By Angela Denstad Time and again, when life gets hard, little adages and bits of advice spring to mind. It’s tempting to gather them all together, reasoning there must be some greater truth to be compiled from all the individual bits of collective wisdom imparted to us over the course of our years. In difficult times, we seek solutions; in times of grief, we seek solace. And … [Read more...]

Spring showed up the way it always does out here – quiet at first, then all at once. One day the yard is still wearing winter like an old chore coat, and the next, we’re sending cows out to pasture and the machinery is coming out of the shed to stretch its legs. The alfalfa is in, the fields are flirting with dry enough to plant corn, and the cow’s wind-break barn curtains are … [Read more...]

He is Super Everywhere we look we can find evidence of a Super-Scientist, a Super-Planner, and a Super-Artist.  Although the word “super” means superior and extraordinary, it does not relate how really great God is.  But for the sake of this article, it will suffice.  He knows what our lives need to survive and provides them.  He makes the heavens work like clockwork.  He … [Read more...]

Guess what?! We’re a quarter finished with this trip around the sun! How’d it go? Usually I’d hate this question, and feel guilt from anyone who asks it, but I’d like to think I’m growing up, so I can ask myself the question without breaking out in hives.  Craig Groschel said that you cannot change what you have not defined, which is just a fancy way of saying you’ll be … [Read more...]

By Angela Denstad Time and again spring teases us along. It tempts tender green shoots out of the earth, brings back songbirds and waterfowl, coaxes us to forego our winter coats, if only for the day. But just as you soften into the fragile newness of rebirth, winter blankets us again. Such a fickle season!  A far cry from winter’s predictable celebrations, the Easter … [Read more...]

Making syrup has always been intriguing to me. Is it true there could be so much goodness flowing through the trunks of trees? I had been hearing tales of tapping for several weeks. Those die-hard sappers kept telling stories of the woods. Their stories, and my love of syrup, kept calling me to give it a try. There’s that old saying, “When the cat’s away, the mice come out … [Read more...]

Today, I had to ask my husband the big question.  “When I go out to do chores, how long will it take you to come out and look for me?” He set down his paperwork, looked at me through his reading glasses and his lips began to curl up in a mischievous little smile.  “Why?” he queried. ”Did you have some trouble today?” I began to give him the blow-by-blow facts as I went … [Read more...]

Don’t shoot me, but I took a siesta in the white sand of Siesta Beach in Florida today. At 72 and sunny, I can’t say I’m missing the 27 and cloudy of home. Why am I here? Because I read a book. Maybe this is the part where I tell you to be careful what you read. Reading has consequences. Reading could transform your entire world – or at least your classroom. Let me … [Read more...]

By Angela Denstad  Time and again, odd coincidences spring up as patterns of thought lead to unlikely connections and serendipitous insights. As I was trying to curry favor with my finicky feline, brushing the little lion soft as a lamb, I wondered how March might unfold and where this Year of the Horse might lead us.  Weather-wise, the groundhog predicted more winter, … [Read more...]

There’s glitter and sparkles everywhere. Power tools and saws are running, and paint and decals are being applied liberally. What is going on? My kids are making pinewood derby cars. This is one of the things they look forward to all year. This is the weekend they race their five-ounce cars down a wooden track and see where they place against their AWANA friends. If your … [Read more...]