I feel like I’m writing our annual Christmas letter either three months early or nine months late.
Jordan’s a junior now and excelling at everything…
Charlie is a freshman in high school and learning to drive. Everyone stay off the sidewalks! HaHaHa!
At age 10, Ben is still a fishing enthusiast…
I took the summer off from my blog, newsletter and ... Read More
Will someone please remind me of this crazy-hot weather when the snow is swirling and it’s 30 degrees below zero this winter?
Living in the Dakotas creates a sort of seasonal amnesia. When it’s hot, we forget it’s going to get really cold — and when it’s cold, we forget it’s going to get really hot. At least I do.
I prefer ... Read More
Heather Brebaugh is a magnet for kindness. She sees it everywhere she goes, and where she doesn’t see it, she creates it.
She reminds me of something I’ve learned over the years about kindness: it changes our perspective. It helps us get our eyes off of ourselves and our own problems. It moves our brain to a place of compassion for ... Read More
The resilience we’ve each had to learn through COVID will be a tool we rely on for the rest of our lives. That’s certainly one benefit of the last few months.
One more benefit I’ve seen is the realization that little things really do matter. I used to get caught up in the hustle, and sometimes I still do. More often, ... Read More
Sometimes we get numb to certain words. Phrases like, “How are you?” or “I’m praying for you,” or “You’re in my thoughts,” should mean something, but oftentimes they are said so flippantly that they begin to lose their meaning.
Gretchen Robinson, from South Hill, Va., found the power of kindness that lives in those words during a recent health crisis.
“A couple ... Read More
Can you believe some people aren’t huggers? I’m going through hug withdrawal thanks to COVID, but I know other people who are grateful for the physical distancing rules.
I was speaking at a high school a few years ago when a shy girl walked up to me to share something painful that was on her heart. She talked about needing hope ... Read More
New friends, old friends — sometimes, we just need a friend.
This past May, on my 45th birthday, I got a text from a high school friend. We keep up with each other’s families on Facebook, but that’s about it. Still, when we do talk, it’s like there has been no passage of time.
Along with the text, this friend sent me ... Read More
Does anyone else feel like marriage is a tricky thing during COVID-19?
I say that only sort of jokingly. My husband and I had a conversation the other day about how different our daily interactions are with each other. Normally, as a college basketball coach, Saul is on the road recruiting or heading to away games. I spend a lot of ... Read More
Have you ever been encouraged by someone else’s story? I bet you have. It’s a special brand of kindness to share our vulnerabilities because it reminds others in their scariest moments that we’re not alone.
Fargo resident Pat Pobst recalls a time many years ago that she needed to draw on another family’s story.
“Back in the late 1980s, The Forum ran ... Read More
I love sharing stories of people going out of their way to help others. Or the ones where a person was having a bad day and kindness showed up just when they needed it.
There is so much goodness happening in the world; people reaching out through the anger and fear to remind others they are not alone.
But there is one ... Read More
