I've been a writer for a good long while now. It started with songwriting when I moved to Nashville in 1995 (actually fifteen years before that when I wrote my first song), and then years later in 2014, I began writing stories on this blog. In time, I found myself writing memoirs and children's books, among other things.
This marks another turning point for me in my writing career. Starting in January, I'll be penning a monthly column in a wonderful magazine called Plain Values, and in that issue, Indiana and I will be on the front cover.
(thank you Michael Hayes for taking such a sweet picture)
This is the first time I've ever agreed to be a contributing writer to a magazine and it's something that I'm excited about doing. My monthly column is called "Roots+Wings," and is about the human struggle to stay deeply grounded at the same time that we are spreading the wings God has given us to take us places we've never imagined. It will give me an opportunity to talk about a lot of things I have not had a chance to share before. The stories I'll be sharing in the first four issues this coming year are a condensed version of our life story, up until the present. From my older girls and I moving to Nashville and finding success, to buying our farmhouse and meeting Joey, to the arrival of Indy, the loss of Joey, and the journey we've been on since.
Some magazines just look and feel beautiful, and this is one of my favorites. I first heard about Plain Values from my friend Joel Salatin, who started writing a column for them this fall. When Joel came to Montana this summer for an event he told me how excited he was about the magazine and arranged to have a copy sent to me. In October, at a homesteading event in Virginia, I met the family who founded and run the magazine and absolutely loved them. Besides the stories and back-to-the-basics wisdom that fills its pages, the heart of the magazine and the founders and I hold much in common.
Marlin and Lisa Miller, who started Plain Values nine years ago understand how needed and important this positive messaging to the family is, especially these days, as the world is moving at a faster and faster rate and although we're more digitally connected than we've ever been; personally most people feel more alone and disconnected from others than ever. The Miller's also have a heart for children and people with special needs. They have four adopted children, the youngest three having Down syndrome.
Marlin and his wife Lisa had been following our blog for years from their small town in Ohio where and they are still near the same community where he grew up. Interestingly, he grew up Amish near where his magazine headquarters is now.
One of the things I love about the Plain Values magazine is that a large number of their 45,000+ monthly subscribers are Amish. That makes me love what they're doing even more.
You can subscribe or find out more about the magazine and the monthly column I'm writing on their website HERE. One note though... if you'd like to get the January issue with Indy and I on the cover, you'll have to place your order by the 6th of December in order to have time for it to come to you. Otherwise, you can subscribe anytime.
It's gonna be fun for me to see where, as a writer, this new endeavor leads. I'm thankful for all the opportunities God brings my way, especially ones like this that have such a heart for Him and for little ones with almond eyes like our Indy...
