JanineThrossel.com

The sun is coming up on this beautiful day after Christmas, golden rays through cloudy, cold windows.  I have a heater going in the bedroom where I'm typing and a fire in the fireplace downstairs.  Our little Daschund, Jack, refuses to give up his bed yet, even after I put a sweater on him. Christmas didn't go quite as I expected this year.  A bad cold kept me from the Christmas Eve party and Christmas Day dinner that I had planned to attend with loved ones.  It's threatened to keep me from my family's traditional tea party this evening as well.  My sewing projects and reading plans were hindered by runny eyes.  A broken oven sidelined the holiday delights I tried to cook for my husband and children. Not quite as planned. Yet, it has been a beautiful time with my guys, who chose to stay with me instead of going out.  My oldest child filled our stockings and read us the Christmas story from Luke 2.  We opened lovingly-chosen and lovingly-wrap...

About six months ago, I made a new friend.   In some ways, we are very different from each other.  In others (like our affections for funny stories, people who are authentic and decent, cute dogs, shopping, and chocolate) we are very much alike.  She is the kind of friend that sharpens me.  She helps encourage me to be a better person and make my corner of the world brighter.  I find myself laughing more, giving more, reaching out to be more friendly to strangers, and being intentional about compassion.  Oh, and I'm even taking care of myself a little better--from skin care to exercise.   This Thanksgiving, one of the many, many blessings that I am thankful for, is my new friend. So, in honor of her, I want to giveaway something this month that she likes a lot. . . Royal Apothic perfume.   I'm giving a rather generous travel-size version (.33 fluid ounces), in the top-selling scent "Noble Carnation."  The Roy...

Jews praying at the Wailing Wall, circa 1870s, photo by Félix Bonfils in public domain. The news these days is pretty much frustrating for all of us--Democrat or Republican, young or old, rich or poor.  What is, perhaps, the most frustrating for me is the reports coming from Israel. Perhaps, in a different post, I will share some thoughts concerning why I stand with Israel.  For now, I want to address the horrific event that happened there this Tuesday. Two Palestinians entered a Jewish temple in Jerusalem and slaughtered four Orthodox Jews who were silently praying.  Their weapons of choice were axes, knives and a gun.  They then entered a gun battle with police and killed one officer (who was the dad of a four-month old) while he was dragging a female coworker to safety.  They themselves were then killed by police. Several news outlets wrote about the deaths as if the fight had been fair.  President Obama talked of "the majority of Palest...

<![endif]-->Remember those 276 Nigerian girls captured in April by militant Islamists?   Remember how horrified and concerned we were ? Fifty soon escaped, and the BBC is now telling the tale of three. As I read, it brought back some memories of my time in Bolivia. I believe God for my own life.  No matter what I've been through--hard days or sleepless nights--God's hand, guidance and presence has been with me.   I can see that good has grown and blossomed from the dark, stinky--yet rich--soil of my most painful days. It has all made me stronger and I don't resent or resist that.    Yet, there have been times when I doubted God's plan.   Can I just be honest about that?  It was hard to believe Him sometimes, when I saw broken and abused children.   When those Nigerian girls were taken, I felt that too-familiar pang of " Why , God ?"   I prayed for their safe return and protection.  I wondered where God's place was...

Tonight, I'm posting my first review for the Bethany House Blogger Review program.  Check it out! Don't you love great books?  What are you reading?  Share with us. . . what is a book that you read this past year that was meaningful, memorable or even life-changing for you?  Leave a comment!

I'll be honest; historical romance novels aren't really my thing.  While other girls swooned over Heathcliff or Mr. Darcy, I was reading books about best friends and their adventures--Trixie Belden mysteries, In Grandma's Attic and so on. Yet, I was drawn to The Brickmaker's Bride .  First, the cover is fantastic.  From the layout to the color scheme to the embossing, this is a beautiful book.  Secondly, the story sounded unusual, unlike other romances I had read.  I want fiction to transport me.  This did--to a world I knew little about.  Facts about the brickmaking process in the late 19th century were woven in deftly and I stayed engaged to the end.  When it came time to put the book down, I didn't want to leave the characters! I only had two strong criticisms.  First, I think the first chapter would have benefited from more editing.  "Brickyard" appeared in it twenty-six times. (That doesn't count additional uses of "bricks,"...

Congratulations to Dria for winning the Bath and Body Works gift card!

"Happiness is a warm puppy." --Charles M. Schulz

Hey, today I hit 1,000 views.  So, how about a giveaway? How about 1,000 pennies worth of credit at Bath and Body Works? (No worries, I'll do the math for ya. . . $10.00) I would like to mail a gift card to one of you, so enter NOW! :) You could start filling your home with the scents of pumpkin-cinnamon, pumpkin-marshmallow, pumpkin-pecan, pumpkin caramel latte. . . or "Sweater Weather,"which is, apparently, a scent. You can get three mini candles for $10 now online, so who knows what kinds of deals you might find in the actual store? Enter between now and October 3rd, midnight in the Pacific Time Zone. Open to any of you in the 50 US States and with a special consideration to my friends in SCZ, Bolivia, because I still haven't mailed that package. . .   SO, if any of my friends in Santa Cruz de la Sierra win this giveaway, let me know what you want to buy with your $10 and I will try to pick it up for you and ship it down. Any questions? Let...

So, last night, my husband and I went to see the film, "The Identical."   It is the story of two twin boys, separated at birth.   One is raised by his financially strapped biological parents.   The other is raised in a middle class minister's family.   The pastor wants his adopted son to follow in his footsteps, but the son doesn't want to.   Both boys have incredible voices and charisma on stage as musicians and the one who stayed with his biological parents has become a huge star, along the lines of Elvis Presley.   As I was saying in a previous post, more feature films are being made in Christian circles lately, a trend I find fascinating.   Some I've loved and some I didn't.    Opinions are like elbows, as the saying goes.   I have mine; you have yours.   But if you're wanting to hear someone else's opinion before you shell out the cash to watch a flick. . . I don't mind giving you mine.  Opinion, that is.  Y...

I love the beach.  I've been from the rugged coasts of Northern California, to the inlets of Washington State, to the warm white sand in Florida and the sparkling black sand of Costa Rica.  LOVE the beach.  Perhaps that is why these 17 beaches caught my eye.  Check out   www.boredpanda.com/unusual-beaches/ Here is a preview, before you click the link! Look at that purple sand! (picture from www.boredpanda.com)

Did you go to the movies last weekend?   If so, what’d you see?   Guardians of the Galaxy ?   When the Game Stands Tall?   The Giver ?   Not too many years ago, Christians complained that their faith and moral standards weren’t fairly represented on the silver screen. The ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s were nothing like the golden era of The 10 Commandments (1956), Ben-Hur (1959) and The Robe (1953). I wasn't alive in the 1950s, although I did eventually see The 10 Commandments and Ben-Hur with my parents.   I do remember a few big-screen Christian hits, though. My childhood was marked by The Cross and the Switchblade , Joni , The Hiding Place , A Thief in the Night (how terrifying was that one, by the way?), and Jesus .   The 1980s brought the beautiful film Chariots of Fire and the Robert DeNiro picture, The Mission .   Prince of Egypt was delivered to us by Dreamworks in the 1990s, and got rave reviews.   But you have t...

California is known as the Golden State, famous for its sunshine.   But the past three years have brought more sunshine than we're used to.   The entire state is now reported as being in a serious drought.   In fact, more than 50% of the state is listed as being in the top-level category of "exceptional" drought.   Some communities have already run out of water.   Lakes and rivers are low. Wildfires are burning, with 216 reported in just one week.   A fire has even been burning in beloved Yosemite National Park, reknown for its world-class waterfalls.   Last month, California decided on a first-ever statewide rationing program that fines people who use water inappropriately.   Before any panic ensues, that basically means the following: 1. No spraying off your concrete driveway or walkways. 2.   No washing your car without a hose shut-off valve. 3.   No oversaturating your lawn until the water runs off into the street. 4....

And the winner is. . . . . Jon! Congratulations!! I will try to get that out to you this week. Thanks for participating!

Giveaway #3 So, awhile back I mentioned that I haven't had much time to read paper-and-ink books lately.   Sad, but true.   I've been listening to a lot of audiobooks at work instead.   Well, I did read one book with a binding lately--a slim, but important volume that I would like to share with you. Here it is: I met and worked with author M. J. Weissenberger in South America.   She was a new missionary who would be teaching English to our children.   I can't even express how blessed I am for what she has meant to them. So, when she announced the publication of her book, Two Heavy Words: Reflections of a First-Year Missionary, I was quick to buy it right away, snatch it from its envelope and devour it.   I paid for it, but reading it was a gift. One of the things I love about Mrs. Weissenberger is her honesty and frankness.   Another is her deep passion to keep pushing on and pressing forward in her faith and walk with God. ...

One of our friends just turned five years old.   The planning for her birthday bash--with a Disney princess theme--began weeks ago, and her mother asked if I would dress up as Ariel .  If you are somehow unfamiliar with the Disney princess movies, Ariel was a mermaid. "Um, no," I answered.   (I'm such a good friend, aren't I?) She asked me--the girl who had Prince Eric and Princess Ariel on my wedding invitations 21 years ago--a second time. "You have red hair!" "No." Foot down. In her head, she was picturing something like this: But in my head, I was thinking this: And it wasn't going to happen.   I mean, let's put this into perspective.   Prince Eric and Ariel married less than four years before my husband and I did.   Their wedding--and ours--was recorded on VHS.   And I was already in college when Belle, Jasmine and Pocahontas were added to the lineup.   What I'm trying to say is that...