For the past few years, I’ve been dissatisfied with my personal study of the Bible, and I’m trying to hash out why. My goal is to reclaim joy in my studies of God’s Word. Here are some things I’m thinking through as I try to discover an approach to God’s Word that rightly honors Him as the truth-teller and […]
Quit Stressin’, Worryin’, and Complainin’ About Your Children – Jess Connell
Kids can easily lead us into stress, frustration, and worry, as Christian women, but those aren’t biblical solutions for how to deal with motherhood. This is the nitty-gritty of being a mom, and I really believe we can take those thoughts captive and refuse to take on anxiety, fear, worry, and a grumbling attitude. We can actively choose […]
How To Have Quality Time With Your Kids – Jess Connell
It can be easy, as a stay at home mom, to forget the significance of what you are doing. In our modern busy-busy-busy, degreed, careered, materialistic, overcommitted society, it is easy to devalue the perfect normalcy of the simple everyday routine, and how that will sear warmth and joy and security into our children’s souls. For example, […]
Root-Bound? – Jess Connell
Plants make a home more welcoming, don’t you think? Lately, I’ve acquired so many plants that my daughter recently teased, “I think you’re becoming a full-on Plant Lady.“ But, come on! Antique store succulents… hanging pots for crazy cheap… certain plants just need to come cozy up our home, and THAT’S THAT. Today, after Doug […]
Mama, Are You Willing to Do the Hard, Loving Thing? – Jess Connell
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 […]
Ep. 21: Fight Fears & Cultural Lies About Discipline – Jess Connell
Culture and modern ideas about parenting bring continual attacks against biblical parenting. Christian moms often face discouragement and fears that come from culture, a lack of role models, our upbringings, and more. Dig in with us to discover the dangers of giving in, and how to press through challenging moments to give consistent, loving, biblical discipline to our children. Listen in as […]
You’re Not Limited to What’s In Your Box. – Jess Connell
Sometimes we can feel like all we have to pass to our kids is what our parents passed to us. “Mom yelled. So I have a problem with yelling.” “Dad never taught us the Bible, so I don’t have a model for parents doing that.” “My parents never really snuggled or showed affection; it feels […]
glorify God – Jess Connell
The angels announced the coming of Christ to the shepherds: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!” Christmas lyrics echo the cry of the angels: In despair, I bowed my head; “There is no peace on earth,” I said; “For hate is strong, And mocks the… […]
Grace – Jess Connell
Wanna know what my kids have for lunch these days? It’s pretty much the same thing every day: homemade lunchables. Thin deli-sliced ham or turkey, and cheese, with Ritz. Sometimes I have fresh fruit on hand to go with it. Other times, it’s canned fruit, nuts, or packaged cookies. It’s not in cute Bento boxes. It doesn’t… […]
Freestyle Friday – Jess Connell – Page 3
READING: The disappearance of childhood and what we can do to get it back ~ by Jamie @ Simple Homeschool I appreciate this article: Is Self-Promotion Sinful?— it hits at a lot of questions that have nagged at my brain. Authors are in a different place now than in the last hundred years because publishers have… […]
What Life Is Like for This Mom of 7 – Jess Connell
Here it is– off the cuff and unrehearsed 🙂 — this is the good, the bad, the ugly of what life is like for me as a (home educating) mom of seven boisterous kids. (They’re, currently, 13 & under.) FULL OF NOISE, CONVERSATION, AND LAUGHTER This morning during homeschooling, the 2 year old and the […]
fussy baby – Jess Connell
So, I just had our 8th baby. Which means… I don’t know everything, but I know some stuff. There was this time, 14 or so years ago, when my first baby was just two months old, that I went to a birthday/blessing party for a young lady in our church. Right when it was time for each of…
“If Every…” (a Self-Assessment for Christian Moms) – Jess Connell
I like questions and ideas that help me be “have a sober estimate” of myself, like Romans 12:3 tells us to do. If you are a Christian mom, here are some questions you can consider, to help discern if you are being sober-minded and reasonable in your thoughts, words, and choices. Essentially, they all stem […]
Home Is Wherever I’m With You – Jess Connell
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros have the cutest, hippy-dippy love song. It’s my most recent favorite song to capture some of the way I feel about Doug: Oh, it gets some things wrong. Don’t go looking for perfect expressions of truth among imperfect humans. Every human offering gets some things wrong. And yes, it’s […]