Like parenting in general, it helps me when I think about homeschooling in terms of seasons. Each season has its own unique joys, its own unique challenges, and each is discernibly different from the one before. HOMESCHOOLING BEGAN LIKE SPRING Was it that way for you? (It’s not that way for everyone, so don’t feel bad […]
Links I Love – Jess Connell
As a “mom of many,” I sometimes get asked about my views on birth control. Here’s my favorite article on the subject, written by Douglas Wilson. (A sample quote: “A man can have a high view of apple trees and still not plant them a foot and a half apart in his orchard.”) And the […]
August 2014 – Jess Connell
A friend recently asked about battling postpartum insomnia, and I shared my thoughts with her and then decided to share them here with you, too, in case you’re facing similar concerns. SPIRITUAL/PHYSICAL ANGLE? I’m not saying this lightly, but have you prayed about it? I have found, for me, that those times when I am […]
July 2015 – Jess Connell
WHAT I’M READING: Ten Proposed Commandments for Christian Parenting — #4 is the one that’s most difficult for me. What about you? A Letter to the Sister in Christ Who Aborted Her Child(ren) Can We Kill Human Beings if They Are Not Persons? On Planned Parenthood, Ashley Madison, and Shame— What happens in a culture where sexuality […]
February 2014 – Jess Connell
There is a level of heartache that goes beyond the normal highs and lows of life. It cannot be quantified. Words don’t do it justice. It keeps you up at night, doggedly chasing you, taxing your mental reserves all day long. Even if you’re not an emotional person, tears threaten to fly down your face without […]
November 2014 – Jess Connell
A few Saturdays ago, I sprained my ankle while coming down our stairs toward the garden. Moving too fast, I misjudged where the sidewalk ended, and the grass deceived me into believing the ground was taller than it was. My ankle rolled. HARD. I *HEARD* cracking noises, y’all. Yikes! But you know what? By Monday morning I […]
September 2014 – Jess Connell
A chart on my Facebook feed offered a humorous look at what “taking care of yourself” looks like before, and after, kids. According to the chart, taking daily vitamins turns into eating “one of the orange gummy vitamins your toddler won’t eat.” Reading a novel becomes reading the yogurt’s expiration date so you don’t poison the kids. 60 […]
January 2014 – Jess Connell
I’ve heard it said that artists are inherently egotistical… that at the foundation of all art is the artist’s belief that what he’s putting forward is worth the time and attention of others. But I think it is at least as often the case that the writer/artist/songwriter has to overcome great personal doubt and self-accusation. […]
March 2015 – Jess Connell
“Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching. For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear something new.” (2 Tim. 4:2-3) The […]
February 2015 – Jess Connell
Elizabeth Krueger, mother of 10, and author of Raising Godly Tomatoes, is also a horse owner. She recently shared some great thoughts about training horses to recognize a rightful authority and how it can be similar with children. I thought Elizabeth’s observations were extremely insightful and she graciously agreed to let me share them here: I […]
March 2014 – Jess Connell
Lately I’ve talked with some friends who are hurting. I should say, who are *also* hurting. From my tiredness, feeling like a towel that has been wrung, all I feel is twisted and dry. I feel very cautious about saying anything about the hurt. Though poets and celebrated authors have received acclaim and income from […]
January 2015 – Jess Connell
“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 […]
July 2014 – Jess Connell
Last week, I came across an article entitled, “15 Things You Should Never Ever Have in Your Home After Age 30.” The post gave a list of “don’ts” and offered this sage advice: “You’re an adult now and it’s time to decorate like one.” In case you didn’t click on the link, let me catch you up […]
May 2014 – Jess Connell
“She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. . . . She looks well to the ways of her household and does […]