JanineThrossel.com

You know those evenings as a child that were full of excitement and anticipation because you knew tomorrow was full of good things? The day before a big vacation trip was to begin. . . or the day before your grandparents were coming to visit. . . or the day before your birthday? Then, you get a little older and it's the day before the prom, or graduation, or the first day of college? Maybe the first day of work at the job you've dreamed of for a long time. . . We kind of feel like that tonight because copies of our book Stacking Stones: Stories of God's Faithfulness in Far-Off Places is en route and scheduled to arrive to us tomorrow! Then, we get to have our first book signing this weekend! If you're local and want to attend, drop us a note. After that, Monday, from 5-7PM California time (8-10 on the East Coast), we will be having an online launch party via facebook. Join us for fun, giveaways, conversation and surprises. . . but no food, because, well, it's a...

August 14th was the day our e-book went live on amazon.com!  (Click here for link) It has been such a blessing to hear feedback from people who have enjoyed reading it. Thanks to all of you who have shared your thoughts about it with us. The print version is on its way. . . we are looking forward to getting our first copy, too! So, please watch for that! We also have a couple of book signings coming up and will do our best to keep you posted. Thank you for your encouragement and prayers. Let us know how we can pray for you, too.

When we were living in Bolivia a few years back, there was a bit of a hot topic in the papers concerning one of Bolivia's top Olympic athletes. Geovana Irusta, a racewalker, was frustrated by the way she thought her country treated her in her quest for a medal. Bolivia has yet to win a gold, silver or bronze in an Olympic competition. This woman believed that she would have a better chance with some more support. She saw other athletes, like the US Olympians, coached, with training centers built for them and running outfits designed to minimize wind drag. She wanted to be her best, but felt held back by the limitations of trying to achieve greatness on her own. Eventually, she went to train in the neighboring country of Argentina. I was thinking about Geovana the other day. You see, in this post-Christian society that we live in, a lot of my friends and acquaintances no longer participate in church. ("Wait--what does that have to do with the Olympics?" S...

One of the best pieces of advice we got when our children were little was not to compare them with other children and not to compare ourselves to other parents.  There are so many milestones ripe for comparison when you have babies. Is he crawling or standing yet? How tall is she? How much does he eat? How much does she weigh? Do you nurse or bottle feed? Do you leave him in day care? Do you read to her every night? Is he in a play group? My husband remembers being grilled at the park like this by an absolute stranger (perhaps stranger than most). The woman sized up the child my husband was babysitting, then began comparing her to her own. "When did your baby start walking? Speaking? Eating solid foods?" My husband guessed at answers he didn't know exactly, and she scoffed and gloated every time her baby won this pointless competition. "Nine months? Mine was seven." Each time Tom's baby "won," she said he must not be corr...

The mother of two of my closest friends in high school passed away unexpectedly a few weeks ago. As I have thought about her these past few days, I remember three things in particular: her smile, her laugh, and her strength. She was a tough cookie!  They were a Navy family, and one of the ways she showed strength was by holding tightly to her children and marriage as they moved from country to country to country. Now that my own family has moved from country to country to country--and back again--I know what that feels like. It ain't easy. Her daughter, my friend, is a tough cookie, too. This past year, she faced a living nightmare as her youngest girl contracted a life-threatening infection. She was med-evac'ed to a hospital and spent 140 days there--nearly five months. My friend stayed with her daughter day after day, praying for her, encouraging her and holding out hope as her child went through a coma; a tracheostomy; several close calls; and relearning to s...

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One of the best things about children's picture books is their illustrations, and when What a Bragger!  by Lee Ann Mancini arrived in the mail, its artwork certainly caught my eye! Dan Sharp's under-the-sea images are creative, colorful, whimsical. I wondered if the book's text would hold up to the lovely outside cover, but Mancini's story is engaging, relevant and well-told. In this book in the "Adventures of the Sea Kids" series, Melissa the blowfish starts bragging about things she supposedly has at home. However, she is suspected very quickly of lying. How the situation is resolved in the end is realistic and compassionate, and subtly teaches little listeners a way to handle this part of growing up. I think children would love this book. It has cute characters and a theme that they can both relate to and learn from. I also love the attention to detail in the book. Sharp's artwork includes more than a dozen icthus fish, hidden on the pages for r...