I wanted to share a post with you that I just read over at These Thy Gifts titled:
Heather was able to put into words, exactly what I have been thinking! I love blogging and sharing little bits and pieces of what we have been up to… And although, it may seem like I “have it together,” I am a work in progress, and my life is FAR from perfect. I have so very many areas in which I struggle on a daily basis, as some of you know far too well! 😉 **Thank you again Regina for taking my girls last week so I could start to catch up on the piles of bookkeeping!
I had a friend tell me recently that she doesn’t look at my blog very often because it depresses her and makes her feel like she is not doing enough with her own children. I couldn’t believe it. This was coming out of the mouth of a person whom I TOTALLY admire and who has more energy than ANY OTHER MOM I know and is extremely fun and creative!!!
We all have our individual strengths and weaknesses, and none of us can do it all! I have to remind myself all the time, or others have to remind me, to stop using The Measuring Stick. As Meredith said, “Fact of the matter is, you are doing God’s work every day, period!!! Only HE can know if you’re doing it well enough, lovingly enough, faithfully enough!”
And, in regards to Doing it All, Kim reminds us that,
Whatever circumstances you have been gifted with strive to make the most of them. If you have a home, take really good care of it. Many people are not so lucky. It may not be a mansion but for this time, now, it is yours. If you have a husband, take even better of him. Similarly, many are not so fortunate and we don’t know how many days we will get to be a blessing to him. Don’t take that for granted. If you have children, turn off the computer and go join them. Don’t worry about what the rest of us are doing, and be assured NO one is doing it all. Everyone is making choices and many are making choices you would not be happy with in the end.
So… Right now, I am off to start cleaning up the mess we made the last couple days… Then I need to start working on getting some of my laundry done, I am SO behind!! (I wish I was as organized with my laundry as my cousin!) Then I have about 16 hours of bookkeeping left to catch up on–that has been piling up since I was pregnant with Snuggles and needs to be done NOW. Does any one want to come and help???
So, like Heather said, “please, keep on encouraging me, keep on asking questions if you think I might be able to help in some way, keep on letting me know if some of these hard-earned beaten-into-my-hard-head nuggets of wisdom are helpful to you. But please stop comparing or assuming or despairing, okay? “
Have a wonderful weekend!!!! GOD BLESS!!!!!
Coincidently I just came from Heather’s blog to visit yours! Yes, she blew me away too with her GET REAL Post.
Your St. Valentines Day photos were precious!
You know, my very best friend just said the exact same thing to me today – that she doesn’t read my blog because it makes her feel inadequate. And she is my hero!!!! Home educating three plus full-time caregiver for her grandmother. Why, oh why do we compare ourselves? I’m so glad this is being discussed. And you are so kind to link to my blog – thanks!
Me? Organized? Mostly my laundry post WAS A JOKE! It was an outtake on Pioneer Woman’s Posts on Cooking… (www.pioneerwomancooks.com) I haven’t been brave enough to post a picture of my desk as of yet. Maybe I’ll take a picture and send it to you just so you know that I DON’T have it all together. 🙂
Funny thing about this post is I have a similar post in draft that I’ve been finishing up. Weird how we are on the same page and so far apart.
Love you! I think you are awesome! And do WAY more things with your kids than I do. I admire it. And, it makes me wish I had that kind of stamina. But, I just keep on trying…that’s really all I can do!
Yes… I knew your laundry post was a joke (and I was cracking up the whole time–since I read Pioneer Woman’s blog on occasion), BUT I loved it so much I just HAD to link to it! 😉
Sometimes when we are blogging it can be a temptation to only show the best side of our family life. Kind of like showing off a false reality – what we wish we could be. But you, Jessica, always are very balanced. You show real life along with the ideal, and plenty of helpful hints and great ideas along the way. Thank you for your wonderful blog!