Tag: joy

I slipped my hand into my husband’s and whispered, “You don’t need to say anything. Just stand here with me. I’m scared.”

He knew exactly what I was talking about. Despite being in a gym crowded with youthful basketball players and their excited parents and grandparents, it felt like it was just the two of us. A united front. Ready to ... Read More


What would your nine-year-old self think of you right now? Would the younger you be in awe that you even made it to __ years old? Would that youthful being say, “Way to go!” or “What the heck were you thinking?”

I know one thing: whether we are hitting life on the mark or need to readjust our aim, our younger ... Read More


I’ve talked a lot about my mom over the last ten years. The falling apart and the coming together and what God can do to mend fences, and the way he changes my rotten wood attitude before he hammers in that first nail.

This weekend, I got to visit my dad.

Five years ago, my dad had a stroke that left him ... Read More


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 off from my blog, newsletter and ... Read More


As people slowly emerge from their homes and tentatively begin venturing out, I hope the care we’ve developed for each other only increases.

I’ve asked you to send in your COVID Kindness stories and there are so many ways we are seeing kindness blossom in our communities.

From Joan in Fargo: “My dear friend left a care package outside our door recently ... Read More


Today, I’m going to do a very scary thing.

I am going to limit my 9 year old’s time on his electronic devices. Terrifying, right?

There will be step-by-step levels of trauma.

  1. My son will surely begin a debate about how more time playing Fortnite is beneficial for his social skills (because he plays with friends online).
  2. My son will lose that debate ... Read More

“There is a miracle on the other side of this mountain.”

I was doing a video chat with a friend and her words awoke the hope inside me. She said it’s her daily mantra. It’s the place she parks her brain when her brain wants to idle in the land of what-ifs.

She heard those words from another friend who saw ... Read More


Jordan, my 15 year old daughter, is learning to drive, so I had her give me a tour of all the hidden neighborhoods in Aberdeen this weekend. She’s a runner, so she has seen way more of this town than I have.

The grass is always greener in other people’s yards, so while we have only been living in our ... Read More


I don’t like stressy things which is why it’s God’s hysterical joke that I am a Division I basketball coach’s wife.

Saul and I knew each other as kids and we reconnected as young adults. As I sat across from him in that Italian restaurant on our first real date, he told me he was never going to get married because ... 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