Jess Connell

growing heavenward, by grace

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Author: Jess Connell

A Hard Year, the Joy of Baby #9, and the Ideas that Drive Us

Posted on August 6, 2018 by Jess Connell

Well, it’s been more than a year since I’ve written here. And a lot happened in the last year. WHAT WE DID, BETWEEN JUNE 2017 & JUNE 2018: Through our extended family, we’ve experienced some life-changing pain– the death of two grandparents, and my brother went through an unexpected divorce. They married the same year we did, and though we…

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What’s Right in Front of Me: A Year of Personal Recalibration

Posted on June 16, 2017 by Jess Connell

For those long-time readers or people who know us in real life, this autobiographical background may be review, but it’ll help explain what follows: 12 years or so ago, for many reasons, we moved abroad. Doug managed a coffee roasting business, and I stayed home with our ever-expanding family. We each learned languages and made local…

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Sex: Blazing Fire, Mighty River, Walled Garden

Posted on June 15, 2017 by Jess Connell

Analogies can be a way for us to understand ideas or experiences better. Here are 3 good analogies I’ve heard used to describe sex, and why I find them helpful: #1- SEX IS LIKE A BLAZING FIRE. The weekend-getaway we do with our 12-year-olds is called “Passport2Purity.” That is the first place I remember hearing…

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Q&A: “Obeying” With a Rotten Attitude?

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Jess Connell

  Q: my son Caleb, who will be 6 next month. He is an extremely outgoing, active, almost hyperactive, little boy who talks non-stop and (perhaps because he’s the oldest; perhaps because that’s how he’s wired), is obsessed with the idea of being “the boss.” Overall, he’s actually a relatively compliant child, but lately I’ve noticed…

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37 Things Our Kids Did (Without Screens) in Our Device-Free Summer

Posted on June 5, 2017 by Jess Connell

We did not do any devices/video games last summer. For the most part, we kept the TV off too. But when I napped with the preschooler, and when we had sick days, we did freely enjoy I Love Lucy. So we didn’t outright ban TV, but we did purposefully and sharply limited screen time. We’re following the same basic approach this…

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Discipline & Respect, with Teens & Preteens

Posted on May 29, 2017 by Jess Connell

Q: I am totally struggling with my oldest… One thing that I’m having trouble with is knowing how to discuss things with him. He still struggles with basic obedience, so that is an issue. Also, he tends to argue with me while we are talking. For example, this morning I told him that something he…

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5 Ways to Prepare Your Kids for an Emergency

Posted on May 25, 2017 by Jess Connell

We typically don’t know when emergencies are going to happen. This means we’re often in high-adrenaline, reactionary mode, when those emergencies come. One way we can make those times *less* stressful is by being prepared in advance, in the ways that ARE possible. Here are 5 ways we can prepare our families for emergency situations: Basic…

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Preparing to Hike the Wonderland Trail with kids

Posted on May 22, 2017 by Jess Connell

Last summer, we hiked the Wonderland Trail with our 7 kids (ages 14 down to 18 months). The Wonderland is a 93-mile loop trail around Mount Rainier, with 22,000 feet of elevation gain. People have taken anywhere from 20 hours to 15 days to hike the entire thing. We did it in 12 days. Here’s…

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25 Kid-Friendly Conversation Starters

Posted on May 15, 2017 by Jess Connell

We LOVE to use questions (“would you rather…” “what if…” “which of these…”) to start discussions with our kids over meals, during hikes, and in car rides. We’ve used books, and card sets, but they often contain foul or off-color questions or prompts. So I thought I’d share some of the questions we use, to help…

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Practical Considerations About Modesty (Biblical Modesty, Pt. 4)

Posted on May 11, 2017 by Jess Connell

{This is the 4th article in a series about modesty. We started with what the word/idea of “modesty” even means. Then we talked through 8 questions we should consider to discern our heart. Next we talked about deference as an act of submission to the Brothers and Sisters in our local Body of Christ.}   But…

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