This is my confessional week. There are things I do and don’t do that unless you know me well, you probably would never guess. I value my readers and always want to be authentic and truthful with you. I realize I don’t have to confess anything to you, but for you to get a better appreciation of who I am and where I am coming from you deserve to know the good, bad and ugly. Sometimes, I feel like the Wizard of Oz shouting “Pay no attention to that woman behind the screen.” Here are five things people have often said to me, and I will share with you whether they are fact or fiction.
You Always Have It All Together!
#1 – Fiction: (laughing hysterically) I don’t. I am an internal processor. Trust me, I can be a mess just like anyone else. In fact, if it weren’t for my faith I wouldn’t have anything together. Life has been cruel at times, and there have been a few times I have been furious with family, friends, and God. However, I am not one who holds a grudge unless you mess with my daughter; then I become a Momma Bear! Also, when I am tired, everything becomes a crisis. I hit a wall and I just need to go to bed. I’m grateful I don’t have to have it all together because I am reminded daily of my need for Jesus. Yes, I do look for the Jesus Glitter in the good and bad moments of every day, but it doesn’t mean I see it right away. Sometimes, it takes some time for me to see, understand and appreciate the glitter.
Your Home Is Always Clean and Neat!
#2 – Fact: The only reason my house is clean and neat is that I think I might have a tendency toward OCD. I’m not kidding. I’ve never been diagnosed, but when you have to make sure the pillows are arranged a certain way and everything resembling clutter needs to be out of sight, and you are a perpetual duster, there could be a problem. Now, for my family and friends, you need to know that I never think about any of these things when I am at your home, just my own. In addition, my daughter was allergic to nearly everything growing up and dust would set off her asthma like a rocket ship going to the moon, so it was easier to hide my OCD tendencies in those days. The fact is this obsession probably came from my mom who always kept a very tidy and clean home. In fifty-four years, I have never seen anything in my mother’s house out of place, EVER! Even when we were little, everything had its place. However, she loves to clean. I clean because I have to! There is a difference, so I will blame her for this ridiculous preoccupation.
You ALWAYS dress so nice!
#3 – Fiction: I appreciate those compliments, but I don’t. At home, you can find me in yoga pants and a t-shirt most days. However, some days when I am writing I stay in my pajamas all day long, and I am not ashamed! For some reason, it helps my creative juices flow. Once I take a shower and get dressed, I always find a hundred things to do, and it limits my time for writing. I confess, I have way too many clothes. I clean out my closet, give away clothing and start my collection over again. I admit, I love sparkly fashion. It makes me feel good. I also love the color black. It is slimming, right? Although that is not the reason I love the color black, it is because I have a color deficiency. I don’t see hues the way most people do. I’m not color blind, but color deficient. Here is an example: an apple to most people looks red. I see more orange than red. I found this out in kindergarten when I kept coloring the apples orange instead of red. With clothing, anything can go with black pants, so I just pick vibrant tops, and I have always loved sparkle so now you know the truth about my clothing choices. The other part of my confession is I am a larger gal and my mom has always told me your size doesn’t matter, but how you present yourself. People can be very judgemental about how we look especially if we are overweight. I know this because I have experienced it in my own life. I can go to a store nicely dressed and a salesperson will always ask if I need any help. Another time I can go in my yoga pants and t-shirt and nobody asks me if I need anything. Anybody else have that experience? Whew! I am glad that confession is over.
You are a Great Cook!
#4 – Fiction: I am not a great cook. My Hubs is a GREAT cook. I can cook, and I do cook, but it isn’t my favorite thing to do. I’m a homestyle cook and Hubs is the gourmet chef. He is all about the ingredients, aromas, fresh spices, and perfecting the dish. He loves the presentation, and it is a crucial part of the process for him. He makes every plate a work of art, but it doesn’t stop me from chowing down his delicious food. Hubs loves to watch the Food Network and it is paying off in spades! Hubs also loves to grocery shop. I detest grocery shopping. I can give him a list of a few things to pick up and I can guarantee he will always come home with double the number of items on the list. I don’t care though, because that means I don’t have to grocery shop! Whenever I do go grocery shopping with Hubs, I feel like a big vacuum has sucked me in and I can’t get out for two hours. It overwhelms me. I tend to be an outside perimeter shopper and Hubs loves to meander through every aisle. When you live with a “foodie”, the grocery store becomes a museum. All I want to do is to get what is on the list and get out of there. If I have to grocery shop, I prefer a small grocery store over a big one any day. However, we love to have people in our home for a meal. Together, Hubs and I make a great team. I do the menu, cleaning, and the dessert. Hubs lovingly does the rest. He calls it “Therapy.” I call it a blessing!
You are the Sparkle Queen!
#5 – Fact: Guilty as charged! It doesn’t matter how often or how carefully I clean, in my house a piece of glitter will often show up unexpectedly. It makes me smile. It reminds me that Jesus is always with me. It is so easy to get caught up in life’s issues and lose sight of what is important. We can choose to live a miserable existence stuck in the bondage of the world, but I choose to live free because Christ set me free by breaking all my chains through the cross. When the scales were removed from my eyes, everything sparkled with the newness of an abundant life. Love, mercy, forgiveness, and gratefulness can shine from my heart because the truth of God’s word is a diamond. Every time you look at it, you see the brilliance and the beauty of His promises. It catches your eye, and its magnificence can not be surpassed. Loving and encouraging others in the same way Jesus loves us is the key to our happiness. This, my beloved friends, is my “Jesus Glitter.”
Confession is good for the soul! It purges and allows new space for good things to grow and fill our hearts. Share on X When we confess with our lips, it is like weeding the garden so new fruit can grow. Don’t be overtaken with the weeds of life. What fact or fiction of your life can you share with me? I would love to hear from you!
Ha! We’re yoga pants and pjs sisters! I do my best writing in PJs too ☺️ And I only dress nice for dates and church!
Yes, we are! I love writing in my PJ’s. 🙂
I wish I could keep my house clean! I guess I still have some time to master the art of it. The having it all together part, that’ll only ever happen in my dreams. Haha!
None of us is perfect – thank God that Jesus is!
This was such a fun post to read and I can pretty much agree with everything, haha! I know right, after cleaning every nook and corner, how does mess show up in the middle of the room I have no idea LOL!
xx, Kusum | http://www.sveeteskapes.com
I don’t know you but I had so much fun reading this and getting to know you a little better! I definitely what you mean when you say you’d probably be a mess if not for your faith. I feel exactly the same way <3
Hi, Rimsha!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! Faith is an important part of my life and I’m glad it is your’s too!
I wish I had OCD. My house would be in better shape. I’m a lousy housekeeper. There. I’ve finally said it. And a procrastinator. A therapist once told me I put things off because I’m a perfectionist and fear I can’t do things the way I should do I don’t do them at all. I don’t even have friends over because I’m ashamed. There I said that too. Most of my friends live in beautiful nice homes. I can’t seem to keep up with mine and the 3 other people messing it up. And the 2 dogs. But I love the Lord with all my heart soul and mind. No amount of messy will ever change that.
Linda,
You are beautiful inside and out. There is nothing messy about you! The way you love your family and friends is amazing. I can be a procrastinator too! You are not alone there my sweet friend. Thanks for confessing with me 🙂 Trust me; I will be confessing more! I love how you love Jesus, and you are right there is nothing messy about that! Love you friend!
Confession is good for the soul and the other souls around it too! It’s nice to hear when people aren’t trying to keep up a facade!
Hi, Kristi!
I’m hoping my authenticity helps others to remove the facade too! I will be confessing more 🙂 Thanks for your encouragement!
What a great post. Isn’t it funny how people can become so mesmerized by a person’s exterior? But you seem to be handling it with grace. Lovely!
I love your comparison of finding glitter to Jesus always being around! I’m going to use that! Your confessions are spot on too. I really relate to the one about having a clean house meaning OCD!
Sheila, what a fun post! It made me smile…keep sparkling!!
Blessings,
Christine
Hi, Christine! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Don’t worry I will be confessing and sparkling!
I’m working on being more neat and more clean in my home 🙂
It sounds like we have a lot in common! It’s so easy for people to assume you have it all together when really you can just pull it all together for a few minutes.
Confession is good for the soul! This made me smile! I get some of these same things said about me from others and in most cases it is far from the truth. Such a cute post.
I am definitely not a sparkle queen, but I have a good friend who is. This reminds me of her. Keep sparkling!
I love post like these! I think to many women think they have to be perfect and always have it together but the truth is, no one has it together. We all just have to do our best and be ok with that!
I loved reading this! It put a big smile on my face as I can relate to a couple things. God Bless You!
Hi, Yolanda!
I’m glad I could make you smile! I love sharing the sparkle and glad someone can relate to me too! God Bless You too!
I smiled so much reading this post! The other night a friend just told me that I am “always so calm and reasonable” – I had to laugh! Inside, I am not! I like how you termed it “inside processor” – guess I am one too! Keep the confessions coming!
Hi, Kristen! I am glad this post made you smile. Yes, I am an inside processor who has been known to “spew” every once in a while do to MALE-function. 🙂 Oh, I will keep the confessions coming because I have many…trust me 🙂
This was such a fun article to read!i relate on the whole cook thing 😉 lol but I try… that’s all that matters!!
Hi, Olivia!
Hey trying is the BEST! It isn’t so much we can’t cook maybe I should say I don’t prefer to cook 🙂
This is a wonderful post. So authentic and I love it. For me, most people think that I travel all the time time. This is fiction. I love to travel and have been to many places but I usually travel only once a month and that just started.
Hi, Danielle!
Thank You for your encouragement! I love to travel too! It is funny what people think about us, but never ask us about it. How fun to travel! Next month I’m off to Orlando and Sanibel. I can’t wait!
Sheila,
I don’t think anyone has it all together, though we tend to let people think we do because we don’t want them to know what’s really going on for fear of rejection. I’m thankful you are one I can share the good, bad, and ugly with. You are a blessing to me and so many others.
Sparkle on my friend!
I probably revise my article about 20 times before I post. This may have something to do with my perfectionist tendencies. I’ve never been diagnosed, but I’m pretty sure I am one! 😀
Hey, Sheila!
I hear you I do the same thing! Goodness, it is good to not be alone 🙂 It was wonderful to talk with you yesterday and I’m praying for you! I can’t wait to hear all about the conference.
Blessings!
You know what you sparkle at Sheila? You are a wonderful listener. A faithful friend. You just glow!
Cathy, I could say these words right back to you! You are an amazing friend who I cherish in so many ways. You are truly beautiful inside and out!Love you!