Jeannie Pederson 3 Minute Read There’s something so beautiful about gathering with friends and family to savor a meal together during the Christmas season. After all, why not take advantage of extra vacation time, decorated spaces, and often, weather that is especially conducive to cozy gatherings? Feasting, done right, is not mere indulgence. It’s a way to celebrate the goodness…
Jeannie Pederson 3 Minute Read I cleaned the duck coop yesterday. It was a job I’d been putting off for a long time, hoping that somehow I’d escape. I’m not sure what I thought the alternative was (Maybe it would miraculously clean itself? Maybe my five-year old would do it?) but eventually, it had to be done. So when I…
Jeannie Pederson 5 Minute Read For the third time in twenty minutes, I crept into the bedroom where my tiny son was napping. I stared at him, dark lashes against soft cheeks, little rosebud lips, petite fingers curled into a fist. Was he breathing? Of course he was… but I touched his back just to make sure. Then I touched…
Jeannie Pederson 4 Minute Read While over-the-top sentimentality and gushy romantic novels aren’t my cup of tea, I do love real-life love stories. They’re unique, authentic, and often humorous. They display God’s endless creativity mixed with the realities of life in a fallen world. They give hope that true love should be highly esteemed. If you’re single, real-life love stories…
Jeannie Pederson 3 Minute Read There are days the book’s title overwhelms me: Only One Life: How A Woman’s Every Day Shapes An Eternal Legacy. With three, soon to be four, little ones ages six and under, my “typical” days don’t often look impressive. My head knows what I’m doing is valuable, even if I’m not accomplishing anything beyond the…
Jeannie Pederson 3 Minute Read Anticipation has always been my favorite part of Christmas. Even as a small child, I remember Christmas morning being vaguely disappointing, regardless of how wonderful the gifts were. The season was over. There was nothing more to look forward to, no further excitement, no more whispered secrets and suddenly-closed doors and rustling paper. As I…
Jeannie Pederson 3 Minute Read Our home wasn’t fancy, and there were ten of us. My mom loves decorating, but despite her best efforts, there was always a pair of barn boots somewhere they shouldn’t be. My dad is incredibly organized, but he has a back condition that requires him to lie flat at intervals several times a day. It…
Jeannie Pederson 3 Minute Read Forget meditating (I can’t remember what I’m looking for in the fridge, much less what I read three days ago), fasting (I’ve been pregnant or nursing or both for the past six years), or silence (does that even exist anymore? I’ve forgotten). As much as I miss spiritual disciplines, I just . . . can’t. Not…
Jeannie Pederson 5 Minute Read “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.” (1 Corinthians 9:24) I’m no stranger to hard work. As the oldest, Type-A child growing up on a farm with seven siblings, I learned early that self-discipline and diligence are…
Jeannie Pederson 6 Minute Read You will always hear me advocating for a real-life mentor: someone who knows you, who sees you on a regular basis, who can cheer you on in your struggles, and call you out on your sins. A mentorship is a relationship, and a good one takes time and trust to develop. I have been blessed…
Jeannie Pederson 7 Minute Read I have long wanted to be the parent who doesn’t just dole out punishments when my children disobey. My goal isn’t to produce a little army of “yes men” who blindly obey anyone in authority. I want to raise confident, competent adults who have the inner strength to honor God regardless of what the rest…
Jeannie Pederson 4 Minute Read “What do you want to be when you grow up?” It’s a question most children hear at some point during their growing-up years. My plan wasn’t much, by some standards. I just wanted to be a wife, a stay-at-home mother, and by extension, a full-time homemaker. Making a home isn’t just the “career” I happened to…
The End.
The End.