Keeping Up With The Jones’

Have you ever heard of a game called “Meet the Jones’”?  As a kid, my sisters and I learned this game while on the evangelistic field.  The point of the game was to bring in an unsuspecting individual and introduce them to this quirky family called the Jones’. 

The setup required two chairs separated by a space between them and a blanket thrown over them.  I would sit in one chair while my sister sat in the other.  This would cause the blanket to be tightened, and it would appear that there was a seat available between us. 

My sister and I would act all goofy as my mom would bring in the unsuspecting “victim”.  She would introduce us as the Jones’, and we would continue conversing with the individual and eventually encourage them to take a seat between us.  Once they sat down, we would stand up, resulting in their immediate descent to the floor.  We would all have a good laugh.  Don’t worry; we never did it to anyone frail.

Needless to say, you would never leave the Stone home without being introduced to the Jones’ at some point.  I can guarantee you that there are many preachers out there who have preached for my family and who probably remember us and our shenanigans. 

Recently, I was speaking with someone, and they asked me how I began my journey into cooking.  As I began telling my story, I came to my journey into keto.  I explained that when I started keto, it made me very sick.  Not the “keto flu” sick that everyone says they have, but sick due to the introduction of so much fat.  I can remember feeling so stressed while on it, thinking that I was never going to be able to do it.

That’s when I pointed out that I decided to do it my way.

It got my wheels turning.  The whole time I tried doing keto, I was doing it the way someone else was doing it.  I thought it was the only way to be done.  I mean, all of the places I researched and social media sites I followed said it had to be done in a specific way.  Yet, the moment I began trying it for myself, on my own terms, I started seeing results and feeling more encouraged that I was going to be able to do it.

THIS conversation caused me to realize how much all of us try so hard to do things the way other people do it.  See, we get so drawn in to the things we see on social media that we begin to feel we need to do all of the things.  Then, when we aren’t able to keep up with what we see in someone else’s life, we get discouraged and either give up or become depressed.

I’m here to tell you that YOU ARE ENOUGH! 

You don’t have to do all of the things you see or hear.  You only need to do what you can do.  This doesn’t give you an excuse to be lazy.  This gives you the excuse to do the best that YOU can do.

I get embarrassed at times when my husband invites people over for the first time.  I love my home, but it is still in the process of being remodeled.  It’s been in this process for the last eight years.  I still have “junk” (they hate for me to call it that because it has a purpose) under my carport, missing trim, a mailbox that’s falling over (I’m just waiting for the postal service to cite me), miscellaneous stuff in the yard, and the list goes on and on.  However, I am doing my best to come to terms with the fact that this is my life.  I’m doing it the best that I can.  I’m not going into debt trying to live it.

The same can be said about our little family.  I am not the perfect wife and mother.  There are times I get really frustrated with my husband and kids.  Still… I am human.  I do the best I can.  I am not someone else.  I am who God created me to be, and I will do my best to be what He desires.

Let’s talk about that sensitive subject of diet…

We try diet after diet, wanting to look skinnier.  When one diet doesn’t work the way it did for someone else, we move on to another one.  We are constantly looking to be better than what we are.  Don’t get me wrong; I think your health is very important.  However, when you work on your diet, it shouldn’t be for your image; it should be for your overall health.  I think this is where we get confused.  We believe we have to be skinny to be happy.  The opposite is true.  You need to be healthy to be happy, and being skinny isn’t always the answer.

I don’t want to live my life trying to keep up with the Jones’.  I think in doing so I will end up, just as in the game, on the floor depressed and wondering what the point was.

Don’t measure your life and how you live it by how others “appear” to live.  Live your life the way God wants you to live it.

You can do this by giving complete control of your life to God.  

Living life doesn’t have to be hard.  Slow down and focus on what is important to you and your family.  You determine how you will run your family.  You decide what is best to feed your family.  You decide how to spend your money.  None of this is decided by someone on social media.

Look, when you stop and let God do what He does best, He will guide you in every situation.  Prayer is key here.  There is nothing wrong with researching things that will benefit your family, but don’t try to emulate what someone else is doing.  The season I am in in my life took me a long time to get here.  I didn’t decide to do what I do overnight.

If I did, I would be a phenomenon. 

I’m praying for you!  Everyone who reads this blog, whether I know you or not, I AM PRAYING FOR YOU. 

You don’t have to keep up with the Jones’.

YOU ARE ENOUGH!