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Jen Bradbury
May 22 · 5 min read

Life from death

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As we stood at my mother-in-law’s casket, my nearly two-year-old nephew chased my four-year-old daughter around the empty funeral home room – something they could do since, thanks to the COVID-19 restrictions, the room was empty except for us.

...

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#Pandemic #children #babies #joy #hope #Holy Week #scripture #Jesus #death

Jen Bradbury
Apr 10 · 5 min read

Notes from the Pandemic: The joy of walking

Pre-kids, my husband and I frequently took vacations centered around backpacking. Nature centered and anchored us. In nature, we felt closer to God and each other. 

After having Hope, we frequented the Morton Arboretum. But as Hope got older,...

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#Family #pregnancy #children #babies #Pandemic #Missions

Jen Bradbury
Jan 27 · 5 min read

Dear Future Self: Thoughts on priorities, refugees, and welcome pack deliveries

Dear Future Self –

I want you to remember this week ten years from now.

This is the week you made a controversial parenting decision. Oh, don’t get me wrong. It isn’t the first you’ve made. It won’t be the last. But this is the one I want you to...

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#parenting #refugee #toddlers #babies #youth ministry #theater #Jesus #discipleship

Jen Bradbury
Jan 20 · 5 min read

8 tips for transitioning older kids into their big sibling role

In the days leading up to the birth of our second daughter, Kendall, our oldest daughter, Hope, would often curl up in my shrinking lap and fearfully ask, “Will you still love me after the baby comes, Mama?”

Of course, I reassured her that I...

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#grace #sisters #children #babies #breastfeeding #motherhood #parenting

Jen Bradbury
Sep 05 · 5 min read

8 ways to help families with babies worship

We currently have an 8-week old and a 4-year old, which makes getting to church a challenge. Because we want to cultivate a strong faith in our kids, attending church is a priority for us. But doing so is HARD. Based on our experience, here are 8...

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#Community #church #babies #breastfeeding #parenting #faith formation #worship

Jen Bradbury
Aug 27 · 5 min read

Fearfully and wonderfully made breasts

“She’s beautiful.”

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I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve heard someone say this about my newborn daughter, Kendall. It is, after all, what you say when you meet a new baby.

It’s also what my faith says about newborns. According to the ...

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#Women #church #c-section #babies #breastfeeding

Jen Bradbury
Aug 13 · 5 min read

Teaching kids to like worship

Recently, we took our newborn baby girl, Kendall, to worship for the first time. Several people stopped us on the way into worship, which meant that despite our best efforts, we didn’t actually make it into worship on time. Despite this, we went...

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#children's ministry #faith formation #parenting #babies #children #worship #church #culture of welcome

Jen Bradbury
Feb 03 · 5 min read

Review: Small Talk by Amy Julia Becker

Filed in Book Review

As a parent, I've been astounded by how much I'm already learning from my 20-month old daughter. For that reason, when I saw Amy Julia Becker's book, Small Talk: Learning from my children about what matters most, I was intrigued.

Small Talk

Small Talk is...

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#grace #scripture #babies #Jesus #motherhood #parenting #books

Jen Bradbury
Jul 05 · 5 min read

Presence, not protection

Today, I'm linking up with Kate Motaung's Five Minute Friday. The rules: Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

This week's prompt: Protect 

Five Minute Friday 4 300x300

My pregnancy was fraught with complications.

After nearly...

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#Five Minute Friday #pregnancy #babies #motherhood #parenting

Jen Bradbury
Jun 30 · 5 min read

Rest

Today, I'm linking up with Kate Motaung's Five Minute Friday. The rules: Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

This week's prompt: Rest.

Five Minute Friday 4 300x300

I woke up with a migraine yesterday, the worst I've had in a long...

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#burnout #youth ministry #Missions #writing #student leadership #books #Arbor Research Group #babies #parenting #enough

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Tags

youth ministry books church Jesus parenting Missions scripture student leadership Leaders youth pastor babies Pandemic worship Prayer toddlers

Latest Posts

  • Life from death
  • Notes from the Pandemic: The joy of walking
  • Dear Future Self: Thoughts on priorities, refugees, and welcome pack deliveries
  • 8 tips for transitioning older kids into their big sibling role
  • 8 ways to help families with babies worship
  • Fearfully and wonderfully made breasts
  • Teaching kids to like worship
  • Review: Small Talk by Amy Julia Becker
  • Presence, not protection
  • Rest

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