1. THEY ARE PRECIOUS AS BABIES. PRECIOUS!!! We built a pen out of the cardboard box from a deck box. We taped it to the floor in a trapezoidal shape so they wouldn’t have any 90-degree corners to run into (and get suffocated by the others, which apparently can sometimes be a problem with small… […]

Q: I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on how [Titus 2] plays out practically? I’m in my mid-30’s and Titus 2 mentoring is on my heart, but as a homeschool mom my days are busy, and time is the most difficult hurdle. Also, how would you structure your time together with a younger woman? Do… […]

Doing hard things is admired in many circles. Decide to run a marathon, get your MBA, do a DIY remodel of an old house, or move into an RV and traverse America in a year, and people will fawn over it. Sometimes you can even get a reality TV show doing stuff like that. People are,…

Isaiah is one of my favorite books of the Bible. So much truth about God. So much honesty about the fallibility of man. So many promises that strengthen faith. Consider this: God has built rhythms into our lives.  The cold ice-death of winter is followed by the buds of spring. The heat of a Texas… […]

It’s a rhythmic truth breathed throughout Scripture: “You return man to dust; …they are like a dream, like grass …in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.” ~Psalm 90:3-6 (author: Moses) “He knows our frame He remembers that we are DUST. As for man, his days are like GRASS; he flourishes… […]

1. THEY ARE PRECIOUS AS BABIES. PRECIOUS!!! We built a pen out of the cardboard box from a deck box. We taped it to the floor in a trapezoidal shape so they wouldn’t have any 90-degree corners to run into (and get suffocated by the others, which apparently can sometimes be a problem with small… […]

  As parents look to parenting books, methods, advice, and make decisions about how to raise up their children, there are skads of opportunities to encounter really lousy advice. It can be difficult, in this age of TV psychologists and celebrity moms and PhD-toting “experts”, to know what is right.Rather than try to lay out specifics,…

Have you ever caught yourself listening to a sermon on someone else’s behalf? What I mean by that is, are you mentally internally saddened because, “so-and-so SURE COULD BENEFIT from hearing this,” but she isn’t there? Or perhaps you’re cheering the pastor on because you think, “Boy, I hope that couple across the aisle is paying… […]

When faced with the hard things, we often want to avoid them,  and excuse ourselves. Let’s talk about two places where Paul did the hard, loving thing (toward the Corinthians): 1 Cor 2:1-5 — Power of God v. persuasion through human will Paul was willing to purposefully forgo the use of his skills and talents in order… […]

  Do you remember this rebuke in Hebrews? “Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the basic principles of God’s revelation again. You need milk, not solid food.” (Heb 5:12)  Can you imagine hearing this? I’m afraid too many churches… and too many women in our churches…… […]

Happy New Year! Today, let me share with you some of my favorite easy-peasy meals for the hard days. These are the things I make when I want to pull out the paper plates, or use as few bowls/pots as possible. For days like… today. 🙂 When we’ve been going-going-going and I just want something easy and… […]

So. It’s Sunday morning. Well, it’s not Sunday morning when you’re reading this, but it’s Sunday morning as I’m writing it. I’m in the middle of what might be termed an adult tantrum, fussing and angry because things haven’t gone my way this morning. You see, I had everything planned. For the first time since our… […]

Hi there. If we haven’t met properly, I’m Jess. I’m not a mom with all the answers, but I’m not a mom with no answers either. I’ve been a mom for nearly 15 years, which is long enough to know some things by experience. And I’m a mom to 8 kids, which is enough kids… […]

Recently I was able to get away for a glorious (and gloriously quiet!!) week alone. [If you don’t know, I have 9 children, ages 19 down to 2 years old, and I’ve been a stay-home, homeschooling mom for the duration of those years.] For most of my life, getting away like this has been an impossibility,… […]