One of the daily feeds I get in my email is The Writer's Almanac. It recounts birthdays and anniversaries of famous people of the arts or historical events. I enjoy reading how some of the authors, musicians, or artists were ...

We all handle stress in different ways. Some ways are healthy and some not so healthy. But however it is handled, we all need to deal with it from time to time. I will never forget hearing Dr. Amid Sood speak in a TEDx talk once. He described a...

Leaving a place you have loved and moving toward another opportunity always carries mixed emotions. My dad was a pastor. While in the seminary, he and some of his classmates wrote a book compiled with stories each of them had written describing...

I have three wonderful books by Kobi Yamada. Their titles are, What Do You Do With an Idea, What Do You Do With a Problem, and What Do You Do With a Chance. These titles spurred an intriguing question. What do you do with a word

There is a philosophy in Japan called Nagomi. It's an ancient word that focuses on calming. It's derived from the Japanese verb, "nagomu," which means to calm down or be comforted. When things get so busy you wonder if you are ever going to get...

I grew up always wanting to be liked and accepted. It was hard for me to understand how someone got the courage to disagree with another's opinion or suggest what they wanted to do instead of going along with the crowd. I never wanted to risk d...

As you know, I have been writing in my journals since 2004 after a young English major from St. Ben's University, named Katie Silus, introduced them to me on a plane from Denver to Minneapolis. We exchanged addresses before disembarking and two...

Remember a while back when I shared the story about the greedy King, who never smiled? He learned that there was a magical quiltmaker living in the mountains. He asked one of his soldiers why he had never received a quilt from the quiltmaker. T...

Last week during class, I showed my students a video clip on being resilient. After it was over, I asked them to write down everything they could remember from the clip. I'd like to ask you to do a similar exercise. Take a piece of paper and pe...

If you reflect with me for one minute who were the three kindest people you know, who might you choose? What is the evidence that points to the reason you chose them? Would you be in someone's top 3 list of kind people? What would the evidence ...

Bonnie Benard, wrote, Resiliency: What We Have Learned, in which she identifies four questions to help understand one's meaning in life. We should consider asking ourselves: 1) Who am I? 2) What do I love? 3) How shall I live? and 4) H...

The power in stories is that you can use the same story to support many different ideas or concepts. You can also tell stories over and over because not only do we learn something different each time we hear a story, but stories ignite somethin...

Dear Family and Friends, Have you noticed that when you look through a stained glass window, you cannot see the shapes beyond it very clearly or distinctly? You can hardly even distinguish shapes or colors. But yet there is beauty a...

Liese Greensfelder, from California, decided in 1973 at 18 years of age to pursue a dream to help people in time of need, so she joined The Norwegian Committee for International Education and Youth Work to work on a Norwegian farm. She was to l...

My dad was amazing at making relationships and initiating conversations with people. If you had asked him how he was so good at that art, he would probably have said, "Well, I ask a question, and then I listen." And that is exactly what he did....

There is an African proverb that says, "if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together." Have you found yourself in conversation with someone or a group that was so good, so nurturing to your spirit that you di...

I have a group of friends, Rozi, Sue, Connie, and Jennie, who are amazing quilters. Years ago, I learned how to quilt from Rozi, however, I did not keep up with the art. Though I'm not a quilter, I tell stories. So, together, this group makes t...

A wonderful quote attributed to Anne Frank says, "No one has ever become poor by giving." In these fearful days, doing something for another is an instant antidote for the fear that can too easily have a grip on our inner peace. Giving comes in...

Thich Nhat Hanh said, “Everything – including love, hate, and suffering, needs food to continue. If suffering continues, it’s because we keep feeding our suffering.” Ghandi said, "My life is my message." Two powerful quotes by two powerful peop...

I was a sophomore in college when I first began dating my husband. I had just been awarded a college letter jacket for my role as the college's first woman football trainer. I was so proud of that jacket. Soon after receiving it, I went to lunc...

Phrases have always surfaced to represent a series of actions, concepts, or tasks. For example, a new one we hear about now is the concept of "onboarding," which is defined as the process of integrating a new employee into the company or instit...

Many years ago, I went with a group of friends to Minneapolis to attend the live radio production of Prairie Home Companion,  by the storyteller, Garrison Keillor. I sat next to a young man with a red t-shirt that said, "Kenosha S...

Margaret J. Wheatley wrote, Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future, in 2009. In reading it, you would think she wrote it with today in mind. She describes some of the beliefs that motivate her a...

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...