ONE MINUTE WITH MARLIN

This month we are excited to introduce a new monthly column built around relationship and how to strengthen those in your life. The Roundtable has come out of many conversations with friends on and off a few stages. Across the news and nation, I have sensed a renewed drive to get communities together again, more like the “good ole days.” Now I’m not a fan of wishing to go back, but the interest and thoughtful questioning of a few of my Amish friends confirmed my hunch time and again. A few months ago, I realized we have an opportunity to encourage those seeking to build relationships in their backyards. So we have assembled a panel of Amish farmers, some older and a few younger, who are passionate about strong communities and taking care of one another as God asks us to. We are inviting you to send any questions our way, and we will carefully select a question for each month and then publish our panel’s thoughts.

The Amish are not perfect, but they do take care of one another in extraordinary ways, and I believe we have much to learn from it all. There are not many more well-known examples of this than “a good old-fashioned barn raising! ”Philippians 2 verses 3 and 4 says, “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but to the interests of others.” Our family has the luxury of having grown up in and around Amish communities our entire lives, and we do indeed have wonderful neighbors. They watch out for our children and have many times dropped everything to come help us out. In fact, that very neighbor, Ivan Keim, is one of our panelists. I have no doubt that The Roundtable will become a favorite for many of our readers in the months to come. 

Please send your questions to:
PO Box 201, Winesburg, OH 44624
or buzz an email to:
roundtable@plainvalues.com

We ask for your understanding as we work our way through the many questions and topics we hope to discuss.

As always, may you find joy in the simple things.

Marlin
Plain Values Publisher