Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up. And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Author Suzanne Woods Fisher shares a story about the importance of the kitchen-family room in her book, Amish Peace.
Joe and Viola Byler live on a farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. On the first floor of their two-story Amish home is a kitchen-family room combination, warmed by wood stoves. “It’s the only room that’s heated,” Viola explains. ‘At night, the entire family gathers here. Everyone is together. The kids do their homework, Dad reads, I’ll be finishing up something in the kitchen.’ “
Suzanne asked, “Wouldn’t it be simple to heat the other rooms? Granted, I know most of the Amish don’t have central heating, but it couldn’t be that hard to lug a kerosene heater upstairs so the kids could study quietly. Would it?“
The answer comes swiftly….
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