Is it possible to turn a tragic experience into an opportunity to live more fully and love more openly? Absolutely.
I hear about people who take death, disease and other disasters and somehow find the strength to exhibit kindness through their despair.
I got this letter from a man who went through a very dark time several years ago and ended up ... Read More
What did you give people this Christmas? Did you stick to giving those gifts you buy in a store that need to be wrapped and then unwrapped? Or did you go beyond and give them the gift of your love and kindness?
Your talents, your abilities and even your warmth are things they can’t get from anyone else.
From Pam Nygard in ... Read More
In a few days, I will wake to the sound of three little voices whispering outside my bedroom door, discussing whether it’s too early to wake the parents.
Then I’ll hear three pairs of little feet scurrying down the hall and tiptoeing down the steps. They will stop suddenly and retreat, as they realize Santa may still be in the vicinity.
Then ... Read More
Sometimes these kindness stories fall into my lap, and sometimes I have to dig a little. The story this week is a combination of both. What I uncovered during my digging took an already great act of kindness (that had fallen into my lap) and turned it into a priceless conversation that left me with way more than I had ... Read More
Once upon a time there was a little girl with long dark hair, brown eyes that opened up to her soul and a smile that radiated throughout the room. Her name was Amanda.
Little Amanda loved to play with dolls and wear pretty dresses. Her mother couldn’t keep up with the pile of laundry that continued to grow as Amanda changed ... Read More
Have you ever been traveling and met someone from your hometown? There is an immediate bond.
Even if you don’t know any of the same people or came from completely different sides of the tracks, for just a brief moment, meeting someone from home feels like running into family. We immediately trust them and go out of our way to show ... Read More
Many of us – including me – take our biggest blessings for granted. Not only do I overlook everyday blessings, but I am quite often ungrateful for the biggest gifts in my life.
Instead of being grateful for the ability to hear my rambunctious boys, I tell them to be quiet.
Instead of being grateful for the ability to see my daughter’s ... Read More
I was doing my daily mom carpool recently when my 3-year-old son, Ben, piped up from the back seat.
“Mom, what does yannoy mean?”
Yannoy? My brain started turning over every word in Webster’s dictionary trying to figure out what Yannoy means.
“Yannoy, Ben?”
“No! Annoy, Mom. What does annoy mean?”
As I used words, like bother and bug, to help him grasp the concept ... Read More
I have a sneaking suspicion winter is going to come back to Fargo-Moorhead this year. Hopefully, it won’t last until May like it did last year.
It’s OK to joke about the nine months of winter we get in North Dakota and Minnesota and how hearty we Norwegians are, but the truth is, for some people, the snow makes it very ... Read More
Five years ago, I went through one of the scariest experiences of my life. I found a lump in one of my breasts.
I made an appointment to see my doctor, truly thinking she’d squelch my fears with the words, “It’s nothing.”
Instead, she said, “We better get that checked out,” and scheduled me for an ultrasound.
The results of the ultrasound pointed ... Read More
