Sometimes I worry about the blogging world. It can be very easy to put our best foot forward when blogging. We see beautiful things all around us online. Pictures that show beautiful houses, beautiful outfits to wear, beautiful children neatly dressed with their hair all done, beautiful pictures of couples happily in love, homeschool settings where the children look like they are absolutely loving it!
In reality, my life is not always like that. I strive towards having it all together, but I fall far short. Somethings that are priorities for other people cannot even be something that I work towards. Trying to have gourmet meals for dinner when I know that I ship orders for my business in the afternoon is not a practical goal to have. Someone else with a different schedule might be able to pull it off. All I know is that we eat taco salad and burritos a lot around here. 
It’s fast and my husband likes it!
A real life glimpse into my life might show you that:
Getting dressed in the morning means a skirt, shirt, and some sandals. Getting my hair brushed and pulled back and contacts in means I’m ready for the day. Anything beyond that (like putting earrings in, or a touch of makeup) is totally extra. Most days it honestly doesn’t happen.
I don’t shower every day. I have five children eight and under. That should explain it, right?
My four year old has crazy hair that is hard to tame. She loves to dress herself and so her outfits don’t always match. If we go out I make sure she looks presentable, but if someone was to drop by, they might giggle at her color blending in her outfits. Why do I let her look like this? Because she gets up and gets herself dressed all by herself. That’s a huge help to this mama. I’ve learned to let it go and not stress about it all the time.
My house is far from perfect. We have our house up for sale and when we get a call that we will show it in an hour, we all frantically run around cleaning, because it just doesn’t stay clean.
Our homeschool is far, far from perfect. My son spent the entire day trying to do his math this week. We deal with bad attitudes, lost books, and being behind on schedule more times than I ever dreamed of going into homeschooling. We have our good moments, they are just sprinkled showered with difficult ones as well!
My two year old may or may not talk to you. She may actually start screaming instead of talking. Yep, that’s life with Olivia right now. We are working on it.
I share all this to say, don’t despair if your life doesn’t look perfect. In reality, I don’t think anyone who blogs has a perfect life. It’s easy to push the mess aside in the house to snap a quick picture. Now I’m not saying that many of the wonderful Christian blogs you read are putting on a facade. Far from it-I think we try to be honest and upfront with our lives. But who wants to blog about the messiness in their family all the time? We strive to be encouraging, but sometimes that means being real and letting you know that your not alone.
I’m not advocating bad attitudes and messy houses. I strive to go higher, to obtain a clean house and children that are cheerfully obedient. I take comfort and strength in knowing that I’m not alone. As women, let’s encourage each other along our journey. Instead of judgment, let’s give a helpful tip, a friendly word, a helping hand. We can climb higher through the Lord’s strength.
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Phillippians 3:14
Most importantly I strive to go higher in my Christian life. To find a closer walk with my Savior. Once I do that, all these other things will fall into place. When the Lord’s Spirit is dwelling in me at all times, my home will be at peace.
Boy, I sure needed that today. Although I am not a young mother, I raise my little grandbabies and feel like a complete failure most of the time. I feel like I cannot keep up my house or our farm the way I need to with trying to train these little people. I have been praying so hard that the Lord would send me encouragement. Thank you for being that encouragement to me today. God Bless.
I have 5 boys (ages 3-10) so I can totally relate! Thanks for this post. It is such an encouragement when bloggers share these “real” posts!
Thank you for writing this, I too have five children, my oldest just turned 9 last month. My husband, as much as he would love to work from home, has a good job that keeps him away from home 70 hours a week. With homeschooling and having a small farm, I sometimes struggle to keep up, and have a good attitude, but the blessings are many.
Thank you for your blog, it’s encouraging to “fellowship” with a like-minded mother. May God bless your day!
Stacy
Thank you! That sounds like me and sometimes I forget that there are other people out there just like me. As mommy we have so many things to do in one day, and not enough time in the day. I have to admit there are some days we don’t make it out of our pajamas. I am 16 weeks pregnant with baby #3 and I have a 3 year old and a 22 month old. Many days I don’t have enough energy to get off the couch let alone get things done. I think all moms understand
THANKYOU SO MUCH!! I have four children, 6 year old, twin two year olds, and a 2 month old. This is such an encouraging post! Sometimes I wonder…”how in the world do they do it?” God bless you and your precious family!
Thanks Caroline! I have 5 children and pray for more, although sometimes I don’t know how I would do it. We homeschool too and I am always trying to keep up- with everything us moms do. Nice to see some reality from you today. I love that you are so encouraging.
This really speaks to me. Some days, I can’t even find a hairbrush, or gasp–something to clip my hair up. (My Flexi-Clip is currently MIA)
As far as our homeschool goes, it’s hot and heat is not conducive to interested kids. I have to do some thinking outside the box for summer.
You look great though, Caroline–just like a real momma!
I totally understand about losing hairbrushes and flexi clips! That happens around here a lot! My two year old loves my bathroom drawer.
Thank you for your honesty! You are totally right….we aren’t advocating bad attitudes and messy houses, and like you, I striver for higher. BUT, sometimes bad attitudes and a messy house happens, and yes, I’m working on it. We need to encourage each other as sisters in the LORD.
What a great post today!!! Thanks for keeping it real.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am 30 weeks pregnant and our youngest is 15 months, oldest is four. My Ob has given me orders to limit my time on my feet (Ha!). Our dishwasher completely went out this week and it’s so hot during the day that I can’t even let the kids play outside after 10am or before 7pm. Needless to say, I really needed to hear what you had to say today. Even without blogs, it’s so easy to see our neighbors, family, and friends and assume they have it all together all the time, but you’re right about it being, not necessarily intentional, but easily portrayed in blogs. I haven’t written a post on my blog in almost a year partially because of this. It wasn’t intentional, but my husband pointed out that I might be coming across that way and even being a little deceitful, plus it was really draining my time
Anyway, thanks for the encouragement and letting me know I’m not the only person who doesn’t get a bath every day, lol!
Yes! Thank you! It is so easy to compare ourselves to others, and that only drags us down. (At least, it does me.) I have tried to strike a balance on my blog between honesty (but not TOO much) and encouragement and looking like I have it all together. I love Pinterest, but it especially can discourage and depress me. Everything and everyone look so perfect there. Good encouragement today, Caroline! Fix your eyes on Jesus!
Yes! It’s just a season of life, and we can’t all have magazine photo homes while we’re in the trenches. I used to blog but I had to quit a few babies ago, and I would get gushing emails from people who thought I ‘did it all’. Of course you are only going to post about positive things and beautiful things, but that’s not all that fills our lives up. I think there are a lot of people that (sadly) get a skewed view of reality from the internet.
Wonderful post, as always, Caroline! Glad to know you are just one of us mommies!
hugs for your day!
Thanks for the encouragement! I have 5 boys ages 2-11 and am expecting baby #6 in the fall. Some days I just feel overwhelmed and wonder how everyone else does it. It’s nice to be reminded we don’t have to be perfect. Thank you for being real
Thanks for the honesty! It’s good to be reminded once in a while that other people aren’t perfect either. Although I do read blogs for inspiration, so keep writing about all the good things going on in your life! By the way, if it makes you feel better, I am single and have no children, and my house is clean a lot less often than I’d like it to be too!
Amen! Who wants a magazine life anyway? We all know magazines eventually get tossed in the trash; it is the old, tried, trusted, and sometimes rusted, that become beloved heirlooms.
Our mother (and home) wasn’t anything close to ‘magazine-perfect’, but she is our beloved heirloom– tried, trusted, and just right for us!
All of my siblings and I know the best bowl in my mother’s cupboard– the scratched up, green and white ‘mashed potato’ bowl. (We would faint if she got new one.) It was also the bowl she made cookies in every week (in the un-magazine kitchen) and the one we rubbed our fingers in to “lick” out the cookie dough when she was finished.
The delightful memories my mother made with us in are endless… her love and gentleness carried us far beyond the un-magazine life we had.
Stay focused on the genuinely important things.
Thank-you so much for this post! I needed the encouragement!
God bless.
This was a great post! I just stumbled on your site, and really enjoy your refreshing, honest outlook.
Caroline, sometimes it is days/posts like this that really encourage others. I wrote a post a couple years ago, like this. It was titled “I’m NOT Perfect”.
http://family6-time.blogspot.com/2011/04/im-not-perfect.html
then read the follow up post:
http://family6-time.blogspot.com/2011/04/kents-birthday.html
It’s hard to not be everything you think someone else expects you to be. Praying for you.
Wow, I can so relate! I’ve got about a month before my 3rd baby is due to arrive, and there are just days when all I want to do is sit around and cry! It’s encouraging to know I’m not alone!
I read your blog because it’s real and I can relate to it. Thank you for being bold and honest, that’s what I’m looking for. I’m a mom of two under 2 1/2, so for the little time I can be alone on the computer, I enjoy reading someone who’s life is like mine: full of love for her family and the Lord. I realised only recently that when other moms are only showing the good side, they’re not honnest from the bottom of their heart. Being a mom is from the heart, so between all of us we should speak to each other from the heart. And you’re doing it every day! Thanks again from Québec, Canada!
I love your honesty in this! Blog land can become very fake and makes everyone feel bad because no one can stand up to the ideal of perfection. Thank you for sharing this today! It’s good to feel real and know others are real too
Thank you for your honesty without a touch of complaint. I am just finishing up all these years. With all there has been to keep up with I can say that I also will miss those days. Life is starting to look different with only two children around my table instead of seven.
Amen! I guess I’ve never thought of anyone’s life as perfect, based on their blog or otherwise… if you look around everyone gets their share of difficulties sooner or later, or may be dealing with them with such grace that nobody realizes they are really struggling. A sad thing happened a couple years ago – several of the “Barbie doll perfect” girls I knew got divorced from unfaithful husbands. One of my friends husband’s was diagnosed with cancer during the same time, and I just realized, wow… everyone will be faced with pain and mess.
It’s the nature of the fallen world. It sounds to me like you have a perfect home right now – real, abiding family love is worth way more than having every detail mastered every minute of the day – not that any of us could pull that off either!
Wonderfully said!Thank you for this post.Have a blessed weekend!
Wow, this is a great post! I am nearly obsessive about making everything perfect. This was a very needful reminder.
Blessings to you!
Very well said and so true and especially what you said at the end. If we reach for the stars then we won’t get a handful of mud. [o=
Thank you for being real and encouraging.
Blessings in Him<
-Mary
I only have 2 children so I can totally relate. There is no way I can be a blogger, wife, mom, and housekeeper all 100% perfectly all of the time. Life is messy!
Ilove this and can totally relate. Afew years ago after shopping at the suprmarket Christmas Eve morning i burst into tears in the car. And without me saying anything my then 7 yo said mom
Christmas doesnt have to be perfect. The important part is that we’re together. She was right of course.
I thought maybe I was the only one whose son can take all day on one subject!!! We have four children, so far. My youngest is 4 months and I tell ya, when I sit down to nurse lately, it is utter chaos in our home. I sometimes get to feeling sorry for myself. Thank you for being real. You are such an encouraging woman. I always enjoy your posts.
LOVE this post!!! I love seeing honest lives of fellow bloggers!! It’s so easy to try to appear perfect to live up to how we think other bloggers are living, comparing ourselves to them etc. I actually started a series on my blog where I “confess” tons of inperfect moments throughout the day/week. It’s a way I try to keep my blog “real” and keep myself accountable, not trying to seem perfect, when in reality I’m far from it!
thanks for sharing this!
So encouraging to read!!!
Thank you. This was such an encouragement and blessing to me. My children are 6, 4, 2, and 1; this season of life would be a challenge anyway, but the past year or so has been especially…turbulent. What a relief to know that the Titus 2 women I look up to (online
) experience the same battles, that there isn’t some great, life-perfecting secret that I just haven’t learned yet. 
Always striving higher, as you said. Thank you for your honesty and encouragement; your blog is a bright spot within the web.
Thanks for this down to earth blog/ post….. You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned that striving to have a stronger walk with God …. All these things will fall in place ( paraphrasing) I feel the same! When we really & honestly ( God knows our heart & mind. ) strive toward the goal set before us ( overcoming our nasty nature & replacing it with Christ nature….. These things will all fall in place! Keep striving! It’s worth more than any gold or silver of this world! Christ the hope of glory will fulfill our every need! The world can’t & won’t ! God Bless