Homemaking From Rottleben to Lancaster County — The Stoltzfus Family Heritage Guest Post, May 31, 2023 Share this:by Nic Stoltzfus, Plain Values I first moved to Pennsylvania in the fall of 2018 to become caretaker of the Nicholas Stoltzfus Homestead in Reading. I was also nearing completion of a coffee-table book I was working on: German Lutherans to Pennsylvania Amish: The Stoltzfus Family Story. I was unsure… Continue Reading
Christian Living The Roundtable | Amish Insights on: Technology | Pt 2 Guest Post, May 27, 2023July 24, 2023 Share this:by Jerry D, Plain Values This Month’s Question: The balance between the blessings and pit-falls of modern-day technology can be hard to find. How do we balance using technology with staying connected to our community? Answered by: Jerry D Miller, a minister in his local Amish church Continue Reading
Christian Artisty Flying High — Roots + Wings Guest Post, May 18, 2023 Share this:by Rory Feek, Plain Values April is my birthday month, which is always interesting for me. Each year, although I physically turn another year older, my mind never seems to age. The voice inside my head seems to stay forever young and stuck in another time, convinced that time stands… Continue Reading
Homesteading Spring on a Traditional Family Farm — The Healing Land Guest Post, May 8, 2023June 9, 2023 Share this: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… Continue Reading
Homesteading Confessions of a Steward — Carbon Development on the Farm Guest Post, May 3, 2023May 3, 2023 Share this: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… Continue Reading
Big Tech The Roundtable | Amish Insights on: Technology | Pt. 1 Guest Post, May 1, 2023 Share this:by Ivan Keim, Plain Values This Month’s Question: The balance between the blessings and pit-falls of modern-day technology can be hard to find. How do we balance using technology with staying connected to our community? Answered by: Ivan Keim, a minister in his local Amish church “How do we balance… Continue Reading
Christian Artisty Roots + Wings —Sprouting Wings Richard Osgar, April 25, 2023May 15, 2023 Share this:by Rory Feek, Plain Values Here in the middle of Tennessee, the arrival of March signals the return of spring. The long-awaited blooming of yellow daffodils that encircle our family cemetery here on the farm lets us know that winter is wearing thin and that warmer weather will soon be… Continue Reading
Christian Living Let’s Talk About It Guest Post, April 18, 2023 Share this: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… Continue Reading
Homesteading Confessions of a Steward — Carbon Economy Guest Post, April 4, 2023April 4, 2023 Share this:By Joel Salatin, Plain Values Five hundred years ago, North America produced more food than it does today. That should stir your imagination and make your heart race. Decades ago, as I was studying controlled livestock grazing, I was amazed that production per acre in wild systems exceeded production in… Continue Reading
Christian Artisty Roots + Wings —Sprouting Wings Guest Post, March 21, 2023April 20, 2023 Share this:By Rory Feek, Plain Values Five years ago this month, I stood on a stage in Los Angeles and received a Grammy Award, alone. It was a bittersweet moment to be given such a prestigious accolade for music and a career that almost didn’t happen. Knowing what that moment meant,… Continue Reading
Christian Living The Roundtable — Amish Insights on: Pride Guest Post, March 6, 2023 Share this: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…. Continue Reading
Parallel Economy Confessions of a Steward Guest Post, February 27, 2023February 27, 2023 Share this:The Creator’s Pattern By Joel Salatin, Plain Values In 1961 as our family looked out over this newly-acquired farm property with its rocks, gullies, and weeds, we needed a roadmap to healing. In our imagination, we could see fertile fields, filled-in gullies, and soil-covered rocks, but how to get there… Continue Reading