People are intrigued by perfect lives…but changed by messy ones.

A few months ago, we challenged readers to share their scandalous stories as a proclamation of fearLESSness. Many of you shared some pretty bold stories, and it occurred to me that perhaps many of us are living our lives behind the lies we create. I can only imagine that, much like my own scandalous story, the attempt to display a neatly packaged, put together life is – for some of us – a bigger goal than displaying a life that is REAL.

So let me stand on my soap box once again and repeat: People are intrigued by perfect lives…but changed by messy ones.  The idea that our “real” can  impact the lives of others in a way that ushers in change...or understanding...or acceptance...or authenticity is an idea WORTH pursuing.  Do you want your life to intrigue people...or change them?  It's your choice.

This month, we’re launching a social media campaign called #UNMASKED. We’ll be sharing stories about women who have chosen to take their masks off and live openly and authentically before others. We’ll talk about the freedom they experienced, but also the hardships – because there’s a price to pay for freedom, yes?

In a season devoted to costumes, dress ups, and masks…we’ve decided to un-mask. We ask you to think about the masks you put on: the perfect mommy mask, the happy-all-the-time mask, the magical marriage mask, the wonderful wife mask, the well-behaved children mask, the ministry mask, the social media mask. Are you exhausted just reading the list? I am.

I'm also exhausted because I've lived behind the mask.  Back when blogging wasn't yet a "thing" I shared a lot of my parenting journey on a blog called "Adventures of a Supermom."  I blogged from 2007 -2009, and I distinctly remember the turning point in my blog writing.  I was re-reading my entries (as many bloggers do but won't admit) and I thought to myself:  "is what I'm writing even true?"   My own blog posts were filled with stories about the joys of mommyhood, babies who never fussed or had temper tantrums, my never-ending patience and magical mealtime moments.  And as I read these posts I realized it was fabricated.  All of it.  I didn't love every facet of mommyhood.  I operated with negative 4 patience.  My babies fussed.  And threw temper tantrums.  All The Freaking Time.  Mealtime wasn't magical.  It was mayhem.  And I decided that as much as I wanted to convey that I was a good mom -- it was more important for me to convey that I was a STRUGGLING mom.  I started writing about my lonely days.  I wrote about my PMS days.  I wrote about parenting an odd child.  I wrote about ME.  I wrote about the REAL struggles of my life as a stay-at-home mom.  And you know what?  It was liberating.  It was freedom.  It was MUCH easier than pretending that I loved every moment of mommyhood.  Because I didn't.

I wrote to give voice to those suffocated by their masks, and to keep from being suffocated by my own.

So this month our goal is to keep it real -- Real life. Real struggles. Real journeys. Real faith. Real Jesus. And in the end, we hope you’ll be changed, not just intrigued, by the unmasked faces you’ll meet this month.