by Janel Breitenstein | Dec 7, 2015 | children, Family, free download, Ideas, kids, love languages, methods, Parenting, practical, prayer, prayers, Printables and Freebies, relationships
Type out your instructions for babysitters—and then just change the details for each specific outing (phone numbers, meal instructions, etc.) as needed. Then print and go! Alternatively, laminate your instructions with blanks for the changeable information, and write...
by Janel Breitenstein | Dec 4, 2015 | Africa, challenging, Culture, difficulty, faith, God's will
It was Friday night, and friends and I were tearing into slices of pizza as our children yelped and shrieked over on the restaurant’s bouncy castle. As it occasionally does with an expat crowd, the conversation turned to culturally confusing, even harrowing moments. I...
by Janel Breitenstein | Dec 1, 2015 | challenging, conflict, difficulty, discouragement, enduring love, God's will
I was a brand, spanking-new junior in a high school far from my former Yankee home. So new, in fact, that my parents hadn’t even moved down yet; I bunked with friends of my parents, previously unknown by me, so I could be present at the start of the new school year....
by Janel Breitenstein | Nov 27, 2015 | Africa, challenging, difficulty, discouragement, enduring love, faith, fear, God's will, humility, prayer
Author’s note: It was two years ago that our family received unsettling news that began an extended holding pattern for us, news which wouldn’t be resolved for another eleven months. That period of gray, unsettled twilight will stand out in my life as one...
by Janel Breitenstein | Nov 24, 2015 | Africa, challenging, Gratitude, Holidays; Occasions, poverty
Author’s note: This post is not at all intended to be a political statement regarding the recent controversy over refugees (see this article for a Christian point of view on the tension between security and compassion). It’s simply a memo to myself as I look at...
