The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

Episode: "Heaven And Nature Sing" with Ellie Holcomb (Far Country)

Host: Jenny Urch
Guest: Ellie Holcomb
Released: October 29, 2025
Network: That Sounds Fun

Episode Overview

This episode explores the intersection of music, faith, and nature with special guest, musician, author, and mom Ellie Holcomb. Host Jenny Urch and Ellie discuss how childhood, nature, and creativity impact spiritual and emotional growth, the inspiration for Ellie’s kids’ books and new album "Far Country," and why getting outside is irreplaceable for kids and families. Listeners are treated to candid reflections on parenting, songwriting, the healing power of the outdoors, and how the natural world whispers spiritual truths.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ellie Holcomb’s Creative & Family Journey

• Background: Ellie shares her path from Nashville upbringing in a musical family to joining her husband Drew Holcomb’s band, motherhood, and an unexpected solo career in faith-inspired music and children’s books.
  • “God has a sense of humor. I got my master's in education...swore I wouldn't marry my best guy friend, Drew Holcomb, who I'm now married to and who is a musician.” (03:21)
• Career Shift: Her first devotional and solo work arose from supporting a friend through depression by singing memorized scripture—leading organically to her own album and books.
  • “I kept accidentally writing songs about Jesus. And Drew was like...you need to write what's in you.” (05:11)

2. Nature as a Spiritual and Creative Muse

• Children’s Books celebrate nature’s role in God’s story, featuring stunning illustrations of animals, landscapes, and kids at play. Jenny and Ellie discuss their impact:
  • “All these kids books are just delightful...I've never seen such delightful illustrations.” (02:30)
• Nature in Songwriting: Experiences outdoors, from rivers in snow to national parks, often inspire Ellie’s music—her understanding of God is frequently deepened outside.
  • “So often I feel like my understanding of who God is happens when I'm outside…I feel like the story of resurrection, the story of new life, like the idea of seasons and letting go…he's like, oh, it's okay if you forget. I'm actually going to write it all over the place for you, like, remind you.” (09:18)

3. Resilience, Darkness, and Rediscovering Wonder

• Wrestling with Spiritual Dryness: Ellie opens up about feelings of burnout and longing, using ‘salt flats’ as a metaphor for a dried-up spirit—until “floods” of hope return.
  • “That is how my heart felt in that season...I'm so thirsty and I am starving, like spiritually, and I am going to find the water again.” (16:11)
• Lament and Healing: The wilderness, grief, and asking hard questions don’t erode faith but deepen it. Lament is part of the Christian and human experience.
  • “When you wrestle with God, when you're wrestling with love himself, you actually kind of are pretty Close. That's actually a pretty intimate thing to do.” (33:16)

4. Faith, Doubt, and the Search for What’s Real

• Deconstruction and Honesty: Discussing ‘deconstruction,’ Ellie affirms the desire for authenticity—faith is strengthened not by certainty but by honest searching and asking.
  • “I'm like, I could never tear down or forget…the empathy of God and the presence of God in, like, deep places of sorrow...” (19:02)
• Creation Sings: God’s message is written not just in scripture but all creation—“heaven and nature sing.” Ellie and Jenny reflect on the spirituality of the outdoors and everyday moments.
  • “If heaven and nature are singing, what's the song like?...if that's true, the creation story is, like, written out in a song.” (36:21, 36:34)

5. Children, Identity, and Belonging

• Books & Music for Kids: Ellie's hope is that her works remind children (and adults!) of their purpose and inherent value—everyone is “made to sing and bring beauty and goodness into the world.”
  • “We all need Jesus. Yes. And we are all made in God's image and have such goodness to bring into the world. And what a gift that we get from both.” (43:37)
• Belonging Through Nature: The inclusive worlds in her books mirror her own childhood—a place where “every single kid…felt like they belonged. So it felt like a little, little slice of heaven to me.” (52:20)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Nature as Divine Reminder:

  “I love that he knew that we might forget...the story of resurrection…he's like, oh, it's okay if you forget. I'm actually going to write it all over the place for you, like, remind you.”
  —Ellie Holcomb (09:18)

• On Grief, Darkness, and Hope:

  “I guess some people have to go dark just to see.”
  —Ellie Holcomb, quoting her song "Far Country" (30:17)

• On Spiritual Searching:

  “If God's real...they're searching…I really feel like they're gonna find him. Love's gonna find them. God goes, he leaves the 99 to go find the 1.”
  —Ellie Holcomb (34:12)

• On Childhood and Belonging:

  “Every single kid in the neighborhood...felt like they belonged. It felt like a little, little slice of heaven to me.”
  —Ellie Holcomb (52:20)

• On Creation Singing:

  “[My daughter asked] who sang the first song? ...She shrugged her little four year old shoulders and was like, Dolly Parton, probably.”
  —Ellie Holcomb (39:13)

Important Segments & Timestamps

• Ellie’s Introduction & Family/Music Journey: 03:07–06:18
• From Scripture Songs to Devotional “Fighting Words”: 06:18–08:49
• Nature as Inspiration—Music & Books: 09:18–12:16
• “Far Country” Album, Salt Flats Metaphor & Spiritual Thirst: 16:08–21:55
• Lament, Deconstruction, and Honest Faith: 28:48–34:10
• On Children’s Book Art, Whimsy, and Representation: 44:50–45:35
• Ellie’s Favorite Childhood Outdoor Memory: 51:26–53:27
• Closing Reflections on Heaven, Belonging, and Children’s Books: 53:27–55:45

Tone & Style

The conversation is warm, authentic, and filled with joy and wonder—much like Ellie’s music and books. Both Jenny and Ellie are effusive, encouraging, and honest about faith, parenting, creativity, and the importance of nature.

Takeaways for Listeners

• Childhood is precious and fleeting; time outdoors shapes hearts, minds, and souls.
• Creativity and faith flourish in contact with God's creation.
• Wrestling with doubt and sorrow is part of a real, resilient spirituality.
• Children’s books and music can be powerful tools to remind both kids and adults of their belonging, purpose, and the beauty in themselves and the world.
• Nature is more than a backdrop; it's an ongoing invitation to remember and rejoice.

Albums, Books & Resources Mentioned:

• Ellie Holcomb’s "Far Country" (album)
• "Fighting Words: 100 Days of Speaking Truth into the Darkness" (devotional)
• Children’s picture books: "Who Sang the First Song?," "Don’t Forget to Remember," "Spring Sings," and more
• Sally Lloyd-Jones’ "The Jesus Storybook Bible"

Next Up: Ellie will be touring with Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors in 2026. Families are encouraged to check out her music, come to shows, and bring her books as gifts for kids and loved ones.

Closing:
A reminder that everyone has a place and a song to sing in the great story told by God’s creation—and that even in the reflection and mystery, we belong.