By Jessica Connor. Two sweet-faced young women and a grinning little boy lost their lives doing absolutely nothing but participating in a family-friendly activity: the Boston Marathon. Others now face life as an amputee. Countless more will surely struggle through Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. All because two world-hating men decided they wanted to make a statement, or something.
By Jessica Connor. In our faith, I've heard it over and over again: once we are saved in Christ, it shouldn't be enough to merely rest in the knowledge we are now guaranteed a spot in the Kingdom. While nothing we physically do can get us into heaven, once we are safely in the arms of Jesus, we're not supposed to just sit around on our laurels, eat bonbons and rest comfortably in our state of grace.
By Jessica Connor. Recently, my 5-year-old daughter, Avery, has become slightly obsessed with evangelism.
By Jessica Connor. While job security and the overall financial health of the nation seem to be on the upswing, I don't think anyone expected the S.C. Conference to see its best year in apportionments giving since 2003. After all, the recession nearly crippled many in this state, and economy experts are calling this year's Christmas shopping season the worst since 2008. Most people expected something on par with last year, if we were lucky.
By Jessica Connor. January is the clean month, the time when I ceremoniously tear off the December page in my desk calendar and gaze down upon all the fresh blank spaces, just waiting for me to plug in meetings, events and occasions.
By Jessica Connor. Red-faced and sad, I have to confess: This morning I asked my 7-year-old son, "Do you remember why we celebrate Christmas?" and he responded, "Because it's Santa Claus's birthday." With a crash, all my happy notions that I was doing right by him as a Christian parent crumbled to the ground, replaced with shock and disbelief.
By Jessica Connor. Prayer is a powerful, powerful thing. We pray for safety, for health, for strength, for comfort. On prayer lists and church bulletins, in worship and in small groups, we pray for a friend diagnosed with cancer or an acquaintance recently widowed.
By Jessica Connor. “Mom, look – chocolate cereal!” Cameron said, eyes bright in his 6-year-old face. “Oooooooh, Dora cereal!” 4-year-old Avery exclaimed. “Ooh, and strawberries!”
By Jessica Connor. I can be a Martha — so caught up in working and spinning my wheels that I lose sight of the big picture. I value Mary's style: relationships, contemplative learning, being in the moment. But all too often, my anxiety or my workaholism takes over, and I spend way too much time doing instead of being. My recent mission trip to Zimbabwe made me realize my deep need for a lot more Mary in my life and a lot less Martha.
By Jessica Connor. There I was, standing in the Pee Dee Room Sunday afternoon at Annual Conference, surrounded by a sea of Advocate supporters, all talking excitedly and sharing stories. It was the Advocate's celebration reception, the afternoon when our board of trustees marked 175 years of newspaper ministry with an Advocate birthday party, complete with cake and plenty of friends. What a beautiful thing!
By Jessica Connor. General Conference 2012 has come and gone—an overwhelming, educational, inspiring, exhausting and ultimately reassuring experience for this editor.
By Jessica Connor. There I was, hairnet on, notebook in hand, all prepared to cover the Great Day of Service hunger packaging event in the Greenville District. Except I couldn't really move. I stood there, mesmerized, looking around at the sea of faces. I watched kids younger than my young son being runners, transporting plastic bags of rice, soy and dehydrated vegetables from the stuffing table to the weighing table, their heads high with pride and determination.