Welcome to The Filter Free Mom.  I’m stepping out in faith to build a filter free community where we are real with one another.  Where we let down the walls and laugh in the face of stigmas.  A community where we are honest about our struggles.

Today, so many moms and women find themselves spending precious time on Facebook, Pinterest and other sources of social media. In many cases, these platforms have become necessary tools for everyday life in the fast-moving trend to schedule and plan our lives online.   I believe these sites can be used for good but I also feel they’ve made us afraid to be real and honest with the people we connect with there.  We would rather share a snapshot taken in the cleanest corner of our living room, than invite a friend into our less than perfect, non-Pinterest homes.  This fear doesn’t just live online, but also carries over into our everyday and the way we live in relationship with other women.

I think in many ways, social media has created a mom culture that can be isolating and overly scripted, extending beyond the internet. Things we see online can leave us feeling inadequate and wanting more.  Honestly, motherhood is hard enough without the added pressure of Instagram filters and cropped Facebook photos.

My mission is to encourage moms to be REAL.  Stop trying to measure up to other moms on your friend list and instead set yourself free by sharing honestly about life.  Tell your story, with all it’s messiness and all it’s redemption.  Even if you are still working through it, talk about the struggles instead of sugar-coating everything and presenting the other moms around you with an image of a picture-perfect life.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

“But he said to me, ” My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

And in Psalm 107:2

“Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story– those he redeemed from the hand of the foe.” Psalm 107:2

I believe our stories are bridges that can connect us to one another, helping us to realize we actually have more in common than not.  When we show one another our true authentic selves, discussing the things that are hard and raw and real, the things we’re walking through now or the ways in which God helped us through the storm; we give one another a true gift of connection and community.  When we trust that God has a purpose for our lives, even in the messiness of it all and when we move forward in the grace that has been offered for us, we can boldly take our pain and use it for good.  When we share our unfiltered stories, we not only set ourselves free, but we also set free the women around us, letting them know that they are not alone.

So won’t you join me? I’m ready to put the filters away and be set free.

Who’s in?

In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. 

Psalm 118:5-6

 

Check out The Filter Free Mom podcast for relevant, Christ-centered encouragement;
helping you navigate through the storms of life because YOU ARE NOT ALONE.