What Will They Remember About Me? Start Here.
Your grandchildren won't just inherit your possessions. They'll inherit your stories.
A grandmother once taped a photograph to the back of a garage-sale lamp.
Her grandson found it thirty years later. Turned the lamp over to change a bulb, and there she was — young, laughing, a note in her own handwriting on the back.
She never knew he’d find it.
She just knew she wanted him to.
That’s this whole newsletter, really.
Small, deliberate acts of pouring into a child’s life — the kind that don’t announce themselves, but outlast us.
If you’re here, you’re probably already doing something like that. You just haven’t had the words for it yet.
This is where I try to give you some.
What This Actually Is
The Encouragement Express is a newsletter about object lessons — the practice of teaching something eternal using something ordinary. A lamp. A rotary phone. A jar of buttons.
I’ve spent almost forty years as a minister, hospice chaplain, and marriage & family therapist. I’ve sat at more deathbeds than I can count, and I’ve learned the same thing over and over.
The objects survive.
The lessons inside them survive longer.
At the heart of every story is a desire to help families pass down wisdom, faith, and love from one generation to the next.
Why I’m the One Writing This
I didn’t come to this from a marketing plan.
I came to it from a hospital hallway.
Grief work will teach you that legacy isn’t a box of photographs. It’s what gets passed down while we’re still here to pass it down.
Who This Is For
If you’re pouring into a grandchild’s life — whether you see them every Sunday or twice a year, whether you’re raising them full-time or loving them from a distance — you’re exactly who I write for.
If you’re raising your grandchildren full-time, you’ll find language and tools built for that specific weight, not generic advice that assumes a Sunday-visit kind of closeness.
What You’ll Find Here
Every week — free. One object lesson. An everyday item, the story behind it, and a simple way to share it with a child. No preparation required. Just your presence.
The moment you subscribe. My free ebook “Say What?!” (How we talked then. How they talk now) will arrive in your inbox. You’ll enjoy this fun PDF book illustrating how our words back then aren’t so different than the language kids use today.
If You Want to Go Further
Reading the free lesson each week is enough for most people.
But some of you are ready for more — either more tools for your own family, or material built for the work you carry professionally. If that’s you, one of these was created to help you pour more deeply into the people you serve.
If You’re a Grandparent Who Wants More
Someday your grandchildren may forget the toys you bought them. They won’t forget the lessons you taught them. The Grandparent Pass gives you a weekly story and conversation guide designed to help you create the moments your grandchildren will carry for a lifetime.
My Satisfaction Conviction
Try The Grandparent Pass for thirty days. If you don't feel this is helping you create more meaningful conversations and connections with your grandchild, I will refund you myself, personally, no questions asked.
I’m not protecting my income here. I’m protecting your trust. If this doesn’t work, I don’t want your money.
A Note for Those Who Help Others
And if you’re a minister, teacher, counselor, hospice chaplain, or grief support leader — you’ll find lessons ready to use this week, and material that doesn’t flinch from the hardest rooms, because it was built inside them.
Where to Start
If you only read one thing before deciding whether to stay, make it this week’s free post. It’ll tell you more than I can here.
Your encouragement arrives every week.
I’ll be here, with something small in my hands, trying to hand it to you.
— Your Friend, Howell