"It's NOT always like THIS!"

Yes....it is! Our family is ALWAYS like this! Just accept it. Accept it for what it is. Embrace it, even. I'm always thinking that if all things were as they "should" be, our home would be like a Martha Stewart showcase of decor, cleanliness, order, serenity, and beauty. But as the constant stream of guests come through our home, I find myself always saying to them, "It's not always like this, but........"

• "There's not usually laundry on the formal dining room table, but our washer went out and now we're doing two weeks worth at once"
•  "It's not always this crazy, but we've had overnight guests for a week and my kids are just now getting back to their rooms and getting them in order."
•  "We don't always grab fast food for dinner , but an old family friend stopped by just as I was headed out the door to the grocery store so we spent the afternoon together instead.
• "There aren't usually boxes all over the living room, but I'm going through  my mom's belongings and sorting through pictures to preserve family memories.
• "Our furniture isn't usually all displaced around the house, but we moved it to make room the games at our little one's birthday party, or when playing games with the college students.

It's always something. I'm always excusing our family, or our home, or our lives, for not being as I think ( or maybe society, or tv, or my perfectionistic mind thinks) it "should be" in order to say I'm a good  wife, or housekeeper, or mom, or employee. And I've always been frustrated because no matter what, even if I thought I had things perfect, there are so many different versions of what that means. Then recently I think I finally GOT IT!  Our friend Jon, who had stayed with us all last summer in KZ and saw us at our worst and our best, had recently made the trip to Nashville to visit us. He was with us one day when I was "apologizing" to a guest for our crazy family constantly changing it's plans. I said, "I'm sorry it's not usually like this...." and Jon said, "YES IT IS! BUT I LOVE IT!" I realized then that it's WHO WE ARE! and it's OK! It makes us who we are as the Outlaws. And you can love it, embrace, or let it drive you crazy. But as long as we keep pressing on and making the most of the life God has given us....I won't apologize.  Thank You LORD, for this crazy family who is "always LIKE THIS!"