My five-year-old raced into the kitchen today after an outing with his dad, new toy car in hand — a bright red Dodge Charger. Red is my son’s favorite color; he…
Janel Breitenstein
Janel Breitenstein graduated summa cum laude from John Brown University and began her career with NavPress, where she worked on The Message Bible. She is a mother of four and she and her family served as missionaries to Uganda for five years. Janel has continued using her gift of writing by serving as a writer and editor and you can read more from her at A Generous Grace.
It’s a New Mom Thing
Once after I had my first child, I showed up at my parents’ house with my son’s socks on the wrong feet—you know, the little pictures on the sides were…
Unexpectant
My husband and I got a little new year’s surprise last week. We thought I was pregnant. This was (ahem) not really anticipated. Now, to those of you faithful to…
Scary Motherhood Moment
It happened when my eight-month-old was doing his inchworm crawl across the floor (rear up, flop forward, rear up, flop forward) around the carpet, exploring at bedtime while I read…
My Marriage: Cross-Cultural Studies
When I was 16, I spent six weeks in Venezuela with some missionaries and some nationals. It left a significant impact on me, and I get why my parents believe that…
Go. To. BED.
One area of mothering I very clearly have yet to master is bedtime; my kids pop out like a jack-in-the-box. It does not help that by bedtime, I am actually…
One Small Solution to Stuff-itis
This week as I carted the new Christmas toys upstairs, contemplating where to store the new loot, I felt somewhat heavy and divided, as I have occasionally after Christmas. My children are…
Poised for Radical Love
She hurt me. To this day, sometimes when I think about her, fear folds itself around my chest. Though sometimes I have to choose to forgive her again, I believe…
Grieving at Christmas
I heard a thought second-hand recently, which was originally from a mother who’d just lost her child in a terrible accident. The mom explained that she’d diligently raised her kids…
The Christmas Program
I was proud of my kids, all up there for my Bible study’s Christmas program. My music-loving 2-year-old was bopping up and down in her cute little outfit, my 3-year-old at…