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
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
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
Life becomes so sweet when we stop making it about ourselves. I know this, but sometimes I need a refresher course.
My sixth-grade son, Ben, and I were working at our church’s annual pie auction to earn some money for his mission trip coming up this summer.
I signed us up for “Pie Walker” or something ... Read More
Sometimes I will be at the store, and know I’m supposed to buy something for someone, but I don’t know who. Or I’ll be packing for a trip, and I know I’m supposed to throw in a few extra books I’ve written but I don’t know why.
It’s always fun when I figure out the people who were meant to be ... Read More
I need a Year of Jubilee. How about you?
What is a Year of Jubilee, you ask?
Think of a Mardi Gras celebration that covers the entire nation for an entire year.
Now take away the sex, booze, and parades. Add in a whole lot of forgiveness.
That’s the Year of Jubilee.
In the Old Testament, we learn the Year of Jubilee happened every 50 ... Read More
When I first started writing this “Kindness is Contagious” column nine years ago, I misunderstood what “weekly” meant.
The publisher said, “It’s a weekly column.” I heard, “Write it when you have something to write about.”
I asked readers to send in their stories of kindness, but I quickly learned to become an investigator of kindness in my own life so I ... Read More
I walked past the green and red shoeboxes and my heart caught just a little bit. I was in the middle of Hobby Lobby and my senses were overwhelmed with plaid pillows, glittery ornaments and ceramic Santas. But it was the tidy stack of boxes that held my attention.
Those boxes are a connection to the precious innocence of my now-teenage ... Read More
From the time I was about 10 years old I can recall seasons where a sense of hopelessness would follow me through the morning.
It was the oddest thing. Some days I would wake up and there it would be, sitting in the corner like a cloak insisting on being worn. I couldn’t leave my room without it. Other mornings, it ... Read More
I went to middle and high school with a girl who always seemed to bound with energy. She was nice to everyone, which meant she was friends with everyone.
Our paths have rarely crossed in the nearly 30 years since graduation. The last I heard, she was a police detective working in Milwaukee, Wis.
I got confirmation of that from another old ... Read More
