by Janel Breitenstein | Dec 19, 2017 | faith, Holidays; Occasions
I grew up amidst a small, tidy farm in central Illinois. The colors that primarily swirl in my memory are the rustling greenness that stretched in acres of corn or soybeans on every side, or the grass that could only be truly experienced through one’s...
by Janel Breitenstein | Dec 16, 2017 | Africa
Already tried the Christmas-movie-night-while-stringing-popcorn tack? Exhausted your board game tournament ideas? Sent your kids outside till they’e sledded their little hearts out? Here are a handful of easy-peasy ideas to abet Christmas Vacation Chaos. Have an...
by Janel Breitenstein | Dec 14, 2017 | Africa, challenging, difficulty, discouragement, Holidays; Occasions
In all its celebration of the best, Christmas still has a way of exposing…reality. Take last Wednesday. The goal: 12 canning jars of sand-art brownies for my kids’ teachers. And of course, to make a memory. But as I’ve mentioned before, sometimes my...
by Janel Breitenstein | Dec 12, 2017 | challenging, closeness; intimacy, enduring love, faith, Marriage, relationships, sex, staying in love
Hey. Thanks for being open with me. Over your latte, I saw the concern in your eyes. I know this isn’t who you want to be; that you’re afraid of your own heart. I know you’re married, but constantly thinking about someone else. But I know longing...
by Janel Breitenstein | Dec 7, 2017 | Africa, children, Family, Home and Hospitality, Ideas, kids, Parenting, practical, simplicity, spiritual life skills/spiritual disciplines
One of my favorite aspects of my African lifestyle was a lean muscularity of simplicity. Forget keeping up with the Joneses. You are the Joneses, when your kids are going to play with kids whose families (who may or may not be literate or have lost a child) live in...
