I learned something recently about my 13-year-old son. It turns out the tough guy has a deep streak of nostalgia.
Charlie spent the first 10 years of his life in Fargo. At the end of second grade, we moved him to Ohio. Five years later, we’re back in the Dakotas, this time in South Dakota. Charlie has been asking me since ... Read More
Four years ago in July, I had a breast removed. The diagnosis was stage 2 lobular carcinoma. To you and me, that simply means breast cancer.
It seems like a lifetime ago, but if you bring it up to my family, they still have a lot to say about that time. And you know what? It’s not all bad.
My daughter, Jordan, ... Read More
I often say I have the happiest email inbox in the world. Every once in a while, I’ll also get a handwritten letter in my real mailbox explaining how someone is adding light to the world through kindness.
I’ve received the sweetest stories of kindness. Despite what you might see on the television, there is good in this world, no doubt ... 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
There are things in life that are too heavy for words. We don’t know what to say, so we say nothing at all.
I know I’ve been guilty of turning away from someone in their time of need because I couldn’t imagine anything I could say or do to lift their burden. Have you ever felt that way?
Maybe the point isn’t ... Read More
Super Bowl Sunday: the best time of year to buy a big-screen TV or football-themed paper plates. The hype behind the biggest game of the year has become its own beast. This year, the cost of one of those 30 second commercials we all love to watch will go for $7.7 million. Yikes.
Back in 1990, a seminary intern at a ... Read More
I imagine, one day, when they’re very old and can’t get around quite as well as they do now, Gene Hanson and Darlene Jackson Hanson will sit next to each other and say, “Do you remember when…?”
Only there is no way they will remember it all. Not because their minds will be failing, but because of the abundant life they’ve ... Read More
As a basketball coach’s wife, there are certain away games that I’ve learned to watch on television. Sure, they’re within driving distance, but I learned long ago to listen when my husband says “You might not like this one.”
It’s not that our team is going to lose. Winning or losing has nothing to do with it. What keeps me at ... Read More
