Last night I got up out of bed because I remembered this wonderful advice– I needed it and my soul wouldn’t rest until I found it and reminded myself of these truths. Perhaps you need it too? I’ve added some Scripture references for each point, for further meditation. PRESCRIPTION FOR CONTENTMENT: Never allow yourself to […]
Is It Possible to Give Calm, Firm Correction? – Jess Connell
When our kids disobey us, and especially if they cop an attitude, it’s easy for us to feel out of control… as if we CAN’T harness our own anger amidst such outright defiance. Good desires, like for our children to learn to obey, for them to make wise decisions, for them to respect us as […]
12 Things Every Mommy Needs to Remember (Mom On Purpose, Day 1) – Jess Connell
Yesterday we asked: AM I DOING THE MOST ESSENTIAL THING? Thoughts about essentialism and how it squares with my job as a mom have been swirling in my head for weeks. Saturday, it all came to a head when I realized I didn’t have my phone. My hands patted and searched, frenetically panicked like Bilbo Baggins’ hands when […]
Unlearning Procrastination – Jess Connell
So my whole life I’ve been a risk-assessing procrastinator. By that I mean, I don’t utterly and completely procrastinate. Procrastination is typically thought of as simply “putting off” and that’s not the whole picture of what I do. No, I *assess* the risk, first… How bad is the job gonna be? Is there any way to […]
Young Woman, I Am So Sorry. – Jess Connell
Young woman, I am so sorry. The world you are growing up in WILL, if you let it: strip away your God-given unique beauty (and yes, I am including the freckles, big feet, hook nose, birthmark, broad shoulders, etc… in those words, “unique beauty”). teach you to perpetually alter your posture or camera angle so that anything […]
Welcome – Jess Connell
WELCOME to JessConnell.com! I am so excited to see you here! With a change in my writing habits and goals, it was time for a change. From 2006-2013, I blogged at a different place. I started writing novels (which are still unreleased and sitting on my hard drive), and so in Jan 2015, I started writing under…
Childlike Faith & Being a Punkinhead – Jess Connell
“OH my goodness, what a sweet squish ball you are! Can you say, ‘I’m a Pumpkinhead?’” 2-year-old Theo: “I a punkinhead.” This short, silly encounter with my precious, repeat-anything son made me think. As believers, we need to fervently repeat what our Father tells us, even when we don’t yet understand or have a clue what […]
How Do You Use Smartphones & Social Media as a Postpartum Mom? – Jess Connell
I had our first baby in 2002. Smart phones basically didn’t exist. Facebook didn’t exist yet. Texting was still fairly new. Phones were still, pretty much, just phones. POSTPARTUM WITHOUT A SMART PHONE/TABLET In fact, for our first 4 babies, I didn’t have a smart phone or tablet to keep me awake in the postpartum […]
Q&A: How Can I Decrease TV-Watching in My Kids? – Jess Connell
After last week’s topic (Should Kids’ Screentime Be Unlimited?) a reader asked: Q: how do you let them watch a video/cartoon without the younger (under 2) seeing it or wanting to see it? He’s in the same room or walks by, for example, and now he likes to watch (and asks to) at an even younger […]
Convictions & Choices, part 2: What to Do When We Hold Opposite Perspectives? – Jess Connell
In this series about convictions, we’ve talked about: And in that last article, we left off at that pesky place where we come to a different conviction than someone else in the Body of Christ. So what do we do then?!? Unlike being under the Jewish law, where 600+ rules guided daily life (and many […]
It (Whatever It Is) Takes a Willingness to Fail – Jess Connell
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 […]
Limbo isn’t Limbo – Jess Connell
We’ve been in this position before. Almost 17 years ago, Doug & I left our former life in the expensive D.C. area, with our 5-week-old in tow, certain that we wanted for me to be the one to stay home, but with no other plan other than a 1-bedroom apartment that we’d called ahead and reserved. […]
year in review – Jess Connell
2014 was my first year of writing at JessConnell.com. Since we’ve nearly reached the year’s end, I thought I’d do a quick “year in review,” to give you the opportunity to read any articles of interest that you may have missed. In January, I released my first book, One Thing: Top Tip (From a Mom of 6). It’s…
togetherness – Jess Connell
Today I went in to the kitchen and immediately had to stifle a groan. I knew the minute I took a step, the bottom of my feet would be covered in crumbs. My heart felt tired, like “didn’t I JUST clean this up?” “Isn’t this, basically, the exact same mess I’ve cleaned up dozens, hundreds of times before?!”… […]