Jess Connell

I’m 44. To some of you, that may sound like a relatively young woman. To others, that may sound old. I’m in a middle place but the grays are here, I’ve had my first hot flash, and sometimes I groan when I have to roll out of bed. I’m not quite ‘old,’ perhaps, but I’m…

One of the posts here on JessConnell.com that receives continual attention is this post, from 2016: Few people write about what it’s like to fast, while pregnant, nursing, or taking care of little people, and whether or not it can be safe, or done at all. Similarly, it is rare to examine the modern phenomena…

Amongst the embroidery and cut glass and old craft projects and photos of the dead and the long-dead, the pain comes. Embedded in these roads and walls are the pain of loss and error. Failures flood the mind, and while the heart leaps at seeing our beloveds, the leaps share dance steps with lurches. Joy…

God calls His people “sheep,” and calls our spiritual leaders “shepherds.” But spiritually-abusive pastors harm God’s people, and make us fearful of the very people (shepherds) and the very place (church) that we need in order to be healthy, growing sheep. After being harmed by wolves-in-shepherds clothing, it is difficult to come to a place…

Lately I’ve wished I knew more information about my ancestors: the real things of life: stories, hardships, challenges, relationships, and lessons learned. For my birthday this year, my mom passed a couple pieces of family jewelry to me. One belonged to my great-grandmother who died when my grandpa was 8 or 10 years old, and…

Recently, talking with two dear friends, one was experiencing a “storm” in parenting her nearly-but-not-quite-adult “child.” Each in our little trio had experienced something similar in recent years. We each admitted that– in those moments, in our hearts– we feel inwardly assaulted by trying to pinpoint what we had done wrong, and what alllllllllllll the…

Lately I’ve been on a gardening kick, seeing the good outcome of building our compost pile last year, and multiplying the fashions and forms of botanical life in our patch of earth. Spring offers such a profuse picture of hope! Last week I found myself, feet atop cinder blocks, stooping and carefully examining long trenches…

So. The first time I went camping, I decided we’d do it with 7 kids in tow. Ages: 13 to 6 months. Yup. To those of you who aren’t campers, that probably sounds CRAY-ZEE. To those of you who are adept at camping, you’re probably all googley-eyed and thrilled at the mere sound of it. It…

As I’ve returned some attention to this little blog of mine, I’ve revisited old draft articles. Some are fiery; others seem lackluster. Well, if it were you, and you had sensible articles with practical advice about mommy topics you could finish up and polish, or passionate articles brimming with fervor, which would you pick? Each…