JanineThrossel.com

I ain't gonna' lie. . . the last few months have been HARD at times for me and my family. Don't get me wrong--there have been a lot of good, wonderful, AWESOME moments, too. Amazing, irreplaceable moments. However, almost immediately after our book was released, we started facing serious challenges in several areas of our lives--too many to list here. Yesterday was a doozy of a day, where it seemed like the sum of so many issues came at me all at once. Ever had a season like that? A day like that? Not fun. I have been so grateful for friends and family and coworkers who have helped me to keep my eyes heavenward these past few months. I have had my ugly moments of whining and crying. I admit that. In this past week, however, as things got harder to bear, and frankly I was just so TIRED, my roots began to grow and stretch again, digging deeper into the fertile soil below me. Forgive the mix of metaphors, but when all around me seemed depleted and dry, my heart went in searc...

A few years ago ( in this post ), I wrote about choosing a word for the New Year. I don't often make big January resolutions, but sometimes I do choose a word to think about over the coming year--one that represents a theme or subject I want to ponder.  This year, I was surprised to find that my mom, sister and I all picked the same word! That word is HOPE. What am I hoping for in 2017? Well, of course, there are things I would like to see happen. However, it wasn't so much about that for me. When I thought of the word "HOPE," I wasn't hoping for a new car, job or house. I wasn't hoping the country would change or my circumstances would change. . . or even that the weather would change. I wanted us to change. People to change. I want the ones I care about to breathe HOPE during this new year. A darkness seems to hang over many people these days. Do you feel that? A pessimism. A sense of doom and defeat. Hopelessness. In 2017, I want more HOPE. H...

Whew. What a week (month, year. . . ) this has been! As I have listened to people I love express their opinions, I have run through a spectrum of emotions. . . anger, annoyance, fear, frustration, happiness, relief, sadness . . . You, too? Whether your side won or lost, I think a lot of Americans are still facing the same questions. Where do we go from here? What lies ahead of us? Will America ever be what it once was or what we want it to be?  How do we move forward after Election 2016? Well, if you voted for Trump, this is for you. If you voted for Hillary, this is for you. If you voted third party, or didn't vote at all, this is for you, too. It's for my children, who have amazing passion to see justice and compassion in their world. It's for my friends, who are split along party lines and all so very dear to me. And it's for me. Because I need to remind myself not to get stuck in this week or this year, but to move forward--for my own well-being and tha...

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...