Finding Color in the Gray

I didn’t get to know Sue when we went to Bible college together; she took different classes than me to earn a different degree, she lived in a different dorm, and she hung out with different friends. However, I’ve learned a lot about Sue in the last few years that has led me to believe that we have more in common than I realized:

• She has three boys that she loves to pieces, and yet they still make her pull her hair out.
• Her husband (whom I did get to know a little in college) is one of the major truth-tellers in her life; luckily, they love each other a lot.
• She has a weakness for chocolate.
• She likes High School Musical movies and Radio Disney.
• She is a pastor’s wife.
• To follow God, she has made at least one major move, at least once with children in tow.
• She deeply loves God, but often gets hung up on the day-to-day struggles of housecleaning, sour milk in the mini-van, serving snacks every two minutes to her boys, and laundry. (She has a great song that combines her loathing of laundry with her love for HSM.)

In my first post for Color in the Gray, I admitted to staying up until 1:00 am reading mom blogs. The one that had the most effect on me was Sue’s Confessions of a Tired Supergirl. I was laughing out loud, then crying, then laughing again, all within the same five-minute time-span. Reading Sue’s blog did two things for me: first, it helped me realize that whether or not I enjoy my life is up to my perspective, not my circumstance. Am I going to get caught up in the gray-ness of my life, or am I going to celebrate the specks of color that flicker through it, even if just for a moment? Secondly, when I read her “confessions,” I felt more than ever that I am not alone in my day-to-day life as a wife, a mom, a daughter, and a friend.

Sue Foth Aughtmon’s My Bangs Look Good and Other Lies I Tell Myself was recently published, and when I saw the opportunity to be part of her book blog tour, I couldn’t pass it up. Her book is just as refreshing as her blog, flavored with the same frankness, wit, humor, and vulnerability about her own life, all pointing to life-changing truths that we tired supergirls (“tsgs”) often forget.

As I read each chapter title, I frequently thought, “Hmmm…. I think I’m good on this one.” However, the more I read, I came to realize that I had forgotten the truth and succumbed to believing the lie. I think I’m especially vulnerable to lies right now. Here are just a few of the parts that spoke to me:

• With all the craziness, upheaval and unknown of this season, I’ve fallen prey to Lie #7: God Doesn’t Hear Me.
• In another chapter, Sue wrote, “[The Liar] often likes to paint the corners of our souls with fear.” Doh! He got me again!
• Throughout my life, one of my deepest desires has been to fulfill my God-given purpose and make a difference on this earth. However, as I look at my list of tasks and my list of short-comings, I often start believing Lie #6: God Can’t Use Me. I resonate with Sue’s line in the book that says, “Some mornings I feel truly uninspired by who I am.” Then she reminds me of the Apostle Peter and the truth that I need to be ready for God to use me.

Not only is the content right on the money, but the structure of the book is in perfect, bite-sized pieces for busy supergirls. In an average of just five pages per chapter, Sue is able to engage you and then walk you through to the life-changing principle. That’s only about five minutes of reading per chapter! It’s great for reading on your own, but it would even be perfect for a coffee/chat time with fellow tsgs because it has a few simple questions to discuss after reading each chapter.

There’s a lot of truth-telling crammed into those five minutes, and when you put the book down, you’re left with a lot to chew on. You should buy it because it’s fun (I laughed out loud at least once per chapter!) and because it’s inspiring. It’s available now at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

By the way, after you read this book, you should also go back and read All I Need is Jesus and A Good Pair of Jeans. Or better yet, order them both at the same time!

NOTE: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Baker Publishing Group. This has neither positively nor negatively biased my review.