Christa Meland

Food for thought Healing Stories and Storytelling

Resilience Expert Learns Firsthand: Laughter is the Best Medicine

Jacquelyn Fletcher Johnson is a resilience expert who trains people in what she calls “the art of the return”—finding a sense of meaning and purpose after challenging times. But it wasn’t until she herself was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2019 that she discovered one of the most important…

Christa MelandFebruary 8, 2021

Food for thought Guest Blogs Purposeful Living

Gratitude: No Action Too Little or Too Late (Guest Post)

Amy Gage, biking with her husband David Amid the post-holiday, mid-winter doldrums, as we wait with anticipation for longer days and warmer weather that sometimes feel like they’ll never come, we are excited to share a lovely reflection about gratitude. Amy Gage—director of neighborhood and community relations at the University…

Christa MelandFebruary 2, 2021

Grief and Grieving Purposeful Living

5 Things to Celebrate in This Year of Pandemic

“We as a collective have been so incredibly resilient through this time,” said Dr. Henry Emmons. As an integrative psychiatrist, noted author, and resilience expert, he knows what resilience looks like better than most anyone. At our recent virtual event, Oasis 2020: Hope and Possibility, Dr. Emmons shared five bright…

Christa MelandJanuary 18, 2021

Grief and Grieving

4 Helpful Tips to Navigate COVID-19 Grief and Loss

The COVID-19 vaccine starting to make its rounds has brought some measure of hope to many Americans—but a lot of us are still navigating grief and loss after a most difficult year. Dr. Pauline Boss, professor emeritus of family social science at the University of Minnesota, coined the term “ambiguous…

Christa MelandJanuary 12, 2021

Guest Blogs Healing Stories and Storytelling

Held Up by Love: What Cancer Has Taught Me (Guest Post)

We are grateful to be able to share a beautiful and thoughtful reflection from Rev. Cindy Gregorson, who serves as director of ministries for the Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. In October 2018, she was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma. She underwent surgery the following month to…

Christa MelandDecember 26, 2020

Grief and Grieving Healing Stories and Storytelling Music Purposeful Living

Join us for Oasis 2020: Hope and Possibility

Join us at 6:45 p.m. Dec. 29 for a virtual event to explore and honor the loss and grief we've experienced amid the pandemic and to look ahead to brighter days. The event, Oasis 2020: Hope and Possibility, is our gift to you after the crushing and confusing losses many…

Christa MelandDecember 15, 2020

End of Life Wisdom Grief and Grieving

Saying Goodbye to Beloved Pets

Over the past nine months, as many of us have been working from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve spent more time with our pets than ever before: They lay next to us as we type. They alert us anytime there’s a noise in our neighborhood. They even make occasional…

Christa MelandDecember 4, 2020

Purposeful Living

Join Us For Our Thanksgiving Week Gratitude Challenge

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” —Aesop Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. No gifts to buy and wrap, no pressure to massively decorate, no stress—just a whole lot of turkey and family time. But this year, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent surge of…

Christa MelandNovember 17, 2020

End of Life Wisdom Food for thought Guest Blogs

Longtime Palliative Care Chaplain Talks Life, Death, Healing (Guest Post)

We are grateful to be able to share a deep and rich reflection from a now retired palliative care chaplain. Katie Herman worked at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis from 1996 to 2012 and as a member of its Palliative Care Team immediately after it formed in 2003. Then from…

Christa MelandNovember 9, 2020

Resilience Expert Learns Firsthand: Laughter is the Best Medicine

Gratitude: No Action Too Little or Too Late (Guest Post)

5 Things to Celebrate in This Year of Pandemic

4 Helpful Tips to Navigate COVID-19 Grief and Loss

Held Up by Love: What Cancer Has Taught Me (Guest Post)

Join us for Oasis 2020: Hope and Possibility

Saying Goodbye to Beloved Pets

Join Us For Our Thanksgiving Week Gratitude Challenge

Longtime Palliative Care Chaplain Talks Life, Death, Healing (Guest Post)

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