Help Me Help Myself!

As women, we are always looking for role models for that perfect life. People make a KILLING off of this advice. Look at Martha Stewart, The Fly Lady, Oprah, Dave Ramsey, Jenny Craig, Rachel Ray........not that any of these are bad people or bad examples, but you are simply buying into their ideas. And, since ideas are like opinions, no single one is quite right or quite wrong for every single person out there.
I use the advice of most of these people in some aspects of my life. You will often hear me say "Well, Dave says..." to my husband, like he is the neighbor next door. Or "Well Martha makes it like this.........." as if her way to make a lemon ice box pie is the greatest on earth and the only feasible method. The Fly Lady sends me a dozen reminders a day on how to get my sink shiny and thus -- voila -- my life is all clean and tidy.
Although I like the best pieces of advice that these wonderful people dole out, I wonder if you ever miss out on their imperfections. You know Dave Ramsey has to have forgotten to pay something, somewhere along the line -- and Im not talking when he was broke. I mean like one month you simply forget to send in that check. It happens. We make mistakes. We are human. I would be willing to bet, no matter how shiny her sink, there has to be a stray dust bunny somewhere at the Fly Lady's home.
No one is perfect enough to be the ultimate example of how to live life. That person has already left the planet on a human level, yes I mean CHRIST. We will clamour to get the newest book on Oprah's book club or her "favorite things" however, we choose to ignore the one book that has well stood the test of time -- THE BIBLE. Christ is our perfect example. And only he can be held as the end all, be all of the way things should be done.
Now, since you did not read about Christ making a meal in 30 minutes, I think I will have to consult Rachel Ray on that one, however, I can use a boxed rice mix if I want to, whether she likes it or not. She is not in my kitchen, she will never know the difference.
What if I want to make my bathtub shine before I do my sink? Who cares, it is my house I can do it my way. The Fly Lady is not coming after me, and if she is she can bring her vaccum and feather duster to help me clean up my messy house!
Dave Ramsey is not going to crawl through the radio and rip my speakers out just to keep me from putting a new set of tires on a 30-day note. If I do it, it is my choice!

I truly love the inspiration that these wonderful people have had in my life. I am admirers of each and every one of them. However, maybe instead of doing things their way, I should live my own life, make my own rules and go by my own plan. The only person that I feel like I have to follow the top ten rules by is God. If I can stick to his plan, it is going to be okay in the long run. And if tomorrow is driving me crazy, I can always remember "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff!"