Month: August 2016

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:5

Have you ever noticed how a little one will want something they see on a commercial until the next product is advertised? Their minds can be changed so fast that we can’t keep up! We shake our heads at the power commercials have over our kids and the decisions they make.

As our children get older, they learn how companies get consumers interested in what they are selling in order to make money. We teach them about marketing strategies that are used to play on emotions. After they are aware of the tactics used, they are able to make informed decisions based on their needs and the quality of the product rather than emotions evoked by a commercial.

There is something pretty important in the lessons we teach about making wise decisions. This can help them for the rest of their lives. Yet, here I am, after learning these lessons, thinking how easily I can get caught up in my own real life “commercials” telling me what I need and what I should be doing. One thing that everyone has is opinions, and most people aren’t afraid to express them. These “commercials” very easily play on emotions that make me second guess my decisions. Most of the time, the emotions evoke guilt or fear, even when there is no legitimate reason for it.

We have to remember something. Everyone has opinions and we can’t always make everyone happy. Just because we aren’t “buying into” someone’s way of thinking, doesn’t mean it isn’t the right “product” for someone else. However, it’s our responsibility to follow God’s path for our life, not someone who may be well meaning, but has their own reasons for wanting something. It’s great if God’s plan lines up with theirs, but that isn’t always the case. God has individualized paths for our lives.

We’re going to have critics, some kinder than others, and some louder than others. It would be foolish to never listen to what others are saying, but be careful to measure it against your family’s needs and God’s word. We shouldn’t spend time worrying about what others think more than what God thinks. Unfortunately, we have these “commercials” on repeat even when we would be telling the kids not to listen to it one more time since they already made a decision on the product.

Just like we don’t want commercials to influence our children’s decisions, we need to be careful we don’t let what others think influence our decisions. It’s wise to take Godly counsel, but God’s counsel needs to be more important. Sometimes we just have to believe in ourselves and what we are hearing from God.

Today, be supportive and encouraging, while practicing discernment on when to give your opinions. When you are asked, remember to respond with tact, thoughtfulness, and without judgement. If God doesn’t find fault with us, we sure shouldn’t with anyone else!

For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.  Psalm 107:9

My mind is on recipes today. This is unusual since cooking isn’t my favorite thing. I cook, not because I love to, but because I need to keep my family fed…plus I like home cooking! I bet when you are picturing someone getting ready to cook, you are seeing a nice kitchen, with all the appliances that are sitting there just waiting for the ingredients to make something special. That probably is what most normal people would be thinking about. Me…nope…I have to be different. I’m sitting here thinking of all the different ways to make a mountain pie. A delicious, piping hot, tasty piece of yumminess is the only way to describe it. Now this I can get excited about.

I don’t start with the food; I start with the campfire that is needed to make my concoction. No stoves or ovens here. No being stuck in a kitchen! I can hear the popping and crackling in my mind of getting a fire going in preparation of the goodness to come. I need to have the hot coals in order to sit the pie iron in because I want it perfectly browned on the outside. While I’m waiting, I get to breathe in that campfire smell. It beats the best perfume, cologne, candle, or flower. Sound weird? I can’t help it…maybe it’s the memories that are a part of my love of a campfire.

I can focus on what I would make now that my imaginary fire is doing its thing. Do I make the traditional pizza one with the bubbly sauce and melted cheese? How about a pulled pork one with a delicious barbecue sauce that has been passed down from a loved-one? Don’t forget a buffalo chicken mountain pie that you dip in ranch dressing! Oh, the kids like the gooey peanut butter and jelly one. What about dessert? Should I choose a yummy cinnamon and apple mountain pie or a cherry one with maybe some chocolate inside? The options are endless!

We don’t have many fancy dinner parties here. If you come over, we want you to sit back, relax, share some laughs, and not worry about a bunch of dishes afterwards. What dishes?  You can eat with your hands! Seriously though, I do provide dishes…and even silverware if you’re lucky.

Food is used to show love by so many people. People will spend hours on getting a recipe just right. Then, they will send that food to someone who is sick, who is lonely, who has fallen on rough times, who has lost a loved one, or just to say they care. Giving food is God’s love in action.

Whether you’re cooking for your family, or as a gift to someone else, make sure it’s served up with love!

Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load. Galatians 6:4-5

It’s a new morning and there is fresh hope for a great day! I’m bound and determined to make sure things go smoothly today. Everyone is going to stay on time, have a good attitude, and enjoy learning. Everybody is up and moving…barely, but it’s a start right? Time starts sneaking past us and I begin giving out orders like a drill sergeant. I’m making sure beds are made, breakfast is finished, clothing is on, teeth are brushed, and faces are washed. Forty minutes is surely enough time to get this all done with time to spare, so why are we rushing again? It’s time for our walk, and we aren’t ready! In the place of calmness and peace, I find confusion. Everyone’s running around as if it is Black Friday and their favorite item is selling out fast. With everyone excited, the pup picks up on that energy and decides there must be a reason for this craziness, so he better join the club. My head is spinning and it isn’t even 6:30 yet! Is it just us or does this sound familiar?

What are we doing wrong? I think I can tell you. We just need to calm down, make it clear what we expect (consequences if needed), and relax a little. We take ourselves and our plans way too seriously sometimes. It isn’t that we should expect to be disobeyed; it’s that we don’t have fun while making sure things get accomplished, and we’re projecting a tenseness that simple is contagious. We set the mood for our families, so why do we choose chaotic? Granted, kids can go from comatose to chaotic in no time flat, but we should be smart enough to rein it in. Let’s get them a little more motivated from the beginning, and then turn their energy into productivity. When I’m stepping out that door, I want to hear giggles again instead of sighs! I want to see a calm pup instead of one that is overwhelmed!

I’m going to implement a new strategy. If you find yourself overwhelmed and want to join me, here are my new ways to help morning chaos:

• Make sure that what you expect is realistic. Consider the age and time frame.
• Be clear on what needs to be accomplished. A list for the kids is essential! (I guarantee they’ll find a loophole if it isn’t on paper…I’m telling you I think my boys practice to be lawyers.)
• Have a deadline. They need to know every day when you expect the list to be accomplished. Set a timer or alarm so there aren’t any questions about that.
• Put a bell out, and the first one to ring it before the timer goes off (with the list all checked off and done in a manner you’ve discussed) gets a reward. It could be an extra few minutes watching TV, getting out of a chore that evening, choosing a game, or whatever their currency is.
• Let them know what their punishment is if that bell isn’t rung before the timer or alarm goes off. It could be going to bed a few minutes early, having to do the chore of the one who got there on time, or even not getting to play the game that was chosen.
• The dog has to be calm before going out…period.
• Stay relaxed. They can’t get mad at you, because you aren’t the bad guy. If they didn’t make it by the set time, they are choosing the punishment. No getting over-emotional needed.
• Praise them!

Today, test your actions to make sure it will get you the right reactions. Give children and teenagers a chance to carry their own load while you support and cheer them on! It will raise their confidence and give them a sense of accomplishment.

Jason Olson, while talking about being a successful leader, said, “Great leadership isn’t about bossing people around; it’s about inspiring and guiding people towards a common goal for everyone’s benefit. Build your team up, give them credit for their work, praise their efforts and reward them when they succeed.” What more important team do we have than our family? It’s time for us to be great leaders!

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:10-18

Isn’t it great when you draw those around you in like a magnet…when you’re searched out and clung to…when you’re found to be sooo attractive that you aren’t left alone? That’s me! That is my relationship with bugs. What can I say? They love me! I’m in the midst of a love/hate relationship with them at the moment. They love me, I hate them. My disgruntled state with the little creatures started when I was dealing with Lyme disease from a nasty, tiny tick. I didn’t realize how sick I really was until I began getting better. In the last few days I started to get my energy back and become my old, obnoxious self again. The hubby was excited and relieved I was feeling better, even though it brought with it my exasperating ways. I love teasing him and giving him a hard time! When I started to do that again, he let out a deep breath.

Just as I’m getting back on track, I get attacked again. We think it was ants this time. They were apparently annoyed with where I was stepping because my legs are covered with over twenty bites from my knees down. I was tired last night and thought I would get a good night sleep. Nope…I was dealing with those miserable little dots that were itching like mad. The peaceful slumber that was going so well was interrupted by some bug bites. Boy, do they know how to distract me from whatever I’m doing, including sleeping!

That got me thinking that the devil is just like those bugs. Irritating! When we are weak, he is definitely there. That’s the easy tactic and he doesn’t have to do much but cheer us on. It throws us for a loop the most when he slips in without us expecting him. Things will be going smoothly, we’ll be moving forward in God’s will, we’ll be following the path He has for us, and working hard in making relationships stronger when the devil will pull out the big guns. This is when he’ll do anything to get us to turn away from the right path. This isn’t when we should be asking, “Why do I bother to even try?” This is when we need to give the devil our best scowl and tell him to take a hike because we’ve been warned of his tactics. We need to make it clear that we aren’t going to let him determine our feelings! We won’t let him stop us! This is a war between good and evil, and we don’t want the darkness to win over the light. That is exactly what we do when we give up after facing his irritating ways. That is what he wants us to do.

We need to be aware of his nasty tricks and not get complacent. The tricks are like the bug bites I was dealing with. They work to interrupt the good that is going on in our lives. We need to remember to put bug spray on before we get bit (the armor of God) and know how to combat the irritation with antihistamine (God). This time, instead of getting frustrated, get excited that you are on the right path. If you were going the wrong way, there would be no need for the devil to get involved. He’d be sitting back clapping as he was watching the parade!

Today, when you feel the devil messing with you, tell him to take a hike! Let him get stung by God instead of you getting bit by him.

It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling. Proverbs 20:3

My boys are still too young to drive, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t started giving them pointers as we are heading down the road. I will admit that my “pointers” use to start as “if I ever catch you (blank), then I’ll take your keys faster than you can blink. Driving is a privilege…” and so it would go. This would always take place after seeing someone doing something foolish. Now it’s turned into explaining some of the rules of the road.

It got me thinking of highway driving. There can be more than one lane going in the same direction, but completely separate. It’s important to pay attention in order to not cross over into the next lane. That is pretty straight forward. But what about merging? Oh, that could give me a panic attack even thinking about teaching a teenager to merge! It can be a time of stress even for the more experienced drivers when traffic is zipping along at high speeds, there is one car after another, and you are trying to find your way in. Is your heart pumping just a bit more remembering somewhere you’ve been?

It seems pretty clear how much harder it is to merge than stay in one lane. Isn’t marriage pretty much the same? All kinds of strife and arguments can start when two people don’t fully merge into one lane in a marriage. Staying in two different lanes does not make a healthy marriage, even if you are going in the same direction. When there are differences between people, one will too often think the other is wrong. Does one really have to be wrong? Could they just be different?

Oh the differences between the hubby and myself! I’m a very systematical person; I sometimes see things in black and white, I like things in order, and I color in the lines. My husband is the opposite; he sees lots of grey, doesn’t know what the purpose of order is, and…well…what lines? I use logic, while he uses creativity. I see details, while he is looking towards the end result. He thinks I’m nutty that I have to finish one book before starting another. I can’t comprehend how anyone could watch movies out of sequence, but he asks, “Why not?”  It can be hard to see each other’s point of view.  Our strengths and weaknesses are different, but that doesn’t mean that either one of us is wrong. We complement each other!

It’s more work to merge into one lane, but if you want a successful marriage, it’s necessary. Don’t be just heading in the same direction, merge your lives…and keep them merged!  Instead of allowing differences to create strife and push you into a different lane, respect how those things make your spouse who they are.  My guess is, you agree on the big things or you wouldn’t have gotten married in the first place.  Remember how you complement each other!

Here are some driving tips that will help you stay merged with your spouse:

• Drive like you own the car, not the road! –Take responsibility for your part as a couple (your actions), you don’t control the marriage (or your spouse).
• Remember the rules of the road. –Remember your vows; they are your rules.
• Seeing and dealing with problems ahead of time will help you stay alive. –This goes for your marriage too.
• Get plenty of sleep, especially before making a big journey and rest to keep alert. –Marriage is a big journey; don’t try to do it without refueling!
• When you are tuned into the radio (or phone) and not the road, your distraction could get you off course or cause an accident. –When you are not tuned into your spouse, your marriage could get off course.
• Be aware of aggressive drivers. Give them some space. –Enough said.
• Be seen; remember your lights. –Be seen; be present in your marriage. It’s more important than work, friends, or sports.
• Taking drugs or drinking alcohol is a big NO! –It could be the same in your marriage.
• Don’t panic if your vehicle breaks down. –Don’t panic when problems arise, but do address them. You wouldn’t just leave the vehicle on the side of the road and go about your business as though nothing happened.

If you have a spouse, take time to appreciate the differences that might have caused strife in the past.  Find something to say that defuses the tense moment and makes you laugh.  I think mine will be…what lines?

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Ephesians 4:31

When our pup first came into our house, he didn’t know what the rules were and couldn’t speak our language. We had a communication barrier. Think how you would feel going into another country without knowing what anyone was saying and not being able to read any signs. How scary! It was our job to teach him right from wrong, but he hadn’t yet started to understand what was being said. Slowly that would change as we trained him. We would learn to read his body language and he would learn to read ours. Words and hand signals would close that communication gap in lightning speed.

That young pup tended to put his mouth where it wasn’t supposed to be.  How could we stop this when he couldn’t understand us?  One way to help him understand where his mouth wasn’t allowed was bitter apple spray. We would spray a few shots of that on whatever caught his fancy that shouldn’t have. This even included our fingers and hands! The first time he got a taste of it, he wasn’t sure what was happening. He went right back again for round two without hesitation. He seemed astonished he got the same result the second time. We watched his mind trying to process what was going on, but it wasn’t coming together quite yet. Of course he’s going to go back for a third try! This time, he was a bit more cautious. Lightbulb moment! We could see the wheels turning. The conclusion…it was time to give the object that seemed so tempting at first, a little space.

How many times have we been in the position of that pup where someone’s bitterness has taught us to give them their space? The more we have dealt with the problem in others, the more experienced we get in recognizing it…in others. What about ourselves? It isn’t so easy to realize it’s there.

We need to ask ourselves if there is any unresolved anger or disappointment hiding somewhere inside creating bitterness. Are people backing away?  Is there a resentment we are harboring that is causing us to be coated in bitterness or harshness? We need to take a good, hard look on how we respond to people around us. Are they attracted to us like a dog is drawn to his favorite treat or are they repelled from us like a dog is to bitter apple spray?

I challenge you to get rid of the old junk you’ve been carrying around. It just weighs you down, and frankly, makes you hard to be around. I’m doing some plain talking now…we all need it sometimes! I want people to be able to go around you without them run away sneezing from the bad taste in their mouth (umm that was the dog)…err…making them run away with their tail tucked (oops, again that would be the dog)…hmm…making them slowly back away not wanting to set off the trap. That could be another animal, but you get my point!

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15

This might be one of those rambling moments I need to have. I have a problem to work out, and I’m sure as children grow up and become a certain age, every parent faces it. Do you allow them to take part in activities that are great, but may not be the best thing right now? The issue has two sides. My oldest son is getting amazing opportunities, but I don’t feel as if I have all the information I need to be comfortable with letting him go. I want to send him out in the world; I just want him to go prepared.

I take my responsibility as a mom very seriously, as I’m sure most parents do. I need to make sure my child is safe and taken care of without wrapping him in bubble wrap. I think I’ve done pretty well so far! We’ve only been to the emergency room once when he was little. A wooden giraffe’s ear found its way into my little guy’s own ear. Don’t ask…it made sense to him at the time. My point is, I want to keep him safe physically and emotionally, but give him opportunities to grow. Our children need to be in all different situations and make their own decisions to prepare them for future success.

My job, as a parent, is to know what my children have the maturity to handle. I believe a good dose of common sense is what we need and what our children need. God provided it to us for a reason. We shouldn’t allow our children into situations they aren’t prepared for; we need to use that common sense.

I try to give the boys what information they need, prepare them the best I can, and trust God for the rest. I have the perfect example of giving them the proper tools and giving them the freedom to grow.  My boys had a wonderful opportunity to go rock climbing and repelling. My response, “Are you kidding me? They’ll be how far up? Dangling with only a rope?” A deep breath was needed at this point and I needed a good talking to. Yes, sometimes I need to have these conversations with myself…don’t judge me…I have boys! I had to say, “Stop acting like a mom and start thinking of the big picture. It sounds dangerous, but here is an opportunity for them to grow. This is them getting to be boys without going to do something stupid without being taught properly.” They had a fantastic teacher where safety was the utmost importance. This wasn’t a time to be carrying on, it was a time to face fears and grow. That’s just what they did. It taught them trust, safety, and awarded them with an awesome sense of accomplishment. It taught them to face a mountain and conquer it! It gave them self-confidence!

When they want to go somewhere or do something, sometimes the problem isn’t even about their maturity; it’s about the safety of the situation. God wants us to go to Him in prayer to let Him guide us in these decisions. He also puts godly people into our lives that can support us when we just aren’t positive. We may be pretty sure we know the answers, but need confirmation.

Opportunities are awesome! Sometimes you should take them, sometimes you should wait, and sometimes you should say no. If you feel you should take the opportunities that require you to put your fear aside, I’d like to remind you (as I have to remind myself) that as much as you love your children, God loves them even more. He is more than capable of handling things when you aren’t around. If you feel should wait, that’s ok. Everything isn’t like on TV where if you don’t act right now, the opportunity will be gone. Finally, if you are led to say no, there is a reason. God is protecting, or He just might have something better planned.

When you are faced with a decision and you aren’t sure what to do, be confident that you can go to God and He will hear you.  If you are like me, you might want to stop trying to muddle through on your own when you don’t need to.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1

Have you ever felt like you were a grandparent’s favorite? It didn’t matter that each one of the grandchildren felt the exact same way! When that arm went around you, all you felt was love and acceptance. You felt good, protected, and that everything was right in the world. It boosted your confidence and lifted your spirit.

My youngest will make me laugh when he stands still, opens his arms, wiggles his fingers, and says, “Bring it in Mom, bring it in!” When he first did this, it cracked me up! Where did that come from? It still makes me smile each time he does it, but I also got some insight on why hugs are so important to him. I asked him what a hug meant to him, and his answer was simple…it makes him feel safe. It is his way of showing support to me or letting me know he needs that support from me. I want my boys to always feel like they have that safe place with their parents. My oldest really appreciates the one arm, manly hugs from my hubby. I never even realized how important hugging was to them!

I know some of the sweetest, thoughtful, most loving little ones. They don’t live near me so we communicate through email. Hugs are so closely related to love to them that they wanted to send an “email hug” to let me know how much they care. To them, it would make everything better if I was having a bad day. They were absolutely right; you can’t help but smile when getting hugs from your loved ones, even if they are email hugs!

When I was looking at research about hugs, it amazed me what great medicine hugs are. Also, they are free and there aren’t any negative side effects! God has lavished great love on us, so pass that love on.  Don’t be afraid of being rejected, just have a loved one “bring it in” and see the difference it can make on their (and your) outlook on life.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

When we built our house, we had to excavate and get the trees cleared for where the house was to go and to have a yard. So…we purposely took away the shade to keep it cool on hot days, we took away a windbreak for on the cold days, and we put in a yard. What does that leave us with? More work! It doesn’t make sense when we are the ones to plant the grass and put fertilizer on it to make it grow even faster and thicker, then complain about mowing it! God provided perfectly beautiful woods for shade, but we wanted grass. Friends of mine, who aren’t from the United States, can’t understand this crazy way of thinking. They said if God thought we needed us to have grass, He would have provided it. We needed the trees, He provided, but we got rid of them…we complicate things!

When I started to homeschool I was given the great advice to keep it simple. This is where we go wrong. We’ve stopped keeping things simple! We ask our hubbies what they are thinking about, and when they say nothing, we overanalyze. They really do mean nothing…keep it simple! When we allow our children to be involved in too many activities at one time, the whole family suffers, and the kids don’t enjoy any of it. Choose only one or two activities…keep it simple! When the dog is running around and not listening, attach a leash to him or put him in the crate for a few minutes instead of yelling and running around like one of his litter mates…keep it simple. If we are tired during the day, shut off the electronics sooner at night and get more sleep…keep it simple. If we hate cleaning, don’t buy such a big house…keep it simple.

People will even complicate getting into heaven. There is only one way…Jesus…keep it simple!

I challenge you to keep it simple today. No excuses and no overthinking. Jesus kept things simple for us, so shouldn’t we learn to follow His example?

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. Ephesians 4:25

When we were out of electricity the other day, my dad decided to bring over the generator so we wouldn’t be out the modern conveniences for too long. For helpers, Dad got me (his favorite), the oldest grandson (the almost man), and the youngest grandson (Mr. Muscles…he’s been waiting for me to find a place for that in one of these writings). We unloaded the generator with my Dad guiding it off the truck and down the planks he had made. The oldest and I were to hold it back so it didn’t run him over. I’m not sure, but I think Mr. Muscles was taking the supervisory role. It went pretty smoothly if you don’t count the generator almost taking my dad down. I guess we weren’t holding it back quite enough. The giggles on my end may have had my dad rethinking his helpers for next time.

We got everything hooked up and ready to go. Of course we come to find out the electricity has already been restored and didn’t need the generator after all! It was time to unhook everything, load it back into the truck, and classify this as a dress rehearsal. Hmmm…I wonder what Dad would have changed to make it go smoother next time…could it have been the helpers…or more like one specific helper?

Now, all we needed to do was get the generator out of the landscaping and back into the truck. That doesn’t sound too hard, and it wasn’t. We did however, run into one tiny mishap. Going into the landscaping, the generator was taken around the shrub that was planted last year, but coming out it was taken over the shrub. Poor Dad figured he could just put that little shrub right between the wheels and it would go right over the top of it. He figured wrong. I was amused, and told him he decapitated my shrub! He walks over and says, “Hmm, thought I had enough clearance.” It’s in times like this that I get my best memories that make me smile! My dad’s butt print on my garbage can would be another one, but I’m getting off topic.

Now, you might think that was the end of the story…nope. I told the hubby about it, and it didn’t bother him at all either. He is used to my plants and trees coming to a catastrophic end. I’ll have to tell you more about that some other time. At this point, it wasn’t even ruined! What did surprise me was when I walked past that shrub later in the afternoon and it looked completely fine. Did the hubby actually take the top and put it back on? That might last for a day or two, but it wouldn’t fool anyone for long. We could pretend that everything was perfect; however that wasn’t really the truth.

I like seeing the real shrub because, although it may not be perfect, it was part of the events that shaped a memory of my dad coming to help his daughter. It represents love. Too often people try to cover up real life by wanting everything to seem perfect, but don’t let them fool you, no matter how badly someone wants to come across as having it all together, they don’t.

I feel like I need to clarify that having a mask of perfection on is different than being positive. Nobody wants to listen to a list of complaints. I’m a HUGE believer in our attitude determining our altitude-whoever said that was brilliant! What I’m talking about though, is putting on a fake mask to hide what we aren’t happy with. The person who does this might deceive themselves or others in the short term, but most people can tell what is genuine and what isn’t.

We all know that perfection isn’t possible, yet when we are on the receiving end of the “everything is perfect” attitude two things could happen. We roll our eyes because it is so outrageous or we allow it to undermine our confidence. We might say, “What am I doing so wrong?”

Do people wear these masks because they want to feel superior or see someone struggling? I don’t believe that’s the case. I believe it has to do with a lack of self-esteem in them and it has nothing at all to do with the person they’re talking to or they are trying to fool themselves. What these people don’t realize is that they are missing out on an opportunity.  They could be a sense of inspiration by being real with the problems they face. We can get inspired by seeing someone face a difficulty with hope of a good outcome.

 

If you doubt yourself because of dealing with what I’ve talked about, please say, “I’m glad for them, but real life isn’t perfect. There are going to be struggles to face, and I’m not the first or will I be the last to face them. I can face them with a positive attitude without pretending.”

Here are some truths that I can share with you:

• I make mistakes…often…but I can learn from them and can be forgiven.
• My kids are going to argue and act up, but that doesn’t mean I’m a bad mom, it means they have opportunities to grow.
• I feel like I don’t have what it takes sometimes, but this is when God can show His strength.
• My eyes are prone to be glazed over by the end of the school day, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be homeschooling, it means I’m giving everything I have to give. It allows me to see my husband as a superhero that comes in and saves the day by allowing me to regroup.
• I don’t feel positive or at peace all the time, but that pushes me to listen harder for God to direct me.
• Practice makes progress, not perfection. “Practice makes progress” was in a devotion I read, and I hold that one close!

 

What if you are the one pretending? I have to tell you that I believe honesty is one of the most important characteristics that someone can have. I like to think I’m a very honest person, yet I’m being dealt with on this. I’ve been dealing with some crazy health stuff lately and I’m sooo over it, unfortunately my body didn’t get that memo. When asked how I’m feeling, I tend to do the “I’m fine” phrase. I was straight-up asked why I was lying. WHAT? Was I really asked that? Oh no they didn’t! After a deep breath, I was struck by how they were right. I wasn’t being honest. I don’t want to drag someone down, I don’t want someone to worry, and frankly, I want to speak positive things into my life. That is all great, but am I keeping things real? I should be saying, “Not perfect, but I’m getting there!”

 

Two things…we can’t let anyone take our self-confidence because they are full of hot air, and don’t put on a mask because it only makes us unrelatable.  Put off falsehoods and speak truthfully today!