I'm not perfect... and why you shouldn't pretend to be either

I've come to a realization lately- if you only read my blog, you may feel like you know me, but you really don't. That's because I don't necessarily post pictures and descriptions of my heartaches, bad hair and/or messy house days and all of my parenting mistakes. Yes, all of these happen in great abundance. It's part of my life. Of course, I'd rather forget the bad stuff so I don't document it as much. But I've always been pretty open about my shortcomings- there are so many, hiding them all the time would be exhausting. And if you are my friend, I will probably let you down (if I haven't already, well, I'm surprised).

I get amused and slightly annoyed when I read other blogs (strangers, not any of my readers) where no one ever has a bad day and posts perfect pictures of their homes and children (who are never messy). And they only spend $30 a week on groceries and cook gourmet meals every night. Come on! Frankly, you can't be my friend if you are perfect because what would we talk about? I'm closest friends with those who struggle just like me and are open about it. And I am so thankful for them!

On a similar note, Dave and I have also been having lots of conversations lately about our kids... how we don't want to try and act perfect around them, pretending we never struggle with sin, or never ask for their forgiveness when we hurt them. We don't want them to think the Christian life is about pretending to be perfect.

I think I'm going to go unsubscribe from a few "perfect" blogs now....