Sometimes life blindsides us. It could be any number of things. But sometimes in life, we feel like everything has exploded around us, and nothing is as it was before. (For us, some of them have been death of a parent while he was driving to our wedding, miscarriage x3, job loss, unexplained illness, hurting/sick…
In the Crucible: Encouragement for the Sufferer
When a friend recently shared her hurts… exposed her weak places… whispered of her doubts and her questions, in the midst of suffering, here is some of what I wrote to her. I offer it to you, too, if you are in a wounded, hurting place: Sounds like God has you in the crucible. It is…
Book Review: How I Write by Janet Evanovich
In the outset, I need to admit that I’ve never read a Janet Evanovich novel. I gather that they are somewhat-steamy romantic books with fun-loving, self-deprecating main characters who are always in a lovable bind. I’m not a romance book reader, and actually have serious concerns/disagreements with the way these books are written, and the…
35 Ways to Love Your Children
Last week, I wrote about how I stop tantrums lickety-split. Make no mistake, I’m an advocate for parental authority and consistent discipline: Hone Your ‘Mommy Radar’ When the Person That “Wears the Pants” In the Family is a Size 2T 4 Questions To Help You Evaluate Parenting Advice Train Them Until You Like Them But it…
This is Why You’re Discontent with Life.
If you’re discontent with life, it’s very very likely that you’ve been living in a mental place of comparison. Discontentment and comparison often accompany one another. Comparison always kills joy, whether we’re comparing UP or comparing DOWN. COMPARING UP? It is interesting to consider that when we compare, if our hearts are yearning for self-pity, we compare up. If…
How To Have Quality Time With Your Kids
It can be easy, as a stay at home mom, to forget the significance of what you are doing. In our modern busy-busy-busy, degreed, careered, materialistic, overcommitted society, it is easy to devalue the perfect normalcy of the simple everyday routine, and how that will sear warmth and joy and security into our children’s souls. For example,…
How To Write Your Novel
“One day, I’d like to write a novel.” Millions of people have likely spoken those words (whether out loud or in their own heads). And yet, few accomplish it. If you’ve got “write a novel” on your bucket list, but haven’t ever done it, NaNoWriMo– National Novel Writing Month— in November of each year is an opportunity…
How Do Your Children Treat You?
Sometimes when people long for the good old days, they’re remembering something that didn’t exist, fabricating entirely, or even just wistfully only recalling the good (but forgetting the accompanying bad). But when it comes to the way children behave toward their parents and toward adults nowadays, there really is a significant differencebetween what the average mom puts…
Welcome!
WELCOME to JessConnell.com! I am so excited to see you here! With a change in my writing habits and goals, it was time for a change. From 2006-2013, I blogged at a different place. I started writing novels (which are still unreleased and sitting on my hard drive), and so in Jan 2015, I started writing under…