Q: Is there a point where it gets difficult to care for the children’s emotional and spiritual health and actually KNOW each of them individually? Our second child is just a year old, so some of my question may be due to our recent/ongoing transition between “I can focus on just you” with our first to… […]
healthy growth – Jess Connell
Hey there, mom in the thick of raising your kids, or mom of 3 little ones, or newly postpartum mom, or homeschooling mom, or tired mom who has been dealing with a sick little person for far too long, or mom helping your aging parent, or single mom carrying the whole load yourself, or nomadic… […]
VIDEO: Things People Say to Pregnant Women – Jess Connell
People say crazy things to pregnant ladies. But it doesn’t mean we have to take those comments in to the deep places of our heart. We talked about one of those, last week: “Your Daughter Needs a Sister!” (an Acceptable Christian Lie). One commenter shared how the classic comment, “it doesn’t matter what it is […]
joy – Jess Connell
“To glorify someone is to praise, enjoy, and delight in them.” ~Tim Keller This short tweet stopped me in my tracks. It’s not that I hadn’t heard these ideas before, or didn’t know the definition of glorify. But, simply, this little definition provides such a practical litmus test for us as believers. Sometimes “glorify God” can… […]
budget – Jess Connell
Discount grocery stores— this is currently my top budget-slicing method. At Costco, one basket costs us about $300-400. At my discount grocery stores last week, I got 3 basketfuls of groceries for just over $150. It takes creativity, and a little more time (we went to 2 stores, 45 minutes away, rather than just 1 store…
wounded heart – 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…
hard times – Jess Connell
Doing hard things is admired in many circles. Decide to run a marathon, get your MBA, do a DIY remodel of an old house, or move into an RV and traverse America in a year, and people will fawn over it. Sometimes you can even get a reality TV show doing stuff like that. People are,… […]
Motherhood Means Teaching Them All Day Long – Jess Connell
Earlier today, my sweet 5-year-old Moses asked me: “Remember when we goed to the store?” Me: “When we WENT to the store?” “Went!” “Yes I remember…” Then this just happened: “I writed my name….” Me: “I WROTE my name.” “Wrote my name.” and I realized– when I started out, I didn’t know how constant this mothering job […]
anger – Jess Connell
Is this you, Mama? Are you tired of fighting against this sin? I get tired of it, too. Over the last 10 years, I’ve made progress in my fight against sinful anger, but I’m not “over it”– oh how I wish I was! Unfortunately, it is still a sin I have to actively fight, or else… […]
grumpy – Jess Connell
Is a grumpy child just destined to be grumpy? Since his lip naturally turns downward and his arms easily fold and his body crumples, should we just give in and let him be a grump? Well, no. Just like anything else (how our kids approach their schoolwork, what sort of attitude they bring to family gatherings,…
chicken coop – Jess Connell
1. THEY ARE PRECIOUS AS BABIES. PRECIOUS!!! We built a pen out of the cardboard box from a deck box. We taped it to the floor in a trapezoidal shape so they wouldn’t have any 90-degree corners to run into (and get suffocated by the others, which apparently can sometimes be a problem with small…
Wonderland Trail, Day 2: Bear Growls & a Rope Climb – Jess Connell
{NOTE: For those readers who don’t know our family, we’re the Connells. Doug’s my husband and I’m Jess. At the time of this trip, we had 7 kids (Ethan-14, Baxter-12, MeiMei-10, Silas-8, Moses-6, Theo-3.5, Luke-18 months), and I was 6 months pregnant with our 8th child. Over the next 3 weeks, I’m publishing journal entries, pictures, & […]
titus 2 – Jess Connell
Q: I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on how [Titus 2] plays out practically? I’m in my mid-30’s and Titus 2 mentoring is on my heart, but as a homeschool mom my days are busy, and time is the most difficult hurdle. Also, how would you structure your time together with a younger woman? Do… […]
teaching – Jess Connell
Every kids gets to this place. Or at least every kid in our home has reached it. I remember reaching it in school… heck, I’m feeling it right now (as I write this) in regard to camping. I feel like I can’t. I know, in my head, that other people do it. But it feels…