by Janel Breitenstein | Nov 22, 2022 | free download, Holidays; Occasions, Printables and Freebies, shareables
Happy (American) almost-Thanksgiving! It’s great timing. Again. My family needs a day of gratitude. I’m hoping for more than a quick, compulsory burst of gratitude tending to last four minutes, muttered over some cranberry sauce. (Maybe this just...
by Janel Breitenstein | Nov 19, 2022 | closeness and intimacy, closeness; intimacy, emotion, enduring love, kids, listening, love, Marriage, relationships
A few nights ago, I got a call from my son from his military base. Wanna know what was great? He called me because he had a bad day. And because he let me into his world and the ways he felt exposed, tossing around some question marks about himself–I got the...
by Janel Breitenstein | Oct 21, 2022 | children, faith, fear, prayer
He must have been two when it happened: back when his cheeks still looked like he was storing up nuts for winter. (Now, at 16, he just eats like he’s storing up for winter.) The store’s fluorescent lights buzzed above, and the air conditioning was running...
by Janel Breitenstein | Oct 14, 2022 | difficulty, discouragement, faith, fear
Something beautiful happened in my family last weekend. This is me, in San Diego, with my husband–and my oldest son, who has your back. He is one of the United States’ newest marines. I expected the weekend to be pure celebration, which it largely was. But...
by Janel Breitenstein | Sep 30, 2022 | faith, Parenting, sex
One of my favorite recent additions to our house: An invisible fence to keep our adorable, occasionally obnoxious puppy from running after our local deer infestation. pursuing other dogs and unsuspecting passersby. getting another person’s dog knocked up in the...
