by Janel Breitenstein | Jul 26, 2016 | Africa, faith, Holidays; Occasions, Home and Hospitality, humility, rest, work
And…we’re gone. By the time you read this, my family will likely have wrangled our carry-ons into that taupe-colored hum of a 757, bound for six months stateside. (After the lunacy of this week, preparing to abscond for six entire months, I surely hope we make it to...
by Janel Breitenstein | Jul 23, 2016 | children, enduring love, faith, kids, Parenting, tweens and teens
My son—my oldest—turned twelve a few weeks back. Helping him with his piano lesson, I played a few notes of the “New World Symphony” for him. He didn’t remember a bit of it—though we played it night after night after night for him as an infant, willing that cranky boy...
by Janel Breitenstein | Jul 19, 2016 | Africa, challenging, faith, Gratitude, helping others, poverty
Sometimes it’s hard for me to locate the goodness of God in poverty. A project with a Ugandan friend of mine, completing her counseling internship, had trailed me into the slums after her. In some ways the dry season made it more tolerable than I’d anticipated. The...
by Janel Breitenstein | Jul 12, 2016 | challenging, difficulty, discouragement, emotion, encouragement, failure, faith, Gospel, identity, prayer, relationships, time alone with God
I could sense it in a conversation the other day, creeping over me like a bony hand on my shoulder. Later, I guessed it was similar to what some women feel when a confident, charming vixen sweeps into the room, swiveling all the male heads, and you’re in your...
by Janel Breitenstein | Jul 6, 2016 | children, conflict, emotion, enduring love, failure, Family, fear, Gospel, humility, kids, love, methods, Parenting, relationships
Completely Pretty much hypothetical situation. Say one of your kids—well, one of my kids, anyway—teases a sibling to the point of tears. (I know. Whose kids would do that?!) Let’s take a gander at a few of our parenting options, shall we? a. “How could you do that to...
