The Outsider was my first book set in my fictional Shaker village of Harmony Hill. The setting is clearly modeled on the Pleasant Hill Shaker Village in nearby Mercer County here in Kentucky. This first book came out in 2008 and was a finalist for the ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association) fiction book of the year. That was exciting for a book that took a while getting out there for readers. I really like the girl they picked for the cover. She looks just the way I imagined Gabrielle looking.
The Shakers were a very practical people who believed in “putting their hands to work and giving their hearts to God.” Here are some other Shaker sayings I’ve included in my various Shaker stories.
• Do your work as if you had a thousand years to live, and as if you were to die tomorrow. (This one has made it into most of my Shaker books.)
• He did not think when sowing those wild oats in his youth how uncomfortable the gritty oatmeal would prove to be for his aged teeth.
• Never wish a thing done; do it!
• It is just as much a duty to commend a person for doing well as it is to reprove him for doing ill. (I’m sure this one showed up somewhere.)
• A place for everything and everything in its place. (The Shakers did not abide with any kind of messes.)
• Our thoughts are character molds. They shape language and actions.
• None preaches better than the ant, and it says nothing. (I first used this one in The Outsider.)
• Engaged in thy duty, fear no danger. (Another favorite of my characters.)
• Happiness does not so much depend on circumstances as we think. Within our souls the foundations must abide.
Chance to Win a Book
I’m giving away some Shaker books to celebrate The Blessed being on special e-book sale for 99 cents or less, according to which e-book site you choose. Deadline for entries is midnight EST October 27, 2018 and I’ll pick three winners by random drawing. Entrants must be at least 18 years of age. Each time you comment on a new blog post, you get another entry. That can up your odds of winning a bit. Besides, I love to read your comments. Any comment will do for an entry, but it would be fun to hear your answer this question.
Which Shaker saying do you like best or do you remember from one of my stories?
Comments 38
Thanks for sharing these Shaker sayings and they really made me think. I especially like “Happiness does not so much depend on circumstances as we think. Within our souls the foundations must abide”. I have always heard that happiness is external and is affected by circumstances but Joy is internal and circumstances cannot steal our Joy.
Ann, I have just discovered your books and have not read any of the Shaker books yet. But I enjoyed the sayings in your post, and my favorite one is “It is just as much a duty to commend a person for doing well as it is to reprove him for doing ill.”
I have tried to apply this in many roles in my life, although I never heard it stated exactly as the Shakers did. I adopted some form of this idea as a wife, mother, homeschooler, parent educator, Sunday school teacher, youth leader, preschool teacher assistant, and grandmother. In my preschool classroom, our goal was 5 positive interactions to every negative one. Kids — and people of all ages — need to know that they are loved and seen in a positive light. This motivates them to do their best, and frees them from the fear of criticism or failure.
Last evening I was gladdened to see how contagious this practice can be. My husband of 38 years gave me a heartfelt thank you for doing the laundry. What a blessing.
Keep writing, Ann. Your books are an encouragement to people of faith and, for those who may be seeking the Lord, a wonderful picture of what they are looking for.
Author
Gail, that’s wonderful that you choose to emphasize the positive more than the negative in your family and with all the children and young people you’ve taught and encouraged. We do sometimes forget to be thankful and to praise others for the good things they do. Even those ordinary things like doing the laundry. It is a blessing to simply be able to open a drawer or a closet and find clean clothes. I don’t think anybody has ever thanked me for that although I have been thanked for cooking a meal now and again. On the other hand I may not have thanked others for helpful things they have done either. A thankful and encouraging spirit is a good thing.
Thank you for your kind words about my writing, Gail. I’m glad to have you as a reading friend and glad you discovered my books. Hope if you have a chance to read other of my stories, you’ll like those too.
I like the one that says a place for everything and everything in its place. Now if I could just do that.
Author
I’m with you there, Janice. I’m good with some things. I do put my to be paid bills in a special basket. I always put Frankie’s leash in the same place and my glasses too. That’s because it’s hard to hunt your glasses when you can’t see. However, I do often lose my cell phone and spend some time searching it out since I got rid of my land line that was handy for finding it. 🙂
Love to read everyone’s comments and yours following their’s. Thank you for sharing them all at our request!
Author
I sometimes worry that you all will get more messages than you want, but I do like reading your comments and getting to answer them, Karen.
A place for everything and everything in it’s place is my favorite ! I have 3 more books to read in your Shaker series , looking forward to these inspiring stories and learning more about the Shakers ! The stars were shining bright as I headed out to the barn to feed my 4 pet goats this morning. God’s creations are such a blessing .You and Frankie have a great day !!
Author
Thanks, Nancy. Frankie and I weren’t out quite early enough to see the stars today. Frankie wanted to be but I ignored his whines for a half hour and by then the eastern sky was glowing pink. Those animals will get us up and going in the morning, won’t they? I’m going to do a post some of these days about what I have seen out there in the big world of nature because of Frankie and taking him for walks.
Hope you’ll enjoy the other Shaker stories. Thank you for reading my books.
I never knew “a place for everything, and everything in its place” originated with the Shakers, but I’ve certainly heard it enough.
Author
I’m not sure the saying originated with the Shakers, Birdie. They may have just grabbed it for their own because for sure, they did abide by it with a place for everything and kept everything in its place. It would make things neater and they liked neater.
A place for everything and everything in its place is my motto. Always organizing. 🤗
Author
I need to be more organized. I sometimes get overwhelmed with too much stuff to do. I need to get rid of some things and then organizing might be easier. Or maybe I just need an extra hour or two in the day. 🙂 Oh, I’d probably just want to spend that extra time reading or writing and not organizing. I’m hopeless.
I wish I could do everything in it’s place. I am a mess. Messes just seem to find me. There is no place to hide. Lol
Author
Ah, a kindred spirit, Judy. I think the mess must have left you and found my desk. Sigh. My mother used to look at her table where everything seemed to accumulate and say it was going to fly away. I never quite got that. Seemed like it would have been better to say it couldn’t fly away since it was so loaded down. 🙂
“Never wish a thing done, do it!” I try to do this when it comes to cleaning house, laundry or anything that I dread doing.
Author
That is a good attitude to have about those chores or jobs you aren’t excited about, April. I’m that way about some things too. Back when I lived in the old farmhouse with a cellar, I hated doing down in the cellar to get the beans and tomatoes I canned and stored down there. That’s why I had Jocie hating to do that in my Heart of Hollyhill books. Anyway, I just had to make my feet go on down those stone steps and not worry about snakes hiding behind the door. Never did see a snake down there but I imagined them. LOL.
A place for everything and everything in it’s place. I live by this as much as I possibly can, it saves a lot of steps and do overs.
Author
You are right about that, Donna. My problem is I’m not good at getting rid of things to clean out some of those places. Maybe that’s back to the don’t wish it done, just do it saying.
A place for everything and everything in its place. I like this one, I like for things to have a place, I feel more organized when I can get everything to it’s place. But sometimes you run out of places, and then it’s time to start cleaning out and making a trip to Goodwill or having a yard sale.
Author
That seems to be the popular saying, Connie, and the one that most of us want to remember. I have the problem of running out of places and then putting off that sorting through and getting rid of. Not much for yard sales but happy to donate unneeded things to Goodwill.
None preaches better than the ant, and he says nothing…..I once knew a good old Baptist preacher that preached about the ants and preached about how if you watch the ant you can learn a lot about life.
Author
I like that one too, Lisa. It’s actually one I can remember using in that very first Shaker book. It fit nicely in my scene and did upset the person my character said it to. An ant is a tough little bug.
They’re all good! I’m thinking my grandfather probably knew some shakers, (he was a carpenter and rock mason by trade in Garrard County, so it’s likely)… because I heard him say most of these. I particularly like “Our thoughts are character molds. They shape language and actions.”
Most of these are biblically based though, and my Papaw read his Bible daily. I don’t remember him reading anything else until late in life, when he devoured the writings of Carrie ten Boom and Billy Graham. Me… I’ll read anything I can get my hands on. This winter I have your Shaker books on my list. I’m thoroughly enjoying The Blessed!
Author
So glad you are enjoying The Blessed. I did like Lacey. She was a great character with such a down to earth attitude. I’m glad I could think about her living happily ever after the end of that book. Hope that doesn’t mess up the ending for you, Lavon. 🙂
The Shaker sayings could very well have come from similar thoughts in the Bible and some were probably said by people other than Shakers too. Sounds as if your Papaw was a man of faith and a good example for you. But I’m glad you like to read other things along with the Bible. I appreciate you reading my books.
A place for everything and everything in its place. This is one I wish I had the discipline to enforce in my own life! It would make life so much easier. 🙂
Author
You’ve got that right, Robin. I do have a place for many things but then there are always those strays. And I never have enough places for books. 🙂 Have you ever moved something from a place you’ve kept it for years to a better place (you think) and then you can’t remember where you moved it and can’t find it?
Oh my goodness…YES!!! Also, getting motivated, cleaning out, throwing things away, thinking, I’ll never need this for anything, then in no time, you find yourself wishing you never threw that away because it would have been perfect to use in some situation. Sheesh! 🙂
Author
You never need it until you throw it away. Of course, sometimes I will come across something I have that I forgot I had and so I have already bought another one to do whatever I needed to do. I think my brain circuits are overloaded. LOL.
Too many tabs open at one time! 🙂
My favorite Shaker quote is,”Do your work as if you had a thousand years to live, and as if you were to die tomorrow.” I feel drawn to this quote because it reminds you to live each day fullest, doing your best to honor The Lord. Col. 3:22-23
Author
The Shakers did want everything they did to honor the Lord, Emily. They worshiped through their work and therefore wanted to do it the very best they could. Their workmanship was excellent. I’ve used this saying in all of my Shaker books because I think it is central to the Shaker life. I like the interpretation you give it.
“A place for everything and everything in its place.” I can remember our mother saying this many times and I to our children. I only wish I was better abiding by that famous Quaker saying. Much easier said than done! However items are so much easier to find if they have a place and are put back in their place! I have heard it said that over an average lifetime a person spends two years looking for misplaced items! Oh so true! 🙄
Author
I can believe that about a person spending two years of their life searching for things, Karen. I’ve spent some time doing that for certain. I think I’ve gotten worse about that as I’ve gotten older. Sometimes, I can lay something down and I think it grows legs and sneaks off somewhere else to hide. I do have a certain place for all my dishes. Now if I could get as organized with my paper work.
A place for everything and everything in its place. My mother used to tell me this when I was young. I also like none preaches better than the ant and it says nothing. They are so small, but really work hard to provide for their colonies.
Author
You picked a couple of good ones, Darlene. You have a lot of company with that place for everything and everything in its place. You all are inspiring me to work harder at that. And those ants are interesting to watch – as long as they don’t sneak into my house. 🙂
My favorites are: “Never wish a thing done, do it!” and an old favorite of mine that I try to do (but don’t always succeed) is, “a place for everything and everything in it’s place”!
Author
Those are good ones, Linda Diane. But sometimes reading a book sounds more fun than mopping a floor. Then again maybe a person could wish they had time to read a book and then just do it. I like that spin I put on it. Maybe that’s what I’ll wish to do. I don’t think I can spin the everything in its place. Well, wait a minute. Maybe that book’s place could be in my hands. I’m being silly but sometimes it’s fun to be silly. Right before you start putting things in their proper places, that is.