In this episode of The Plain Values Podcast, Marlin sits down with Aaron and Katie Ficker for the first of several conversations.

Aaron, the oldest of eight, shares what it was like growing up as his family followed the Lord’s call from Illinois to Guatemala. His dad, a corporate pilot, gave up a successful career, bought an old school bus, rebuilt it, and drove the family through Mexico to answer what they believed was God’s direction. Aaron describes the adventure, the challenges, and the faith that carried them through a spiritually dark and difficult time in a war-torn area.

Katie shares how she first went to Guatemala on a short-term trip while in nursing school, fell in love with the people and the work, and decided to stay. She talks about the clinics they helped run, the deep needs they saw, and the way the Lord used their obedience in hard places.

The conversation touches on the realities of serving in a remote area during the tail end of civil war… the poverty, the spiritual darkness, the broken family structures, and the hope that slowly grew as trust was built over time. Aaron and Katie reflect on how their parents’ radical obedience shaped their own lives and how they continue to seek the Lord’s leading as they raise their own family.

This honest and encouraging discussion is filled with stories of faith, sacrifice, and the quiet ways God works through ordinary people who say yes to His call.

If this conversation filled your coffee cup, we would humbly invite you to leave a thoughtful comment below and please, don’t be shy … the Like and Subscribe buttons help more friends find this episode. 

We’re always looking for more friends.

Learn more about Plain Values at https://plainvalues.com

In this episode of The Plain Values Podcast, Marlin sits down with his neighbor and friend, retired judge Linda Kate.

Linda shares her journey from a small-town Catholic upbringing in Tuscarawas County to becoming one of the youngest judges ever elected in Ohio. She reflects on the weight of responsibility she felt the day she was sworn in, the exhausting good days and excruciating bad days in juvenile court, and how she learned to lean heavily on prayer and the support of fellow judges and staff.

The conversation touches on the deep impact of seeing the worst of human nature… and the hope that still remains when someone steps in to protect a child. Linda opens up about the spiritual moments that confirmed her calling, including a powerful sense from God that this was the work He had for her.

She also talks about her marriage to Kevin, raising their family, and the many mission trips they’ve taken together, especially to Haiti, where she witnessed both heartbreaking suffering and profound moments of human connection and compassion.

Throughout the episode, Linda’s quiet faith, steady wisdom, and deep compassion shine through. From the courtroom to the mission field, her life has been marked by a willingness to show up, serve, and trust God in the hardest places.

This honest conversation offers encouragement for anyone walking through difficult seasons or seeking to live out their faith with integrity and courage.

If this conversation filled your coffee cup, we would humbly invite you to leave a thoughtful comment below and please, don’t be shy … the Like and Subscribe buttons help more friends find this episode. 

We’re always looking for more friends.

Learn more about Plain Values at https://plainvalues.com

In this episode of The Plain Values Podcast … Marlin invites listeners into a warm, wide-ranging conversation with his friend Brian Dahlen.

Brian spent 17 years hosting live radio for Moody Radio in Cleveland and Chicago. Known for his quick thinking and kind presence behind the microphone, he joins Marlin for breakfast and shares stories from his life … from growing up in Minnesota, teaching high school social studies, to the unexpected journey that led him into radio.

The two friends talk about everything from European travels and Renaissance art to the challenges of family life, raising children (including a daughter serving in the 82nd Airborne), and the deep questions of faith, manhood, and what it means to follow Christ in a complicated world.

Brian opens up about the spiritual tension of live radio, the beauty and brokenness of family relationships, and the importance of humility and honest conversation in the Christian life. The discussion touches on pain as God’s invitation to grow, the reality of human depravity, and the freedom found in surrendering our own ideas to Scripture.

Whether you’ve ever felt the pull between city life and a quieter calling, wrestled with big theological questions, or simply enjoyed thoughtful dialogue between friends, this episode offers encouragement and reflection.

If this conversation filled your coffee cup, we would humbly invite you to leave a thoughtful comment below and please, don’t be shy … the Like and Subscribe buttons help more friends find this episode. 

We’re always looking for more friends.

Learn more about Brian Dahlen at https://www.clevelandministrycollective.org

Learn more about Plain Values at https://plainvalues.com

In this episode of The Plain Values Podcast… 

Some stories remind us that God writes better endings than we ever could.

Tom and Ferree Hardy both lost their spouses in 2000. Two hearts shattered by grief, hundreds of miles apart, each raising children and learning to breathe again in a world that suddenly felt empty.

Then, in 2002, their paths crossed. What began as a simple connection grew into a marriage that has now spanned more than two decades of blending families, navigating job changes, multiple moves, and discovering God’s faithfulness in the most unexpected places… including a few backyard chickens along the way.

Ferree, author of Postcards from the Widow’s Path, has spent years walking alongside other widows through her writing. 

Tom, with his steady presence and quiet strength, has been right beside her in that calling.

In this tender, honest conversation, you’ll hear real talk about the long road of grief, the surprising joy of a second chapter, and the everyday faithfulness that carries a family through both the hard and the holy.

Whether you’ve walked through loss yourself, love someone who has, or simply need to be reminded that God redeems even the deepest valleys, this episode will meet you right where you are.

If this conversation filled your coffee cup, we would humbly invite you to leave a thoughtful comment below and please, don’t be shy … the Like and Subscribe buttons help more friends find this episode. 

We’re always looking for more friends.

Learn more about Tom and Ferree Hardy at https://widowschristianpath.com

Learn more about Plain Values at https://plainvalues.com

In this episode of The Plain Values Podcast … 

Kristen Smith never planned on becoming an herbalist. 

As the oldest of three, she grew up surrounded by farmland in northwest Ohio, helping grandparents with conventional crops and meat chickens. 

But life shifted after marriage, college, and her first baby. A routine blood test at 22 revealed severe hypothyroidism. The doctor offered medication for life with little explanation. That moment sparked questions: Why did this happen? Could food help?

With no home internet and young kids, Kristen loaded her children into a stroller and walked miles to the library, checking out every book on nutrition and health she could find. 

Changes came slowly… first toothpaste and deodorant, then deeper shifts toward whole foods and away from processed items. Her thyroid still requires medication, but the journey opened a world of natural remedies.

Years (and nine children) later, Kristen turned her one-acre yard into a “backyard medicine cabinet.” 

She grows medicinal plants, keeps chickens, and experiments with herbs. Her faith anchors everything. With a large family on limited land, she relies on God’s strength daily. 

Kristen’s story shows how one health crisis, met with curiosity and grace, can grow into a life of stewardship, healing, and passing natural wisdom to the next generation.

If this conversation filled your coffee cup, we would humbly invite you to leave a thoughtful comment below and please, don’t be shy … the Like and Subscribe buttons help more friends find this episode. 

We’re always looking for more friends.

Learn more about Kristen’s work at https://abetterwaytothrive.com

Learn more about Plain Values at https://plainvalues.com

In this episode of The Plain Values Podcast … 

Some stories don’t just inspire you, they quietly rebuild your hope.

That’s what happened the moment I sat down with Zach and Katie Miller.

Zach, a former Air Force pilot and commercial airline captain, lost his first wife Kaley to cancer after a seven-year battle.

Left to raise three young children, he found himself in the kind of darkness that makes a man question everything. But instead of staying there, Zach chose the hard road of redemption.

Through deep faith, and relentless perseverance, he emerged with a burning conviction: to raise boys into real men who know how to lead, protect, and serve.

That conviction became Arrow School for Men, a hands-on program in the mountains of Colorado where young men learn far more than survival skills. They learn character, brotherhood, and what it truly means to walk with the Lord.

Then came Katie… Amish-raised, steady and strong, with a heart for family, animals, and building something beautiful from the ground up. 

Together, they’re blending two very different worlds into one: raising Zach’s children, starting a homestead at 7,500 feet, and creating a legacy of faith and resilience.

In this conversation, you’ll hear raw honesty about grief, manhood, and second chances. You’ll hear an Amish preacher speak wisdom into a pilot’s pain. And you’ll walk away reminded that God doesn’t waste anything, not even our deepest valleys.

If you’re a father, a husband, or anyone who longs to see the next generation raised with purpose, this episode is for you.

If this conversation filled your coffee cup, we would humbly invite you to leave a thoughtful comment below and please, don’t be shy … the Like and Subscribe buttons help more friends find this episode. 

We’re always looking for more friends.

Learn more about Zach and Katie Miller at https://arrowschoolformen.com/

Learn more about Plain Values at https://plainvalues.com

In this episode of The Plain Values Podcast … 

Joni Eareckson Tada was 17 when a diving accident in 1967 left her quadriplegic. 

What followed was not defeat. She learned to paint holding a brush in her mouth, shared her testimony with millions alongside Billy Graham, and turned letters of despair into a ministry born at her kitchen table.

That ministry (Joni and Friends) now reaches families living with disability through family retreats, respite events, church training, and Wheels for the World.

Wheels for the World collects used manual wheelchairs, walkers, canes, and crutches. You spot them at thrift stores or yard sales for $10–20. Prison partners restore them to like-new. Teams ship them overseas, fit each person individually, and pair the gift with a Bible in their language and the gospel message. Many come to Christ simply because someone sent help they never expected.

Wally Ziolo’s own path from aviation to caregiving, then full-time ministry, shows how God redirects lives for purpose. Volunteers return year after year; some shift careers. Families find hope, baptism, and belonging.

Upcoming Ohio retreats offer respite: June 15–19 in West Portsmouth, July 13–17 in Berlin, August 3–7 for adults. International Wheels for the World trips head to Argentina (May) and El Salvador (October).

The ask is simple: pray for churches to open doors and hearts. The work is clear … love people as image-bearers, make disciples of all, and watch lives turn.

Listen to the full episode. It’s worth every minute.

If this conversation filled your coffee cup, we would humbly invite you to leave a thoughtful comment below and please, don’t be shy … the Like and Subscribe buttons help more friends find this episode. 

We’re always looking for more friends.

Learn more about Plain Values at https://plainvalues.com

In this episode of The Plain Values Podcast … 

Most of us have felt it… that quiet exhaustion when the body is running on empty and the spirit feels even emptier. Chris Zimmerman lived it for seven long months. 

Successful on paper, hollow inside, he reached a point where getting out of bed felt impossible.

Then he found cold water.

Not as a gimmick. As a last resort. What started as brutal cold showers became daily ice baths, and something profound shifted. 

The constant noise in his head went silent. Trauma he didn’t even know he was carrying began to release. Energy returned. Purpose returned. And with it, a fire to help others escape the same trap.

Today, Chris owns a former hospital in Amish country in Ohio. But he’s not running it like every other hospital. He’s building something different… a place where patient choice actually means something. 

Where metabolic health, real food, and honest stewardship come first. Where the 70–90% of ER visits driven by preventable chronic illness might finally start to drop.

This conversation is raw, hopeful, and long overdue. If you’re tired of feeling stuck (in your body, in the system, or in the daily grind), this one’s for you.

You might just find the spark you’ve been praying for.

If this conversation filled your coffee cup, we would humbly invite you to leave a thoughtful comment below and please, don’t be shy … the Like and Subscribe buttons help more friends find this episode. 

We’re always looking for more friends.

Learn more about Plain Values at https://plainvalues.com

In this episode of The Plain Values Podcast … 

It was in his hometown church where Ryan Wolfe grew up and was drawn early to adults with intellectual disabilities who prayed, cross-stitched, and taught him more about friendship than any textbook. 

From coaching Challenger baseball with his young family to building a field when no one else would, he asked one question, “How can we be a blessing, no strings attached?”

That simple obedience birthed Shine Ministry, guardianship programs, Jesus Proms that draw hundreds, and a faith-based adult day program funded by Medicaid. 

Now leading Ability Ministry, Ryan equips churches nationwide to welcome every gifted image-bearer. 

Because the overlooked are often the greatest treasures.

If this conversation filled your coffee cup, we would humbly invite you to leave a thoughtful comment below and please, don’t be shy … the Like and Subscribe buttons help more friends find this episode. 

We’re always looking for more friends.

Learn more about Ryan Wolfe’s work at https://abilityministry.com/

Learn more about Plain Values at https://plainvalues.com

In this episode of The Plain Values Podcast … 

Melissa Brown never planned to lead Ohio’s largest faith-based residential home for teen survivors of sex trafficking. 

A Catalyst conference umbrella moment in 2013 shattered her world … kids sold for sex, hidden in plain sight. 

She surrendered her “yes” to God anyway.

Today, Safe Harbor’s 30-acre campus offers everything on-site: medical care, school, chapel, gym, cottages with private rooms. 

Girls arrive broken, often by someone they knew. 

Melissa plants seeds of truth, hope, love … replacing lies with God’s worth.

If this conversation filled your coffee cup, we would humbly invite you to leave a thoughtful comment below and please, don’t be shy … the Like and Subscribe buttons help more friends find this episode. 

We’re always looking for more friends.

Learn more about Melissa Brown’s work at https://www.safeharborohio.org/

Learn more about Plain Values at https://plainvalues.com