Wanda Brunstetter

A Favorite Amish Recipe

Shalyn Sattler — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:27:59 +0000

Over the years, I have enjoyed so many delicious meals in Amish homes, and one of my favorite meals is called “Amish Haystack.” It’s a hardy meal and can be served when you have a crowd, or it’s just going to be a few people, depending how much of each ingredient you choose to prepare. Do you have a favorite meal that can serve more than a few people? Below is the recipe for Amish Haystack:

Ingredients

1/2 pound saltine crackers or one bag corn chips, crushed
2 cups cooked white or brown rice
2 heads lettuce, chopped
6-8 tomatoes, chopped
1 (6 ounce) can black olives, sliced
2 cups diced tomatoes
2 cups diced onions
2 cups diced green pepper
2 cups diced celery (optional)
1 quart cooked navy pinto beans, or chili
2 eggs, boiled and chopped up (optional)
2 cups chopped nuts (optional)
3 pounds ground beef, browned
1 (16 ounce) jar Ragu spaghetti sauce (or salsa, which is what I use.)
2 cans cream of cheddar soup
1 (14 ounce) can condensed milk (I personally prefer it without the cheddar soup and use shredded cheese instead as a topping.)

Directions

Put all ingredients into separate containers.
If using cheddar soup, mix soup and milk together in a saucepan and heat.
Add the Ragu sauce or salsa to brown ground beef and heat.
Each person will serve up their own plate, layering the items in order given, making a “haystack.”
Pour cheese sauce and your favorite salad dressing on the top and enjoy!

Note: This recipe serves 12-14 people.

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Pray Without Ceasing

Shalyn Sattler — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 13:38:16 +0000

The Bible tells us in I Thessalonians 5:17: “Pray without ceasing.” That doesn’t mean we are required to pray ever single minute of the day, but we can stay connected to God in prayer anytime of the day or night. We don’t have to set aside a certain time every day to pray. We can offer our prayers silently or out loud, whenever have a request or simply want to praise the Lord for His many blessings and for answered prayer.

My great-grandson asked me recently, why we pray before meals. My response was that praying before meals is our chance to thank God for the food He provides for us, and we often ask Him to bless the food to the needs of our bodies. I also explained that we don’t pray only at mealtime, but we have the privilege of praying anytime we have a need or want to praise Him.

Has God answered a prayer you have prayed lately? Do you have a prayer request you would like others to pray about with you?

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A Time to Remember

Shalyn Sattler — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Today marks the first anniversary of my husband’s passing from this earth into his heavenly home. The grieving process, although not as painful as it was in the early months after his death, is still with me, rearing it’s remorseful head from time to time, when I least expect it. Sometimes the memories that were made during the 62 years we were married brings a smile to my lips, or even a good laugh when I think about some of the fun things we did together or with our two children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Other times, the memory of having lost Richard, brings tears to my eyes. I have learned that it’s normal and healthy to grieve the loss of a loved one, but it can also be quite painful—especially if regrets begin to creep in for things that you wish had been said or done differently while the person was alive.

Although I miss my husband very much, I feel joyful and am thankful that Richard was a Christian. I have a sense of peace, knowing he’s with our Lord and Savior, and that someday we will be reunited.

How have you dealt with the loss of a loved one? Moving forward, have you been able to find a purpose and some joy, as you know they would want you to do?

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Our Purpose

Shalyn Sattler — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 15:17:04 +0000

We all need a purpose—a reason to get up in the morning and face a new day. For those who have family members still living at home, the determination to begin the new day might be to fix breakfast or some other meal for the family. For those who have a job outside the home, or even the ones who work from home, their purpose for getting up might be to do what is necessary in order to prepare for their workday.

I believe that God made each and every one of us with a purpose, and no matter what it is, we need to do it well, as unto the Lord. If we live for Him, and do our best to be the person He wants us to be, then we will be filled with a purpose.

Since I became a Christian many years ago, I have always felt that my purpose was to share the love of God with others. This includes the stories I write, which always includes a spiritual application and some verses from God’s Word that are applicable in my characters’ lives.

My ultimate purpose is to know God and glorify Him in everything I do. Colossians 3:23 (KJV) says: “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.”

Do you have a purpose that encourages you to not only get up each morning, but to face each day with a need to serve God in some special way?

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The Benefits of Reading

Shalyn Sattler — Mon, 18 May 2026 15:07:05 +0000

One thing I’ve noticed about most of my Amish friends, both women and men, is that they like to read. Many of them have told me that they enjoy reading because it takes them to places they haven’t been able to visit. Some have said that reading is a good way to relax. One of my non-Amish readers recently told me that when she reads one of my Amish-themed novels, she is drawn into the lives of my Amish settings and characters, making her feel as if she’s almost right there with them.

I enjoy writing about the Amish way of life for the same reason I love spending time with my many Amish friends. Whether I’m writing an Amish novel, or absorbing the Amish way when I’m in an Amish friend’s home, or they are visiting mine, I’m always relaxed and feeling a sense of peace.

I also like to read and write historical novels, because the storylines take me to a time and place I have never been before.

What do you enjoy most about reading books? Is it about learning something new, relaxing, or something else?

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Misunderstandings

Shalyn Sattler — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:52:31 +0000

Recently something I wrote in one of my newsletters was taken out of context by a person who received the newsletter. She made assumptions and said some hurtful things to me, without knowing the full details or asking for information. This occurrence caused me to think about how easy misunderstandings and judgmental comments can happen. I responded to the email with the best intentions of trying to resolve the situation, along with a sincere apology but the person who had sent her angry comments to me did not respond. Since there was no response, all I could do was turn the matter over to God and pray for the person who sent me the message.

Have you ever said or done something that was misunderstood by someone? If so, how did you handle the situation?

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Bittersweet Memories

Shalyn Sattler — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 18:55:54 +0000

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word, “Bittersweet” is defined as “being at once bitter and sweet, especially pleasant but including or marked by elements of suffering or regret.”

Basically, a bittersweet feeling is a mixed emotional state combining happiness and sadness at the same time. It represents joy of a memory, tempered by sadness that it has now passed.

Since the passing of my husband, I have had many bittersweet memories that included being at certain places where the two of us had gone, and thinking about certain things that occurred during the years we spent together as husband and wife.

My husband’s recent birthday was one of those days filled with bittersweet memories. It helped to talk about him and focus on the happy times we used to share.

Although some of the bittersweet memories have brought me to tears, they have also helped in my emotional healing as I continue to walk a new path without him.

Have there been any bittersweet moments in your life recently? If so, how did you cope with them?

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The Best Medicine

Shalyn Sattler — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:21:43 +0000

We all have days, weeks, or sometimes even months when we feel sad due to unexpected things that occur in our life. A feeling of sadness is normal, especially during the loss of someone we love. Sickness, financial difficulties, or relationships that have gone sour can also cause us to feel sad. However, if those feelings linger too long, despair and depression can take over. God’s Word has plenty to say on this topic. For instance, one of my favorite Bible verses, which is found in Proverbs 17:22 (NIV) says: “A cheerful heart is good medicine; but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

We don’t feel well emotionally, or physically, when we are sad all the time. It’s harder to function when despair sets in. Positive thoughts are replaced with negative ones, and a feeling of hopelessness can drag us down spiritually.

The Bible also has something to say about what we should do when sadness lingers too long or we are in a negative mood. Philippians 4:8 (KJV) says: “Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report: if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Here’s what I do when I’m absorbed in sadness for too long: I pray, spend time in God’s Word, sing praise songs, spend time with positive people who make me smile and laugh, and focus on beautiful things God created, like a sunrise, sunset, birds chirping happily in my yard, and the list goes on.

What do you do when sadness takes over for too long? Is there something special that brings joy back into your life?

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One Day at a Time

Shalyn Sattler — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:23:22 +0000

As the days keep moving on in this New Year, and I work on my next book, scheduled to come out later this year, it’s easy to get overwhelmed when things go wrong or there are too many interruptions. Sometimes other issues pop up that need my attention, and it temporarily slows my writing schedule down. If you’re wondering how I deal with it and still manage to get everything done, it’s fairly simple—I take one day at a time. Sometimes, it’s one hour at a time, or even one minute at a time. We aren’t promised tomorrow, but it’s what we do today that counts.

In Matthew 6:34 (KJV), it says, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.”

How do you deal with the challenges of life? Have you learned to take one day at a time, or do you worry about tomorrow and wonder how you’ll get everything done?

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Regrets

Shalyn Sattler — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 16:18:51 +0000

With a New Year beginning, and an old year left behind, it’s sometimes easier to focus on a person’s regrets about not doing all the things they had planned to do in the previous year. Or some might dwell upon the regrets of not doing or saying what they should have in the old year, rather than focusing on the opportunity to say or do things in a better way during the New Year.

After losing my husband last summer, which I’m sure, is part of the grieving process, there have been a few times when I’ve thought about some things I could have said or done differently over the years, or even during the days shortly before his passing. But then, I must call myself up short, knowing that I did my best, and so I change my focus to remembering many of the good times we had together, and how we kept the promises we had made to each other when we said our wedding vows. I also think about the last words Richard and I spoke to each other, less than 24 hours before his death. We kissed one final time, and both said, “I love you.” That is most certainly worth focusing on, don’t you think?

How about you? Are you looking forward to what lies ahead in the New Year, and leaving any regrets from the previous year behind?

In Philippians 3:13&14, this is what God’s Word says about regrets: “but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

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