Nothing 2 Bring: Internet Etiquette 101

You know how they say you should never make big, permanent decisions during transitional times in life- well we Joyner's blew that off- and decided to get tattoos yesterday.

Haddon definitely had buyers remorse almost immediately and never quite recovered.

Aslan.on the other hand, asked, "Will this still be there when I die?"

"No," I replied

"Awwwwww man, I thought these were real tattoos!"

I'm glad to know he takes these kinds of things so seriously.

he was very excited that it says Crash and Burn. He thinks he is just like Uncle Merl.

And, of course, Aslan himself chose a tattoo for me and then took a picture of it all by himself.

It's so nice just to do fun things with your kids simply for the sake of making memories with them.

Now, on another topic entirely, and actually the purpose of this post in the first place:

So does anyone ever get an overwhelming sense of stage fright occasionally with all of this new technology that has become such a huge part of our lives? No, seriously. Maybe I'm really going out on a limb here but isn't it kind of crazy how through things like blogs and Facebook, we have opened up windows into our lives. Generally, we only open it to the sunniest part of our lives, but open it is nonetheless.

Generally speaking, I really enjoy these new networking tools. I especially have been blessed with the opportunities blogging has given me to share Shepherd's journey with many who care and pray for our family. But every know and then it occurs to me that through all of these open doors comes vulnerability.

Now, since I'm a girl, let me inform you about the best way to handle these kind of insecurities. Are taking notes? No need, I'm sure this will come naturally to you.

1. Post only the VERY best pictures of you and your family. If you've had a baby within the past 6 months or so, you could even opt for one thats about a year old, pre-baby weight.

2. When there are pic of your family members taken around the house, try to edit out all of the laundry and food stuck to the walls. tip: You could just use the blemish or blur function on your iphoto.

3. All of your statuses on Facebook should say things like, "Just got done working out for the second time today and now I'm headed to get a manicure. Life is beautiful."

Generally anything that would portray you as youthful, energetic, unflappable, sexy, and overall perfect is suitable.

4. Whatever you do, don't be honest. That's real life and completely inappropriate for these kind of mediums.

5. As a summary, the idea behind all of these open windows to your life is to make your life appear as perfect as possible, so as long as you keep things shallow and involve lot's of happy family shots- you may be safe. People may envy you. And you may feel good about yourself at the end of the day.

Now if you have tried all of these things and still feel a little uneasy- there is only one thing to do.

Your going to have to find freedom in the truth that no ones life is perfect and most everyones life is far from it. BUT there is lot's of beauty in everyones life and we should all rejoice in it wether it's pics of family or just making memories. And while we rejoice over all the gifts of God's grace in other's lives, we have to be reminded that His grace in our lives probably looks really different from one person to the next. Cause He loves diversity.

But most of all, I have to remember that truly the most beautiful things about my life are not the obvious. The most beautiful thing about my life is what is broken. The most beautiful thing is that Jesus Christ took a fool like me and made something beautiful out of what would have been otherwise ugly. It is that somehow the God I serve is glorified when you get to see my uglies. That's the way it's supposed to be. That's the story of the bible (Ugly made beautiful by the work of Jesus Christ). So even if there are days when it would seem simpler to just close ALL the windows, I don't believe that would most honor God. Hopefully there is something you see when peeking into my life that will speak of Jesus and help you get to know Him a little better.Though sometimes I'd like to think that the story was a little more polished and left me looking better- if that's the case- and I come out looking good then you probably aren't seeing the whole truth.

Now if you weren't taking good notes,

heres an example of MY perfectly adorable, never disobeying, always only cuddling children