Jessica Crino

Join us for two great events run by Parousia at the Light of Christ Centre, Waitara next week!

1) Joelle Maryn
18th March 7.30-9.30pm
The Light of Christ Centre, Waitara

Actress and author, whose powerful conversion story and message of God’s healing love have reached over half a billion people worldwide.
Register 👉 https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/joelle-maryn-our-lady-of-the-rosary-cathedral-waitara-tickets-1983519040846

2) Dr. Joanna Howe
20th March 7.30-9.30pm
The Light of Christ Centre, Waitara

Leading Australian pro-life speaker, Dr. Joanna Howe presenting "How do we make abortion unthinkable in Australia?"
Register 👉 https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/how-do-we-make-abortion-unthinkable-in-australia-tickets-1983210139915

I didn’t find God in motherhood because I was doing it well.
I found Him because I wasn’t.
Because motherhood has a way of exposing everything.

The impatience.
The pride.
The control.
The constant worry of “I’m not good enough.”
All.the.triggers.

And if we’re honest, Lent brings that to the surface too.
Not good enough.
Not holy enough.
Not disciplined enough.
Not doing enough.

But what if that ache is the doorway?
Not because Jesus waits for usbehind our failures.
But because weakness is usually the first time we finally stop fooling ourselves into thinking we can do it alone.

Motherhood has been one of the biggest invitations to surrender and humility in my life.

Lent is not a season to perform better.
It is a season to lean harder.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”
2 Corinthians 12:9

This took me a while to understand.

I didn’t need to try harder.
I didn’t need to love my kids more.
I didn’t need to “be better.”

I needed less living in my head.

Because when mum is the system,
when she’s remembering everything, reminding everyone, holding all the expectations,
she becomes the manager of the whole house.

And managers get tired.

Tired mums don’t parent the way they want to.

Not because they don’t care.
Because they’re overloaded.

Structure doesn’t make a home rigid.

It makes it lighter.

When expectations are clear and responsibility is shared, I’m not chasing all day. I’m not carrying it alone.

And when I’m not carrying it alone… I’m calmer.

And when I’m calmer… I’m more present, we connect more deeply. Everything shifts.

That’s exactly why I created our Chore System.

Not to make a spotless house but to reduce mental load so you can parent from calm instead of overwhelm.

If you’re constantly reacting instead of responding, it might not be a patience thing, it might just be a structure thing.

🔗 Link in bio.
https://www.ourconnectedfamily.org/stressfreechoresystem

One of the lies we believe as mothers is:

“If I just had more time to pray then I would grow closer to God.”

But the truth is, God sanctifies us through our vocation.

The hardships of parenting aren’t proof that God is distant. They are the exact place we come to realise our need for Him- where we finally reach the end of our own strength.

Lent is about repentance, surrender, humility, and dependence.

And motherhood gives us daily opportunities for all of those.

When we fail and apologise.
When we choose patience over pride.
When we surrender control.
When we admit, “Lord, I cannot do this without You.”

That is Lent.

Not separate, but woven into the ordinary sacrifices of your day.

Your vocation is not competing with your spiritual life.

It is the path of it.

Where is God inviting you to surrender inside your motherhood?

He is closer than you think.

Each month, I try to focus on one area of growth in my parenting and interior life.

Not ten things. Just one. (I used to be the ‘I have to attend to everything at once kind of girl, but realised it’s completely impossible!)

So, it’s just one thing at a time. This month, it’s attention.

Presence.

I’ve notice how easily I can rush. How quickly I move to the next task while someone is still talking. How often my mind is somewhere else.

So this month, I’m slowing down.

More eye contact.
More listening to the end of the story.
More being fully here.

Presence isn’t just a spiritual practice of meeting God in the moment- it’s a pretty powerful parenting practice.

He loves birds and his afternoons look like this:

Birdwatching.
Collecting feathers.
Reading all kinds of bird books.
Measuring wingspan.
Sketching birds.
Skating around the park waiting for birds.

We absolutely have planned lessons, do all the subjects and follow a planned rhythm but one of the gifts of homeschooling, is the extra space it creates for a child to take ownership of their own learning.

Time to notice, wonder and go deeper than a worksheet.

When he dives into something that fascinates him, it rarely stays surface level. One question leads to another, which leads to another, which leads to pulling out the tape measure and rushing to the library.

I’ve realised this kind of depth doesn’t happen when we’re constantly rushing to the next thing.

Sometimes it just needs space.

I’m a big believer in reading good books (both living and direct) that intentionally shape character, virtue, and the inner life.

My oldest two start the day reading something good.
Here’s what they’re reading at the moment