Many of you may remember the characters in the children's book series of Junie B. Jones or Pippi Longstockings. These two girls were known for their  unconventional, independent, imaginative, and mischievous spirits. Perhaps what was so en...

Isn't it fascinating how in a completely dark room, lighting a single match allows you to see where to walk, what to avoid, treasures, and a way out? It shows that one small light is indeed more powerful than a great expanse of darkness. One sm...

I love getting to know our servers whenever we go to a restaurant. When my husband, Donnie, our daughter, Maria, and our dear friend Matt go out to eat, I will ask several questions to our server, starting with what their name is if not already...

In Norwegian folklore, trolls are notorious for being of large physical size and strength, but very small brains. Since trolls were so huge, the only way Norwegians were able to defeat the troll was to outwit it with their intelligence and prob...

Long ago I heard a quote that has stayed with me. It goes, "Life is like a field of newly fallen snow. Where you choose to walk, your footsteps will show." Have you ever hugged someone who was wearing cologne or perfume and found th...

One of my favorite shows is CBS Sunday Morning. Yesterday one of the segments depicted current survivors of the Holocaust. They are now in their 80s and 90s. A photographer, Gillian Laub, is taking beautiful photographs of as many of these surv...

Lighthouses have been on my mind lately. Recently I was introduced to the concept of "Lighthouse Parenting," which describes parents who stand with their children to aid in guidance or direction, but do not always prevent them from making mista...

I have a three-legged milking stool that used to belong to my husband, Donnie's dad or grandfather. It's a treasure to me because it reminds me of the stories shared by my parents and father-in-law of those days on the farm, milking the cows by...

When was the last time you had a really good talk with someone? I don't know about you, but after one of those good conversations, I feel so fulfilled. There's something about sharing words and thoughts and hearing words and thoughts from other...

My mom has dementia. I called her on Saturday night after writing this podcast and asked her if she remembered what happened this week in our government. She told me that she didn't remember. When I reminded her that a new president had taken o...

You've probably heard commentators speak to the untruth in the old childhood adage, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me." I wonder how that saying ever came to be. It was probably meant to give courage to a child ...

The Japanese art, Kintsugi, is the practice of putting broken pieces of pottery back together to create something not only beautiful because gold is used to outline the cracks, but the piece is stronger than before and radiently embracing the f...

In a text from which I taught from once, there was a wonderful line which read, "No one rises to low expectations." This doesn't mean we strive to be perfectionists about all we do or become, but I think it gives us a meaningful challenge to gi...

If you asked me, "What does fun look like in my world?" I would probably say, (in no specific order), 1) entertaining in our home, 2) playing rescue with my 4 y.o. grandson, 3) attending a party 4) laughing until I cry at something someone says...

I love the story of Josef Szajna, a designer and famous director of theatre in Poland during World War II. He was imprisoned in the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. He survived. But while in the concentration camps, he was confi...

Have you ever given away to some one a thing that was of great value to you? Has anyone given you something that was of great value to them? Giving generously and spontaneously is easy for some and hard for others. But when it is done, the rewa...

I love the quote attributed to Saint Basil (A.D. 330-379) when he said, "[Those] who sow courtesy reap friendship, and [those] who plant kindness gather love." It's so true, basically simple and yet so often we struggle. Today the ...

Tis the Season! The holiday seasons during this time of year have become some of the most wondrous and yet intense of times. Expectations are  key...nostalgia fuels expectations, traditions fuel expectations, relationships fuel expectation...

Has anyone said to you or have you said, "You have my word?" We take the power of words for granted, don't we? They can bring people together, tear relationships apart, make people laugh, start wars, teach the fundamentals of life, bring entert...

We have a painting in our home by Canadian Artist Ron Christiansen called, Sunset. It depicts four members of the Ojibwe tribe sitting in a circle in a grassy field at sunset. It's rich in color and line. What I like about it is that y...

When I have counseled people who have had struggles with communicating with someone who is angry with them, I often suggest that when they are at an impasse and neither is listening to the other, that they ask the other person, "What do you nee...

During this election season, we have all had to mentally reframe what it would be like if one or the other presidential candidate was elected. It's been a tense time. But as I often do, I lean into a powerful quote by Holocaust survivor, Viktor...

These are intense times for our country. I often turn to the wisdom of people who have lived and led through times like these with love and grace. One of those people is Desmond Tutu, who led South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, ...

Our daughter, Maria, and I have ongoing descriptions of our differences in certain areas. When it comes to experiences, Maria reminds me that she holds no expectations so that she is never disappointed and only pleasantly surprised. In life, sh...

There is a Yiddish verb for complaining, kvetch. Its literal meaning is, to squeeze or to crush. When I think of the definition in reference to a person who is chronically complaining, or kvetching, it really fits, because a c...