It is staggering to think how many years some of us have wasted in striving for the ideal, even losing sleep over it, in how we manage our homes, raise our kids, relate to our husbands, choose what we wear, and even plan what to make for dinner! And, though I could not go so far as to say, this is your home, these are your children, you can raise them any way you wish, there is something to be said for not bowing to the tyranny of conforming to the ideals of others.

Read the rest of The Tyranny of the Ideal Home by Marcia Wilwerding.

When you hide your sin, pretending to be a perfect Christian, you’re actually telling the world that God is a liar. Did Jesus, or did Jesus not, need to suffer and die for your present sins? When you feign perfection, you’re saying you didn’t need Him to do this for you.

Mentally, I could acknowledge my life’s abundant blessings, but I didn’t really see them or feel them because I was too focused on my life’s abundant distractions. Too many commitments. Too many screens. Too many self-induced pressures to be all and do all. Too many unachievable standards. Too many to-do’s and never enough time.

There you are sitting in worship or Bible study. Your child, or toddler, is restless. Perhaps they’re even a little boisterous. You try to silence them, and nothing. You try to pacify them with food or toys, and nothing. Eventually, you resort to the last thing you wanted to do: you pick them up, and before a watching audience, you make the march out of the auditorium. All the while, you’re a little embarrassed. Maybe you’re a little frustrated too. You might even think to yourself, “There’s no point in coming to church. I get nothing out of it because I have to constantly care for my kid.”

Here, drawn from Mitchell’s book, is a gallery of gossips, five different gossiping people you will meet in life.