in her life that will help her chart a better course for her future.
If you enjoy Amish fiction filled with flawed characters, you will want to read Rebecca’s Amish Heart Restored. Rebecca is not the typical Amish young lady as she’s harsh, harbors secrets, and will not allow anyone to get close. Throughout this beautiful tale, meet individuals who truly cared and understood what Rebecca needed most in her life. The story is complex with dimensional loving characters who desired to truly follow Biblical teaching with plenty of twists and turns within their lives.
I love this author’s books because she gives us real-life situations in which her characters experience deep struggles that help us identify with them as individuals. She shows her deep respect for the Amish and their chosen lifestyle, yet she also addresses the serious flaws in their religious beliefs. I thought this book was very well-written and found myself wanting to read “just one more chapter” to find out what was coming next for these characters.
