The book “Quiet Grace” by former Devils Lake resident Dwight Stensgaard.
I love to read. I have loved reading my whole life. My Dad, who only had a fourth grade education, taught me how to read from a very early age, maybe three or four years old. He would use the colorful funny pages that came in the weekly newspaper – you remember those, don’t you?
By age five I was reading on my own whatever I could get my hands on, including the cereal boxes at the breakfast table.
That was when I entered First Grade at Prairie View Elementary School and Mrs. Pederson’s class where we prayed the Lord’s Prayer every morning along with the Pledge of Allegiance and a simple little song to start the school day.
Ah, times have changed a bit since then.
Recently I was gifted a tiny little book written by a former Devils Lake man, Dwight Stensgaard, titled “Quiet Grace”. The author describes his 91 page book as a “collection of reflections with life and faith lessons that shaped this farm boy. The hope of this book is that the reflections shared will touch your soul with the warm and loving, quiet grace of God.”
It appeared on my desk at the Devils Lake Journal and I eagerly picked it up and leafed through it, finding a delightful, simple book filled with 30 reflections that would speak to just about anyone, wherever they are in their lives, whatever they are dealing with.
A large section is about hope, then living thankfully, faith and life stories, and more.
I am planning to make this one of my daily readings when I need encouragement, hope or peace.
I recommend it to anyone, maybe everyone, whether you have been on your own faith journey a long time or whether perhaps it is just beginning for you.
You will not regret it.
The author graduated from high school in Devils Lake, ND but only attended his senior year in the Devils Lake system. His elementary years were spent in Maddock, ND.
He attended the Lake Region Junior College, then attended NDSU in Fargo, then Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN and was ordained a Lutheran Pastor and served the Lutheran Church for 42 years, including a time at St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Devils Lake.
A Norwegian American, he grew up on a farm in Norway Lake Township, his address was Heimdal (a Norse god) and attended Viking Lutheran Church. His nickname is Augie and he says he loves Ole and Lena jokes!
His book is available from Amazon, Barns and Noble and through Walmart, on the web.
