Author: nicole

“Whoa! People work this early in the morning?”

That was my first-grade son’s reaction as we passed a garbage truck recently at 5:30 a.m.

We were heading out on a family vacation. The men in the truck were hustling in the rain to pick up bin after bin of trash.

“Yes. And I’m grateful they do. How about you?” I responded.

That led to ... Read More


Saul and I got to go to Madison this past weekend. It was perfect.

Except when it wasn’t.

Had I posted the highlights on social media, you might have sat back and thought sarcastically, “Huh… good for her. She gets to do all the fun stuff.”

We were there for a benefit called Garding Against Cancer. Saul’s good friend, Greg Gard (the head ... Read More


God has a sense of humor. My friend, Sue, asked me to write a little something for her “Every Table Tells a Story” series. Here’s why that’s funny. I don’t invite people to my table, I invite them to my couch.

When people come to my table, they get sick. Like the time two of my husband’s ... Read More


Every once in awhile, Saul and I play “Who would you most like to have dinner with?”

Jimmy Buffett is high on Saul’s list. Mother Teresa is high on mine. I imagine we’re both out of luck.

A little boy in Fargo will long remember a recent meal he got to share thanks to a side helping of kindness. His grandfather, Harvey ... Read More


I live in a house. It’s a beautiful house. It’s a house I could never have dreamed of living in when I was a child.

As a kid, I lived in duplexes and apartments. When Saul and I got married, as soon as we could afford it (okay, maybe a little sooner), I insisted on living in a house. I wanted ... Read More


“The Bible isn’t about you. The Bible is about God… searching for you.”

As my pastor’s words filled the church, my soul was simultaneously filled. Filled with love for a God who knew I would stray. And filled with gratitude that there is no where I can go that He can’t find me.

I’m just returning home from a whirlwind trip to ... Read More


Twenty years ago this month, people along the Red River in Minnesota, North Dakota and Southern Manitoba experienced the worst flood of the area since 1826.

Homes and businesses were destroyed. Lives were swept up in a torrent of emotional and financial ruin. An entire geographic area was collectively exhausted.

Yet, when the river finally returned to its banks, along with a ... Read More


My mom is an amazing woman. I get to talk about kindness and reconciliation and God’s great power to redeem because my mom allows me to share her story as part of my story.

Tom Hodson, the host of Spectrum Podcast and Director WOUB Public Media invited me to be on his show to talk about how my childhood opened the ... Read More


Hello Friends! You know those awesome graphics that we get every week to go with our memory verse? They’re made by my friend Tania Meek. Tania has a way of speaking and writing and creating that leaves me a little bit breathless. I’m always so touched by the way she shares her heart. I’ve asked her to take over this ... Read More


At this very moment, if all has gone well, I am on an airplane with my three children heading back to Fargo.

It was the kindness of an event planner who first gave the idea wings, and the kindness of many other community members who made it take flight.

Saul and I lived in Fargo for 10 years before moving to Ohio, ... Read More