Several years ago, I was able to take a basic biblical counseling class, and one of the sessions focused in on the “Anti-Psalm.” This exercise was a challenge for us to better understand what a text is saying by carefully thinking through the exact opposite meaning. It can be very insightful to look at the “opposite” of what we […]

When you’re the mom, organizing home is an ongoing task. We need to evaluate the attitudes we have toward the work God puts in front of us. How can we stop despising the daily, ongoing work of motherhood? Listen as Jess talks with Mystie Winckler about: going beyond Pinterest-perfect home organization stewarding what we’ve been given combatting a one-and-done approach […]

Hey everyone, Life has been crazy. We moved into a different house here on the camp where my husband works, AND we have two hens that went broody & one of them has hatched eggs, AND we bought 4 kunekune (small, grass-eating, friendly) pigs.  But amidst the crazy-wonderful-craziness, I realized that I have this little […]

One thing that amazes me, the longer I live as a Christ-follower, is the unpredictable way of humans as they interact with Jesus.  Some who appear to start out burning bright for Jesus– fall away and disassociate themselves from Him and His people. Some who seem weak and needy persevere and the light of their light grows […]

{NOTE: For those readers who don’t know our family, we’re the Connells. Doug’s my husband and I’m Jess. At the time of this trip, we had 7 kids (Ethan-14, Baxter-12, MeiMei-10, Silas-8, Moses-6, Theo-3.5, Luke-18 months), and I was 6 months pregnant with our 8th child. I’ve published journal entries, pictures, & memories from our 12-day […]

I was recently at an event where I was, for days, in a stationary vantage point of watching a wide swath of parents interact with their children amidst stressful circumstances. One mother stands out to me. Unfortunately, not for good reasons. She stood by watching as two of her young children destroyed part of the building. She feigned… […]

Q: When you suddenly notice arguing, general strife that is seemingly NOT momentary…..what do you first address in the home? I am feeling frustrated because it seems sort of sudden and not just one or two kids. I have been very tired and struggling to buck up…so maybe my attitude is part of it. I…

Are you facing food battles in your home? You’re not alone. Read on to find out how we deal with it in our home. Q: I’m a mum of two (3 and 16m) and was wondering if you had any specific advice about encouraging 3 year olds with regards to eating new things. We try and […]

Did you miss something this month? Catch up and get the encouragement your heart needs. BABY WATCH & MY WRITING/PODCASTING SCHEDULE Baby News: My sweet new son, Fisher, was born at home this morning: In December, look for blogposts once a week– each Monday. And Season 1 of Mom On Purpose podcasts will be released once a week, every Wednesday, through…

Q: When you suddenly notice arguing, general strife that is seemingly NOT momentary…..what do you first address in the home? I am feeling frustrated because it seems sort of sudden and not just one or two kids. I have been very tired and struggling to buck up…so maybe my attitude is part of it. I […]

Lots of things can be overwhelming to us as moms. Things like Messes, attitudes, sickness, a busy schedule, and/or sudden changes in our routines can push us past the norms of stress we’re used to, into a zone where we can feel like we might teeter over the edge into insanity. On this particular day, I […]

“Older women are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers, not addicted to much wine. They are to teach what is good, so they may encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children, to be self-controlled, pure, homemakers, kind, and submissive to their husbands, so that God’s message will […]

“He struck me as a normal person, that was the horrible thing about it. He was cool, objective, matter of fact. ‘This is my war duty. I did my war duty.’ It was like I had to go out and cut down so many trees. So I went out and took my saw and cut […]

Surely we all feel it! Lockdowns & increasing rules Division, even among groups that normally agree Spiritual leaders exposed as fraudulent and abusive Global economy in crisis Uyghur concentration camps (and no one acting for their justice!) Medical/health battles Increasing isolation Depression, mental health, suicides increasing Rampant domestic violence, divorce, and child abuse Geopolitical strife […]