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Posts published by “Guest Post”

Spring on a Traditional Family Farm — The Healing Land

Spring on a Traditional Family Farm — The Healing Land

By Guest Post on May 8, 2023
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By Shawn and Beth Dougherty, Plain Values

There’s no time like spring for seeing how bountifully God provides for His creatures, and that’s especially true here in central Appalachia, where young, green grass and blossoming fruit trees are everywhere we look. Our seven dairy cows put gallons of rich, creamy milk in the bucket every day. Their calves race around the pasture or lie in the soft grass and nap in the sun. Chicks in mobile pens scratch and forage, new feathers pushing through their baby down. Pigs are growing fast on skim milk and forage. We’re never more grateful for our small farm lifestyle than now when life is so beautiful and abundant.

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Confessions of a Steward — Carbon Development on the Farm

Confessions of a Steward — Carbon Development on the Farm

By Guest Post on May 3, 2023
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by Joel Salatin, Plain Values

Last month I introduced the concept of the carbon economy for soil fertility and the numerous ways God designed soil fertility and development to run on sunbeams converted to biomass. From bison on the prairie to wildebeests on the Serengeti, perennial prairie polycultures pruned by herbivores chased by predators built the deepest and most fertile soils on the planet.

That’s the big picture, but how do we apply it to our gardens and farms? How do we catalyze on-site carbon development and utilization to build the organic matter by cycling biomass into the soil?

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Evolution: The Greatest Story Ever Told?

Evolution: The Greatest Story Ever Told?

By Guest Post on April 28, 2023
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How evolution evolved from the minds of men…

by John Heers, First Things Foundation

In this edition of Heavy Things Done Lightly, the plan is to take a walk through history to discover something like antecedents. Where does Darwin’s evolutionary theory come from? Is it a scientific discovery, or is it a philosophical treatise, one many thousands of years in the making?

But first, a look at how clunky the theory of evolution is in this bifurcated world of ours. It’s a good place to start when trying to answer our question.

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Let’s Talk About It

Let’s Talk About It

By Guest Post on April 18, 2023
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By Ferree Hardy, Plain Values

“Oh, I don’t mean to be talking over and over about me,” worried the widow sitting next to me. “I don’t know why I find myself telling you all this.”

I assured her she was fine. “It’s what I do. I let people talk to me. I loved hearing your story.”

“I don’t want to bore anyone or seem prideful. And sometimes when I mention my husband, I see the alarm on their faces,” she continued. “But we made so many memories together, and I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

“Yes, I know. Tell me more…”

Telling the story is something most grieving people do, whether they intend to or not. It just comes out. I smile now, a little embarrassed, when I remember how one of Bruce’s friends called me a month after the funeral. After he asked the innocent question—“So, how are you?”—he got a 45-minute earful! I’m not a talker, but I needed to talk that day.

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“How Many Fingers am I Holding Up?”

“How Many Fingers am I Holding Up?”

By Guest Post on April 11, 2023
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A Religious Ontology of AI

by David Treebeard

“After God, let us have our own conscience as our mentor and rule for all things, so that we may know which way the wind is blowing and set our sails accordingly.”

–St. John Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascent, Chapter 26.6

All of my text messages were monosyllabic. Yes. No. K. Cool. Thanks. I had to look up or print out directions at the house before driving somewhere new. My music selection was limited to CDs. I had to go buy a camera.

With these inconveniences came a sweet type of freedom. I was more often alone with my thoughts. I was more often surprised by the world around me. I spent more time looking people in the eye. And I noticed, for the first time, how many people glued their faces to their phones, in all kinds of public places. When I used a smartphone myself, I hadn’t really ever noticed that – my own face, too, had been glued down.

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Light People, an Obelisk, and The GTI

Light People, an Obelisk, and The GTI

By Guest Post on March 22, 2023
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Why Light People Marriage Must End In Gay Marriage

by John Heers, of First Things Foundation

First, before we dig into some heavy things, did you know that there is something called the Gay Travel Index?

Here’s what this index does: It ranks the world’s nations for friendliness toward gay people. The index is published by The Advocate, an LGBTQ+-friendly magazine. They use certain criteria. Things like same-sex marriage prohibitions give your country a low score. Gay rights enshrined in law, like the right to adopt as same-sex couples, those things create a high score. The best score is a 10. The worst score is -14.

Do you know who scores very, very high on the Gay Travel Index (GTI)?

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The Uncommon Act, the Moral Arc, and How We Should Consider Historical Figures

The Uncommon Act, the Moral Arc, and How We Should Consider Historical Figures

By Guest Post on March 7, 2023
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by ThinkingWest

In recent years angry protesters across the United States have toppled several statues depicting historical figures from America’s past. Much of this anger is driven by outrage at the atrocities in which these historical figures were involved.  Unfortunately, much of this anger has been targeted at individuals whose contribution to American history isn’t completely negative in the eyes of the majority of Americans. Even several likenesses of the Founding Fathers have been toppled at the whim of some vehement mob1,2.

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The Roundtable — Amish Insights on: Pride

The Roundtable — Amish Insights on: Pride

By Guest Post on March 6, 2023
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By: Jerry D. Miller, Plain Values

Our human tendency is to want to be independent. We do not want to rely on others, but the irony of it is, God created us to be dependent on each other when he created a man and woman in the Garden of Eden.

This Month’s Question:

Homesteaders are often encouraged to be as self-sufficient as possible. How can I overcome the pride of being self-sufficient so that I can reconnect with my community?

Answered by: JerryD. Miller, a deaconin his local Amish church

Continue readingThe Roundtable — Amish Insights on: Pride

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