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I enjoyed growing up in an Old Order Amish home. I had a big family with lots of brothers and sisters, and I was also really close to many of my cousins. I am an outdoors-man, so I also really enjoyed all of the time spent working outside. As a young child, I had a decent relationship with my parents, but when I reached my teenage years, things went downhill fast. Our relationship was very strained during this time in my life. Because of the tensions at home and because I genuinely felt that I was going to hell no matter what, I eventually made the decision to leave the Amish behind in order to pursue a life in the English culture.

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Sam Girod is a Kentucky farmer who runs a small business selling natural skin salves made from herbs such as chickweed, which seem to help relieve a host of skin conditions, including allergic rashes, psoriasis, poison oak and even skin cancers.

Hansen, Wisconsin - Amish safety on Wisconsin roads needs to be addressed in the wake of recent fatal buggy crashes, according to a state lawmaker. Republican State Rep. Bob Kulp of Stratford hopes the Amish communities in Wisconsin would be open to a discussion about making horse-drawn vehicles more visible. Many Amish don't realize how difficult it can be for a driver to see a buggy when their vehicle is traveling 55 or 60 mph down a highway, he told Daily Tribune Media (http://wrtnews.co/1nIhfGu ).

The non-Amish community has been reaching out to Amish neighbors near Canton since Jan. 11, when a fire destroyed not only a home but is presumed to have taken the lives of two Amish men – Yost Hershberger, 58, and his son, Benjamin Hershberger, 18. Even as the fire was burning, some English, as the Amish call non-Amish, were at the scene, helping out in large and small ways, even bringing groceries to the affected families.

Shortly after a fire tore through an Amish home 14 miles south of Lanesboro, killing two men, a call went out for help. In southeastern Minnesota, where the Amish and non-Amish coexist but rarely intermingle, the call was heard by everyone, said local resident Mary Bell. Hundreds of Amish have stopped by the property since the Jan. 11 fire, but so, too, has a contractor with heavy machinery, bakers donating pies, visitors with donations of food and cash for the family, and others. It’s been a comforting reminder that the Amish and non-Amish communities can rely on each other when needed, said Bell.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania - An Amish man who led state police on a chase that hit speeds of up to 120 mph through northern Dauphin County was sentenced to 2 years of probation after pleading guilty to multiple charges Wednesday. Sylvan M. Stoltzfus wasn't driving a buggy during the pursuit. And no, he didn't have a really fast horse, either.

Spartansburg, Pennsylvania - Mineral spirit lamps light shelves of soup mixes, bulk candies, natural remedies and straw hats. A homemade ice chest keeps perishables fresh, including roll butter and sausage casing. The restroom is an outhouse near the parking lot. Schrock’s General Store, 43446 Penoyer Road in Rome Township, Crawford County, has been the Spartansburg area’s “Amish Walmart” for 26 years.

Fredericksburg, Ohio - From the inside of a small, 1800s-era log cabin, Amish farmer and author David Kline writes about farming, nature and the simple way of life that he enjoys. Outside of the cabin - on the family's 120-acre organic dairy farm in northeastern Ohio - he lives that life each day, surrounded by the farm animals and wildlife, family and friends that he calls home.

As part of this week's Community Vibe series. We're exploring one interesting thing about different towns across the state. Today, we go to northern Mid-Michigan, which is home to a large Amish population. For some Amish families there, their traditional lifestyle is starting to evolve and change.

Canton, Minnesota - A sheriff in southeastern Minnesota says the two people killed in a house fire are believed to be a local Amish bishop and his teenage son. Fillmore County Sheriff Tom Kaase says the coroner has not made positive identification, but investigators believe the victims are 58-year-old Yost Hershberger and 18-year-old Ben Hershberger.

A Barren County man confessed Sunday to killing his wife nine years ago when the couple was living in Missouri, according to a release from Barren County Sheriff Kent Keen. Samuel Borntreger, 39, of East Nobob Road, told Barren County sheriff's deputies that he poisoned his late wife, the release said.

Authorities pulled two bodies from the rubble Monday afternoon after a large fire engulfed one of three houses on an Amish family's property in southeastern Minnesota. The blaze erupted shortly after 1 a.m. on land just north of Canton and 14 miles south of Lanesboro in Fillmore County, where there is also a saw mill operation, according to Sheriff Tom Kaase.

Auburn, Kentucky - An Amish man was found not guilty in Logan District Court on Friday morning by a jury of six individuals. John Mast was cited on Oct. 8, 2015, in the city of Auburn for violating an ordinance that requires a collection device on all large animals that travel through the city limits. Mast is one of many that has been through the court system in the last year for violating the ordinance, however, he is the first to be found not guilty. Two other Amish individuals were found guilty last year for the violation and went to jail for not paying their fines and court costs.

Livingston County, New York - A man has been arrested and charged in Livingston County for supplying alcohol to minors after a large party in July. Michael Yutzy, 22, Jamesport is charged with two misdemeanors for supplying liquor to a minor.

Ray enjoyed growing up in the Amish, and he loved his heritage for some of the same reasons that many people are drawn to the Amish today. The characteristics of solid family values, simple lifestyles, and strong religious roots stood out to Ray as he was growing up. His relationship with his family, however, was not overly close. Most of the time, he didn't feel comfortable opening up to them and sharing. He did know deep down, though, that his parents tried to have his best interest in mind, and he always knew that he was loved and cared for by them.

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Auburn, Kentucky - Another Amish man has asked for a trial regarding a citation he received Oct. 8, 2015, for being in violation of an ordinance that requires a collection device on large animals within the city limits of Auburn. According to the city's police chief, John Mast of Pilot Knob Road asked for a jury trial at his preliminary hearing on Dec. 10. Chief Larry Jones stopped Mast after seeing him travel down Wilson Avenue in a buggy pulled by a horse without a collection devise.

Paradise, Pennsylvaia - Emergency crews put out a house fire at the home of an Amish family in Paradise, Lancaster County on Wednesday morning. It happened at 853 Strasburg Road. Officials say the home belongs to an Amish couple and their six children. Four of the family members were home during the incident.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania - As people debate allowing Syrian refugees to enter the United States, Farhan Al Qadri and his family are actually doing it. The Al Qadris - Farhan, his wife Muna, and four of their nine children - moved to the United States in June. Their first glimpse of the U.S. was the inside of JFK Airport in New York, before they were shuttled to the farmlands of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where they now live in a three-bedroom rowhouse in the heart of the city.

Indiana - A formerly Amish truck driver destroyed a historic bridge in Indiana because she flubbed the math on the weight of her big rig, police said. Mary Lambright, 23, drove a 30-ton tractor-trailer full of bottled water over the Paoli Bridge - a delicate iron span built in 1880 - at around noon on Christmas Day, causing it to collapse, according to the Herald Times.

Indiana - A formerly Amish truck driver destroyed a historic bridge in Indiana because she flubbed the math on the weight of her big rig, police said. Mary Lambright, 23, drove a 30-ton tractor-trailer full of bottled water over the Paoli Bridge - a delicate iron span built in 1880 - at around noon on Christmas Day, causing it to collapse, according to the Herald Times.

When my book about Amish fiction, Thrill of the Chaste, came out in the beginning of 2013, lots of people asked me, "Is Amish fiction here to stay?" Those in-the-know added, "Or will it go the way of Christian chick lit?" That is: to the grave? (In 2005, an article in the New York Post suggested that Christian chick lit was "one of the biggest growth industries in American publishing." Within a year the subgenre had "lost all momentum," according to literary agent Steve Laube.)

Winona, Minnesota - Animal welfare protesters may soon descend on Amish farms in Winona County. For the last few years, several Amish men have been operating kennels where they breed and sell scores of dogs to pet dealers. Their operations are licensed and inspected by both the federal government and the state of Minnesota. Over the last three years, USDA inspectors found some violations of health and welfare rules that were later corrected, including a couple instances where injured dogs had not received veterinary care, according to USDA reports. Amish men said they are very careful about following state and federal animal welfare rules - if they did not they would be shut down.

A New York man and his girlfriend were sentenced on Thursday to 580 years and 300 years in federal prison, respectively, for drugging and sexually exploiting half a dozen young girls, including two Amish sisters they abducted from a roadside farm stand, according to court records.

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Read MoreGrand Raids, Michigan - A former Amish farmer who joined his cancer-stricken brother in an elaborate Newaygo County marijuana grow operation that netted 860 marijuana plants and 780 pounds of harvested pot was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison, despite his attorney's plea for leniency. Moses Mast, a 40-year-old father of five, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for conspiring to grow marijuana.

Grand Rapids, Michigan - A former Amish farmer who joined his cancer-stricken brother in an elaborate Newaygo County marijuana grow operation that netted 860 marijuana plants and 780 pounds of harvested pot was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison, despite his attorney's plea for leniency. Moses Mast, a 40-year-old father of five, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for conspiring to grow marijuana.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania - A Lancaster County doctor's account of how genetic medicine helped an Amish family has caught the attention of the national scientific community. Dr. Kevin A. Strauss, medical director of the Strasburg-based Clinic for Special Children, used pseudonyms to tell Scientific American the story of Esther, who was born with Omenn syndrome, a rare and lethal condition.

Baker, Idaho - The new Country Market in Baker has become a bit of a tourist attraction thanks to a Nov. 10 report by KIDK 3 out of Idaho Falls. The market is owned and operated by the Millers, an Amish family that recently moved from Pennsylvania to Baker — eight miles outside of Salmon. “Since the TV interview, we’ve seen a lot of people,” said market owner Paul Miller. “We’ve seen people come all the way from Rexburg, Pocatello and Boise.”

Back in 1973, Sam Stoltzfus helped prepare a directory for the Lancaster Amish settlement. It listed 50 church districts. The one for 1995 listed 100 districts. Today, there are more than 200. So when researchers say the Amish population doubles about every 20 years? “I can vouch for that,” said Stoltzfus, an Amish historian and small-business owner in Gordonville.

Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin - When Christopher Kempf's horse-drawn wagon was hit by a pickup truck, he was only about 400 yards from the driveway of his home. Kempf and his 10-year-old son were bringing a load of corn stalks out of a field a short distance from their home at about 6 p.m. Friday when a pickup slammed into the back of the horse-drawn wagon, said Nicole Fox, who lives outside of Arpin and is a driver for the Amish community. Kempf has six children, including the oldest, who was on the wagon, Fox said. She's afraid the children will never forget what they saw that night.

Leroy Stolzfus, 22, of Gordonville, crossed the finish line of the Harrisburg Marathon Nov. 8 in three hours, 5 minutes and 45 seconds. That's a pretty impressive time for anyone, less than a minute away from a Boston Marathon qualifying time for a man his age. But Stolzfus ran the whole 26.2 miles in slacks, a long-sleeve button down shirt and suspenders, as he is Amish.