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…
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HOW Did I Learn That?! Moving Beyond Toxic People & Teachings
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…
Warning: LEGALISM IS SEDUCTIVE (But It Kills)
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…
KNOW YOUR BIBLE: 12 Ways to Improve Your Swordsmanship, part 2
Too often, I wait to FEEL like reading the Bible, rather than doing it wholeheartedly & seeking to grow in my understanding and dependency on God’s Word. In part 1, I shared 6 ways I’ve grown in “using my sword” (God’s Word). Here’s part 2, with 6 MORE practical ideas for you. #7- Hand-copy the…
What Many Parents Get Wrong About “Strong-Willed” Children
There’s a common response I receive from younger moms, after they hear/read my no-nonsense advice about tantrums, attitudes, and arguing. “I bet you haven’t actually had a strong-willed child.” “I don’t think this will work; maybe my kids are more strong-willed than yours.” “You have a lot of kids, but have any of them been…
God’s Kindness in a Year of Survival Mode
Throughout my life, I’ve experienced God’s kindness. Parents– I was raised by a dad and mom who knew God and taught me about Him, did the best they could with what they had, loved me well, and entrusted me to the big God that they themselves trusted. Teaching– teachers and professors who taught me to…
Wives Who Churn about Husbands “Leading Spiritually”
Every now and then Doug Phillips comes up in an article or reference, and I remember all the things… and am just so incredibly saddened that people were lured in by him. Plenty of men followed his leadership, in his church, in his organization, and in his conference/teaching circuits. But women, in particular, were drawn…
What’s Right in Front of Me: A Year of Personal Recalibration
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…
37 Things Our Kids Did (Without Screens) in Our Device-Free Summer
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…
Discipline & Respect, with Teens & Preteens
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…