A Gift for Mom! 🤍

Hey Overwhelmed Mom, Your Life Doesn’t Have to be Pinterest Perfect

4 Minute Read

By Shelby Skiles

Hey Overwhelmed Mom, Your Life Doesn't Have to be Pinterest Perfect www.herviewfromhome.com — YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV/Shutterstock.com

I love Pinterest.

Pinterest is a magical place where DIY projects, recipes, advice, and life hacks are just a click away.So many unique and helpful ideas come from Pinterest for every type of person.

There are countless amazing things about Pinterest—but I’ve found one negative: if you aren’t careful, Pinterest can make you really discontent with your life. You can easily start comparing everything about your life to the many pins you’ve saved.

Suddenly, you’re a bad mom because you don’t have craft day every week with paper plates, colored rice, or paint. You feel like other moms are judging you because your kids go to school without animal-shaped sandwiches and smiley face fruit in a Bento Box. If your kiddos are at home, you feel like they are so behind because you don’t have a week dedicated to the letter “B” and you don’t have a color coded enrichment schedule for them.

Then you can start to see your house as bland and plain without farmhouse decor or neat DIY space-saving storage. You quickly become so disenchanted with your home because you don’t have the perfect outdoor entertaining space or your bedroom doesn’t have a homemade tufted pallet headboard. Nothing looks right, everything looks dingy because it doesn’t look like your “Dream Home” board.

Next your marriage takes a hit. You are suddenly a failure as a wife because you don’t have a weekly cleaning schedule, homemade cleaning products, or an iron-clad evening routine. And cooking? Forget about feeling like a good cook if you don’t have a chalkboard meal plan full of homemade, organic ingredients that your children eat with no complaints. You’re obviously a terrible wife if essential oils and hand-lettered signs aren’t in every single room of your home.

Even your wedding now seems less than; your centerpieces were definitely not vintage enough and there were absolutely not enough mason jars. Why were there no mason jars?!

Also, as a friend, you definitely feel like you’re terrible. I mean when was the last time you threw a fully themed dinner party for your friends or made them a super cute care package just because? They probably secretly hate you because you don’t do any of the things they have on THEIR Pinterest boards.

Don’t forget Jesus. Oh man, Jesus is also definitely disappointed that your quiet time is not Pinterest perfect every single day. You are supposed to sit on a padded window seat in the sun with hot coffee and the dog curled up at your feet. Then you should proceed to pray for 15 minutes, do a Bible Study or devotional for 30 minutes, write from you monthly Scripture plan, and finally, pray again. If your quiet time doesn’t look like this, you feel like you shouldn’t even bother. (By the way, I feel like I should interject here that this is SO NOT TRUE.)

Do you see what I’m getting at?

Pinterest is a great thing, really, so many useful ideas and things you just don’t have time to create yourself ready right there to click on. I am not saying we should all swear off Pinterest; we just need to be careful about how much time we spend comparing our lives to the picture perfect pins we scroll through. Can you get some inspiration, or “Pinspiration” from the many, many, boards? Absolutely! Just don’t let yourself ever feel less than because your life doesn’t look like what others choose to post on a website.

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

comparison Pinterest

Shelby Skiles

Shelby Skiles is a wife, teacher, and mom to her two-year-old angel, Sophie. Sophie passed away in January 2018 from Lymphoma. Shelby chronicled Sophie’s entire battle through her blog Sophie The Brave and hopes that transparently sharing her journey through, motherhood, cancer, and now grief will inspire others to look passed their circumstances and see that God is bigger than all of it. She’s deeply committed to honoring Sophie’s memory by sharing her story and I spring others to ‘Do More’ and make a difference.

No One Plans to Wear the “Scarlet Letter” of Divorce

In: Living, Marriage

Divorce often feels like the scarlet letter no one talks about. Some in our generation may call it “trendy”—particularly as women have become more independent and empowered—but whether it’s socially acceptable or not, it is still a label no woman enters marriage expecting to wear. Women are often self-sacrificing—sometimes to a fault. We give and give until our souls feel nearly drained. And in marriages marked by abuse, substance abuse, infidelity, inconsistency, or dishonesty, we still convince ourselves that if we just give a little more, love a little harder, try a little longer, something will change. Divorce is not...

Keep Reading

Hannah Harper Is Every Mom with Babies in Her Arms and a Dream In Her Heart

In: Living, Motherhood

Hannah Harper American Idol winner sings with her young son on her lap

By now, you’ve probably seen the posts flooding your feed: A young mom. Three little boys. A guitar strap embroidered with her children’s drawings. And a crown. When Hannah Harper won American Idol this week, moms everywhere erupted. And honestly? Same. There is something collective about watching a stay-at-home mom win on such a large stage. The celebrations have been pouring in. Moms, we can do it. She didn’t abandon her dreams. She went for it. And all of that is true, and all of that is worth celebrating. But I want to add something to the celebration. Not to...

Keep Reading

To Those Who Dreamed of Something Different on Mother’s Day

In: Living

Mother’s Day is one of the hardest days of the year for me. The truth is, I always wanted to be a mom. I’m not a mother. Not in the traditional sense. And while I usually stay quiet on days like this, today I want to speak for the ones who carry this ache quietly…without cards, without flowers, without answers. In college, I was the girl with pillows under her shirt, daydreaming about baby names and planning a future I never got to hold. I once bought a house and made a nursery for children who never came. I remember...

Keep Reading

In Your 30s the Stakes Feel Higher

In: Living

I’m in the years where I’m not old, but I’m no longer young. Some women my age are just announcing their first pregnancies, while others like me are navigating pre-teen and teenage years. The 30s hold a different kind of tension. The days move faster now. Not because little feet are toddling through the house, but because the calendar is always full. Afternoons are spent running kids to practices, sitting in parking lots, and juggling dinner between drop-offs and pick-ups. The conversations are deeper. The questions are bigger. The stakes feel higher. This season isn’t about sticky fingers and sleepless...

Keep Reading

Sometimes You Just Need a Day Off—Give Yourself Permission To Take One

In: Living

I didn’t need a sick day. I needed a well day—and I didn’t realize how much until I finally took one. We’ve labeled our time off into neat, acceptable categories. Sick days are for fevers and doctor appointments. Personal days are reserved for emergencies and obligations. But what about the in-between days? When there’s no real diagnosable health issue and no major event or appointment that needs attendance. The days when there’s nothing technically wrong, but everything feels off. A day when you’re barely hanging on, but still showing up. That’s where the well day comes in. On behalf of...

Keep Reading

I’m Learning To Feel Like I Belong In a Room Because I Want Her To Know She Always Does

In: Living, Motherhood

It took me 39 years to like myself. I mean really, honestly look in the mirror and say, “You go, girl.” I understand the concept of progress, not perfection, but the idea of always working on myself became a tiring and unrelenting objective. Here I was shrinking that waist, smoothing my skin, studying hard, working way too late, and often burning the candle at both ends to yield results that were still less than the ideal. It’s all well and good to be a doer who sets reasonable and sometimes unreasonable goals, but throughout my teens and into my early...

Keep Reading

8 Truths for the Graduate Still Figuring It Out

In: Living

Teen girl sitting on grass looking at fountain

Dear Graduate, I know you’re feeling it all right now. Anticipation, trepidation, and then other times, you don’t know what to feel at all. I know because I once felt the same. I graduated from high school several years ago, and here’s what I want you to know: It’s okay if you don’t have it all figured out. Sounds cliché, but it’s true. Whether you plan to attend college, take a gap year, get a job, or you don’t know yet what you want to do, it’s okay. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. It’s so easy to fall into the...

Keep Reading

It’s Never Too Late To Start Again

In: Living

From a young age, I knew what I wanted my future career to look like. I pursued a path in healthcare, determined to use my gift for compassion to help others. I loved it. Being a small part of someone’s life during vulnerable moments made me feel like I was truly living out God’s calling on my life. Until I had children of my own. The work I did was exhausting—physically, mentally, and emotionally. What I didn’t anticipate was how that exhaustion would grow once I had children waiting for me at the end of each day. I was giving...

Keep Reading

From a Mom Failed By the Medical System: Your Experience Matters

In: Living

I was pregnant with my first baby in 2023, and my pregnancy was “picture perfect,” or so I was told. I went to all of my appointments, and every time I was reassured that everything looked great. My weight gain was “normal,” my baby was measuring appropriately, and his heartbeat was strong. My blood pressure was always a little elevated, but no one seemed concerned. Everything was fine…until it wasn’t. Looking back, I knew deep down something wasn’t right when I gained 10 pounds between my May and June appointments. I brushed it off, blaming a recent trip to Texas...

Keep Reading

Maybe that “Mean Mom” Is Just Busy

In: Friendship

Ever since Ashley Tisdale wrote about leaving her toxic mom group, I have noticed something shift among women my age, moms in our 40s who built friendships through school drop-offs, soccer sidelines, neighborhood walks, and birthday parties. Here is the thing….no one wants to be labeled the “mean girls mom group.” Recently, I was out to dinner with a friend when she shared something that stuck with me. A woman had quietly left their local moms’ group and later treated them as if they were exclusionary. The final straw? She had sent a group text at dinnertime and no one...

Keep Reading

Dear Struggling Mama, It Gets Better

Living

Dear Struggling Mama, It Gets Better

Dear Husband, We Fight For Our Marriage Every Day—Because This is Our Forever

Marriage

Hey Overwhelmed Mom, Your Life Doesn’t Have to be Pinterest Perfect

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Shelby Skiles

No One Plans to Wear the “Scarlet Letter” of Divorce

Hannah Harper Is Every Mom with Babies in Her Arms and a Dream In Her Heart

To Those Who Dreamed of Something Different on Mother’s Day

In Your 30s the Stakes Feel Higher

Sometimes You Just Need a Day Off—Give Yourself Permission To Take One

I’m Learning To Feel Like I Belong In a Room Because I Want Her To Know She Always Does

8 Truths for the Graduate Still Figuring It Out

It’s Never Too Late To Start Again

From a Mom Failed By the Medical System: Your Experience Matters

Maybe that “Mean Mom” Is Just Busy

Get It Now

So God Made a Mother

Hey Overwhelmed Mom, Your Life Doesn’t Have to be Pinterest Perfect

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

No One Plans to Wear the “Scarlet Letter” of Divorce

Hannah Harper Is Every Mom with Babies in Her Arms and a Dream In Her Heart

To Those Who Dreamed of Something Different on Mother’s Day

In Your 30s the Stakes Feel Higher

Sometimes You Just Need a Day Off—Give Yourself Permission To Take One

I’m Learning To Feel Like I Belong In a Room Because I Want Her To Know She Always Does

8 Truths for the Graduate Still Figuring It Out

It’s Never Too Late To Start Again

From a Mom Failed By the Medical System: Your Experience Matters

Maybe that “Mean Mom” Is Just Busy

Previous Post

Next Post

You May Also Like