by Janel Breitenstein | May 4, 2018 | closeness and intimacy, community, compassion, conflict, emotion, friendships, listening, relationships
Of all the vibrancy of being in another culture this week, one of my least favorite is the language barrier. It’s as if I’m constantly stopping myself from asking the questions I want to know of people–from relating. The late neurosurgeon Paul...
by Janel Breitenstein | May 1, 2018 | community, compassion, helping others, Home and Hospitality, poverty, social justice
Today, I woke up in Thailand. My sister and her husband start their day early on behalf of their community, feeding a bunch of kids breakfast so they can grow up strong. The food is cooked by an amazing local Burmese woman with a heart even bigger than her...
by Janel Breitenstein | Apr 26, 2018 | Gospel, sharing your faith
This morning (or was it yesterday morning?), snowflakes were seesawing down on my hair–and there I was wearing sandals. I kissed my family goodbye and loaded myself and an overstuffed hiking backpack into a friend’s Prius. And so began my two-week trip to...
by Janel Breitenstein | Apr 20, 2018 | Africa
Yesterday, my friend got a dog. Now, for most of you, you’re thinking, this is not an auspicious start for an insightful blog post. But then I would tell you that she literally has teared up when reading airline rules about transporting a pet. I’d mention...
by Janel Breitenstein | Apr 17, 2018 | anger, closeness and intimacy, conflict, difficulty, discouragement, Discussion Questions, fear, listening, practical, Questions to take your relationships deeper, relationships
Late one night last week, my husband arrived home to tell me we needed to get the car in the shop pronto. I decided to take it in after my dentist’s appointment the next morning (y’know, all the things I love at once: the dentist’s chair, taking an...
