What’s the remedy to negativity?
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
Girls use the heat to create kindness
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
Noticing kindness makes all the difference
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
The little things are the big things
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
Kind words hold new power
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
Kindness doesn’t need a response
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
Don’t just think it, do it
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
