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Posts published in “Homemaking”

Roots + Wings — Mountain Time

Roots + Wings — Mountain Time

By Guest Post on November 10, 2023
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By Rory Feek, Plain Values

Most of the time when I’m writing this column, I’m in pretty much the same place. Sitting at the kitchen table in our farmhouse or at my desk in the milkhouse, with a view outside of the backfield and within earshot of Indy and the other kids playing on the playground at the schoolhouse. But this month, I’m parked in a chair at a much larger table in Paradise Valley, Montana, surrounded by big, beautiful mountains, with the gentle sound of the Yellowstone River flowing nearby. Each summer for the last five or six years, my little girl Indiana and I have packed our things, climbed behind the wheel, and driven 1,750 miles to spend a month out west together.

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Biblically Based Fatherhood

Biblically Based Fatherhood

By Guest Post on October 19, 2023
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by Jacob Brown

Why does our Lord tell us to pray to God as Father? When asked by his disciples to teach them to pray, the Lord Jesus Christ taught them to pray by addressing the Almighty God of all creation as Father. He just as easily could have taught them to pray to God as the King of the universe, or as Almighty God, or as Yahweh, the covenant name of the God of the Bible. But he doesn’t teach us that way. Now rest assured it is perfectly biblical to address God by those titles and names, and we should give honor and praise to God for who he is. But there is something particular that the Lord Jesus is wanting us to understand about the nature of God, and that is God as Father. 

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The Healing Land — God’s Will

The Healing Land — God’s Will

By Guest Post on August 28, 2023
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By Shawn & Beth Dougherty, Plain Values

Sometimes keeping milk cows isn’t about the cows; sometimes, it’s about weddings, cancer, and love.

For example: One morning almost exactly four years ago, a girl arrived on our farm. She came with her brother, who wanted some farming experience and had been doing some work around the place. That day Ashley helped in the garden, planting late carrots and cabbages, and weeding the onions; in the evening, she helped milk the cows. It turned out that she loves cows: she’d studied veterinary science in college and later worked at a dairy in Pennsylvania.

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Simplifying — Roots + Wings

Simplifying — Roots + Wings

By Guest Post on August 1, 2023
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By Rory Feek, Plain Values

On our recent trip to Amish country in Ohio to spend time with the team at the Plain Values office, Marlin put together a small gathering of folks from the community, and I sang a few songs and shared a few stories with them. But I think my favorite part of the trip was when he took us around and introduced us to his neighbors, Ivan and Emma, a young Amish couple in their mid-thirties.

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Start-Up Farm — Confessions of a Steward

Start-Up Farm — Confessions of a Steward

By Guest Post on July 27, 2023
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By Joel Salatin, Plain Values

The single biggest cost—and hurdle—in starting a farm of any size is the land cost. Our own nation has gone from free land to extremely expensive land. Old farmers today who acquired their land in the 1960s often have a hard time appreciating the land cost issue for aspiring new farmers.

When my mom and dad bought our place in 1961, it was $90 an acre, and feeder calves sold for $180; one acre would grow half a calf per year, which means the land and production were in a 1:1 ratio ($90:$90). Today, the land is $7,000 an acre, and that calf is worth $700; the land receives no more sunlight or rain and still grows half a calf worth $350. That means today’s land:production ratio is 20:1 ($7,000:$350), which is a far cry from the 1:1 in 1961.

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First Foods — The Healing Land

First Foods — The Healing Land

By Guest Post on July 25, 2023
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By Shawn & Beth Dougherty, Plain Values

The corn in the garden is already more than knee-high, and the first planting of green beans has been gracing the supper table for more than a week, so summer must really be here. And even with temperatures in the high eighties making heat wrinkles over the county road, we’re happy to see the seasons advance. Pretty soon there will be okra to fry and tomatoes in our salads. The land is generous in July.

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Staying Local — Roots + Wings

Staying Local — Roots + Wings

By Guest Post on July 18, 2023
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By Rory Feek, Plain Values

I once made a trip north to Amish country in Ohio to visit and spend time with Marlin and his team at the Plain Values home office. In the few days that I was there, I returned home with some unexpected personal insights that I thought I might share in the next column or two. The first one has to do with automobiles, or actually maybe the lack of automobiles in the world of the Amish, and also recently in mine.

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Fight By Flight

Fight By Flight

By Guest Post on July 17, 2023
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Why Leaving Godless Places Is Loving Godless Places

by Joel Webbon

My book, “Fight By Flight: Why Leaving Godless Places Is Loving Godless Places,” recently sparked quite the controversy online. Many have asked, “Why an entire book dedicated to the topic of whether or not Christians should leave blue states? Why devote so much time to this particular topic, especially a niche topic that’s likely to be polarizing?”

My answer is simple: Because I spent several years of my life compelling Christians to stay in California (where I previously lived and pastored), it seems only right to devote some time and energy to righting the ship. This is not some kind of gospel-less penance. Rather, the Scripture teaches that each of us should strive to do good works in keeping with our repentance (Matthew 3:8). That said, I recognize that I must be careful not to make the same mistake, only this time, in the other direction. Therefore, my desire is for Christians to seriously consider whether or not their choice to remain in hostile contexts will inhibit them from full obedience to all of Christ’s commands. I want these Christians to know that it is permissible, and in some cases even commendable, to leave. At the same time, I want Christians to know there are exceptions to the rule. In some cases it is permissible, and even right, to stay.

To this end, my little book is intended to serve as merely the kindling for the fire of serious thought, prayer, and discussion. Ultimately, the decision is up to you, your conscience, and the Lord.

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Building a Parallel Economy and Nurturing a New Christendom

Building a Parallel Economy and Nurturing a New Christendom

By Andrew Torba on July 17, 2023
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The concept of building a parallel economy and nurturing a new Christendom offers an inspiring vision for those seeking alternative frameworks to secular society’s crumbling infrastructure. This is something we’ve been working towards here at Gab for several years now and I’m excited to share some more of that vision and highlight a few of the great people laying the foundation of a new Christendom with their work.

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