As women, we are apt to be controllers. We tightly grip the things that matter most to us. We clutch our children, control our husband, treasure our possessions, count calories meticulously… whatever it is that matters to us, we tend to hold it tightly. But… it happened to me again this week: whatever we try to…
Author: Jess Connell
Make Your “Ebenezer” Timeline
In the Old Testament, stones were often used as reminders. Stones were used to make altars. The physical process of collecting and stacking the stones was an external marker of the inward reality of one’s heart being actively prepared for worship. Stones were set upright in the ground as reminders to both parties of peace agreements,…
Large Families & “Sustainability”
In the comments section of a recent post, titled, “Why Have More Kids?” I received this comment: While I can appreciate your thoughts, my big issue with extra large families, is that ultimately, it is unsustainable. Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone decided to have 6+ children!? We are already outgrowing…
The Pregnant Homekeeper: How to Keep the House Running Well While Exhausted
Awhile ago (actually several years ago–oops!), a reader asked: I’d love to hear your thoughts/tips on things you do during pregnancy to ease nausea, to get the rest you need, to keep the household running smoothly, etc. HOW I DEAL WITH PREGNANCY NAUSEA First, I should say, I don’t deal with hyperemesis (crazy-terrible nausea/vomiting through pregnancy)…
What Plays Loudest in the Soundtrack of Your Mind?
“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…
Young Woman, I Am So Sorry.
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…
The Opposite of the Proverbs 31 Woman
Several years ago, I was able to take a basic biblical counseling class, and one of the sessions focused in on the “Anti-Psalm.” This exercise was a challenge for us to better understand what a text is saying by carefully thinking through the exact opposite meaning. It can be very insightful to look at the “opposite” of what we…
Why Have More Kids?
Recently, on an older post about exhaustion, I received this comment: “I don’t want to offend anyone but why do people keep having more kids if they are already exhausted with the 1 or 2 they do have?” There are so many answers I could give, but for me, it all boils down to this:…
What Moves Us From Fear to Faith?
I still remember those mornings laying in bed, paralyzed with fear, staring at the creaks coming from the ceiling over my head. We’d just purchased a 30-year-old home in the country, and my husband left for work by five each morning. The attic creaks had me “convinced” (though I would regularly rationalize myself back into reality) that…
10 Essential Self-Care Habits for Moms
A chart on my Facebook feed offered a humorous look at what “taking care of yourself” looks like before, and after, kids. According to the chart, taking daily vitamins turns into eating “one of the orange gummy vitamins your toddler won’t eat.” Reading a novel becomes reading the yogurt’s expiration date so you don’t poison the kids. 60…