Tag: kindness is contagious

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


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


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


I talked with Max the other day. You know, Max, right? Pastor, author, Fixer Upper alum. More than 154 million copies of his books sold globally. That Max.

Some people like to call him by his full name, Max Lucado, but I prefer to keep our relationship casual.

He asked me to send him some copies of my book, so I’ll probably ... 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


Please don’t call me busy.

Busy means I don’t have time to talk on the phone.

Busy means I can’t come to your house for coffee.

Busy means there are more important things in life than you.

And that’s simply not true.

If I tell you I’m too busy, it means I’ve done a bad job of creating margins in my life.

It means I need ... Read More


Have you ever had a MONDAY that lasted all day?

I had one a few weeks ago and it wasn’t pretty.

I woke up crabby. I took my son to school crabby. I went to Pickleball crabby. Then the crabby turned to sad. I ate cookies sad. I read a book sad. I took a nap sad.

Eventually, I wandered into my office ... Read More


I’ve noticed something over the past nine years of writing this column. Acts of Christmas kindness seem to have a special ability to stay with us throughout years and even decades.

Two women have shared just those types of kindness with me in the following stories. The first is from Gretchen Robinson from South Hill, VA.

“My kindness story happened ... Read More


There’s a pretty big celebrity living in my neighborhood. I hate to brag, but the president lives just a few doors down from me. If you weren’t aware, you might drive past his house without knowing it.

His name is Dawson, and he is president of the student body at Lincoln Elementary School in Aberdeen, S.D.

Back in October, Dawson ran for ... Read More


I don’t love social media.

If anyone from my kindness team is reading this, they are rolling their eyes right now, because that statement is a massive understatement.

I love having real conversations with real people, but anything over a computer feels a little forced to me. (Can you tell I was born before home computers were a thing?)

I used ... Read More