Author: nicole

I’m rocking back and forth, tossing actually, like a woman on a boat bracing herself before the next wave sends the entire contents shifting across the deck. There is a storm happening in my head.

You know that thing that happens where people complain obnoxiously loud about something just so they can be relieved from their duties? Eventually someone else steps in and says, “Here, just let me do it.”

My kids are pros at that. They know if they fumble around long enough with my glass pitcher while they’re unloading the dishwasher, there is a ... Read More

You know what I love about this time of year? The Hallmark Channel. I can sit for hours watching cheesy holiday movies.

They usually involve some small town charm and an act of kindness that probably wouldn’t ever happen in real life. Or maybe it would.

Saul and I just bought a fixer-upper lake house. We envision long, lazy summer days filled with sounds of laughter and the splash of water as our children jump off the dock.

We knew going into this project that there would be no early morning fishing or late night marshmallows until we put in quite a few hours of sweat equity ... Read More

Who is in control of your body? Your time? Your decisions?

I have a friend who asked me an intriguing question. She said, “Are selflessness and kindness the same thing?”

I thought about her question all day. Then I thought about her question the next day and the next. My brain wants to produce a black and white answer, but my heart ... Read More

More often than not, when we do random acts of kindness, we never hear about it again. We don’t ever truly know the impact it made on the other person. We just have to trust that kindness worked whatever magic in that person’s life that was needed at that exact moment.

But every once in a while, an act of kindness ... Read More

Pain and joy exist simultaneously. I’d say I wish it weren’t true. I’d say I wish I could just have the joy without the pain, but then I guess the reverse would also have to be true.

I’d have to accept the pain without the joy.

Where would that have left me during my breast cancer diagnosis? Where would that leave you ... Read More

Do you care what God thinks about your behavior? Or do you feel like he’s let you down one too many times and you’ve earned the right to make your own decisions without his pesky guilt trying to trip you up?

The funny thing about God is if you ask him to leave you alone, he usually will. I’ve seen plenty ... Read More

When I was a freshman in college, I had a stalker.

Several of my friends were at a fast food restaurant near the University of Wisconsin campus when they saw a man sitting at a table with huge photos of me spread out in front of him.

They were confused, but knew something was very wrong with that scenario.

I would have thought ... Read More

It’s Thanksgiving. You probably have a turkey to cook so I’ll make this quick.

What do you do when you’re too broken to be kind?

Like when you’ve been up all night with a sick baby.

Or you’ve been walking on eggshells so you don’t offend your in-laws– and then crack, one of the eggs breaks and all hell breaks loose.

Or you’re ... Read More