I have read a lot of Amish stories. The way they live is intriguing to me. I am interested in how you go about life in today's world and don't do most of the things that today's world does. Well our trip to Amish Country burst my bubble a bit. The women were wearing the dresses like you expect, but they wore crocs, flip flops, and Nike on their feet. They have solar panels on their houses to charge the batteries that they use for their farm equipment and household appliances. The women were using weed eaters on their yards. And at any hour of the day or night they were out in their horse and buggy- now don't they need to be home getting their work done, or sleeping at night?! According to our hosts their way of life is so that they will remain dependent on their community. If you don't all have a tractor then you have to help each other with your work, if you all loook alike then there isn't competition to be better than the others. But it would appear that it is not working. Everyone seemed to have everything they needed. More and more are working outside of the home, because there is no more land to have big farms. It seems the Amish are having a 20th Century Crisis in the 21st Century. I realized they are having the same crisis that I am having. How do you be a Christian in a fallen world? How do you have a community of people that believe like you do, who can be part of the way you want to raise your children? My husband said the problem with the Amish is that they don't make Christianity a viable alternative. For most people it is not a possibility to live like they live. So how can I make Christianity a viable alternative to those around me? I am working on that daily.