Words of Hope: Stiff Necks

Dad and I liked to take a sermon or scripture and understand it as well as we could. He would pass out blank pages with pens or crayons and ask us to delve deep into what scripture was saying...

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Words of Hope: Sing Until the Miracle Comes

I keep a few old gratitude journals on my desk that I review from time to time. Today I read about an overnight trip my daughter Ari took with her class six years ago. She had been homesick for...

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Words of Hope: Repair

Dad and I had many conversations about the attraction to cut-off relationships by not speaking to someone or vilifying others, a tendency to build up resentment. A situation recently arose between a few people I know. I became the...

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Words of Hope: Giving Hope

I heard from two people last week that Dad's "Words of Hope" book brought people comfort. One person gave the book to a family who lost a teenage son to suicide. Another person gave the book to a friend...

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Words of Hope: Days of Plenty

My middle daughter, Ariana, is playing at the professional summer theatre in Coeur d' Alene in Little Women the Musical. Ariana's character Beth dies from Scarlet Fever, and the mother sings a song after her death that says,   I never...

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Words of Hope: The Gift of a Good Father

My friend told me, “I didn’t have a dad like yours. He left our family through an affair and wanted to reconcile later in life. His reconciliation was an appeal to reconnection but without any true asking of forgiveness...

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Words of Hope: Life-Giving Presence

Someone asked me how I was doing with my Dad’s death. I told her, “Honestly, it is much more painful than I thought. I miss him every single day.” I spoke with my brother, and he said the...

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Words of Hope: Confident and Compassionate Disagreement

Shann and I recently discussed how family issues become more difficult because many fear disagreements and conflicts. We have very few examples of people navigating disputes with health and compassion. Debates are uncomfortable and can lead to troubling outcomes...

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Words of Hope: The Best Medicine

Shann is genuinely a happy person. He is cheerful, lighthearted, and never moody or depressed. He sings daily and is genuinely a joy to be married to. Growing up, one of his favorite songs says, “A happy heart is...

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Words of Hope: Condemning the Guiltless

I love listening to the Pray as You Go app. The other day one of the scriptures asked us to ponder the story of Jesus talking with the Pharisees. They were confronting Jesus and his disciples for plucking wheat...

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