I recently wrote a little ebook called NOT a DIY Diva: How to Create an Authentically-Inspired Life in a Pinterest World. While the concept of being a DIY Diva may not immediately resonate, or perhaps the online inspiration site called Pinterest is new to you, I think many of us can relate to the inner struggle to find authenticity in our life.
And if we are honest, most of us struggle with the comparison game in one way or another.
This book gently opens up the discussion of what we feel inside about our life and home and the subsequent choices we make with how to spend our limited time and funds each day.
As women and keepers of our homes, we really do desire to live in a place of contentment. But no matter what image we subconsciously project on the outside, sometimes, on the inside, we don’t think who we are, what we do and what we have is actually good enough.
We suffer from the disease of perfection. We might spend too much money on things we can’t afford, time on things we feel we are expected to master, or on projects or activities that are not really our priority at all. We strive to create a facade that ultimately doesn’t lead to contentment or effectiveness in life, because it isn’t authentic.
It is about my every day struggle (and maybe yours) to figure out what works for me as the keeper of my home in this try-hard to keep all the plates spinning Photoshop-perfect world.
This book encourages us to find balance and make peace with our inability to be perfect in our imagine obsessed world — where a whole lot of people present themselves as pretty close to perfect every single day. Or at least we assume they must be, because that is what we see. Even their messes look prettier in pictures than ours. It is the message we take to heart. We can’t measure up to what others present on the outside any more than we can keep up with our own inner image of perfection.
How do we discover and embrace what is good enough, clean enough, or pretty enough for us?
This book encourages you to create beauty out of the home and life you actually have, not the one you exhaust yourself or your finances striving to attain. It gives you permission and confidence to be YOU, the real creative you. It is a short, quick read but I hope you’ll find it inspiring and encouraging! And I hope you’ll share your journey to authenticity with me!
I would love for you to join me at my blog, The Inspired Room, and The Inspired Room Facebook page, where we try to balance living a beautiful life with striving for contentment and peace right where we are. Find out more about this ebook and buy your own pdf copy at NOT a DIY Diva.
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When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like __they’re hiding all the junk! LOL __
Nah, I think I realize that no one truly has it all together. Something has to give. Always. But honestly? I think the more authentic the blogger, the better. If your blog is all rainbows and sunshine, you’re either not being honest with yourself, or you’re deliberately holding back.
Yes! I totally agree. We all have that closet that looks like a bomb hit it! 🙂
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like a complete failure. There is a pricking of competition, of envy in my soul, as if God’s gifts and goodness in the world is limited. This person is a better housekeeper, that person bakes as a hobby, someone else is more educated than I am, while another is a better writer than I can ever hope to be, etc.
I get especially envious when all those traits are wrapped up in one person. Except for the baking. I don’t really care about the baking, unless someone can bake *and* is a great housekeeper, writer, and has earned a PhD.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like they are missing out on life itself. Too busy trying to make everything perfect in their lives, when in fact, they just need to stop and take a moment to realize that THEIR life is perfect for THEM and no one else. It is what makes us all individual, different tastes, styles and lives. I feel it is important to gain one’s sense of style, and while i do love Pinterest, I find myself taking ideas and recipes and adapting them for my own taste and style.
I never hid the fact i cannot make jello, or can cook for 100 people.
Being friends with some who do write blogs who portray themselves as the perfect housekeeper and the next up and coming artist, they should remember whilst bragging on their perfection and accomplishments , that they have the same junk in the closet somewhere in their home we all do, be it material possession junk or emotional.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who seem to have it all together I feel like I need to be all things to all people and seem to forget that I am called to be me – just who God made me to be. If I am not as good as someone else at some things that’s fine. I don’t need to be as good as everyone else at everything – but sometimes I need to remind myself that I’m okay being me not a mish mash of everyone else.
…grey has descended and I am screaming inside.
“When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like A SLUG.”
As in a slow to move, appearing to do nothing, squishy, invisible, mess making, slug.
I work hard to take every thought captive, and I *know* that’s not true, but sin couches waiting for me. I have to consciously make myself stay off of certain blogs, or home making articles when I’m tired, or lonely because I’m just driving myself crazy.
The TRUTH is that the Lord loves me and is for me, and I’m ever working to improve, but I am making great strides every year in my home making skills. We have a clean house, clean clothes, food to eat, freedom to play and be ourselves, and MOST importantly hearts pointing each other to the Lord. “An incredibly blessed life,” I remind the Me-faced Slug who tries to sneak in…
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like they are in a different season than I am.
I’m finally realizing that what you “see” does not include the fact that: they work from home, a supportive spouse, they have fewer kids, they have parents or sibs who are able to help them, they hire out help. I finally “get it” when a woman does it all and “has” it all, she isn’t doing it by herself.
That’s such a life-giving way to see it. Love that.
This is soooooo true!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together I sometimes feel like ….they are hiding something.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…………………………………
I sometimes feel like I’ll never measure up! That I’m missing out on LOVE due to the loss of my mother early in my life and not living near family. I miss the closeness and I imagine that their closeness is somehow better than any love I have for my family and friends!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like a failure.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like there is something wrong with me. I sometimes feel like a complete failure, I sometimes feel jealous. I wish I knew how they do it all.
…I am one step behind the rest!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like my house looks like I often feel – trying to be awesome, but falling quite a bit short of that goal.
I’ve noticed that the more time I spend looking at home blogs/pinterest the more I feel discontent in my own house, which is perfectly lovely in its own right. When I think back to 10 years ago when I was newly married – and we didn’t have internet at home, no blogs, pinterest, etc – I LOVED our little apt and the way it looked. It was full of outdated, mismatched hand-me-downs that I decorated and played with and made a home with. This home is so much more put together, filled with 3 beautiful children and the chaos that comes with them, and I still have trouble with discontent. So I’ve cut back on my blog/pinterest lurking so minimize the temptation to covet.
…jealous, insecure, inadequate, guilty that I don’t have my own stuff together enough to do it all. And then I remind myself that those things are feelings, and that I can control them. I speak Scripture, and worship and thank God for all the blessings in my own life. Then I do the next thing.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…well, Jealous. That is the honest ugly truth. I want to have it all together too. But I am a real, broken person in desperate need of my Savior… Just like everyone else out there. God is teaching me that at best -peple are only presenting their very best selves to the world or else -they are not being authentic and honest about “real life.” Because some of the blogs I have looked at? Those people obviously don’t have children. Or else they lock them in closets! 🙂
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I am less than. If they do it all, why can’t I get it together too!?
…hopelessly inadequate, like I am surviving until things settle down enough for me to “get it right”. I fear what would happen if they saw my home!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…I will never be able to keep up!
I feel like they must never fight with their husbands after 22 years. There is never a mention of squabbles or hurting hearts afterwards. Complete marital harmony, what a concept.
I love the concept of your book and the discussion here! Reading blogs can easily cause me to second guess myself. In fact, the ugliness that rears up from those thoughts has caused me to step back from my online time a few times. It’s so important to keep perspective, focus on being the best we can be, and to KNOW that posts may be pretty ~ but no one is perfect! 🙂
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…..it’s never easy, and I wonder what they give up to appear to have it all together. With a hubby and five kiddo’s God has blessed me with realizing that life is messy, but it’s okay…everyone’s mess looks a bit different, but even if it all looks hunky dory on the outside, there are storms brewing inside, or a lack of something, hidden…..
I wonder what is wrong with me! Why can’t I do that? Be that neat? Cook that meal?
Yeah, but there must be a reason you don’t do that. What do you REALLY love to do with your life? I bet you’re as good at that as they are at making their house pretty. 🙂
Oh I super sized love this! Other blogs can make me feel small and my house feel claustrophobic. But I am slowly learning that small is really a matter of the heart and it’s people that make great houses not tchotchokes 🙂
Wow! After reading all the comments it is very obvious that you have found a common denominator among most women…the comparison trap!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I should be doing better. I then begin to go through the litany of things that I’m not doing and then feel bad…instead of looking at the things I am doing. I think to myself…”I’m a creative person. How come I don’t spend time doing this sort of thing?”
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like _______a very tired woman________. My heart races and my mind screams forward with doubt and lack of self worth… Like I am not doing enough, being enough or trying hard enough.
When I read blogs or spend time with people who seem to have it all together, I feel very inadequate. I wish that I had my life together and could be everything that it seems these people have become. I also feel hopeless, scared – that my life will never be what it “should,” that I don’t have as much potential as others and/or will never live up to my potential. My mind leads me into a trap of despair.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like “I am doing something wrong because I am still struggling to provide, find time, accomplish some of my to do list”.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…….. I am failing – it can seem like they have it all together or appear to be “happy” but I realize that people can say this about me as well and what others portray on the outside is not what is the reality. I try to remind myself of this.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like … ‘There is NO way I will ever attain that.’ or ‘HOW?! How on earth do others have ALL of that in this world…they must be bogged down by debt and be enslaved to keeping up with the Jonses…and how do I join them, because *then* I will be together, too!!’
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I’m always one step behind. Like I’m a failure. Like I’m not quite as “woman” as those around me. I yearn and ache to be a woman after God’s own heart and want to be a keeper of my house but most of the time I think my house keeps me. I feel very insecure and not quite “enough” everywhere I go. I struggle to remember that God loves me, and in my head I know He does, but in my heart I feel like He’s looking at me and shaking His head.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I must be so lazy and untalented. I can do a lot of things a little, but slim to nothing well. Everything I create, fix, or model is so far from the perfect I see online that I sometimes wonder if there’s anything I really am good at. It’s a bummer, if I let it.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like . . . I must have ADHD and be really poor, since my home isn’t as decorated as some others. Ha! Ha! I am a SAHM with smalll children and sometimes I just can’t get everything done, that I set out to accomplish. I don’t spend money on pretties around the home. However; I have decided that every couple of months or so, I will buy some inexpensive item to bring some joy into my home. . . You know, it’s the little things, that make us all happy!
…a huge disaster!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I should have a clone of myself so I can accomplish everything! =]
I sometimes feel like I must be doing something wrong since my house is never “that” clean and I lose my patience with the kids and I have no time for hobbies, etc, but “she” can juggle it all apparently effortlessly.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel that they must lead such boring lives…..
Thankfully, I have a great many plates to spin and keep spinning. I an eternally grateful to God for everything He has bestowed upon me, and there are hard days , and easier days. It is not all plain sailing… Marriage, Children, Home, Commitments – I’m learning all the time. Would I trade what I have in order to “Have it All Together”? No.
“Count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done…”
It makes me feel like a disaster. I wonder how they can “do it all” and I can’t. And how they can afford it!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like a failure. I am always behind, my house is full of clutter and it seems I never get accomplished what I want to. I realize the pictures display everyone’s best but it seems like everyone else has it all together and I just constantly struggle.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like… my husband and kids got jipped!
No matter what “system” or book I try, I just can’t seem to get it all done! How do these people do it???
…like I don’t have it all together, like I am lacking.
How can we get the e-book if we do not win a copy? Thanks.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I am not doing enough. I feel like I should be making all of the cool crafts and home projects and making these amazing recipes everyday for my family.
In reality I know that I am doing a good job taking care of my family and our home. And occassioanlly I do whip out a cool project and usually do make good food for my family. But it is hard to read blogs and linger on Pinterest on a regular basis and NOT get sucked in to the “perfect” worlds they dislay. When I feel myself getting too caught up in all this “stuff” I feel compelled to do ’cause I see pretty pictures of it, I try to take a step back and re-group. But still I wonder how some of these people seem to do it all…
oops! I meant to fill out my name and contact info before clicking submit!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like….ugh I wish I could do that. Maybe I could. Should I? I think I’ll try that, is that the baby crying?
I feel like a total loser!!!
I sometimes feel like I have little talent. But I do — just in different areas!
a failure!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like ______ they aren’t saying everything or that I really need to get my act together and momentarily forget my priorities.
I feel like I must be lazy or completely disorganized or something, because (for ex:) these people work from home while homeschooling a bunch of children and caring for a newborn and growing and preserving their own food and cooking everything they eat from scratch and completing lots of DIY projects and writing books on the side, and I only have one child and haven’t even managed to clean my wood floors in 6 months.
I feel like giving up and how can I be any more organized than I am and why can’t I get it right,
Hmmm…I think I might need this book.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like beating myself about the head for my lack of perfection. And while that may sound melodramatic, my husband has gently teased/rebuked me for years about not “beating” myself. Emotional masochism can be pretty painful…
When I read other blogs I feel like I have a lot to catch up on since just recently getting married. I know I put too high of goals on myself with wanting to have the house perfect for when friends come over. It makes me think I need to be more like all of these other people who do things from scratch and DIY projects all the time. It is hard for me to figure out how to get it all done with working and being married. I am determined to figure it out here soon.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…
I’m doing something wrong. And what makes it worse is when my husband gets mad because our home does not look like so and so’s or that he’s embarrassed to bring people over. Our house may not be “perfect” but it is a home that we live in and our children are comfortable being themselves in.
Inspired!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel a little jealousy..but also that either they are leading boring lives, or hiding something.
Fortunately I don’t worry about that stuff much. I do the best I can with what God has given me and go on from there. I have too many other things to worry about!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…
I would like to be like that, but…I have been around long enough to know that things aren’t always as they seem. I often will watch and listen. Who are they doing it for and are they happy, does it bring them joy. Often you will find a person that is pretty stressed out.
This a wonderful question. We can feel jealous, but what we do with that is the important thing. Maybe we could try a little harder but still leave time for love and laughter. Finding out what works for your family and taking it to God for his guidance so that you can have a balanced life of God, work and family.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like
my principal is right – I am not working hard enough, not creative enough, all the negativity of the world comes crashing in!
hopelessly behind and poor — there is no way I can ever have THAT. This is a true struggle with me and I constantly wander why I even try to blog. Am I projecting that perfect attitude toward my few readers — are they seeing a more beautiful me and my life instead of our true imperfections?
Judy 🙂
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…I hope that what they’re doing, decorating, baking, home improvement, fashion, etc., is something that they love to do. I hope that it’s an expression of a God-given passion and not a burden to be something they’re not. Most of the time, I can cheer on someone else’s passion and not compare.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like a loser. What really has been motivating me is watching Hoarders… because I realize my home is nowhere near as unmanageable and I just need to get after it!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I’m not doing a good enough job. It’s pretty inclusive of any of the following: working, cleaning my house, taking care of my kids, taking care of myself…
Sometimes I think I should stop reading blogs.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I don’t try hard enough…. even though I know that’s not the case (about me not trying hard enough AND about them having it all together).
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like….I’m spinning my wheels and getting no where. I remind myself of what I wrote in a comment on another blog.
“I remind myself that each one of us are given the same 24 hours.
What I do with mine, how I touch other people’s lives, care for my family and share life with my husband will look different from that of anyone else.
There is no super mom…the crafty mom, healthy food mom, breastfeeding only mom, cloth diapering mom, military mom, working mom, web designer mom, fashionista mom, homeschooling mom, and so on…each one of them puts their interest/talent ahead of something else in their lives. You would have to know EVERY detail of a person’s life to judge what they are trading out for what you see showcased on their blog. No one can do it all, be it all and give it all.”
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I am missing out on some great memory makers and ways to bless my family even more. I have reminded myself recently that all of the blogs I read are from different people- not one person is sharing all of the wonderful ideas, recipes, decorating, holiday traditons, green cleaning, spiritual and organizational tips – so why should I expect myself to do it all… but still so hard with so many cute and wonderful ideas.
When I read some blogs or see people who appear to have it all together I feel like I have to try harder.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like………
That I could have tried harder…..I should have done this…Like I need a “redo” button.
I do know that we shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, but we all do it. We get caught up in the notion that if our lives look a certain way , that we would be better off. The grass is greener on the other side…..so that must mean its a lot more fun to walk on! That “green-eyed monster” is usually sitting on everyones doorstep these days.
I always wonder what important thing they are not taking care of in order to appear “together”. Nobody is perfect and nobody can do it all. It just takes a few years on you to realize that it is not important to “do it all” with perfection. All that is important is that you give your best in your realationships, your job, your home and with your family. The rest of it will just fall into place.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like:…a time-waster…a person who will never lose her “overactive-fretter” tendencies…someone who achieves 80%, not 100%….life unbalanced. Yet, I CRAVE, Crave, crave simplicity and finding a balance that truly reflects my life’s priorities that I’m just now (at age 46) discerning, like parenthood and my faith life!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like God did not give me any special gifts. I feel like getting it together and being creative is a struggle and I ave to work really hard at it.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…”oh, I wish my house looked like that!” or “I wish I was just as creative” but mostly, it leaves me feeling inspired! And I send a thanks to the ladies (& men!) who did all the hard work and thinking!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I am failing at God’s plan for me. This in turn makes me search for him harder in the mess of life which is good but you still have to get over that awful feeling that you just cannot keep it together. If I could choose to ask a question to one of the “Got It All Together” Moms, I would ask them how and what do they sacrifice to get their? Then I would have to make a decision if I really want that.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I am so inadequate. I wonder how they can get it all together and I struggle through the day. I just have to remind myself that things are not always as they appear 🙂
some type of misfit mutant who can’t quite get her act together;} knowing somewhere that’s’ not how God or those who really love me see me, BUT it’s still so hard to shake;} I suppose being in transition to move overseas for the last 1.5 years and either packing up or living in makeshift temporary housing hasn’t helped either!…
if only….. if only…… if only……. then I could be….then I could have……but now it’s too hard, too late, not enough time, my time has passed, I’ll have to settle for plan B or C or D or F but the Plan A that God chose for me when I was a child and had a lifetime to make good choices with my time, Plan A is unobtainable. How do I chose where to spend my time, energy, efforts??? Improve my cooking skills, homemaking, start homeschooling, take up photography again, try to write a novel (even a leaflet?), volunteer more at school, church, try to train my dogs? I’m truly happy for those folks who “have it all together” I just wish I could at least trick some people into considering that I’ve got it going on but alas, I haven’t fooled anyone yet, least of all, myself. : )
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like closing my blinds and pulling the drapes and NEVER having anyone in my home again!
I totally get your struggle to measure up. I’ve spent my entire life feeling ‘less than’. Not pretty enough, not thin enough, not smart enough, not rich enough, not outgoing enough. In general, less than others, less than I think I should be, less than I want to be. My heart’s desire is to focus on God and his abundance, how He is enough and through Him, I am enough. It’s a lifelong struggle and one I would love to shed. Wouldn’t you think at 55, you’d be over this? I so want to be over it!!
I feel like a failure any time I compare myself to anyone/anything else. It’s part of my personality, I suppose.
But, when I go to craftfail.com, I feel at home 😀
I usually fall into condemnation…..
if I wasn’t so lazy, or so tired, or so uninspired….
I could do that, have that, be that….
But the Holy Spirit catches up to me.
I remember to be who He created me to be and
utilize my own gifts : )
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I could never be like them (though I often long to be!). It’s really easy to forget that kids fight in their house too, their dirty dishes pile up in the sink, and they have to pick up their husband’s socks time and time again too (and they might even snap about it sometimes).
I try so hard to be authentic, but fail here too. I was startled when I wrote to a friend recently explaining a dark time I was walking through and asking for her prayers that she wrote back and said, “My prayers aren’t as eloquent as yours, but I’ll pray. And it’s okay, that you feel down means that you’re human and that’s good for us to see.”
I don’t want to be that woman. I was glad for the reminder to reach out for help more often, to be more real, so that in turn other feel free to be real with me, too.
I’d love to win this book!
I feel like I should have gone to finishing school! And they make it look so easy!!! Would love to win your book!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I’m not good enough. Comparison is a big struggle of mine, and what’s worse is that most of the time I don’t even realize I’m doing it. It’s like second nature to me. It’s like it’s normal for me to feel inadequate. Social media has been a blessing and a curse in my life. Facebook opens the door wide open for comparison, but I also never would have discovered so many gracious, transparent women through blogging.
…less than, inadequate, and like I am never going to have it all together. I am left wondering how they do it all, and what’s wrong with me.
I feel like I a am LOOOOOSER. I constantly have to remind my self God made me ME and He has made me and formed me. Should I just give up… no? But continue to pursue HIM and trying to find ways to help me be more organizational… not be too prideful to ask for help from my super organized together friends. And in return to help them learn to relax and that it is ok to let things go once in a while.
The LORD continues to breathe this into my heart:
Before I can be confident in who I am in Christ, I have to to confident in who HE is in me.
When those around me seem”superior” it tends to leave me feeling “inferior”…
and given that models were the “image” we were supposed to measure “up” to,
is it any wonder that “self worth” suffers in the “imperfections” of our bodies,
minds, Spirits, emotions, etc. Unless one gets “positive reinforcement…”in”-
couragement along the way, one does suffer in this life of “appearances”!!!
Here’s to encouraging one another daily, especially the younger generation
who is barraged with an “overload of information” daily..the “perfectionism”
has to stop!!!
I feel hopeless like I’ll never be good enough! And actually, it is true without Jesus Christ who has taken on all our imperfections and have made us perfect in Him. I have to keep reminding myself of that!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like a failure. I think if they saw the way my boys turned out, how my house is, knew the mistakes I’ve made, they wouldn’t want to hang out with me.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…
…I’ll never have what they have. What they have is a husband, kids, a beautifully decorated home, and great photography skills.
I have the house, but am sadly lacking on the other parts. And my house will never be beautifully decorated. But that I’ve accepted.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes…wonder what is going lacking in their lives so that they have time to present a ‘perfect’ image to the world.
I find that when I focus too much on one area of my life that everything gets out of whack and something, somewhere is falling apart in a major way!
I struggle with comparision, too but I try to remember that none of us are perfect and that it’s ok to let people see your dirty floors and laudry pile once in a while – it keeps it real! 😉
*laundry – see, I’m definitely not perfect! lol
I sometimes feel like… if they can do it all, why can’t I? Why am I failing and can’t do it all when these other women can? Thank you for your post. I am trying to remind myself that something gives in everyone’s life — whether it be work, the house, the kids or the husband — something falls to the side. And by my choice to give up working outside the home, and sometimes a clean, well-decorated home, I’m choosing to put God and my family first. It’s not easy though.
I sometimes feel inadequate. My DIY things never seem to turn out quite as cute or put together and I can never seem to come up with a great idea all on my own. I’m all about trying other people’s ideas. It’s just not how my brain seems to work.
It’s great to know what you’re good at. If you see others’ ideas and create from that, go with it, girl! Each of us is great at our own things!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like leaving that site and visiting one where the writer is a real, messy, sometimes-nuts mom who would rather play at a park than be in her house anyway…. like me :).
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like a) their lives cannot be that perfect and/or b) I see areas I could improve. It’s complex. I am healthy & balanced enough to know that not everyone has it all together all the time. We all might have moments of “brilliance” but the very next hour could result in a tantrum. Sometimes it is easier to not take it too seriously, or think that it defines me, but other days I am not as quick to give myself that grace. It’s a process.
…a complete and utter failure! Like I am totally mssing something.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I need to learn from them, ask them questions, and find out how I can apply their ideas in ways that will work with my life.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like . . . why am I not good enough for God to use me. I don’t mind other people’s “stuff” having once told a car salesman that he could NOT sell me a car because it was “what everyone is driving now”. I fall down in the area of finding shortcomings for God.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I’m a failure, like I’m not trying hard enough, like I’m not good enough. It’s a horrible feeling.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I am wasting so much. I have been in a funk lately, and that is reflected in my home. I am doing just enough to keep everyone and everything going, but I am not inspired to add to the beauty around me.
After much prayer and conviction, I left my job to be a stay at home mom until my youngest is in school full time. Although I love it, and know I am where I am supposed to be, I sometimes feel like I am spinning my wheels. The things I do are undone by the end of the day, and I know tomorrow I will have to do the same things over again. It’s all about attitude, and some days mine isn’t the best.
When I see perfect pictures of perfect settings in inviting and cozy homes, sometimes I just feel tired. Other times, I can’t wait to get started.
It is all about what I am expecting at the end of the project. Satisfaction, appreciation, joy, contentment. Perspective. Trying to focus on the eternal.
I try to remember I am serving God, and If that is through serving my family and going the extra bit to make our home a haven, then bring on the inspiration!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like … I wish I were a stay-at-home Mom so I could get done as much as they do and devote more time to my child. I have to remind myself that they aren’t perfect and I don’t always get to hear the full story.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like – there is something missing in me that would allow the same creativity, wisdom, submission, or whatever. But as a believer in Christ I have been given all that I need . “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Tim 3:16-17. I need to trust in this, study and hold His word within my heart so that He may equip me for the the good works that He has set aside for me to do.
I am often guilty of looking at lovel blogs and comparing myself to what is shown there. I feel like a terrible housekeeper, uncreative, a boring cook and a crabby mother with really rotten children!
I struggle because I compare my worst-real self with their best of everything picture. I know that I don’t show everything for real truth. Sometimes the entire truth should never ever be shared-at least on a blog!
A reality check is often something I have to do. Then I have to remember to stop looking at others perfect lives and get on living in my life. It isn’t perfect, but it is mine!!! Imperfectly perfect!
. . . I should be doing better. Now, I am choosing goals and making baby steps towards reaching them.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like a failure. And I know that’s not how the Lord wants me to feel. I wish I had enough time to get the dishes done, all the laundry finished and put away, the floor immaculate, the house dusted, lunch for myself (instead of grabbing a granola bar on the way out). And yet, I’m reminded…I HAVE dishes t wash, I HAVE laundry to put away, I HAVE floors – I HAVE a house. I HAVE food in the house. Then I breathe, and I feel a little better. It’s easy to stop looking at the blessings in your life that He placed there. I’m learning…it takes time.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…I’m not doing enough. (And that’s the exact reason I am no longer on Facebook or Pinterest, LOL!)
When I read some blogs or see people around me who have it all together I feel like no one will want to read MY imperfect blog with failed recipes, imperfect crafts, less than stellar pictures, typos & overall imperfectness.
I feel like…. They must have also in their spare time invented a cloning machine, which they kept out of shot, and they actually have clones of themselves running around doing the picture hanging, interior decorating, kids crafts, cooking, cleaning up, and parenting while they nap, exhausted by the effort of making it look effortless!!!! 🙂
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like a hopeless failure. I can never seem to get it right. I read everything I can get my hands on about being content, but I never put it into practice. When I see other people’s homes, I wonder how they do it. I am always behind, running to catch up. I am always hoping that someday I’ll get it right. I hope it won’t be too late.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I feel like what is wrong with me? Why can’t I be like that? Surely God didn’t intend for people to be like me. Me, with a small, little house, filled with old, mis-matched furniture, too embarassed to let anyone in because we aren’t perfect and beautiful and no matter how hard I clean and decorate it still looks trashy. I just don’t have the “touch”! What do I have? A loving husband, two great children (adults, but still my babies), a wonderful grandson and a bounty of loving friends! WHy isn’t that enough? Why do I care about society?
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like
… I need to try harder.
_________________________________.
Would love to win a copy of this book! Such a timely topic for me right now as I’ve just discovered Pinterest! 🙂 and been spending tons of time viewing blogs and ideas instead of living real life. The life God has given me. Such a subtle thing… while blogs and sharing ideas and inspiration can be a good thing, it can also have the opposite effect.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like she makes it look so easy.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…………I have a REAL life.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, it reminds me how “not together” I truly am! Right now, I work full-time as a teacher and come home and try to make dinner, give baths, do laundry, clean up, and try to be patient and happy all at the same time. I feel like my nice house is taking forever to “decorate,” and no project that actually gets started is ever finished. I want to be content, but sometimes I look around my home after looking into the lives of others and I feel like I need to catch up to where they appear to be.
I will never measure up. I will never be strong enough. I will never be fast enough. I will never be skinny enough. I will never be smart enough. I will never be pretty enough. My house will never be cute, or clean, or perfect like apparently EVERYONE else (with some kind of photo editing capabilities) has. My keen eye can throw my life into turmoil being keen on all of the imperfections. Honestly, I am completely struggling with this write now and just wrote a post on my blog about it yesterday! Funny…
When I read a blog and it sounds like the person has it all together my first reaction is the person is having a good day. We all are have on days and off days. I’m not envious of them as a matter of fact I continue reading to see how they get it all together.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…
inspired — I can totally do that!
or
happy for them and for sharing but there is no way I could do that!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I will never have it all together again. I used to feel like I did when I was home working part time but since I have been full time, I have lost my energy. It hasn’t helped that my son has grown up and moved out so part of the reason for seasonal decorating has gone. I finally realized that I need to do it for ME. If my home doesn’t make me feel warm and cozy after a hard day at work, I need to change it. I am worth it! I deserve it and it doesn’t have to cost me a fortune to make it that way! Part of the joy of creation for me is repurposing…finding something for nothing or very little, altering it and making it my own. The Inspired Room does that for me. It is an encouragement to keep my eyes wide open every day for those little inspirations that will make my house a home.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like
…I will never be that way! However, I grew up with the inspiration of an incredibly creative mom who does her own woodwork around the house, paints in the most immaculate ways, and one day, despite all the perfection around me on the internet and in books – I want to create my own space, our own space – truly inspired by my amazing husband and I’s life and loves 🙂
When I read blogs of people who seem to have it all together, I feel inspired to make my home nicer and more beautiful for my family. I get in a rut and stop seeing the clutter, stop trying new recipes, and don’t make extra efforts for holidays. I like to look at blogs for ideas to make my life easier, improve the way I do things, and save money. I see them like magazines….. not some impossible standard I have to meet, but as a resource.
… I feel inspired initially, but then quickly become discouraged. As I look around at my home and see all the “to-dos” and my list of projects begin to mount. I step through the land mine of toys my 3 little ones have scattered on the floor, look at my meager budget… I feel like just throwing in the towel. Then I say, “Someday. When the kids are older, we have more funds, and I have more time, I will finally get it together! Someday…
I sometimes feel like if I just lived next door to some of the gals whose blogs I read, we woud be great friends! And sometimes I feel over the top inspired by all the wonderful, amazing ideas I see and, like others, sometimes I wish I had more resources to create some of the looks or the creativity to have a blog of my own. Mostly – reading blogs is a fun hobby that feeds my desire to create a soft place to land for my family.
……..it’s time for me to get off the computer because I’m allowing things and stuff to make me feel like less of a person. I need to remember my value isn’t based on that stuff-but who my Father is and His family that I am part of!
I sometimes feel like it just isn’t going to happen for me. I live in a city where I don’t know anyone and I am in a wheelchair so it is hard to get around. Some rooms I just can’t get into. Whatever I do, I pretty much have to do with one of those reaching things to help me. It’s hard!!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…
there must be something wrong with me!… I soooo want to have it all together, but try as I might I fall seriously short… Messy house with little-to-no *style*… Dinner late AGAIN… Frumpy and overweight… Cranky kids… ack!
Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like
something else in their life is suffering. It must take a lot of energy to be put together like that. Are their kids getting enough attention? Do they ever cook in that pristine kitchen for their family? Then sit down together at home and eat?
Somethings got to give, if its not that, its something else…. makes me wonder 😉
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like … I am so far off from that, even though I desire it!
I feel like just sitting on the couch and giving up! I know I need to start somewhere, but after looking a lot of blogs, sometimes it just feels too overwhelming.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like_________________________________. Well, for starters, I am in a very different stage of life right now. So it doesn’t intimidate me as it once would have. I realize many women have great, supportive mothers, grandmothers, sisters, etc., who offer up lots of ‘support’ that can make a person just glow with creativity and promise. There is also the ‘botox’ women who have wrinkles, but they have hidden them with botox. They still have wrinkles, nonetheless, you just can’t see them. So no matter how much we mask our perceptions of imperfection and project something different, we still have them. Everyone has a cross to bear. Everyone has gifts and talents. I now can delight in someone else’s talents and gifts without withering with envy or criticism of that person to make myself ‘feel’ better. When I see the ‘altogether person’ now… I see them in a different light. Not so much being critical but seeing it for what it truly is. Youth, no stress living, having money, having a supportive spouse, having a home, just name all the positive things you have wished you’ve had and a person can think, ‘Wow, If I had all that, I’d have it all together too.” But…. sometimes it is just plain self discipline, natural talent and/or a very positive outlook in life that splashes over into everything. I would prefer the last one if I could choose. Life doesn’t have to be perfect to appear to be altogether, sometimes it just is! Isn’t that wonderful?
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I have nothing to offer. It’s the classic Moses syndrome. “Who, me? Our friends wouldn’t really want to come to our little 1950’s ranch home with it’s long list of deferred maintenance. Their house is beautiful and flawless.” “Publish this? There are a gazillion other blogs out there. What can I say that hasn’t been said already and far more eloquently than I ever could?” “Create? I don’t know if I have an original thought in my head. What if I accidentally make something that is too much like someone else’s, or even worse, what if someone thinks I’m copying them?” “Just put me in a corner with a quiet little task that carries little to no risk.” Seriously! They feel like valid concerns, but sound completely ridiculous once they’re out of my head. It’s a frustrating daily battle to lay these thoughts aside, dare to move, and believe that God has purposes for me that might just exceed my limited expectations.
I wish I could be like that but I”m not.
Initially, i feel inadequate. But I then realize how blessed I am and being “perfect” is not inviting, it is actually a turn off. We all know that no human is “perfect”, although others may try to portray themselves in that light. God Bless my messy home, because that just means it’s being lived in!!
I’ve been looking at this topic from all angles lately. Even wrote about it from my city’s vantage point on my blog today (re: Indy’s Super Bowl XLVI). I’m gobbling up everything I find about authentic living in a virtual world, so it will be wonderful so see what you share in your book. As for the question….
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I need to become an apprentice and pay them for lessons. 😉
When I first started reading blogs, it was for entertainment and I found it a little disconcerting to read how productive and driven some bloggers were. It was almost like they were running their own little Better Homes and Garden’s microcosm. I suppose I look at it differently now from blog to blog. Sometimes I have wondered if people just have a photo-op corner where they do isolated things, rather than having a perfect house in every corner. Other times, I think some have really gotten all angles covered and appear to be all things for all people. I blog for different reasons, I blog for part of the “exercise and discipline” of writing regularly. I blog to sort out my brain. I have goals for my blog that I’m unable to move forward with right now due to illness, but reading blogs inspires me to hang in there, hopefully when I finally feel better. I do have a long list of projects I want to do in the future, right now I’m limited by not being able to do any lifting, which is a major frustration for wanting to to DIY projects. Sometimes, I’ve wondered if some bloggers even have a life. Their blogging is so prolific, I question how involved they might be with their children and other family members. I would just say, it shouldn’t replace living life.
Some time I feel like a failure and I wonder if they can do such great things with their homes and families why can’t I?
When I read blogs or see people who appear to have it all together, I sometimes
Feel Like asking them where their troubles are. Are they ignoring them? Are they suppressing them? Everyone must feel some of the pain/distraction/fatigue/loneliness/anxiety I experience at times. Why doesn’t it show? Is this real, authentic life if we pretend??
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I should strive harder. If I could only work harder, \”do\” the right things, pray the right prayers, I could have it all together like them. But deep down I know they don\’t, none of us can. It is only through the Lord\’s grace that we can have anything together.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I need some lessons or a handmaiden 🙂 LOL
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like there must be something I’m doing wrong since I can’t seem to get my act together. Reading most of them are mostly inspiring for me, but there are times when I feel like I’m probably spending too much time reading about it and not taking action for myself.
I know whatcha mean! I feel that way all the time. So I started setting myself a time limit.
Sad. I feel sad about my own life and kids, looks, home, etc. Like why can’t I be like them?
When I read blogs and see people who have it all together I wish I could write like the bloggers who express themselves so well….. and I wish I could be like the people with it all together. I always see things in other people that I wish were in my life!
I don’t have near enough time in the day, creativity OR funds to be able to do the things I would love to do!!
I feel really sad. I wish I could have the home I envision, but the finances are just not there to do anything.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like: depending on the day (and possibly how much sleep I got the night before)…either frustrated or inspired! Coincidentally, I recently came across this quote by Theodore Roosevelt on Pinterest: “Comparison is the thief of joy” So true! Yet other times, I’m just downright inspired by other people. Seeing the beauty other people can create helps me find my own thread of artistic abilities.
It sounds like a wonderful book!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like – I want a re-do!
Love my simple little life, but do find myself comparing what I have, who I am, or the choices I’ve made with those around me.
Excited to read your book! 🙂
…I have to try even harder to become expert at everything!
…I feel like I don’t even want to try. It would just be dumb now.
… “I feel like a complete failure” would have been my answer a few years ago. Today I instead think in that moment, “Well, Aina, do you choose to be Mary or Martha?” Blessings
….like I totally suck. As a mom, wife, Christian, woman…. etc….
but then I do try to remember that those images probably are “real” anyway!
…sometimes I feel as if I am ALWAYS at least 2 steps behind every other mom/wife/Christian I would love to win a copy of this book!
It makes me feel like I will never measure up, in terms of aesthetic appearance (my home and myself) and in terms of creativity and providing novel activities and crafts for my children.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like
they can do it, why can’t I. Then I feel that I’ll never get to the point where I will ever be able to do it even halfway so why even try.
I often feel inadequate. Why can’t I have it all together. Where did I go wrong. Whats Their secret? I am working to improve my self and my household everyday because I decided that while I may not ever have IT ALL together, I am gonna change what I can. Thoughts become things and I’m choosing the good ones. Instead of telling myself there is simply too much to do, I am sucking it up, being a big kid and getting things done one day and one project at a time. I have taken a few things from your blog that have helped immensely. If everything is a disaster and you don’t know where to start, start at the floor. Go to bed with shiny sinks, Cleaning frenzies, and I’m working on the morning routine. That’s the hardest so far cause I am NOT a morning person. So thank you for all you have taught me so far and I look forward to more tips in the future. I am creating my own destiny and you are helping to show me I can and it is possible.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…
I’m doing it all wrong because if other people can actually “do it all”, why can’t I?
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I’m loss and confused.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I’m loss
to be content with where you live and what you have is a blessing. just look at how mama bird builds her nest and just takes care of the rest(even if there are unsightly things hanging out of that nest) by caring for her young, and being all that God has made her to be, especially in the morning when she sings her praises to the Him!
comparison is always a trap for discontentment. a home that is warm and inviting, full of love and caring is what we need. i still don’t know what pinterest is exactly, because i have chosen not to go there, but to live and be who i am in Christ!!
… like CRAP! (If I’m being honest!) I spend a few minutes wallowing in it… “how do they do it all (especially if they also work outside the home) and why can’t I”… and usually get over it. Then I pray that my kids will still turn out okay in spite of my lack of togetherness and all my other deficiencies!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, sometimes I feel like a ridiculously slow learner. At my age, with mostly grown children and years of experience, I still struggle with inadequacy. My goal is traveling lighter. Daily, I am confronted with my failure at achieving that. Yet, reading blogs, like yours, give me hope, perspective and inspiration. Never perfection. One day at a time, one effort, one step ahead on my journey, my path lighted by others traveling with me.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, sometimes I feel like I won’t ever “get there”. I feel jealousy, I feel lazy, and I really feel ashamed of myself for feeling like that. As others have said, finding bloggers like you is refreshing.
…like I should really just try a little harder. (Doesn’t matter if they really have it together or not — *I* want to have it all together!)
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, sometimes I feel I am such a failure; I’m pushing 50 and still don’t have my act together. That pretty much sums it up.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I am finally getting there. I am 72 yo and although our home was always comfortable for us, it was never put together well. I have managed to do that in the last few years, a little at a time, not all from one store, to quote you. Our newly married granddaughter, who has an artistic flair, recently sat in our living room and declared that it is perfect! What more could I ask for?
I sometimes feel like I am a failure. I feel like I should be doing better. I know there are times when I could, but I also know that as a single mom, I’m doing the best I can right now.
I feel like a failure and that I’m inadequate.
Disheartened and lazy. Some of the women who write the blogs I read are like superwoman. They clean house, do outrageous projects with their children, and still have time to work, volunteer, etc. I don’t have the energy and I feel like I fail my kids because I can’t do it all.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I am the most inadequate wife and mother in the world, one that has been losing qualities since her single years.
…that I don’t know them well enough to know where their areas of struggle are. I’ve become more comfortable with my failings in this area in some ways, but also feel that some of my own sin areas keep me from doing my best in keeping our home in such a way that blesses my husband and that I am prepared to bless others on a few minutes notice with a spontaneous invitation to come over, or to watch their children in a crises, etc.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like they are faking it…. no seriously, some times I get really jealous and feel like everyone else can and I’m just a failure.. But I still read those articles and blogs because I look for insights and ways that I can do what they have done to better myself or to encourage myself that I too can get there…. I’m just a work in progress right now…
Thanks… I need the book….
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes wonder what happened to that fabulous vision my sixteen year old brain had for my now fifty-three year old body. By this time I should be one of those women who have their world and t lives all figured out and organized. Instead I get up every morning and struggle to make sense of the life lessons I am supposed to be learning from my chaotic existence. And I say a prayer for strength and thank God for all the blessings I have received. And carry on.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I can’t measure up. I start to compare our tiny apartment and get overwhelmed with what I think our place “needs” to look like. The timing of your post is perfect as I had a talk with the Lord and asked for forgiveness for not being appreciative of our home…even if it is an apartment for now. I am not creative when it comes to decorating…..I am one of those people that try to decorate and it looks like i TRY to decorate. God has gifted me with the ability to cook well though. I need to embrace that gift and ask for help when it comes to making our apartment look perty!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like a loser. I feel like no matter how hard I try there is always something I could be doing better. It is discouraging and not how God wants us to live.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like taking a deep breath in and slowly letting it out. As the air is released, I am reminded to focus on the gifts I have been given and not to compete with others. I have learned to appreciate that our differences create challenges and what we discover are gifts that have been hidden while we were trying to be like everyone else.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I’m all alone in my circumstances. I feel like giving up on a level of inner comfort with myself. Is there no one else who doesn’t have an idea of what I’m dealing with in my life? Is there a ‘perfect’ life out there that I’m missing out on? Is my life so ‘outside the box’ of normal? C’mon… I need realism!! I felt like I “had it” at one point, but have now missed the boat in later life. Shouldn’t I be more in tune with myself by this time? Energy. I need energy and a fresh look.
I love your site. It’s such an inspiration. No one is perfect but God created us to be unique in our own special way. I like the four things you do to keep your home “clean enough”. I live in a rental house and someone laid carpet in part of the kitchen by the pantry! Who puts carpet in a kitchen?? UGH! I have to shampoo my carpets once a month even though I put a plastic runner over that area.
What I need to remember the most is God IS IN CONTROL of our lives and we should not compare ourselves with others because no one has it “altogether”. It’s just window dressing.
whoops! Should have been “all together” not altogether. Sorry.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…I am less than; inadequate; his has led me to only reading those who are honest and suggest that there is no recipe or formula and they too have and continue to struggle and refine.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I am inadequate, that I am not as good as they are at mothering, housekeeping, not as pretty as they are, not as organized as they are. It allows me to question my identity and ensures that I am discontent with my life, MY life, I need remember (as I learned in a Bible Study) … I’m not prepared to live their life … not prepared for the bad OR the GOOD! Everyone has stuff that is going on behind the scenes that we don’t see, if everyone’s ‘stuff’ was put in a basket, I’m sure that I would choose my ‘stuff’ over theirs. I look forward to reading your book!
I feel like I need help and that I’m not efficient. I feel like I need to make more of my time. Who knew there would ever be so much information and it continues to build. Thanks for the givaway opportunity!
…thankful for the sharing and also a desire to see deeper.
When I read blogs and see people who appear to have it all “together,” I feel glad that I am able to enjoy my home and life “as is.” My home and personal life does not necessitate continual scrutiny that all is exactly right and in perfect order. I LIVE in my home, not just a pretty picture book but as a functional home that meets my needs. Other areas of my life may need some fine tuning but I let the Lord show me areas that need His touch. My home feels “clean enough” to pass the health department standards and I feel comfortable in it and in all areas of my life.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like
At first, I feel like I’m not doing something right. That maybe my husband or child is suffering. I see the homemade meals that mothers cook for their husbands & children. I see the decorative birthday parties that mothers have made for their children. The little outfits to the streamers…the cake to the food table! I often wonder “Is my child missing out?” “Does my husband sometimes wonder why he married me?” But then I think, I am who I am. I’m a working mother who is pregnant with our 2nd child. My husband is a working father. So what if it’s hamburger helper for dinner..atleast we have food in our stomach, a happy home, and a life that we often laugh about! I thank God for the blessings he has given me & rejoice in knowing that he made me with flaws! So yes, tonight it will be mashed potatoes & another hamburger helper then off to faithweavers which I am apart of at church. And yes, it is ok if I do my laundry at 11 at night while my husband and child sleep. I find peace in knowing that I am who I am!!
….. I sometimes feel like a failure but mostly I wonder “How does she do it all?”
I’ll never measure up and it’s no wonder ___________ isn’t happy with me, etc.
I am slowly learning to just enjoy other people’s accomplishments.
I feel like I can still hear (and believe) those voices that told me that ‘I am less than…’. The husband that left me, our kids and God for a married co-worker…20 yrs ago. My mom who tells me not to divorce even though she divorced 4 men. My own voice as well as that of the enemy who blames God’s beloved children seem to be the loudest voices. My home is messy but it’s clean. My spirit clings to Christ but my life is a mess right now.
When I see blogs that appear to have it all together, I try to remember they have areas where they don’t have it all together. They just don’t write about those areas! lol We all have areas that we have it together, we are not often quick to focus on those areas. 🙂
When I see blogs that appear to have it all together, I try to remember not to compare my insides to their outsides. I also try to remember, that my life is mine, and mine alone and I wouldn’t change it for the world!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I don’t measure up. I immediately imagine that their personal life reflects the “perfectness” that I see in their “Martha Stewart” homes, “Julia Child” dishes, and “Better Homes & Gardens” landscaping. This “one step ahead of the Board of Health” girl would love to find a solution that gets rid of the guilt and frustration.
I sometimes feel like I am failing miserably!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like ———- becoming a hermit, or what I call hermitizing. 🙂
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I could do it too if I was more organized, had more energy, more money, wasn’t so lazy – you name it.
once again I’ll never have it together:(
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel inadequate. As a new mom, working part time and working on my masters, I never feel like I have the time or money to do things for our house.
When I read some blogs or see other people around me who appear to have it all together, I am tempted to feel like a sloth! Where do they get all their energy? Yet I LOVE seeing new ideas and being inspired to make my home better! My tastes change with the wind, but when I do get something right in my decorating it makes me happy and content. I remind myself that just because someone looks like they (and their home) has it “all together”, they are just like me and have their share of doubts , troubles, and insecurities. I must remind myself to appreciate and be grateful for all that I have, because it is family that is most important, not things.
Sounds amazinf!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I’m not good enough, create enough. I’m inferior. But I know God made me who I am, and I’m striving to learn to be content.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I cannot ever measure up. I read these blogs in order to get new and inspiration ideas for my home and life. Thankfully I realize after reading that these people are just like me … trying to make the best of their life and realize their goals and dreams. Ultimately it inspires me to make my home beautiful even when it’s not perfect.
I feel like i haven’t done enough or could do more. Also I am a little jealous because of all the great things happening to them.
I usually remind myself that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and I remember all the blessings I have
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like they must’ve found a way to do it well, or maybe I should be doing something differently. It isn’t long, however, before God reminds me that I’m not them. I don’t have to do life like someone else does it. I just need to do it the way HE wants me to. It won’t be perfect, but I will be more pleased with my efforts in those areas that I excel in, and I’ll be aware of my need to continue to be faithful in those areas where I struggle. In the end, it’s in walking through the journey of each day, and the struggles contained in it, that we find our way closer to God. I’m awefully glad God isn’t expecting perfection from me, but He already see it in me, just the way I am. The way He made me to be.
…….I’m all alone
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like I’m overwhelmed and not a good enough mom, wife, daughter, sister, aunt or friend. I turn to God and he hears my cry and takes me to a place in thought where I need to go, where I’m happy and content.
…paralyzed into doing nothing!
like I’m the worst organizer in the world.
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like …. coming home. ‘Having it all together’ to me means ‘living in balance and harmony with what is. Therefore, there is a sense of comfort to people who have it all together, as those people also create harmony with others, usually. Right?
…. it’s not me, I did not learn how.
I have limited blog reading time, so I tend to read ‘messy’ blogs. Honest, God filled ‘messy’ lives.
… I say: Yeah for them. They’ve figured out their calling. God has great plans for me as well.
to be honest…I do struggle a bit with feeling that if others do something well, why can’t I, but I realize pity parties get us no where fast so I don’t go there and try to catch myself and enjoy the inspiration and then eventually actually see it materialize in my real world! imperfections and all! thanks so much for all the reminders and the inspiration!!
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…hey! I can do that! and I’m off trying to duplicate others successes, and I realize at some point that it doesn’t work to copy, but to reflect and use what fits in my life best.
I just feel like a failure!!!
[…] was reading a post on (in)courage, titled NOT a DIY Diva {finding authenticity as keepers of our homes}, a blog post by Melissa of The Inspired Room , presenting a brief summary of her e-book NOT a DIY […]
[…] of perfection? Feel like your home and the things in it just don’t measure up? Then you will enjoy this read. I certainly […]
When I read some blogs or see people around me who appear to have it all together, I sometimes feel like…it’s not for me. The blogs that I love returning to and following are the ones where the writers can make me feel like I am at a friends house and together we can joke and vent about the chaos and messes in our lives, as well as as encourage and celebrate the DIY’s and crafts gone well. It’s a balance of both, not one extreme or the other.
I found your blog googling this subject as there has been a movement now towards a bit more ‘authenticity’ in the blogging world b/c readers are feeling like there’s something wrong with them b/c they don’t have what they’re seeing on the screen in their lives. It’s called Things I am Afraid to Tell You and it’s all over the blogosphere and I find it refreshing!! So this is a great post highlighting that. There’s no way you should ever want someone to come to visit your blog and feel badly about their own lives. DIY’ing is harder than it looks!
[…] is being featured on the (in)courage Bloom Book Club this week! Yipee! You can find a giveaway here and a quick post published today on Homemaking here. Come by and say hi! I’d love to see […]