We have a favorite family recipe called “Dutch Puff.” The kids love the way it rises up, especially along the corners, and as it comes out of the oven, they jockey for who will get which portion. Judging by their reactions, there are definitely winners and losers when it comes to who gets which pieces…
Author: Jess Connell
What This Homeschool Mom Does When I Get Burned Out
Last week it hit at once, unexpectedly. The wearying combination of both physical and emotional tiredness. We’ve had a busy couple months with life and ministry. I’d been schooling faithfully since our daughter was in the hospital, and that probably contributed, too. But the thing that had given the biggest gut-punch was that one of those…
Is Your Child In Charge of Your Home?
Pandora is something I use almost every day. I’ve got a variety of playlists there, for when we’re feeling silly, worshipful, mellow, dancy, quiet, or happy. I love the control it gives me, to set the tone and go on with the day. I’ve got a question for you: If your life was a Pandora playlist, who’s the one…
How to Think Unbiblically
As wives and mothers, our thinking doesn’t only affect us- it directly impacts our husband and any children God gives. What’s happening inside our minds matters a great deal! In 2011, I took my first biblical counseling class, and one session focused on the “Anti-Psalm.” The goal was to better understand what a text is saying by carefully…
Q&A: How Can I Decrease TV-Watching in My Kids?
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…
Cooking, Sex, and Giving Honest Feedback
Imagine the pressure– (perhaps you feel this pressure over the holidays!?) Christmas dinner will be at your house, and everyone’s looking to you to make it. Only problem is, you cook infrequently, don’t really know your way around the kitchen, and are relying on ingredients you only rarely use or eat. The pressure to produce…
Here’s Why I Love Our Potty Training Toilet Seat
For many years of my life, I was a slave to potty training with the little kiddy chairs. We’d tote them around the house, dutifully emptying out the little chamber underneath the plastic seat multiple times a day, even for the tiniest drops of pee (for which we’d clapped and cheered, like the good potty-training…
Why You SHOULD Ask, “Why, God?”
Sometimes we can feel like it’s wrong to ask, “why, God?” When hard times come, it’s often a natural question of our hearts… but I don’t think it’s a wrong question. The only concern I have is that I think we don’t ask it soon enough. I want to encourage you to ask it now….
Should Kids’ Screentime Be Unlimited?
Devices are a sticky subject now. 20 years ago it was TV time. No matter what, though, unless you’re Amish, you have to reckon with it. I’ll share what we do- but would love to hear your thoughts. A Yahoo!Parenting article (which — as a sidenote– I think should be retitled more honestly as Yahoo!UNparenting,…
Can I Help You Be a Better Mom?
Wanna know what one thing has made the difference in becoming a better mother to my children? I made this 4-minute video to tell the answer to that question, and why I write at jessconnell.com. One of the lies moms have been fed in this past decade or so is that “you’re the expert” and that “you innately possess all the mothering…