I can’t remember the exact year, but I remember the date: Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve.
Saul and I were living in a little house in north Fargo and Jordan was a baby. It was teeth-chattering cold outside, because that’s what winter in North Dakota is like. On this particular night, we were all cozy in bed until about 2 o’clock ... Read More
Want to really enjoy this holiday season? Try giving to others out of delight, not duty.
Sure, there are gifts we feel obligated to give. But the magic of Christmas comes when we re-create the spirit of the season for another person just because we feel like it. It’s not hard.
Ask Katie Kringstad, the director of children’s ministry at First Lutheran ... Read More
Sometimes it’s not the first blow that knocks us down, it’s the second or the third.
We can hold it together for the initial bad news, but all too quickly comes a totally unrelated problem that causes us to come unglued. I think they call that the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Jolene Rohde has been going through a tough time. ... Read More
If you spend any time giving thanks with other people this week, you’re going to run into a lot of things that make you feel less than thankful.
For instance, you create this fabulous dinner and then all the small children in the room ask if they can have chicken nuggets.
Or maybe one member of the family gets a little ... Read More
You know those days when you wake up feeling just okay? Not great. Not terrible. Just okay. When someone asks you how you’re doing, your face cracks into a pleasant smile before responding, “Fine.”
I have a secret. God doesn’t want you to go through the day feeling just okay. He wants to wow you into having an amazing day, so ... Read More
Have you ever seen kindness ripple through a room? It happened just the other day in Sioux Falls, S.D.
The Edith Sanford Breast Center put on an amazing conference for survivors and I got to talk about using kindness during a cancer journey.
When I finished speaking, the emcee took the mic and told the crowd that one of the survivors wanted ... Read More
I was speaking to a group of cancer survivors in South Dakota Friday — telling my story and talking to the group about the “black dots” in our lives.
For those of us in that room, breast cancer either was or is the predominant black dot. But there are always things that loom heavy in our lives — finances, messy relationships, ... Read More
Have you ever heard anyone say, “Oh yay! I get to go to the hospital!”
Other than the occasional pregnant lady, I doubt it.
I imagine, like me, you’re glad you have access to quality medical care, but hope you don’t have to use it very often.
However, many times we find the greatest kindness when we are physically or emotionally wounded and ... Read More
Have you ever had kindness show up just when you needed it?
If your answer if yes, when you’ve finished your morning coffee, please send me your story. That’s what this column is all about. We share stories of the kindness you’ve given and how it made you feel, or the times a kind act happened when you needed it the ... Read More
Can you remember what you got for your seventh birthday? How about your eighth? Ninth?
Maybe there’s one special present that stands out, but for me, it’s all pretty fuzzy.
It’s not the big celebrations or occasions that I remember from my childhood. My brain chooses to hold onto things that are much more random.
For instance, I remember when I was about ... Read More
