Parents instill appetites in their children. We know it’s generally true with foods. I didn’t grow up eating: * Russian goulash * Thai peanut chicken over a bed of sprouts & star fruit for dessert * Ethiopian injera I did grow up eating: * pancakes * tacos * spaghetti Even as an adult, while I might […]

One day last year, I walked into our bathroom and found my 3-year-old, Moses, with his arms awkwardly positioned, slightly up in the air. Upon hearing my footsteps, he dropped his hands. His big, winsome smile didn’t fool me.   It was clear there was something in one hand he had pulled down and was trying to […]

One day last year, I walked into our bathroom and found my 3-year-old, Moses, with his arms awkwardly positioned, slightly up in the air. Upon hearing my footsteps, he dropped his hands. His big, winsome smile didn’t fool me.   It was clear there was something in one hand he had pulled down and was trying to […]

Parents instill appetites in their children. We know it’s generally true with foods. I didn’t grow up eating: * Russian goulash * Thai peanut chicken over a bed of sprouts & star fruit for dessert * Ethiopian injera I did grow up eating: * pancakes * tacos * spaghetti Even as an adult, while I might […]

Wanna know what one thing has made the difference in becoming a better mother to my children? I made this 4-minute video to tell the answer to that question, and why I write at jessconnell.com. One of the lies moms have been fed in this past decade or so is that “you’re the expert” and that “you innately possess all the mothering […]

Over the years, in myself and others, I’ve observed a tendency toward laziness as moms. I’m not talking about laziness in how we clean, decorate, dress our children, or save money for our family. No, in those ways we can be quite purposeful and diligent. What I mean is this: many of us tend to lazily overlook the […]

Over the years, in myself and others, I’ve observed a tendency toward laziness as moms. I’m not talking about laziness in how we clean, decorate, dress our children, or save money for our family. No, in those ways we can be quite purposeful and diligent. What I mean is this: many of us tend to lazily overlook the […]

For many years of my life, I was a slave to potty training with the little kiddy chairs. We’d tote them around the house, dutifully emptying out the little chamber underneath the plastic seat multiple times a day, even for the tiniest drops of pee (for which we’d clapped and cheered, like the good potty-training […]

There are some things I can’t say without first referring you to this passage (Ephesians 5:17-33). Please read it in its entirety:  Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. …be filled with the Spirit, …giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting […]

One day last year, I walked into our bathroom and found my 3-year-old, Moses, with his arms awkwardly positioned, slightly up in the air. Upon hearing my footsteps, he dropped his hands. His big, winsome smile didn’t fool me.   It was clear there was something in one hand he had pulled down and was trying to […]

One day last year, I walked into our bathroom and found my 3-year-old, Moses, with his arms awkwardly positioned, slightly up in the air. Upon hearing my footsteps, he dropped his hands. His big, winsome smile didn’t fool me.   It was clear there was something in one hand he had pulled down and was trying to […]

Parents instill appetites in their children. We know it’s generally true with foods. I didn’t grow up eating: * Russian goulash * Thai peanut chicken over a bed of sprouts & star fruit for dessert * Ethiopian injera I did grow up eating: * pancakes * tacos * spaghetti Even as an adult, while I might […]

One day last year, I walked into our bathroom and found my 3-year-old, Moses, with his arms awkwardly positioned, slightly up in the air. Upon hearing my footsteps, he dropped his hands. His big, winsome smile didn’t fool me.   It was clear there was something in one hand he had pulled down and was trying to […]

For many years of my life, I was a slave to potty training with the little kiddy chairs. We’d tote them around the house, dutifully emptying out the little chamber underneath the plastic seat multiple times a day, even for the tiniest drops of pee (for which we’d clapped and cheered, like the good potty-training […]