The Catch: On Great Expectations When They Don’t Make Sense

by Janel Breitenstein | Mar 27, 2018 | Africa, challenging, encouragement, faith, waiting

My husband and I were riding home in the dark last night, drinking in that laundry-on-the-line feeling of spring, even though I know in Colorado it won’t last long. (I’m scheduling this post for a day when they’re predicting more snow.) We talked...

Freebie Fridays: 11 Ideas for More Emotionally-whole and -healthy Parenting [INFOGRAPHIC]

by Janel Breitenstein | Mar 23, 2018 | emotion, Family, humility, infographics, Parenting, practical, Printables and Freebies, shame, tweens and teens

In keeping with my recent infatuation with infographics, today’s post is an attempt to visually portray the thoughts in this popular post, 11 Ideas for More Emotionally-whole and Healthy Parenting (which in turn can give you more complete ideas). Print it FREE here!...

Look What I Did! On an Illusion of Spiritual Achievement

by Janel Breitenstein | Mar 22, 2018 | humility, identity

Okay, it’s weird to admit this. But there’s an element of living in Africa, being a missionary and all that (or “working in development,” depending on your angle), which if dropped casually in the right circles, instantly hands one to a crumb...

Freebie Friday: Shame-parenting vs. Guilt Exposure [INFOGRAPHIC]

by Janel Breitenstein | Mar 16, 2018 | children, conflict, Family, free download, infographics, kids, Parenting, practical, Printables and Freebies, shame, shareables

My most popular post for this blog hands-down has been Shame on You? On Shame-parenting vs. guilt exposure. It seems like all of us can resonate with the gripping force of shame in our lives–and the longing to give our kids something more. Print this infographic...

The Pitfalls of Being a “Good Example”

by Janel Breitenstein | Mar 13, 2018 | humility, identity, relationships, sharing your faith

Squirreled away in my attic somewhere you’ll find a handful of my spiral notebooks from college. I covered them with brown paper back then; pasted colorful collages of magazine photos on the outside, sometimes with handwriting in black ink edging the photos. I...