Here's to an incomparable new year

It's 2018! Time to ring out the old year and ring in the new.

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you may have already seen my big news for this year. I just signed a contract with InterVarsity Press to write a book!

The working title for my book is Mythical Me: Escaping the Trap of Comparison. You see, comparison has been a lifelong struggle for me. Here are the first words of the book's introduction:

"I've lost count of how many years I've struggled with constantly comparing myself with other people. I'm not certain about this—I'd have to do a thorough comparison to be positive—but I'm pretty sure that I've contended with comparison more than any other woman in North America, perhaps the world.

Maybe I could be the winner of a comparison contest. Maybe this is the one way I could win at the comparison game.

Or maybe not."

I've written some about this here on my blog, and I'm thankful to tell you that God has been working with me on this issue, and I think He's given me something new to say on this problem that has plagued me for so long. I'm excited to get it all written down so that I can share it with you, too.

Meanwhile, the struggle continues. I wanted a quick photo to share on social media; it seemed that it would be more fun to share a picture of myself signing the contract rather than just sharing the news about the contract. But here's what happened when I asked my husband to snap a photo with his phone.

First, my hair hid half my face as he tried to get a picture:

Then he tried the other side, but my hair was still falling all over the place:

So I tucked my hair behind my ear, and looked up at the camera, but all he managed to get was this surprised and somewhat pained look. Not what I was hoping for!

And this doesn't even show the ones with my eyes closed; he deleted those immediately.

You know, I have friends who post gorgeous photos of themselves to social media all the time. Why can't I be more like them? Why do I struggle so much to get one decent shot?? UGH!

Oh, dear. Even when I'm writing a book about comparison, that old comparison issue raises its ugly head.

Can you relate?

With God's help, I'm going to beat this monster. I'm on a journey to stop comparison in its tracks, and I surely would like for you to come along.

I've already written an introduction and three chapters of the book. I have seven more chapters to research and write, and my manuscript is due in August. Will you pray for me as I work on this? It would mean so much to me!

And for now, do you have any stories about comparison you'd like to share? Any resources you've found helpful? Or is this not an issue that's ever troubled you? I'd love to hear!