I have no idea what I’m doing

I have no idea what I’m doing with a blog.

I am not a writer or journalist by any stretch of the imagination. I once had a post that mentioned “angles” (as in triangles) instead of “angels” (as in spiritual being). I often have misspellings. And I can’t honestly remember why this seemed like a good idea to start with.

With one silly post almost a year and a half ago this blog started. At first I was UBER excited about it. I annoyed all my friends until they subscirbed. And now I secretly get really embarassed anytime a friend mentiones she read it.

This past Christmas I converted everything to a word press…which was kinda like having my teeth drilled with no anesthetic…only much longer and more annoying. Word press is great, I just, well, have no idea what I’m doing. 935 Google crawl errors later, I seriously considered just quietly closing up shop.

Then God confirmed what to do in a way I certainly didn’t expect.

In one week I had two strangers take the time to email me to let me know something they read here made a difference in their life.

If God can use a girl who can’t spell, writes sporadically, and lights up Google’s error logs like a Christmas tree…then my friend He can use you too!

Thank you for taking the time to read, the sweet people that share it with their friends, and your patience as I try to figure out what in the world I am doing

We all have junk

If you have ever seen a plane flying over head you might notice from a distance it looks beautiful. Strong, steady, and powerful. The plane looks light as air as it floats among the clouds. However if you have ever actually been a passenger on a plane it isn’t always as smooth and steady as it appears from afar. There is turbulence, the clouds are not as soft as they look, and if you have ever gone through a storm….let me just say lots of talking to Jesus going on in that situation.

The point is from afar many people seem to be smooth, steady, and put together. Their marriage is perfect, their kids never misbehave, they have complete control of their finances, and they are extremely talented and good at everything you are not. But inside that persons life there is “turbulence.” I guarantee they have struggles no matter who they are.

WE ALL HAVE JUNK. The reason I started this blog is because everywhere I go I couldn’t help notice this is such a common thread in all of our lives. We are ALWAYS comparing ourselves! I’ll say it again WE ALL HAVE JUNK but isn’t that what makes us who we are?

The friends I love the most are the ones who are “imperfect.” They are honest about where they struggle and don’t try to hide their flaws.

A dear friend told me the other day, “if someone you know appears to be perfect….they are miserable” And she knew! For years she had tried with all her might to have a spotless house, make everything from scratch and look good while doing it. She was exhausted, and frustrated.

I secretly compared myself to her and wondered how she did it all.

When she came clean about it there was such relief in both of our ends.

“You mean you are not perfect?” You mean I can stop pretending to be perfect?”

Oh what a wonderful moment that was! Why don’t we do that sooner?

Jesus needs a better advertising campaign

The Barna Group, a respected Christian survey organization, recently asked young people to identify which perceptions they most strongly associate with Christianity. The three most commonly agreed-upon were: anti-homosexual, judgmental, and hypocritical.

Westboro Baptist church has made headlines with their “God hates fags” philosophy where they protest soldiers funerals. Also making headlines are abortion clinics being bombed & protests for nearly everything under the sun.

At almost every event with a large crowd you can find “the megaphone man” yelling about hell and eternal damnation.

All in the name of Jesus??

If this is the Christianity the world sees than no wonder many people are not interested.

My dear friend Katelyn posted this awesome quote:

I have decided to stop letting political and religious organizations represent me on the issues. I have decided to represent myself, and in so doing I hope to accurately represent Christ.

-Mike Foster “Unchristain”

Dear friends, Forgive us. Forgive us for the embarrassing things we have done in the name of Jesus.

We are imperfect people for sure. Our attempts to model Jesus are clumsy at best. He calls us, imperfect and broken, to transform us so we are no longer the same. We just don’t always leave the old us behind.

Please don’t reject Christ because of Christians. We are still trying to wrap our head around the God of the universe wanting to make disciples out of us.

Despite our misrepresentation, Jesus was a pretty amazing guy.

He was the preacher of all preachers yet you could find him dining with some of the worst “sinners” of his day. Mark 2:15

He was the King of all the universe yet he was born to regular people in a palace no wait, a manger. Luke 2:7

He deserved servants and crowns, yet he washed his disciples feet. John 13 1-17

He is the only one that was or ever will be worthy of all the fame and fortune of the world, yet he was a servant. Mark 9:35

He spoke love into the people no one loved. John 4

He would touch those no one else would touch. Mark 1:40-45

He did nothing wrong, but he never tried to defend himself. John 18:28-38

He could have had a thousand Angels come to take his place on the cross, but he took mine instead. John 19:28-30

I want to invite you to consider that maybe the televangelists and street preachers are wrong — and that God really is love. Maybe the fruits of the Spirit really are beautiful things like peace, patience, kindness, joy, love, goodness, and not the ugly things that have come to characterize religion.

-Shane Claiborne

The Jesus I know is turning the world upside down with his love. The less I get in the way the better he can “advertise” through me.

Have you ever witnessed a not so great “advertisment” for Jesus?

-Katie

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Mom guilt

Faced with the overwhelming responsibility of mothering the next generation; mothers often feel like we are not doing enough, or not doing it just right.

I am certainly guilty of this myself, and I have never met another mom who didn’t feel the same.

Although it’s a positive sign that we’re trying to do our best, we need to learn to let it go so that we can be our best. A guilty conscience is doing no one any good, if anything it is just causing frustration. Either a change needs to be made or an acceptance needs to take place.

Truthful Guilt:

In this type of guilt there really is something that could be better. What is nagging over your head that you know needs to be changed? You have put it off for whatever reason. Let’s not wait any longer. Our children are growing up everyday, let’s take steps today to make our tomorrow the best it can be.

Guilt from Unrealistic expectations:

I feel like my picture should be beside these words with a stamp on my forehead saying “guilty”. Actually, I do need a picture for this post….

We compare ourselves to our neighbor who has a beautiful yard, our best friend whose children can recite the entire bible (minor exaggeration), the one whose home is always immaculate, and the one who is always doing craft projects with her kids.

My favorite saying around here is, “We compare ourselves to what others are on the outside to what we know to be true of ourselves on the inside”

Yes Sally (names changed to protect the innocent) may be crafty, but I bet she doesn’t have the talent you do! Be thankful for Sally’s talent and note that she probably doesn’t have yours!

We all have at least one talent, but not one of us have all the talent.

Most importantly comparing ourselves to others is a lose, lose battle. The only perfect one worthy of comparing ourselves to is Jesus. He was not a mom, but He was an amazing and effective teacher. He corrected and showed grace at all the right times. He was selfless and He loved….like REALLY LOVED, even when we didn’t deserve it. What a model!!

When you feel the unwelcome feeling of guilt creeping in again:

Determine if it is true or unrealistic guilt
If it is true: Do something. Make the changes right then, or take steps to make the situation better.
If it is untrue. Thank God for making you the mother that you are. Focus on what you do well. And enjoy doing what you do best with your kids.

As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

What do you think? Do you carry mom guilt? I love your comments!

Choosing to cheat

I told my husband the other day I could stay up all night long and still have way too much on my to do list, to which he responded, “shorten your to-do list”

Profound! Simple, maybe even obvious but I thought it was brilliant…he’s a smart guy. I think all of us have expectations we place on ourselves that don’t REALLY have to be done.

Andy Stanley wrote a book called “choosing to cheat” The premise states that we cannot possibly do everything so we must cheat in one or more areas of our life. There are simply not enough hours in a day or days in a year to do and be everything we want. We are then faced with the choice to decide what is most important.

Although we don’t see it this way it is even a little egotistical to think we are soooo important that we must get so much done. If the world will keep spinning and no one will be physically harmed if we don’t complete the task then is it really THAT important?

Cheating suggestions:

Housework: Everyone has different “must does’” for a clean home. I think it is essential to take a moment to define what a clean home is to you. What is most important and what areas can you cheat? It will just get dirty again anyway!

The Internet: Rescue time is a free internet service designed to keep you accountable for how much time you spend on the net. On average it rescues people from almost 4 hours of time a week!

Television: Along with the internet these are the two biggest time suckers for most families. Be intentional with your television. Ask is this show WORTH my time? Give yourself a number you are comfortable with for hours spent per week in front of the tube.

Extra activities: If your kids are in soccer, dance, karate, football, and piano all at the same time you might want to take a step back and ask what is most important and what is not. Or maybe you are the president of the PTA, the bible study leader, the volunteer and the helper for EVERYTHING in your city. Just incase you need permission…It’s okay to say no.
(ouch I am so guilty of this)

Work more effectively: No matter where you work: in an office or at home there are ways to work more efficiently. 4 hour work week is a book dedicated to helping your work more effectively.

Barter anyone?: You can’t do it all but together we can. Babysitting is a great way to trade services. You watch my kids and I’ll watch yours. I have a friend that does all my monogramming and I make her little girls hair bows. PERFECT!!

What is a skill or service you can offer? Trading is much more fun that spending money and is a helpful way to get what you need by “cheating”

Share your thoughts: In what ways do you “cheat?”

Acting out the Christmas Story

This year we started a new tradition. Acting out the Christmas story!

I am no supermom, the thought of crafts and elaborate plans intimidate me. But I wanted our kids to better understand WHY we celebrate Christmas. The books are great but most kids learn by doing. Instead of overcomplicating things, I tried my hand at a simple play.

I am guest posting today at Stringer Mama. Head on over to read the rest!

Misheard Christmas Music lyrics

Who doesn’t need a good reason to laugh? I will never forget the belly laugh i had after i realized in the song “footloose” when he says, “I’m burning, yearning, for some…” that he wasn’t actually saying, “I’m burning, yearning, coleslaw”

Who knew?

Well here is a list of HILAIOULS misheard Christmas lyrics. I hope you laugh as much as I did!

Deck the halls with Buddy Holly
Fa la la la la, la la la la

Have a holly jolly Christmas, It’s the best time of the year.
I’ll don’t know if there’ll be snow, But have a cup of cheese.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,
Jingle all the way
OH what fun it is to ride
With one horse, soap, and hay.

Joy to the world!
The Lord has gum.

Santa Clause is coming to town:
He’s making a list
Of chicken and rice
Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
My tulip sent to me:
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lawyers leaving,
Nine lazy Hansons,
Eight maids-a-milking,
Seven warts on women,
Six geezers laying
Five Golden rings
Four calling birds
Three french hens
Two turttle doves
And a cartridge in a pantry

Later on we’ll count spiders
As we drink by the fire
To change and appraise
The plans that we made
Walkin in a winter wonderland

Adolf the other Reindeer…used to laugh and call him names.

Frosty the Snowman is a ferret elf they say

Now bring us some friggin’ pudding…

Hahahaha Heheheh….breath…I am laughing so hard.

Hey Imperfect friends have you ever mis-heard a song lyric? Whether Christmas or not, Please share!

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Martha Stewart’s daughter and a lesson in PRIORITIES

Martha Stewart, your quintessential homemaker, picture perfect crafter, gourmet chef, amazing hostess, and gardener.

We all have someone we look up to, and for so many women it is Martha Stewart. When our days are stressful, dinner is burnt, and the centerpiece we tried to craft for thanksgiving looks more like a preschoolers art project, we close our eyes and think, “How does Martha do it?”

According to her daughter, while Martha was pretending to be betty homemaker to the world, she ignored her own family.

“If I didn’t do something perfectly, I had to do it again,” writes her daughter. “I grew up with a glue gun pointed at my head.” source

Photo credit

She goes on to say “There was never anything to eat at my house,” and despite Martha’s seemingly love for the holidays, her daughter said she was quite “humbug” about them in reality.

While Martha was pretending to be perfect, her own daughter suffered. I’m not trying to dog on Martha, she was running a successful TV ‘show and magazine, writing cookbooks and who knows all of her other million obligations, there is now way she could DO IT ALL.

She was never designed to DO IT ALL.

This my friends, is point of Imperfect People.

So many are wearing the masks of “I have it all together” when families are falling apart.

When the stress of the world tells us to go here, do that ,and be the leader of this, we have to KNOW what it is we are designed to do and don’t apologize for saying no to something that doesn’t fit into the mission God has given us.

How do you know your mission?

List out your top 5 priorities. The things that take up the majority of your time, talent, and treasure. If all else fades, if money didn’t matter, cross out your obligations one by one until you are left with the TWO that are most important.

Go ahead write them down.

What are you left with?

Hopefully it is family and faith.

Of course we cannot ignore those other three priorities but i hope that shed light on the things that TRULY matter.

Another way to help decide your mission is discovering what are you passionate about. What gets you up in the morning and gets you excited? What are your gifts talents?

Once you know what is most important, develop a family mission statement. Deciding what is most important as a family helps you to say NO to the good opportunities so you can say YES to the best opportunities. Examplehere.

Martha Stewart has talents no doubt, and I don’t think it is wrong that she had a successful career using those talents. I just think she may have lost sight of what is MOST important.

While loving the Lord with all our hearts is the MOST important, I believe family certainly comes way before career, hobbies, and fame and fortune.

How do you keep focus on the most important priorities?

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I used to be cool

As you can clearly see in this Halloween picture circa 1990 maybe? I was Oh so cool. I know, I know, the huge yellow bow in my hair and the Halloween tights are pretty amazing. Don’t be jealous.

Somewhere between getting older and having kids i officially became un-cool.

My clothing is whatever fits and is on sale.

I have no problem going places without makeup.

The last party I crashed I showed up (accidently) an hour late and forgot my kid’s shoes.

My handbags and shoes come from yard sales.

I often have stickers on my back thanks to my kids.

The few famous people encounters I have had, are “famous people” no one has heard of. Although I did walk by Angelina Jolie in NYC. Oh yea baby.

My cell phone (which wasn’t even a cool phone) recently died after surviving a trip all around town on the top of my car! Poor phone couldn’t hold on any longer and fell to it’s death less than a mile from home.

Being cool and fitting in was the only thing in the world that mattered as a teenager…now not so much.

Oh how all of the wrong things mattered so much when I was young and not at all now.

Dear Hannah and Ava, when you are teenagers please know that you are the ultimate in cool regardless of what the world thinks. I pray knowing a loving God who thinks you are a rock star is all you need for acceptance.

I love your comments. Share an “un-cool” moment you have had.

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My Imperfect Story via video!

Last Sunday at church I had the privilege of sharing what God is done in my life through a video testimony.

Our pastor was talking about condemnation. And being that I give myself a pretty hard time I guess it was a good fit for the sermon. This makes me crazy nervous to share. I don’t know, something about the video…I feel so vulnerable! But as I say all the time there is so much healing in being vulnerable sooo….I hope you enjoy!

(if you are reading on email or RSS reader click here to view).

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Katie Testimony from Connection Church on Vimeo.

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Imperfect People

Imperfect People in love with a Perfect God

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