Happy Easter, my friends!

Through the Cross, we are redeemed and forgiven; Through the Resurrection we are given life and hope; and Through Jesus Christ........we are heirs to eternal life.

How awesome is that?!?!?

Praying that you all enJOY this Easter weekend. So blessed to be celebrating and sharing
the Ultimate Gift of Salvation with you all with this blog. I have been so fortunate to make some really great friendship/relationships over these 18+ months. Many of you have touched my life in ways you can not imagine....and I know it's all because of Him. Yes, I believe that God brought each and everyone of you into my life for a purpose. Maybe it was only one comment that you took the time to leave where you shared what was on your heart.....maybe it was when you shot me a quick email reminding me that you were praying with/for me....or gave me the privilege to pray for you. Perhaps it was when you popped on my FaceBook wall just to say hello or said something silly when I really needed that laugh.

I look forward to the day where we all will meet and dance on the Streets of Gold.....together!


Peace to you all as you surround yourselves with family and loved ones this Easter~

*~Michelle~*

Let every man and woman count himself immortal. Let him catch the revelation of Jesus in his resurrection. Let him say not merely, "Christ is risen," but "I shall rise." - Phillips Brooks

Variety is the Spice of Life

Today I share a typical sample of what we collect each morning from our little feathered friends. As you can see, we get a nice variety. Our Red Stars and RI Reds give us super jumbo brown eggs.....The Polish and Wyandottes produce perfect white eggs......our mixed breed bantams lay medium beige ones. Our Americauna girls will make any Dr. Seuss Fan smile with the gorgeous green eggs they lay.

Eggs play a pretty important role in our lives when you think about it. Most importantly, we, meaning me and you.....started out as an egg.

Eggs are also used in common references such as.....a brainy person is often called an egghead.

If you blurt out something that comes back to bite you in the butt......you have egg on your face.

Dealing with an overly sensitive person? You are walking on eggshells.

You never wanted to come in last in a relay race as a child, or you'd be the rotten egg.

Wanna stir up a great debate? Ask which came first, the chicken or the egg. (*I go with chicken)

OK, back to our eggs.....focus Michelle, focus!

So even though we start out with a carton of various colors, shapes and sizes of eggs here at our house, they all scramble up the same. Although they came from different breeds, when brought together.......they serve the same purpose.

Isn't that true with Christians/Followers of Christ? I am finding out, even more so with the blogging world.....that although we all come from different "breeds" and backgrounds, we all are called for the same purpose. We are called to yield the same fruit/seed.

Another side note.....(I promise to tie it all together) When we went to the concert this past weekend....this concept rang true as well (as did my ears). It reminded me of a mini version of The Soulfest. The line-up was five bands.....all with different styles. Therefore attracting a variety of fans. There were the hardcore youth who came to see the insanely energetic Family Force 5, who were responsible for my blown-out kneecaps and ringing ears.....then David Crowder brought in a more mellow crowd. But I can assure you that in reference to DC*B, "mellow" can only describe the mesmerizing, almost hypnotic level of worship with his amazing performance.....and bringing the house down for a grand finale was the southern rock style of Third Day who brought everyone to their feet to dance and sing.

Again.....completely different styles of worship, but all with the same purpose. To glorify God, encourage others to put their faith and hope in the Only One who brings Life......to bring everyone from all walks of life and different denominations together with a common purpose.

I guess today, what I trying to say......is that I am blown away when I visit my fellow Believer's blogs and find that common thread that is woven within us and keeps us all connected. Although we all come from different denominations and maybe have slightly different interpretation of The Bible....... we believe in the same concept, Jesus Christ is The Way, The Truth.....He is Life.

I enjoy and appreciate all the variety of friends I have made through the blogging world. Some have been born and raised in Christian homes and have stayed tried and true on their path to salvation. Some of us......including me.....were not always living as we should, and only by the grace of God were saved and have found The Way. I have befriended some great encouragers who always offer such hope. Then I visit others who are so inspiring, they are born leaders......they take a stand on an issue that is dear to their heart and set out to accomplish their goals. I visit certain blogs where I know I will get my toes stepped on......but in a healthy convicting way. I have a special place in my heart for the bloggers who just keep it real and raw with their transparency. And of course I always enjoy my fun loving friends who insert just the right amount of humor to fill my daily needed dose of laughter.

So today......I want to thank you all for just being who you are. You all bring so much to my life, and I am so thankful to have "met" each and every one of you. I am thankful that God has a plan for each and everyone of us. Christy Rose passed an award onto me about adding sunshine to her day (I cannot get the image to work!!!).......so now, I am passing along this award to every person who has brightened my life and added SONshine in any way. So if you are reading this now, you've left a kind word my way or I've visited your place and done the same...... considered yourself "tagged" with my own farmgirl version of the award, let's call it the "Good Egg" award. (**yes, this is my cheeseball and corny side)

And lastly......I thank you all again for the outpouring of prayers and emails that still have been coming my way.....so keeping it consistently corny and cheeseball til the end....I'll leave you with this quote from Bernard Meltzer.

"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg
even though he knows that you are slightly cracked."

xox
*~Michelle~*

Blogversary Giveaway!!!!!!

I cannot believe that it has been one year (officially tomorrow) since I stuck my crooked toes into the world of blogging. What started out as just my own personal therapy session, turned into a path of meeting so many wonderful people who have blessed me in more ways than you can ever imagine. I am able to share all my hopes and dreams.......admit my shortcomings and failures........celebrate my highs, be comforted in my lows.

This blog has led me to meet such awesome people who have taught me so much as well. To celebrate Jesus with an amazing circle of Believers blows me away. I thank you for inviting me into your world, opening your hearts and encouraging me to be the best I can be for Christ.

So with that my friends.......I want to celebrate and have a little giveaway of some of my favorite things. All you need to do is leave a comment (and contact information if needed). If you want to be a subscriber/following friend and/or give a little shout out on your own blog/twitter about the giveaway.....feel free to give yourself another comment/chance. But my heart is into "giving back" a little something for all your love and support that I have been blessed with since starting this journey, rather than getting more readers (although the more the merrier!).

I hope that visiting my blog is a blessing to you as much as it is to me. My hope is that I can help one person through a trial or help someone know that they are not alone in what they might be struggling with. I want to help one person see our extra-ordinary God in their ordinary events of life.

To know that God is good......all.the.time.
.....that is reason alone to celebrate!

So that, my friends is what this blog is all about. If I can make you laugh while I laugh at myself......that is a little bonus.

If you are new to my little corner of randomness.....feel free and make yourself comfy after leaving your entry comment and poke around the past year of my life. I had about 2 or 3 readers (and that was including Josh) when I had some profound learning experiences where God taught me alot about patience, worrying, guilt, gossip and the importance of being prepared to serve Him. You can see why I am fascinated with butterflies and how I see myself through them. I can be found babbling about seeing God in everything from mama chickens to a single blossom. And to keep it completely all real.....how a great pair of jeans can change your life.

OK, so now onto the prizes......

One blessed (remember, I don't believe in luck) winner will get the latest Third Day CD....well, it's been out for a while, but it totally ROCKS and I just have to share!

Another winner will find a couple of bars of this yummy handmade soap in their mailbox.....I cannot be held responsible for any future addictions this might provoke.

And lastly.....a very dear friend of mine, Danielle makes beautiful jewelry. She has generously offered to bless one winner with this gorgeous pendent.


She describes this beauty as "this gorgeous green Moss Agate teardrop pendant is looped with copper wire and hung from an adjustable caramel leather cord. At it's largest, it is 28 inches and at it's tightest is 14 inches"

Please stop by her site, Doodles Jewels and check out the awesome creations she designs. Maybe you can treat yourself to a little gift or perhaps find something for someone special.
She is even cool enough to offer all my friends FREE shipping through Saturday with this code "freeship50"

And with that, I am wrapping things up.....I will keep the giveaway open until this weekend and pick three winners! Thank you all again for the amazing friendships you have all blessed me with...thanks for sharing all the amazing things that God is doing in your life.


Have a beautiful day!

Peace and love~
*~Michelle~*

Need Help/Advice

OK, so I am turning the tables and asking for you guys to jot down some of your thoughts and possible some good advice on how to address a certain situation I found myself in.

Now one thing I will tell you is that when I am writing, I take full advantage of back spacing, spell check and the luxury of editing.

As we know.....this isn't the case with conversations.

I sometimes have a hard time articulating what is going on in my head and getting it delivered out of my mouth without it sounding like that Charlie Brown teacher or worse.....coming out completely wrong and either dumbing myself down or sending the wrong message.

For example.......the theory that we all evolved randomly from the same amoeba is one of my "hot issues" that gets me riled up. I have this great DVD called From a Frog to a Prince where creation scientists explain so clearly how the evolution theory cannot simply hold true. They show how the air chamber of a bird could never have been "evolved" from a reptile's air chamber, even with the teeny changes over time as they propose, without the creature going extinct due to them having completely different air flow mechanisms/directions. Or something like that. You see.....I'm not too good at explaining it, but I know what I know and I believe what I believe.

So here is the situation.

I have a friend who is a wonderful person.....she believes in God, in the sense that He exists and acknowledges that Jesus also is real.......but she also believes that there are other ways for people to get to Heaven such as Buddhism, for example. We have a great relationship where we respect each other's beliefs......I don't go over to her house throwing my Bible down her throat and she doesn't wrestle me to the ground to a lotus position to meditate. We're cool like that.

anyway......I was at her house the other day with a group of people. I think we got on the subject of God as a spin off of camping as I was talking about our Soulfest experiences. So a bunch of us were kinda chit chatting and I was saying how awesome it is that we can spread the Good News in so many different ways with events, organizations, media, etc.

So this friend waited for a pause and then pitched this question to me......in a kind, but with a teeny bit of confrontation, sort of way:

"So I have to ask you this....If you believe that the only way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ......what about all the people, say in Africa who do not even know about Him? Are they not worthy of being accepted into The Kingdom due to their ignorance? Or what about all the people who sacrifice everything and serve others all their life but are Buddhist, they won't be allowed?.....I can't fathom your God closing the doors on them. That is the problem I have with your Christian belief"

So at first I am a little taken back as it kinda came out of no-where. Thankfully this one guy, who is studying ministry stuff at his church, had all hard core answers that even referenced specific dates/events such as who was ruling the Mesopotamia region in 817 AD and how that affected Christianity as we "know" it today. But I had a feeling it was starting to sound like those famous Apologetics that came to my church that lost me in the first five minutes. I think what she was searching for was just an straight forward clear cut answer.

So she cut him off and turned to me....."Michelle, what do you think?"

gulp.

I was trying to think of the lyrics to Third Day's Creed as an ice breaker opening statement, but all I heard was cricket sounds in my head.

So, taking all my theological background Children's Bible stories, this is all I could come up with.

"Well I believe what I believe, and I choose to live my life using the Bible as The Word, The Truth.....and I know what the Bible tells me. It tells me that the only way to the Kingdom is through Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ only."

At this point I am wishing I had one of those fancy iPhones with Internet access so I could jump on BibleGateway and rattle off a few Scriptures.......but alas.....no such luck.

So I just blurted this out......

"I know there is Scripture to back this up, but the Bible speaks about how good works is not the way to Heaven...."

She cut me off.

"But what about those oppressed people in Africa then...what about them? What if no missionary reaches them and teaches them about Jesus? Then what? So they go to Hell?" Now, she was getting a little emotional (in a good way)

I didn't have an answer at the time......I just simply said...

"look, Cindy (not her real name)....all I can say is this. I care about you alot. I try to love everyone (for the most part....keepin' it real!). And I believe it is my job, as a Believer, to share what I believe and bring others to Christ. OK, think of it as an awesome piece of Death By Chocolate dessert. It is so delicious and because there is an endless supply you just want to share it with everyone you love.

(Hopefully God can forgive me for comparing Him to a dessert, nevermind with the word "death" in it)

So I just went on to say "I don't claim to know all the answers, I am just doing the best I can and trying to live the life that Jesus wants me to. I am sure God has a "back up plan" for those who do not know Hiim.....I would imagine that if they do not know Him, then how can they deny Him?"

I had no clue on what to say....so I decided to wrap it up and fake that I had a text message from Josh (even though I don't even use texting) and needed to blast outta there.

My closing statement was this:

"So, this is what I believe....and I have nothing to lose and all to gain by living my life for Jesus and these principles. If I am wrong,.....I lose nothing. I still am living a life full of blessings and filled with joy and love in my heart. But I just want to say.....what if you are wrong? What then?"

So it got me to thinking.......I would really like to have another one-on-one with her and have some more insight on what she wants to know. I would love to have just the right thing to share so that it might prompt her to consider searching more in the Bible for answers, rather than her spiritual self help books or inner preparation guides to peace.

So I'd love to ask a favor of my friends.....can you take a few minutes and share some of your input on this? And if you have Scripture that supports what is on your heart, please include that.

I'd love to show her in the Bible, in a loving, not thumping-her-on-the-head kinda way. ;)

Thanks in advance~
*~Michelle~*

ps: my comment section is now up top with this new layout, btw :)