Honestly Hannah

I tried starting this post too many times, but nothing seemed to work, so as I scrape every last molecule out of the peanut butter jar, I will jump right into it:

I'm honestly Hannah.

And honestly, I posed for this picture. But I still love it!

Honesty can evade me as a blogger. It's not like I tell lies, nor do I intentionally avoid the truth of the matter, but sometimes I get very good at pretending. I fool myself into thinking that I can do it all. I believe the lies of Satan that tell me that I must look perfect, and believing lies never leads to good things.

And so today I want to show you me. I invite you into the ways of honesty, not with a list of all the ways I stink, but with a real, silly, deep, and random list of Honestly Hannah facts. For I know no other way to dispel the lies than to stand in the truth, big and small truths alike.

I want to be real to all y'all reading this post. I want to encourage you, make you laugh, and form a community here that makes Jesus smile. But I can't do that without revealing myself, something I've found difficult to do. For I always thought that to say much about myself would waste your time, look selfish, and not benefit anyone, but maybe to show you me means to invite you into a role bigger than reader-of-a-blog. To show you me means to invite you, whoever reads this, into a friendship, an accountability partnership, and an encouraging family-ship in Christ.

This begins with honesty. Honesty is the platform of relationships, and I want to dedicate the rest of this post less to preach-y, long paragraphs that I so love to write and more to the simple truths of Hannah in hopes that you join with me in doing life together. (Although I can't promise no more preach-y paragraphs. I'm being honestly Hannah after all.)


-I am such a list person. Color-coded pens and check marks have always made me smile and oftentimes cry. Really, it's a love/hate relationship, but it must be part of who God made me to be, because I started the list-life before I can remember, jotting down misspelled Christmas list and organizing little childhood games. (Are you surprised that this post formats itself as a list?)

-Hannah Montana was my show as a girl. Maybe the mutual name fascinated me or the innocent glamour, but I loved the early seasons. I even bought a wig and dressed up as Hannah Montana for Halloween! No matter what Miley does, I will always remember her as the girl who would rock the stage and then turn around to say "sweet niblets." But I'm glad that my yearning to be famous just like Miley faded away. The truth is, we can never get the best of both worlds.


-I feel lonely sometimes. This haunts me at times and lingers in the back of my head at other times. Today I felt the stab of loneliness and couldn't stop the tears from flowing down my face. I've never experienced that group of people that I belong with, nor have many of my friendships lasted like I wanted them to. I really want college to change all of this, but fear tells me that I should prepare for the worst. Good thing that Grace Trumps Fear.

-I love cats. It's pretty straightforward, but I really am a cat person. My cat is the best, but of course, your cat is wonderful too (if you have a cat). (See pictures of my wonderful kitties here.)