by Janel Breitenstein | May 10, 2016 | Africa, challenging, children, difficulty, emotion, encouragement, faith, fear, God's will, kids, love, prayer
Last Sunday afternoon, while on his bicycle, my eleven-year-old was hit by a motorcycle. While he was applying his brakes, sliding on rust-colored mud into the intersection, I was at home, deciding I would take a Sunday nap. I’d barely closed my eyes when one...
by Janel Breitenstein | May 6, 2016 | closeness and intimacy, Discussion Questions, friendships, practical, Questions to take your relationships deeper, relationships, time together, true success
New to these questions? See these notes first, along with Set #1 . When you are looking back at your parenting, what is one thing do you suspect you’ll wish you did differently? What specific action makes you feel most loved? (i.e. If someone listens to me. If...
by Janel Breitenstein | May 5, 2016 | challenging, children, compassion, difficulty, discouragement, emotion, encouragement, enduring love, failure, faith
In dealing with our kids’ pain, we’re sculpting their thinking about God and His relationship to the bad things that happen. Kids learn methods to encounter suffering in these moments—and to choose trust and courage rather than fear at those little, and large, forks...
by Janel Breitenstein | May 3, 2016 | faith, prayer, time alone with God
My house is…well. Noisy. Most of the time, I think like that this place gurgles with life. Someday, I think, I will be sad when my house is silent more often than it is loud. But the current season is saturated with boy sound-effects of all varieties and odors; um,...
by Janel Breitenstein | Apr 30, 2016 | Culture, emotion, fear, friendships, identity, love, quotes, relationships
There’s a scene that always makes me grin from the movie Hitch (you know, with Will Smith). Hitch is a dating consultant, coaching guys get the girls they’re crazy about. Here, he’s advising a client who’s purchased a recommended pair of shoes for his date. Hitch: The...
