The question comes from time to time: How can I have a successful blog while raising little ones? And here’s my honest answer. It may not be a popular one, but it is my real, honest, from-my-heart answer. BLOGGING WHEN YOU HAVE LITTLE ONES When I had all/only littles, I wrote only when I had […]

This week, a friend admired my DIY chicken coop and said, “Wow, you really ARE Supermom, aren’t you?” She meant it kindly and this post really isn’t about that. But that situation got me thinking: I’m not Supermom. I’m a semi-normal (is anyone really normal?) person with 24 hrs in a day. I get grumpy and […]

NON-FICTION RISK: SAY IT Say the things– write the things– that you are afraid to say. I recently shared about my fear of, “Who would ever want to buy my book?” And earlier this week, I confessed not just a past sin that I’ve conquered (which would feel safer) but a current area where God is […]

Q:  How do I keep busy at home? I find myself so terribly bored and restless at times. Being a stay at home mom is so boring! What am I supposed to do with my down time? Once chores and homeschooling are done for the day, I literally have no idea how to fill the couple of hours before I need […]

Important moments of life are often overrun with busyness, planning, stress, and “must-dos.” And the big “goodbyes” of life are often overshadowed by sorrow, a busy schedule, and stresses like packing, funeral planning, or travel plans. The expression of genuine emotion gets overlooked, stuffed down, or put off for a “later” that never arrives. Here […]

Let me start out by saying this: I am pretty sure I have done it all. I’ve slept with a baby on my chest or in the crook of my arm– on the first night, in the hospital, in my bed at home after home births, and (accidentally) in a chair when I was trying to stay […]

This question recently came in: I was thinking about what you spoke about [in this podcast episode, called “Lean In & Learn from Other Women”] and the thing that stuck out most to me was how you learn most by living life with others. While I completely agree, I am stuck wondering HOW to make […]

by Jess Connell · January 11, 2016 Virtually everywhere we have lived, I’ve heard it– younger women lamenting the lack of wise women who can give them solid biblical teaching, & biblical encouragement. Titus 2 describes an older woman who is: reverent in behavior (appropriate, respectful, respectable, godly) not slanderers (gossipy) not slaves to too […]

by Jess Connell · January 2, 2017 Each January, no matter which salesman is pitching the perfect system to plan out my whole life, I’m too much of a realist. I can’t buy the hype that, with a little vision-boarding, this will be my “best year ever.” That said, I recognize the basic truth that goals matter. What […]

by Jess Connell · January 9, 2017 If you want a guaranteed way to have a miserable sex life with your husband, read on. Seek your own way, only, ever. Make sure the only thing you focus on is how often YOU want sex, how often you DON’T want it, how YOU feel at every given […]

by Jess Connell · December 2, 2016 You’ve heard the advice. (heck, I’ve told you to do it!) “Postpartum moms, REST MORE!!” And yet, maybe you wonder… what does that practically look like? Especially when we have other children, and when they’re all/only littles, the advice can seem impractical. “HOW exactly am I supposed to do […]

by Jess Connell · January 30, 2017 When it comes to having another baby, people will talk about the potential for additional financial costs, marital strain, or having to go through labor again. But very few people talk about this. This was something I noticed about having another baby, 5 weeks after having our 8th baby– Here are […]

Last week, I placed my first order with Amazon Prime Pantry. As a bargain shopper (and borderline cheapskate), I’ve been skeptically keeping my distance. But after trying it, I’m pretty impressed and think I’ll try it again from time to time. Here’s what I noticed, what I didn’t like, and what I DID like. What […]

Our oldest son, Ethan (14), with his brothers Luke (21 months), and Fisher (newborn) The misperception is common, and I probably would have thought wrongly about it, too. Back when I was single, or a mom of 1-2 kids, if I’d had to describe what postpartum weeks would look like for a mom with her […]