Hey there, darling! My name is Jess. There was a time that all I wanted in the world was a little farm where I could raise my family and grow our food. Now, that's exactly what exists outside my door. In watching it unfold, a new dream was formed in my heart – to share this beautiful life with others and teach them the lessons we've learned along the way. Welcome to the Roots and Refuge podcast, friend. I am so glad you're here.
Hey y'all, welcome back to the Roots and Refuge Podcast.
Today's episode is a tender one. It's about fully living in the season you're in even when that season is uncomfortable, uncertain, or deeply painful.
I'm sharing honestly about the past year our family has walked through: fertility treatments, hope, loss, surrender, and the quiet work of trusting the Lord with desires I cannot carry on my own. I talk about what it's been like to hold an open heart as my older children step into young adulthood, and how grief and longing have sharpened my awareness of what is right in front of me.
This episode isn't about escaping hard seasons or rushing toward what comes next. It's about presence. About resisting the pull to live in the past or anxiously project ourselves into the future. About the truth that not everything that feels uncomfortable is bad and that being fully present may be the greatest gift available to us right now.
I share reflections on living seasonally not just in the garden or the kitchen, but in the soul. I call it combing out the tangles of the heart and trusting God's steady presence in the midst of it all.
If you've been navigating a season of waiting, loss, transition, or quiet surrender, I hope this episode feels like a chair pulled up beside you.
You can also continue this conversation with me over on my new Substack, A Life In Season, where I'm writing more deeply about living present and faithful in every chapter of life.
In this episode I also referenced a past episode with my friend Regan. You can hear that podcast here.
Thanks for being here, and for walking alongside me in every season. If you've found value in this project, consider supporting the podcast on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/rootsandrefuge), where you can listen early and join our monthly Q&A.
As always, I bless you until next time.
20 Aug 2025TRANSCRIPT
Wielding my Humanity
Hey y’all, welcome back to the Roots and Refuge Podcast! Today I’m sharing the deep heart-work I’ve been sitting with this summer—how to truly be human in a world that often demands otherwise. This episode isn’t just about homesteading or daily rhythms, though those are part of it. It’s about reclaiming rest, nourishment, relationship, and presence as sacred and non-negotiable. I talk about raising a standard in my own life—sleeping enough, feeding myself well, tending relationships, and choosing not to trade my humanity for hustle. In a time where the digital world feels less real and more overwhelming, we have to decide what kind of life we want to build. And for me, that starts with wielding my humanity with intention and grace.
Thank you for spending time with me today. If you’ve found encouragement here, consider supporting the podcast on Patreon, where you can listen early and join our monthly Q&A.
As always—I bless you, until next time.
18 Jun 2025TRANSCRIPT
The Stories of My Homestead
Homesteader Jessica Sowards reflects on the early days of her homestead, sharing stories of hard lessons and deep love grown from the soil of her farm.
Inside a recent episode
Wielding my Humanity
Published 20 Aug 2025 · Transcript excerpt
[…] And what that standard was was like a flag or a symbol that would, it was a form of communication to the advancing army, the group, what the orders were, what standard they were fighting under, what they were fighting for. And it was a form of communication that in the midst of battle, that standard could be looked to and followed. […]
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