In the spirit of authenticity…

I had a post written about being authentic/cutting the crap that is spiritual pleasantries and a whole host of other stuff I may get to at a later date. (Because, really, it’s a struggle…especially for Christians. Christian women are the worst. See Vine below for my thoughts on that matter.)

Women’s Bible study voice requirement. I love women’s ministry but this makes me die a little inside. https://t.co/0P681yoCBL
— Sarah Brooks (@sarahbrooks13) June 10, 2013

[Note: It’s not that Christian women aren’t authentic, because many, many are. It’s just when the voice comes out... I’m skeptical.]

But let’s skip the dramatic reading and go to a fun exercise in authenticity everyone should do:

Make a list of things you’re good at and a list of things you’re terrible at.

I met a girl who had a running note on her phone that she’d update with this information and it’s genius. And hilarious.

Half of our struggle with being authentic is our unwillingness to admit any form of weakness.

And, heaven forbid we post the outtakes of life on any form of social media.

A picture of a new mom shoving a foot-long hoagie into her face while everyone else in the room admires the newest familial addition just isn’t as widely accepted as a new mom staring lovingly into the eyes of her squishy new baby, regardless of which photo most accurately described the scene.

So in the spirit of transparency, here are my lists*:

Things I’m good at:

• Efficiency
• Making people laugh when they’re sad
• Comebacks
• Seeing lonely people
• Following up
• Speaking my mind
• Memorizing locations and finding things in the dark
• Making boring things fun (i.e. meetings)
• Tweeting
• Texting and typing at lightning speed
• Copying other people’s crafty ideas
• Having the best “the first time I met you” stories
• “Dash” computer games (Diner Dash, Wedding Dash…any/all time management games)
• Making salsa
• Picking nail polish colors
• Costuming
• Being comfortable around people different than myself (race, religion, age, culture, etc.)
• Crossing my eyes
• Imitating voices
• Befriending teenagers
• MacGuyvering toys out of nothing in public
• Eating

• Exercising
• Saving documents
• Filtering
• Volleyball (/all sports involving coordination)
• Noticing haircuts
• Observing the speed limit
• Putting outfits together
• Judging how much time it takes to get somewhere
• Sketching things (dimensions especially)
• Fake sleeping
• Flipping pancakes
• Parenting without Google
• Finding the exact paint chip on a wall of choices
• Throwing gum out the car window
• Keeping nail polish on longer than 2 days
• Judging the amount of spaghetti to cook
• Adding things quickly
• Remembering birth control pills
• Understanding what my husband does for a living
• Thinking through a tattoo choice
• Cooking bacon without being scalded
• Hot gluing 
• Dressing appropriately for weather  
• Knowing lyrics
• Parking next to curbs
• Eating the snacks I packed for Beckett

There it is. An updated version of “Sometimes I’m awesome, sometimes I’m not.”

I’d like to hear what you’re awesome at, as well as your unfortunate traits. Go forth and make your lists.

Maybe one day I’ll share my husband’s lists, too. His include some funny stuff such as “layering cheese in microwave nachos” and “facial recognition”. I’ll let you imagine which goes on which list. (I hope you don’t die of anticipation waiting for the answer.)