The hotel was on the tacky side. It was a long ride (almost seven hours) before I got there. I've been on I 80 many times over the years. I've never had the opportunity, nor strong desire to stop at the Williamsburg exit. Most times I was coming from Chicago and heading to Denver. One never wants to stop in Williamsburg as it is important to get to Kearney, Nebraska on your first day of driving. If you stop along the way you may not get to Omaha and that leaves a long ride the second day before you see the Rocky Mountains on your horizon. It can be tough getting rooms if you get in too late to either Omaha, Kearney, or Denver. On that first day you just simply have to keep moving, so I've never before had the opportunity to visit the Amana Colonies. This weekend, due to a business meeting that was held there, I was forced to stop. I got to see the colonies for the first time in my life.
Amana brings to mind kitchen appliances to most people. To me it does that, but it also brings to mind the Amish. I don't know why, but I've always assumed that the Amish had something to do with "The Colonies." To my great surprise they had absolutely nothing to do with those who created the Amana Colonies. I like surprises. I went from the hotel across the parking lot to a gift shop and purchased a book entitled Amana-The Community of True Inspiration by Bertha M. H. Shambaugh (1908). Having the ability to read at the speed of thought has its advantages, as I have shared with you guys before. So, by about 10:30 that evening I had read the entire history and knew quite a bit about my new environment. Off to sleep I went and then in the morning off to breakfast for coffee and an omelet. The food...not so good. This Holiday Inn needs some serious improvement. The folks working at the hotel were nice. The facility is not associated with the colonies at all, rather it is simply at the exit on I 80 which leads to a road that, if taken north ten miles, will place your in The Amanas.
The Amana Colony was established in Iowa in 1855 by approximately 1200 people of Germanic and Lutheran heritage. They left Europe after substantial persecution for their religious beliefs. They came into being in 1714 under the leadership of two men by the names of Eberhard Ludwig Gruber and Johann Friedrich Rock who are regarded as the group's real founders. They were displeased by the Church/State alliance that existed in Germany with the royals and the Lutheran hierarchy. So, they broke way and started their own church and community. It grew to almost 2000, but it started to fade after Gruber's death in 1728 and Rock's death in 1780, both from natural causes. In the absence of strong leadership organizations have a habit of declining. In 1817 a man by the name of Michael Krausert started a revival of sorts and the community again began to grow and flourish. Persecuted as were the Amish, Mennonites, and Puritans they felt God's calling to move to the United States and in 1842 they arrived in New York State and founded, in what is now Buffalo, the Ebenizer Society on property they purchased from the Seneca Indian Tribe. Soon they determined that they lived too close to Buffalo as it was growing rapidly. Elders of the community searched for land in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Iowa. They found and purchased the Iowa property in 1855 and in five years they had moved completely from New York to their final location. The community was legally chartered with the State of Iowa and was called Bleibtreu which is a German word that meant Remain Faithful. Due to its difficulty in being understood in English it was changed to the Biblical name Amana, which signifies glaub treu [believing faithfully].
So, there I was in this tacky hotel just off of I 80 in the middle of No Where. AMANA was every where. Amana bread, Amana roasted corn nuts, Amana turkey, Amana roast beef, Amana cups, Amana saucers, Amana jellies and jams, Amana beer, Amana wine, Amana cheese, Amana jerky strips...you get my point. Capitalism at its worst. I decided to do a sociological test. I went up to four members of the staff of the hotel and restaurant. I asked politely if they knew what Amana meant? All four members of the staff admitted that they had worked and or lived in the area all of their lives and none, none of them knew that Amana meant [believing faithfully]. Isn't that interesting...sometimes people can be too close to something wonderful and never realize that it is there.
There is a lesson in all of this for us. I have to think it out some more before I make some type of application. However, I know that all we have to do is turn around and the Lord is right there with us. I know that all we have to do is say the simplest of prayers in faith and He listens. But, what about that wonderful thing in our lives that we are so close to that we can not see it? Could it be the person right next to us? Could it be the message preached on Sunday? Could it be your closest friend who doesn't know the Lord as his or her savior? Could it be your parents? Oh, my...could it be your siblings?! Let's think on this matter. I am going to go to God's Word and see what He has to say on paying attention to the life He has given us.
Amana...talking the walk and walking the talk hand in hand with Jesus every minute of every hour of every day. Quite a challenge The Community of True Inspiration took on.
The word Amana is found in The Song of Solomon Chapter 4, verse 8.
"Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
May you come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
May you come with me from Lebanon.
Journey down from the summit of Amana
From the summit of Senir and Hermon,
From the dens of lions,
From the mountains of leopards."
Believing faithfully these 19th Century followers of Christ left the evils of their European culture to set up a place where they could better be obedient to the Word of God in their lives. I do not find Amana any place else in the Bible but here, at least in an English translation. That they found this place mentioned in the Old Testament, that it is so obscure in its usage, that it was so perfect in its representation of their vision, that it came from the love poems of Solomon, tells me...these folks really knew their Scripture.
Amana brings to mind kitchen appliances to most people. To me it does that, but it also brings to mind the Amish. I don't know why, but I've always assumed that the Amish had something to do with "The Colonies." To my great surprise they had absolutely nothing to do with those who created the Amana Colonies. I like surprises. I went from the hotel across the parking lot to a gift shop and purchased a book entitled Amana-The Community of True Inspiration by Bertha M. H. Shambaugh (1908). Having the ability to read at the speed of thought has its advantages, as I have shared with you guys before. So, by about 10:30 that evening I had read the entire history and knew quite a bit about my new environment. Off to sleep I went and then in the morning off to breakfast for coffee and an omelet. The food...not so good. This Holiday Inn needs some serious improvement. The folks working at the hotel were nice. The facility is not associated with the colonies at all, rather it is simply at the exit on I 80 which leads to a road that, if taken north ten miles, will place your in The Amanas.
The Amana Colony was established in Iowa in 1855 by approximately 1200 people of Germanic and Lutheran heritage. They left Europe after substantial persecution for their religious beliefs. They came into being in 1714 under the leadership of two men by the names of Eberhard Ludwig Gruber and Johann Friedrich Rock who are regarded as the group's real founders. They were displeased by the Church/State alliance that existed in Germany with the royals and the Lutheran hierarchy. So, they broke way and started their own church and community. It grew to almost 2000, but it started to fade after Gruber's death in 1728 and Rock's death in 1780, both from natural causes. In the absence of strong leadership organizations have a habit of declining. In 1817 a man by the name of Michael Krausert started a revival of sorts and the community again began to grow and flourish. Persecuted as were the Amish, Mennonites, and Puritans they felt God's calling to move to the United States and in 1842 they arrived in New York State and founded, in what is now Buffalo, the Ebenizer Society on property they purchased from the Seneca Indian Tribe. Soon they determined that they lived too close to Buffalo as it was growing rapidly. Elders of the community searched for land in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Iowa. They found and purchased the Iowa property in 1855 and in five years they had moved completely from New York to their final location. The community was legally chartered with the State of Iowa and was called Bleibtreu which is a German word that meant Remain Faithful. Due to its difficulty in being understood in English it was changed to the Biblical name Amana, which signifies glaub treu [believing faithfully].
So, there I was in this tacky hotel just off of I 80 in the middle of No Where. AMANA was every where. Amana bread, Amana roasted corn nuts, Amana turkey, Amana roast beef, Amana cups, Amana saucers, Amana jellies and jams, Amana beer, Amana wine, Amana cheese, Amana jerky strips...you get my point. Capitalism at its worst. I decided to do a sociological test. I went up to four members of the staff of the hotel and restaurant. I asked politely if they knew what Amana meant? All four members of the staff admitted that they had worked and or lived in the area all of their lives and none, none of them knew that Amana meant [believing faithfully]. Isn't that interesting...sometimes people can be too close to something wonderful and never realize that it is there.
There is a lesson in all of this for us. I have to think it out some more before I make some type of application. However, I know that all we have to do is turn around and the Lord is right there with us. I know that all we have to do is say the simplest of prayers in faith and He listens. But, what about that wonderful thing in our lives that we are so close to that we can not see it? Could it be the person right next to us? Could it be the message preached on Sunday? Could it be your closest friend who doesn't know the Lord as his or her savior? Could it be your parents? Oh, my...could it be your siblings?! Let's think on this matter. I am going to go to God's Word and see what He has to say on paying attention to the life He has given us.
Amana...talking the walk and walking the talk hand in hand with Jesus every minute of every hour of every day. Quite a challenge The Community of True Inspiration took on.
The word Amana is found in The Song of Solomon Chapter 4, verse 8.
"Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
May you come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
May you come with me from Lebanon.
Journey down from the summit of Amana
From the summit of Senir and Hermon,
From the dens of lions,
From the mountains of leopards."
Believing faithfully these 19th Century followers of Christ left the evils of their European culture to set up a place where they could better be obedient to the Word of God in their lives. I do not find Amana any place else in the Bible but here, at least in an English translation. That they found this place mentioned in the Old Testament, that it is so obscure in its usage, that it was so perfect in its representation of their vision, that it came from the love poems of Solomon, tells me...these folks really knew their Scripture.
Here is a link to more information: http://www.amanacolonies.com
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