I'm Not Perfect (and how boring if I was!)

I'm approached by a surprising amount of people who tell me they read my blog.

I'm always caught of guard and surprised.

The also give me compliments like

• I just love your blog.
• So-&-so gave me your blog link. I've been reading it. Thanks for being so honest.
• Thank you for saying what we're all thinking.
• I just love your transparency.

I'm not typing this to flatter myself -- I'm using it as a reason to tell you WHY I blog.

You ever notice how much more intriguing someone is once you know their thoughts, secrets, quirks or faults? The better I get to know a person, the more I want to know, and the more I like them.

I'm currently reading Dangerous Surrender by, Kay Warren (thank you Jodie!) for my mission trip to Africa. Rick Warren (author of The Purpose Driven Life) wrote a beautiful introduction. And when I read it, I thought, "and this is why I blog."

Here is an excerpt:

You can impress people from a distance, but to deeply influence others, you must allow them to get close to you. That scares most people to death. So many people live inconsequential lives because of their fear of exposure. Allowing people to get close to you means permitting them to see your flaws, your faults, your failures, and your fears -- and that is most people's worst nightmare. We want our lives to make a difference, but we don't want anyone to really know us. We only want to share the sanitized story of our lives -- just the high points. But that removes the drama of the struggle, the authenticity, and the power to impact others.

Authenticity creates credibility, and authentic people are uniquely compelling. When you encounter someone who is the real deal, you naturally like them and want to know them. Unfortunately, in our image-conscious culture, authenticity if often faked! We reward role-playing. We treat actors as gods for what they pretend to be on-screen, not what they really are.

In my marriage, I spent a lot of time and energy putting out a different persona than what was on the inside. 

It's tiring.

And well ... I just want to be me.

I'm not trying to change the world with my blog ... just trying to be more honest, real, genuine, and share my flaws. 

And now I spend my time and energy writing about my beautiful life ... instead of trying to cover it up.