"Real" Ready

October 1st is in two days and I'm about to have a panic attack. 

That's because I've determined to write every day for the 31 days of October and I don't feel ready. 

I've typed up lists of what I want to write about and I've scribbled out some stuff and my brain is chock full of ideas. But I'd hoped to have actual posts just waiting in the wings and, well, my wings are sitting empty. 

That's okay though. I've always worked best under pressure.

Also, I didn't have a button and that was more concerning to me than it should have been.

But the Nester went and made free buttons for people like me and by some sort of miracle I figured out how to customize it. I hope I can figure out how to magically stuff some code in there and make it a real-life, working button.

Some of you may still be wondering what "31 Days of Real" is all about? 

I realize that it's sort of an abstract topic but I'll do my best to explain without giving too much away.

It's about real life, mine and yours. 

It's about acceptance. 

It's about hope. 

It's more descriptive than it is prescriptive but I hope that in some of my own story sharing, you'll find a bit of sisterhood and encouragement.

Over the last few years of writing here, I've realized that "writing about the real" is what I do best and enjoy most. 

Apparently y'all feel that way too. I get the most comments, e-mails and feedback on the posts that are the easiest for me to write but the most difficult to actually publish.

I'll be honest. I wish that my area of expertise was 31 days to Easy Organic Baking or 31 Days to J-Lo Hair or 31 Days to Compliant Children. Instead, I am prone to burning the things I bake, my hairdresser recently cut my hair entirely too short, and all of my children had meltdowns of various sorts in Wal-Mart yesterday.

So it looks like I'll be writing about the real for quite a while.

And I'm learning that it's a blessing even though it's messy and challenging and embarrassing. 

I'm guessing that you feel like you're stuck with real too. My hope is that this series will inspire you to embrace the life you actually have instead of the one you wish you had or the one you feel like you've settled for. 

I'm learning that beauty and acceptance and redemption can bloom full in the midst of messy and crazy and broken. 

Sometimes it's about unrealistic expectations. Sometimes it's about choosing to see things differently. Always, it's about grace and grace gives birth to freedom. 

If you're anything like me, you've probably wasted a lot of energy trying to live a life that's not yours to live. Whining and wishing, resenting and retreating...I'm prone to these things and let me tell you, they're life-draining, not life-giving.

I want to live full, not empty. 

As far as topics are concerned, I plan to dish about quite a lot, all through the lens of realism and grace: home, food, kids, marriage, and a fair amount of miscellany. The posts will be true to my tag-line: a little scoop for every slice of life.

If you have ideas or topics you'd like for me to explore, I'd love to hear them! 

I'm excited and nervous and overwhelmed. I'm afraid that I'll run away after 13 days and then say, "Oh, it was supposed to be 31 days? I thought it was 13 days. Silly me, I must have reversed the 3 and the 1." 

It's safe to say I may need a lot of grace and some hand-holding along the way.

See you in two days! 

...........................

Want to be sure you don't miss a post? You can subscribe by e-mail or RSS feed over there on the right. And you can become a follower or share posts or whatever over there too.