Audra Jennings

The Spirit of Holy Joy By Darla Weaver Excerpt adapted from Gathering of Sisters by Darla Weaver. ©2018 Herald Press, used with permission. In one way or another, most of the month is geared toward Christmas. Christmas cards and letters, Christmas cookies and treats of all shapes and sizes and colors, Christmas carol singings and programs at school. Somehow it’s fitting to wrap up the old year with the spirit of Christmas as a celebration of the birth of Jesus, and to take the memory of that happy occasion over two thousand years ago along into the new year. Not the commercialization of holidays minus Christ, perhaps, but a joyous acknowledgment of the baby who was born once so that we could be born again into his kingdom. For the birth of the baby who was King is only the beginning. The manger is the prelude to the cross, just as Bethlehem always leads to Golgotha on Good Friday. For the divine baby of the virgin birth, who slept in the feed trough of an ox or d...

Thanksgiving: It’s a heart condition By Darla Weaver Excerpt adapted from Gathering of Sisters by Darla Weaver. ©2018 Herald Press, used with permission. Toward the end of the month we turned our attention to Thanksgiving and the meal we were all sharing at Regina’s house after church services in the morning. Nathan would be home from Alaska, the harvest season was over for another year, and Thanksgiving was marked on the calendar. It was time to thank God for family, for freedom, for food and shelter and all the abundant blessings he showered upon us daily, hourly. Food, of course, is the main element of the Thanksgiving meal. In the weeks before Thanksgiving, our conversation centers there quite often, and on such enthralling topics as holiday turkey prices, and whether Butterball brand turkeys are better than any other brand. “I need to copy your recipe for cranberry salad,” one of us will say to Mom. And: “If a recipe asks for heavy cream, is that the same...

Part 2 of an interview with Darla Weaver, Author of Gathering of Sisters Darla Weaver grew up the oldest of nine children in a five-bedroom farmhouse her parents still live in to this day. The house was always brimming with life and laughter, and some inevitable sadness. All the children grew up, and the five sisters eventually all had their weddings there at the house. Home held a special place in the hearts of all of them, especially the sisters, and still does to this day. No matter how busy life becomes with raising children, chores and work, everything is set aside one day a week. Once a week Darla Weaver hitches up her spirited mare, bundles her children into the buggy, and drives six miles to the farm where she grew up. There she gathers with her four sisters and their children for a day with their mother. In Gathering of Sisters : A Year with My Old Order Mennonite Family (Herald Press ) , Weaver writes about her horse-and-buggy Mennonite family and the weekly ...

Part 1 of an interview with Darla Weaver, Author of Gathering of Sisters Once a week Darla Weaver hitches up her spirited mare, bundles her children into the buggy, and drives six miles to the farm where she grew up. There she gathers with her four sisters and their children for a day with their mother. In Gathering of Sisters: A Year with My Old Order Mennonite Family (Herald Press), Weaver writes about her horse-and-buggy Mennonite family and the weekly women’s gatherings that keep them connected. On warm days, the children play and fish and build houses of hay in the barn. In the winter, everyone stays close to the woodstove, with puzzles and games and crocheting. No matter the weather, the Tuesday get-togethers of this Old Order Mennonite family keep them grounded and centered in their love for God and for each other, even when raising an occasional loving but knowing eyebrow at each other. Over the twelve chapters of the book, Weaver shares the activities and t...

Welcome to the blog tour for Darla Weaver's Gathering of Sisters Now available from Herald Press About the book: Spend a day with sisters.   Once a week Darla Weaver bundles her children into the buggy, hitches up her spirited mare, and drives six miles to the farm where she grew up. There she gathers with her four sisters and their children for a day with their mother. In  Gathering of Sisters,  Weaver writes about her horse-and-buggy Mennonite family and the weekly women’s gatherings that keep them connected. On warm days, the children play and fish and build houses of hay in the barn. In the winter, everyone stays close to the woodstove, with puzzles and games and crocheting. No matter the weather, the Tuesday get-togethers of this Old Order Mennonite family keep them grounded and centered in their love for God and for each other, even when raising an occasional loving but knowing eyebrow at each other.   The rest of the week is full...

Darla Weaver shares a year in the life of her Old Order Mennonite Family Darla Weaver grew up the oldest of nine children in a five-bedroom farmhouse her parents still live in to this day. The house was always brimming with life and laughter, and some inevitable sadness. All the children grew up, and the five sisters eventually all had their weddings there at the house. Home held a special place in the hearts of all of them, especially the sisters, and still does to this day. No matter how busy life becomes with raising children, chores and work, everything is set aside one day a week. Once a week Darla Weaver hitches up her spirited mare, bundles her children into the buggy, and drives six miles to the farm where she grew up. There she gathers with her four sisters and their children for a day with their mother. In Gathering of Sisters : A Year with My Old Order Mennonite Family (Herald Press/September 25, 2018/ISBN:...

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