Jess+TheMess February Notes
On pursuing rest, renewal, & growth.
Hello Friends!
Hello Friends,
I have a confession to make. I am weary. Beyond weary, actually. My word for 2023 was softer, and the funny thing was, I didn’t really feel this word until December and then everything began to unravel. I began to grieve the fact that Luke would soon move into Hope Farm. I felt flatlined from the past 7 years of advocacy work, and I was dealing with some deeply personal issues that honestly, weren’t (aren’t) mine to necessarily deal with. I don’t usually choose words for the New Year, but they continue to choose me. As I dealt with these heavy, exhausting feelings I kept hearing “go small & inward.” At first, I didn’t pay much attention and continued to plow forward. Head down, get er done style. It seems to be that I’ve been “head down, get er done” for many years now, and it’s finally caught up with me.
In response to my body and mind shutting down after being on high alert for so long, I wiped most of my calendar clean, logged off of social media, and have returned to practicing the art of living which for me is incorporating time to examine my feelings and make time for the things I love: my family, baking bread, reading books, cultivating my plants, and feeding my soul in various other ways. I’ve also returned to healthier options in my beauty care routine ( I haven’t used heat on my hair in 2 months!), and I share a couple of my favorites below.
February is also the one-year anniversary of the release of, “Lovin’ With Grit & Grace”. If you haven’t read it, please grab a copy from Amazon and please write a review when you are finished. Reviews will help immensely when book number four is released later this year!
I have a feeling that 2024 will be one long sabbatical as I pursue rest, renewal, and growth. Will I return to social media? I’m not entirely sure at this point - although I do have a new book releasing in November, and it would be difficult to launch it without an online presence - but I’ve accomplished other difficult tasks so time will tell ;-) I look forward to someday writing in depth about this period of my life, but for now, I will continue to go “small & inward” and pursue the little things that bring me joy. In the meantime, I’ll be here, in this newsletter space, each and every month, and I look forward to sharing a piece of my heart with you.
P.S. I am booking speaking events for 2024. If you have an event that you think I might be a good fit for, please fill out the request form below.
With the new year, we have an influx of requests for care packages! If you would like to help us fulfill these requests, please consider donating items from our Amazon Wishlist or make a monetary donation to our care package fund below! We appreciate the support to keep this initiative going.
Have you heard the news? We are offering our caregiver resource database completely for FREE! You can gain access to over 250 resources for parent caregivers including respite, community, therapy, product resources, and so much more! Join today!
All three of my books are available on Amazon. If you would like to hear how the story began, I encourage you to check them out!
I think that's all for now, see you next month!
xoxo
Jess
Fragrances typically contain lots of chemicals that can affect your hormones and so much more. I love this clean roller option so that I can enjoy a fragrance without the harmful effects. This one smells great!
I love that this CC Cream Foundation is a light option on my skin, includes sun protection, and eliminates toxic chemicals from being absorbed through my skin!
Have you tried shampoo bars? I wasn’t sure I would like this at first but it has drastically improved the health of my hair! Most shampoos are full of chemicals, but this one leaves me feeling good, and I know it’s not causing any damaging effects.
This is a great read about the dangers found in most beauty products. It will open your eyes to what could be potentially affecting your health and help you make changes to pursue better options.
Are you a church, nonprofit, or business that would like to host a screening of the documentary Unseen? Let’s get this documentary out into the communities where awareness is so needed! Get some more information at https://caregiverdoc.com/ and please reach out to jess@thelucasproject.org to schedule a showing!
If you're interested in partnering with me, please send an email to jessplusthemess@gmail.com.