Confessions

"Guess what? I have flaws. What are they? Oh I dunno, I sing in the shower? Sometimes I spend too much time volunteering. Occasionally I'll hit somebody with my car. So sue me-- no, don't sue me. That is opposite the point I'm trying to make." 

- Michael Scott, The Office

*This picture has nothing to do with my post.  But it is beautiful and warm and it makes me happy

There is this idea out there, enhanced by blogging and social media, that some people's lives are perfect.  Their kids are always smiling, their houses are always clean and their lives are always fun.  And we know this, because we get to see pictures that prove it and read inspiring blogs that affirm it.  

Personally, for me, I'm definitely not one of those perfect blog world people.  I blog about my kids to share their lives with our friends and families who are out of state.  I'm creative and right brained, which means that I have creative piles of stuff all over our house.  And while my life is pretty fun most days, it's not always fun and it's definitely not always easy trying to balance everything.  

Other confessions...

I don't drink coffee or tea and I'm pretty sure that I only drink hot chocolate for the whipped cream.

I still make my kids have "quiet time" in their rooms, but I'm pretty sure it's because I need the "quiet time."  

Sometimes, I watch Teen Mom and go back and forth between judging those poor girls and just plain feeling sorry for them.

Sometimes, I forget to cook perfectly good meat that I've bought and then it expires, and then I throw it out.  I have this thing about expirations dates, as though the meat instantly knows to go bad the day it says it expires.   Then I feel really guilty because I've wasted food and to be honest, it totally bothers me to the core that people are really starving out there.  But apparently not enough to be diligent about cooking the food that I have.  Sigh.

I worry about things that I have no control over.  I worry about the "what-ifs" of life (again, the things that I can't control).  True story:  When Ellee was a baby, she had a small bump at the top of her nose, and I worried that she would grow a horn.  When I write it down, it's even more embarrassing than the fact that I thought it to begin with.

The list could go on.  

We all have confessions.  We all have issues and things that we struggle with.  But today, I'm reminded, that God's love and grace and forgiveness covers it all.  A verse that was a huge encouragement to me today was 2 Corinthians 12:9, "But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses so that Christ's power may rest on me."  Yes, I have issues.  But for me, I know that God loves me despite them and works in me to strengthen me and teach me.  I don't have to dwell on the things that I struggle with, I only need to dwell in the truth that God will help me in any and every situation.  And that is a pretty amazing truth that can give us all the encouragement and hope on any day.