Truth Is…

Truth is…

1. Truth is…  I had Ellee take the picture for this post.  First off, kudos to her.  She had a blast using my big camera. However, as we worked through a quick mini-session in my room, I realized it’s really hard to have your picture taken.  It makes you feel so vulnerable and a bit self-conscious.  Mostly, it made me really appreciate all of the people I’ve worked with through my photography business.  If you’ve ever let me take a picture of you, I just want to say, “Thank you.”  It is not easy.  But it’s so good to put ourselves out there sometimes.  I know I’ll be thankful to have these pictures someday and am glad that we took time to capture a few.

2.  Truth is… I bought these really good Whole Fruit Organic Juice popsicles from Costco.  And I told our kids that the rule is, one a day.  Because they are kind of pricey.  But somedays, I break the rule, and I have two.  Like today, for instance.  I ran/walked a 5K with my friend Victoria and we had one afterwards.  But then I just had another one.  Because it was hot as I was sitting here writing and that popsicle just sounded so good.  Please don’t tell our kids.

3.  Truth is, it took me three hours to clean out my closet this afternoon.  Clothes I don’t wear, old school papers from the kids and random piles of stuff made my walk in closet pretty much non-functioning.  It’s have to tip-toe through everything and inevitably would step on important things and it was just getting out of hand.  So I cleaned it.  And it took me three hours.  Because I got distracted looking through old pictures and reading random cards.  But I’m happy to say, I finally got it done.  I purged about three bags of stuff and now it looks clean and amazing.

4.  Truth is… Blogging is hard sometimes.  Most times, it’s pretty easy for me.  Because there are always interesting things going on that I can write about.  But other times, it’s hard.  I get a little writer’s block.  I wonder what people will really think when I share pieces of my heart.  I’m feeling a bit nervous as I write now, wondering if this is something worth putting out there.  But again, there’s always a lesson to be learned.  It’s good to challenge ourselves.  I know I’ll be glad that I took time to write.  Partly because I would never remember what went on in the busyness.  Partly because sweet friends tell me that they often find encouragement through my blog.  And partly because amidst the bad things in the world, there are also good things going on and I want to write about the good things.

5.  Truth is… I haven’t gone to my gym in a month.  Which is kind of a big deal for me, since I was on a solid three year pace of going regularly.  When we went away for Costa Rica, and then Michigan and then had a week of VBS, I kind of just got in the mode of not going.  I have worked out.  Mostly running, and a stint with this online program called Daily Burn.  The Tactical Body Training series was awesome and I even got Ellee to try it with me.  All that being said, I’ve decided it’s okay and that I’ll get there soon.  No use feeling too guilty about it.  Because I’ve realized that guilt is never great and even something as small as gym guilt just isn’t worth the effort.

6.  Truth is…  You can never have too many pool dates.  So, we don’t have a pool.  But lots of our friends do.  And yesterday, our kids got to have three pool dates and then end the night with youth group at the beach.  It was definitely a full day, but it was so worth it.  I had so many beautiful conversations with my beautiful pool-owning friends and even though it was busy, it’s good to take time for friends and friendships.

7.  Truth is…  If you try really hard, you can make your kids like Seltzer.  I’ve been trying hard lately, to make a few small, healthy changes in our home.  Because I want our family to be healthy and especially for our kids to have good, healthy habits.  So I stopped buying juices and sodas and started buying seltzer.  I get the flavored kind and our kids have just gotten used to it.  So much that when Christian got a Sweet Tea the other day, he could hardly drink it because it was too sweet.  Which earned me a proud little smile.  Because it’s nice to see efforts pay off.

8.  And finally, Truth is… Life, for the most part, is amazing.  But sometimes, I feel a little down.  For no particular reason.  And you’ll probably never see a Facebook or Instagram post showing those times.  But I wanted to acknowledge that it happens.  For me, in those moments, I try to acknowledge them for what they are.  And then I try to find things to do to help myself up and out of it.  I pray.  Read encouraging verses.  Go for a run.  Sometimes eat a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup.  Sometimes just have a good cry.  And just wait for it to pass.  And thankfully, it always, eventually  does.

So, there you have it.  A little Thursday night truth.  Thanks for stopping by to read.  And I hope that maybe you can relate with some of my truths and find encouragement in knowing that there’s always good, even amidst the struggles.