Tag: helping

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 kinds of emotions in ... 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 for Alaina and her family because ... 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.

If you’re like me, you look ... Read More


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 today.

Here’s the thing about ... 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, so when the grass ... Read More


Someone I love in Ohio got into a car accident over the weekend. My first thought was to run to him. He’s okay, but I wanted to be there. To hug his neck and pray with him and reassure him that this accident at age 16 might keep him out of baseball for the season, but it won’t define the ... Read More


I’m not above bribery.

This morning I woke up to find a note next to my computer:

“MOM

When I wake up ask me about Psalm 23. I know it but I will forget to do it for you if you don’t remind me.”

I have three children, but the one who left this note didn’t need to sign it. He knows ... 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


Being in South Dakota means I get to be surrounded by wide-open spaces. Most of those spaces are fields that grow the food my family and I so often take for granted.

But not today. Today I am grateful for the woman who sent in this story, who has spent countless hours working in the bubble of a combine harvester to ... Read More


I saw a really cute free-standing shelf and chair the other day that I knew would fit perfectly in my podcast studio. Unfortunately, they were not the perfect fit for my car.

I reclined seats and pushed aside bags, but could not get the pieces to even wedge through the door. That’s when I remembered my car is a convertible! That ... Read More