Satan wants me to buy into the lie that I'm a failure and that the "blogger next door" is better than me. She has time to homeschool her children (and by the way they are two grade levels ahead of their peers in every subject), she has time to make bread from scratch every other day so that her family never runs out, she has time to sew their own clothes, cook from scratch for every meal (including a hot breakfast everyday) and has meals in the freezer for those unusual times she doesn't want to cook. Her home is always neat and tidy, never laundry piled up to wash OR put away. Her children are always dressed cleanly and don't have holes in the knees or dirt on their faces.
I will admit that I have had those feelings when I read others' blogs. I do sometimes start to feel like I'm not doing enough. However, that doesn't happen everytime I read a blog, or even everyday. But it does happen. I have to be aware of those feelings and not let Satan creep in and get a foothold. Blogs can be great motivation; they can be encouraging and enlightening. Blogs can build us up when we are feeling down and strengthen our walk with our Lord and Savior. Blogs can educate us on topics we desire to learn more about. Although, I caution you to not let them tear you down instead, don't get caught in comparing yourself and your life to the "blog next door". Glean what you can from your favorite bloggers and let the chaff be blown away.
So that none of you feel that doing the things I mentioned above is wrong, or that we shouldn't strive to be our best; I do bake my own bread!
Have a blessed day,
Rashel
*This post was originally published Jan, 2011 but I felt it was worth discussing again. Blessings, Rashel
Hello Rashel,
ReplyDeleteI just stopped by after visiting with Crystal on Homestead Happenings. I saw your post, "The bog next door," and wanted to share with you that I think it is wonderful. So many of us look at others...and think "the grass is always greener". How important it is for us to take the focus off of ourselves, and put it totally on our Lord. When we do this, then we can learn from each other...without being jealous. Satan is so tricky...and he will try anything to keep us from turning to our Saviour. Thank you for sharing this wonderful reminder. I look forward to coming back and reading more of your blog!
Have a blessed day,
Laura
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Rashel, I too found your blog via Crystal's blog, Homemaking on the Homestead. I'm so glad I did! What a beautiful and honest post. As women, it is a downfall when we start comparing ourselves to others. We each are in different situations and we need to build each other up and support each other in our own unique christian walk with our Savior. Thanks so much for sharing this post! Blessings, Jamie :)
ReplyDeleteJamie, thank you so much for stopping by! I am so glad you were encouraged by this post. It is so true that we need to be building each other up and supporting each other.
DeleteBlessings,
Rashel
Absolute truth here! Isn't it amazing that now we not only look over our back fence and compare ourselves to what we perceive to be happening over there ... we've found new ways to torture ourselves via the internet?!? I can fall victim to the same exact notion-- especially when satan is already sowing seeds of discontent in my heart.
ReplyDeleteTrue story: I once went to the home of a blogger I had long admired. She lived locally, but I had "met" her via her blog. I "knew" her, her children, her home ... everything about her! She had such an open, inviting style that when we began corresponding via email, we were already long-lost besties. Well, the first time I went to her house, I was SHOCKED! Those tidy little nooks and crannies I had long compared my home to? Those perfect vignettes of flowers on the kitchen table, the windows thrown wide? Yeah, ummmmm.... her house was TRASHED! We're talking HOARDERS.
Right then and there, I learned my lesson. This was a dear woman, and a clearly sweet, well-meaning, and inspiring person ... but she had issues, too! And those bits and pieces she shared with her readers were, in fact, so far away from reality as to be nearly untrue. Yet ... I had been convinced she was more godly, more with it, more spiritual, more .... EVERYTHING!
But she was just a person. Like me. :-)
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing that story! It is a perfect example of how we cannot tell how a person really is just by what she chooses to share on her blog, there is so much more to know than that. However, we still continue to do that if we are not careful.
DeleteAs you mentioned, Satan will take any little seed of discontent and feed on it as much as he can. We must guard our hearts and continuously seek God's will in our own lives, not try to find our way by watching others.
Thank you again for taking the time to share,
Rashel
This is a fabulous post! It is so easy to envy the blogger next door, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteEven though I try to be "real" and "transparent" in my blogging, there are certainly times I've pushed clutter out of the way to take a picture! :) It is natural to try to put our best foot forward!
But what happens is we compare each blogger's "best days" with our average days and conclude we are a failulre!
We can all be great at some things . . . but only a few excel at many things, and none of us are fantastic at everything! I always try to remind myself that those awesome prolific bloggers may be ignoring their children and their houses or perhaps they have fewer chldren than me, a husband that is more involved at home, a maid, or are able to get by on fewer hours of sleep a night! Who knows?
As a blogger, I want to be encouraging and uplifiting, but also honest and real in order to encourage other women in their callings as wives and mothers and homemakers. As a reader, I must remember that we are all but dust and God has gifted us and enables us according to His perfect will to fulfill the calling that He has for us. We are all come to the kingdom for such a time as this, whether our contribution seems small or large.
Perhaps I've just rambled on needlessly! I hope this makes sense and actually relates to what you were saying! :)
I think we were separated at birth or something! :) We have such similar thoughts on so many things. I agree wholeheartedly with your comment and nope, no needless rambling at all!
DeleteThank you for taking the time to comment!
This made me SMILE! :D
ReplyDelete