The Plain Values Podcast EP #01 – Shawn and Beth Dougherty on gain through grief
Shawn and Beth have written for Plain Values magazine for many years, and we finally made the time to have the conversation I’ve longed to have with them for years. …
Minute with Marlin EP #9 – The Deep Gift of True Hospitality
The concept of hospitality is simple on the surface: invite people over, share a meal, and talk. But Marlin believes it goes much deeper. Our Creator has placed within us…
Minute with Marlin EP #8 – A Mother’s Faith and the Child Who Wasn’t Supposed to Walk
In a village in India, a mother was told by her own family to take her deformed baby boy to the trash heap and leave him there to die. The…
Minute with Marlin EP #7 – One Penny Postage!
We’ve been printing and mailing Plain Values for a long time using the postal system… and Marlin loves it. It’s expensive, but it’s great. In this charming Minute with Marlin,…
Minute with Marlin EP #6 – I Can Hardly Wait
In 1929, at the very beginning of the Great Depression, a man named Albert Brumley sat down in the northwest corner of Arkansas and wrote a song called “I’ll Fly…
Minute with Marlin EP #5 – God Moves in a Mysterious Way
There are seasons when life brings deep, hard things … the loss of a spouse, the burial of a child, a long-term disability, or seasons of uncertainty and anxiety where…
Minute with Marlin EP #4 – Put Down the Screen and Pick Up a Real Book
Marlin has always loved the simple, sensory pleasure of holding a real book or magazine; the feel of the paper, the weight in his hands. In this episode, he reflects…
Minute with Marlin EP #3 – Don’t Miss the Awe Right Outside Your Door
As a young boy, Marlin watched a powerful storm roll through with tornadoes touching down nearby. A funnel cloud spun just 100 yards behind their house, hovering above the treetops….
Minute with Marlin EP #2 – A Little Bit of Humility Can Go a Long Way
It was a bitterly cold December day in 2016 (just 5 or 10 degrees) when Marlin, his brother, and a friend headed north to fly fish for steelhead. Marlin had…
Minute with Marlin EP #14 – 99% Is Not Good Enough
These short, heartfelt Minutes with Marlin deliver quick moments of wisdom, faith, humility, and encouragement… perfect for busy homestead days when we need a gentle reminder of what really matters….
Minute with Marlin EP #13 – Why Not Take a Risk?
A friend shared a powerful story with Marlin. He told him about a soldier-turned-missionary who was recruiting people to join him in one of the hardest, most dangerous places imaginable….
Minute with Marlin EP #12 – Grief is the Price of Love
Grief is the price of love. That line, shared from the pulpit at a funeral, made Marlin pause and reflect. It caused him to consider how often we hold back…










