Anxiety is Contagious The scene in my B Block class was familiar. That morning had been a killer test in one of LSA’s notorious AP classes. Several of my students had this class—but only a handful had taken the test that morning. The rest would face it that afternoon. Hysteria spread like a bad case...Continue Reading
Maybe it’s just me. But lately? My first reaction is to be cynical. Or bitter. Or weary. This is a change and I don’t quite know what’s caused it. The more I talk about this–the more people seem to feel the same way. What’s going on? Maybe this dark cloud is leftover from the confusion...Continue Reading
I traveled to Latin America to speak to missionaries. I taught three afternoons of Bible studies to the women and three mornings of Bible studies to teenaged kids of missionary families. This was for the annual conference for the region so over 100 of us gathered together to connect and learn. When I’m working with...Continue Reading
Next week, Mike and I headed to the Dominican Republic for six days. We are so excited to be part of the Lutheran mission work in Latin America. As we prepare for the trip, I invite you to be part of the love and words we will bring to the missionaries serving 43 church plants...Continue Reading
You’re Looking for Connection Our family has packed and unloaded our minivan a dozen times this summer. We’ve traveled to a cottage in Seaside, a cabin in Breckenridge, the quiet lakes of Nebraska, and the hot, crowded streets of downtown Houston. It’s been a summer of thousands and thousands of miles, of awe and excitement,...Continue Reading
You’ve seen the pictures and watched the livestream. Now, your kids are headed home from The Gathering and you have high hopes that they came away transformed in some way. And not transformed in the way that they’re too tired to talk about what went down the past five days. Connecting with teens is usually...Continue Reading
Dear Catie (On your last first day of school)… Senior Year. This is the big one, sister. All the other years have been practice for this one. There were the trials of Pre-K, when you wanted to stay home every day. Then, elementary school, with the constant drama of Fast Facts and Sight Words. Onward...Continue Reading
What actually went down this year? None of us saw this coming—and yet it has changed us in ways we will never understand. 2020 has changed all of us in the most important way. This is the year you learned grace. This will be our most important lesson for the people we want to become....Continue Reading
Dear Nate- Here’s the funny thing I see happening in our family right now, Nate. Long ago you were assigned to be The Smart One, The Sweetheart, and The One with No-Drama. As the fourth child in a big family, you didn’t get much of a say in who we decided you would be. Except...Continue Reading
Dear Sam- You know that sign in our gameroom? The little one that says, “Love like Catie, Live like Elisabeth, Laugh like Sam, and Look like Nate?” When we jokingly hung that up, everyone agreed we had one part right—laugh like Sam. Because you, my dear boy, know how to look at the world and...Continue Reading
