Category: Be Brave

Hope. Someone here needs hope. So … here we go.

Ten years ago today I drank my last rum & coke. Ten years ago tomorrow I woke up sicker than a dog, feeling confused about what had happened the night before, but certain I had angered a whole lot of people. I was humiliated by my actions, ... Read More


I got to do something really cool yesterday. I got to sit down with a friend and see the kids’ chapter book she’s spent the last year putting together. Then I got to help her brainstorm ways to get that book published.

It’s like being part of someone’s childbirth. It’s messy and complicated and there are all ... Read More


I have never seen so many chill teenagers and nervous adults in my life. I made a snap decision to make my way from Aberdeen, South Dakota to Louisville, Kentucky because my daughter was one of six finalists for the National Speech and Debate Student of the Year. Considering it’s whittled down from like 100,000 kids, it’s sort ... Read More


Today I’ve decided to become more like Alaina.

Don’t know Alaina? Take my word for it, she’s awesome. I mean, she had a UNICORN at her birthday party, how awesome is that?! The girl has style.

Alaina is seven and a few weeks ago she graduated from first grade. First grade was a pretty big deal ... Read More


I’ve got a project staring me in the face. Do you have any of those? Maybe it’s a closet that needs reorganizing or a deck that needs to be stained or a pile of garbage that needs to be cleared away.

Every time you look at them, they are asking you to pay attention to them.

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You want to feel loved? Go be a pastor at a rural church in South Dakota. It’s like stepping into a family reunion and a group hug at the same time.

I got to preach not only at one, but at TWO churches this weekend. You cannot even begin to imagine how full my love tank is ... Read More


I used to hate it when old ladies in the grocery store would stop me and say, “Enjoy these moments, Sweetheart. They pass so fast.”

Meanwhile, I had one kid standing on the bread in the shopping cart, another climbing the shelves to reach the Frosted Flakes and a third kid hiding under the cart with a ... Read More


My son, Ben, mowed the lawn for the first time this weekend. He recently turned 12, has excess evening energy and his father was gone. In my mind, that makes him old enough to run power tools.

I was shocked by how well it went. We are too cheap to buy the type of mower that self-propels, ... Read More


Each one of us has a story

Why would I even bother to tell mine? That’s the million dollar question. Honestly, if it were just about me or even my husband, I wouldn’t. But it’s not about us. It’s about you. And your girlfriends. And your sisters. And maybe even your mother. I want to share my experience, the whole experience, with ... Read More

I used to make my family very nervous. (Let’s be honest, I probably still do.)

I’d walk in the room and declare, “I’m going to win the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Sweepstakes!” Then for about two weeks I’d carry on and speak as if it were already a done deal.

It never was a done deal. I never ... Read More