JanineThrossel.com

I was so blessed to get to share a different version of this story in Guideposts magazine this summer! So grateful for that opportunity. Here is the original. His Spirit Over the Waters “Are you sure?” My husband Tom asked. “Yep,” I answered confidently. “I’ll go.” Excitement and determination bubbled up to push my usual fear out of the way. Despite all that had happened, God’s gentle peace had settled in my heart. I wrestled into a wetsuit. It had been a long year for all of us. In fact, for me, it had been five long years of loss after loss. I lost my job in the pandemic and faced the deaths of some of my closest loved ones, due to a variety of causes. Like waves hitting the beach one after another, I felt pounded, smacked to the ground, and knocked a bit off course. Then, unexpectedly, I lost my beautiful sister-in-law of nearly thirty years to covid. Michelle and I had talked often about being old together some day, caring for our parents-in-law and watching our kids grow...

 Some days, work is work. Some days, work is bliss. Such a fun writing assignment, requiring some research and development. :) 

Happy Independence Day! “It will be celebrated with pomp and parade, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other.” —PRESIDENT JOHN ADAMS , 2nd President of the United States

May 31, 2022 Looking ahead while looking back, the Sweet and the Sour I am pitting and freezing a few pounds of cherries today, finding a peaceful rhythm as I halve them with a little paring knife and slide out the pits with my thumb. It is a task filled with memories for me. The memory of blue skies and cheery cherry summers. The memory of my mother showing me how to use the knife. The memories of baking clafoutis with my sister. I pop a cherry half into my mouth. “Do not muzzle the ox,” my grandma would quote, “while he’s treading out the grain.” This principle I learned from her as a child (given three times in the Bible) reminds me I am worthy of my wages. Today, the wages include a cherry or two. Instantly, the taste transports me back to my grandfather’s orchard and stuffed plastic bags of fruit sitting on the kitchen table. I remember eating Rainiers the most, not the deep red cherries pictured in storybooks. Rainiers are a hybrid from the 1950s, a surprising blend of two re...

 As we cry and pray and hope for Ukraine, we also see Biblical prophecy unfolding as it always does. This video by Greg Laurie tells a little bit about that. I think it's a helpful one, worth watching.   Click the "Read More" button to watch the video here or copy/ paste the following link to watch it over at YouTube.com. Blessings-- Janine YouTube link:    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwMegTvUTWc 

Some moments in American history have left deep indentations. . . . The signing of our Declaration of Independence from England. The Stock Market Crash. The attack on Pearl Harbor. The Montgomery Bus Boycott. The 1963 March on Washington. The assassinations of JFK, MLK Jr. and Robert Kennedy . . . Some of those events stemmed from now-ended enmities. We are allies with Britain now. We are friends with Japan. However, the deep racism that led to white Americans killing black ones has never gone away. Laws have changed, which is huge and important. Yet, white people still kill black ones and raise their children to do the same. To paraphrase Rosa Parks, I'm tired of it. People keep saying that white silence perpetuates the problem. So let me say it loudly and publicly. Racism is wrong. Did you get that? Racism is wrong. Why does that even need to be said? Yet, in our beautiful, great, amazing country, we still have to teach it and say it. People still believe that t...

We're each different: Healthy. . . ill. . . working. . . laid off . . .homeschooling . . . relaxing. . . struggling. . . Yet, all of us wait and wonder. We wait to see if the situation we're in will get better or worse, if someone we love will get infected or if we'll keep our jobs. We wonder how this crisis happened, when it will be over, and how it will change us. Now, church buildings are starting to reopen and we have more questions. In a country covering almost 4 million square miles, the reopening plan for a church in one town is not necessarily right for another. We don't know all the answers. Yet, I believe God gives answers to one question that all believers should be considering. How should we live, as Christians, during this pandemic? As we wait and wonder together, here are some suggestions. 10 Things For Christians To Do During a Crisis 1. Remember God has not changed. Don't just remember it, but know it down deep in your bones. God is the...