Thursday, November 12, 2009

The Trouble with Blogs

I enjoy reading a few blogs, most of them written by Christian women who are similar to me in one way or another. They home school, home make, raise children, suffer losses, and strive to glorify God in the little and big things of life. The trouble is, most of them are much better at these things than I am! Or at least that is how it appears.

I have seen beautiful hand-made dish cloths, season-appropriate centerpieces, hot breakfasts for weekday mornings, successful home businesses, monthly grocery budgets of $400 for a large family, super-creative crafts made with their children, and the list goes on. Some days I come away inspired; other days I come away feeling completely inadequate. These women do not claim perfection. I am sure they have personal struggles, and they do mention some of the struggles in their blog posts. But herein lies the trouble with blogs: they are a mere glimpse into someone’s life. A blog usually shows the high points, and leaves out the lows.


Can this still be beneficial? I think it can, as long as we remember that it is what it is. We are not a perfect family. I spend a ton of money on groceries. Some days we do not get school going until 10:00. I have a horrible tendency to yell at my kids. And I have never, ever, made a hand-made dish cloth. I am encouraged by those who do, however, not because I want to be just like them, but because I can learn from them that you can honor God by taking the time to do things you enjoy, and you can bless your family by making life more beautiful in small ways.

At this point, I still feel I have much more to learn than I have to teach! But I do think the Titus 2 directive works both ways for all but the very youngest among us (I’m talking babies here!), so I hope that by sharing our lives a bit we can all get a little something that we need.

Titus 2:3-5
Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

6 comments:

M. Helseth said...

I like it already. I like your "tone." Well, how about I just like you! :) I'll check back often...

Tracey said...

Thank you, Marla! My first blog comment! :)

D. Schafer said...

Tracey,
I'm impressed. You have made posts two days in a row! I haven't posted to my blog in months!!

It's perfectly understandable to have feelings of inadequacy from time to time. I can identify!

What you feel you may be lacking in creativity or what my Camp Fire Girls (like Girl Scouts) leader used to call "gracious living" you make up for in other ways, I'm sure.

I've told you and Edwin both how much I admire how you are raising your children and the discipline and order you require of them. Therein lies the lasting beauty: a godly legacy.

Maria Matthys said...

And here Tracey, I thought you did everything just about perfectly - what a huge relief to hear it isn't true! Thanks for the transparency and destroying that illusion - it's refreshing to my soul and reveals the grace of God so clearly at work in your life. It seems He is constantly challenging me to share the the WHOLE picture as well, including the "lows" of my life with others. It certainly affords the opportunity to grow in humility (apparently, I need a lot of growth in that area, based on the frequency of this occurrence!). I will definitely be a reader - a great start to what is sure to be a terrific blog!

Maria

Kylie W. said...

I think the focus-on-the-positive aspect is one of my favorite things about blogs. Yes, sometimes, it can be pretty annoying when you start to feel inadequate or jealous in the face of someone else's "perfect" life (or worse, get self-righteous and start assigning pride and arrogance to the blogger in only ever talking about the good things.. I've done this more than once!), but they really can be inspirational and helpful. And those who are brave enough to be honest with their struggles have just as much or more to teach us as well. Makes me wish I could start a blog of my own!

Tracey said...

Go ahead, Kylie! :-)