Tag: light

I was reminded of something so very important this morning. I figured you might need reminding of this too.

You are the light that shines in the darkness of this world.

Every smile you send, every gentle response, every negative word you refuse to let out of your mouth — you are shining a much needed light.

Maybe you’re going through ... 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


There are situations in life that knock our socks off — and not in a good way.

We didn’t see the results of that biopsy coming…

We didn’t understand how far gone our children were until they were too far gone to reach…

We never imagined that a day that started out so normal could take such a tragic turn…

Sure. Some of it’s ... Read More


I would never take a stroll with an artist through his studio and start judging his work.

Can you imagine? Walking along and commenting to the one who created each canvas, saying, “Oh, that one is lovely… but that one really sucks… I love the colors you used in this one… but man that one is stupid.”

We wouldn’t do that, right?

And ... Read More


If I only sat down at my computer when I had something to say, I would never sit down at my computer.

Seriously.

I blog on Monday and Thursday mornings, so sitting down at my computer is kind of essential.

At approximately 6:53AM twice a week, God hears the exact same prayer. God, what do you want me to tell them? I don’t ... Read More


It’s heavy, isn’t it? All this stuff happening in our world? It makes me feel sad and angry and fearful and all of those other emotions that erupt simultaneously when senseless acts of violence occur. But it also makes me feel helpless, and that might be the worse feeling of all.

Three years ago, I wrote an article for my Kindness ... Read More


Life sure is messy, isn’t it? We hurt ourselves, we hurt each other… sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. Have you ever noticed there seem to be two camps of thought when it comes to sin?

Either you mosey on over to stand with the group who shrugs and defensively argues: “Everybody else is doing it” and “You should see what that person ... Read More


If a Broadway show doesn’t have a performance, it’s said to be “dark.” Mondays are usually dark in order to give the actors a chance to recuperate — or perhaps go grocery shopping and pick up their dry cleaning, I’m not quite sure.

My blog posts and tweets are more of a horse-and-pony show than a Broadway musical, but I, too, ... 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


“If the darkest hour comes before the light, where is the light? Where is the light? Where is the light?”

Those words are from the song “Ave Mary A” by Pink. I’ve listened to that song for years, and yet this week, I felt like I heard it for the first time.

I was thinking about the community of West Fargo and ... Read More