freckledy-speckledy eggs... all in one basket, despite what the old adage would suggest {and just a few thoughts on easter}

yep... i did it. despite the advice we've heard over and over about not putting all our eggs in one basket, i did just that. i couldn't help myself. when you recently got a dozen eggs {or eggy-weggs, as we like to call them for the sake of entertaining isaac} from a friend's mother-in-law's hen house, and when easter is the next day and you recently bought a charming little white wire basket from the thrift store to use for storing things on a closet shelf, but the eggs would look better in it than toiletries would... especially for photos... well, then you just have to put them all in one basket.

or on a pretty green platter.

or even in their styrofoam carton.

when they are fresh-from-the-farm eggs in a sundry of colors and look lovely in just about any container, you just have to play. i'm sure it's gotta be some rule somewhere.

how cool is it that my all-natural, not-from-the-"machine", fresh eggs come already colored, so i don't have to do any egg-coloring for easter {not so sure i would have, anyway}. no need for artificial dyes or messy fingers. just display-as-is with these puppies. there was even a green egg. a green egg. what kind of chicken lays a green egg?

in forty-one years, i have never seen a green egg. have you?

i'm not sure if the color green for an egg is a good thing or a bad thing. i'm gonna go with good. i adore that green egg. it couldn't be more festive and spring-y. and it so beautifully complements the peachy brown eggs and the perfectly white and cream-colored eggs in the bunch...

other than the colors of these eggs, what could be better than the carton they were given to me in? i'm guessing it is an old carton recycled for transport and delivery, as these came straight from someone's back yard. but no matter where that carton first came from, i love it. especially for this time of year... for this day, to be more precise.

of course, we could {and should} be glad in every day... not just easter... because every day is one the Lord has made. but it just seemed too perfect to have such an uplifting message appear in such a random place on this day. in fact, i had not even noticed the verse was there until i opened the above photo on my computer. i'm not sure who sells eggs with bible verses in their packaging, but i will keep buying their eggs when i find out. {i'd go look at the cover to see if i hadn't already thrown it away.}

anyway, i had a blast photographing these lovely speckled eggs. they just look fresh and healthy, don't they? knowing they came from a good old-fashioned chicken farm makes them seem even more "good for you"... and something tells me they are.

what a sweet friend to bring them last week as part of her generous housewarming gift {along with a beautiful orchid and photo album} when she came to see our new house for the first time. she had given us eggs once before... back when i was pregnant with isaac. but there were no greenies in that bunch, thereby making this my favorite dozen to date.

so for easter, i thought i'd share them here on my blog, too. well, share them visually, that is. literally? no way! these are my eggs and you'll have to fight me for them! 

i've been on an egg kick lately. i hear so many good things about having two every morning and all the health benefits that come from such a routine. so i'm giving it a try. perfect timing to get these lovelies, if you ask me. {already used one to make that banana bread i wrote about in my last post.}

oh, i do {sc}ramble on.

eggs...

here's a close-up of the lone green egg. is this not the best? i almost don't want to eat it because it's so pretty... and too perfectly dr. seussy to use the way i would a plain old boring white or brown egg.

i don't have any of those fancy little hard-boiled-egg holders. so for my photos, i improvised by using the owl napkin rings that typically reside on my window sill by turning them sideways. they work quite nicely as an egg holder. 

oh, and then there's this bird. one of my favorite votive holders in the house. she comes with a smaller companion bird, who is hiding in an undisclosed location in our house... wherever isaac last decided to perch him. {they get moved around a lot.}

birds are springy and eastery too, right? okay. stop twisting my arm. i'll get some photos of this bird, too...

isn't it sweet? 

okay. let's get serious now. since i'm not one of those people who gets really into the easter festivities—at least not in the easter-egg-hunt and easter-baskets-chock-full-of-candy sense... or in the get-dressed-up-in-frilly-spring-colors-and-go-out-to-brunch sense {not that i don't LOVE brunch}—i thought i'd sort of get down to the faith-based reason i celebrate easter. and by faith-based, i mean it is the crux of my faith. if you are family or a friend or even a long-time reader, you likely know this about me already. but if you're a newer reader, maybe not. my faith in God rests completely on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. without that piece of it, there would be nothing to have faith in. the bible would just be a bunch of stories. and Jesus would just be a man that, real or not, was simply someone who was a good person we may or may not choose to model our lives after... or at least parts of our lives.

but the truth is {i believe it to be} that without Christ's death on the cross and resurrection, i have no hope in this life and no hope of eternal life. so i treasure this holiday when it comes around, because the Christian side of why it's a holiday is the reason Christianity exists altogether. 

i don't like that we sometimes feel we have to celebrate certain things on a particular chosen day to cause us to think about them. i think we should think about these things anyway... all year. but the older i get, the more i realize how important it is to set aside this day to ponder and focus on all that surrounds Jesus' death and resurrection.

over the last several years, this part of my faith has really begun to sink in. i remember within the last several years when it hit me... just how much of a sacrifice was made because that is how much God loves us and wants us to be with Him eternally.

i couldn't go too much into all of that right now without turning this into a very long post. but that wasn't the point of this anyway {though i would gladly love to share what i believe with anyone at any point}.

the part i wanted to bring up was how i have lately been so discouraged in my faith. not so much struggling to have faith that God is who He says He is. not that what i believe has come into question. but more that i've been struggling with discouragement as i watch so many dark and sad things happen all around me in this world, and despite what God's word tells us over and over... "do not be discouraged... take heart," i have lately often felt these words in my spirit... "where are you God?"

i've watched and witnessed many turn away from God or begin to write their own version of Christianity, veering so far from what i believe the bible teaches. yes, we all have different interpretations. but it seems lately like there are blatant attempts to "rewrite" the bible to fit in with our changing world or to adapt to a culture that is moving farther and farther away from God.

i won't go into this much more either, because i could spend hours writing about it. i'd rather rejoice in what i do know... that God is not changing. nor has He ever. nor will He ever. and neither is His word. no matter how much we change or this world changes, He and His word are unchanging. and that has been a comfort to me this easter.

in fact, just a few days ago, i laid down next to isaac during his nap, as he's been sick and wanting me close by. when i laid down, i had such a heavy heart over some of the things i had been seeing and reading online earlier that day. before i fell asleep i just asked God to help me... to answer me in my spirit and heart, and speak to the thoughts in my mind, giving me a peace... to help me know what to think and believe in this day and age. i asked, "what would you have of me now, and how do you want me to process all that i see?"

i hoped i would wake up with a sense of some sort of an answer. but i did not. however, i did not feel disheartened, because i felt a peace that it would come in time. so i carried on about my day, caring for isaac and doing other typical day-in-the-life-of-a-mom things.

it wouldn't be until the next morning that i felt God speak to my heart and mind while my spirit was quiet and waiting for Him to answer.

isaac was still sick, and just as mr. b was getting ready to leave for work, isaac went into our very unorganized office {where i now sit to type} and pulled out a compact disc from a still-unpacked box. he brought it in to mr. b who was putting on his shoes by the front door and said "dada, music. d-d-d." {which is how he says dvd. he does not yet know the difference between cd's and dvd's and thinks they all play music and video}.

mr. b said, "i can't play that for you now, isaac. i have to go to work. give it to mama." so i took it to see what he had picked out... wasn't going to play something that didn't meet my approval first. it was an old cd i have had for several years and have not listened to for almost as many... the fatherless and the widow by sixpence none the richer.

good choice, isaac! you have taste!

here's the thing. i would never have thought to go grab that cd... even if i had thought to put in a cd at all. it's just not something i do on mornings. most mornings, after mr. b leaves for work, isaac and i sit at the kitchen table and eat breakfast while listening to the classical station on the radio. i have not put on a single cd since we've moved here.

but this was a special day. isaac was sick, and i could tell he really wanted to listen to something on the stereo in the living room. actually, i think he thought it was the middle of the night, because one night when he woke up not feeling well a couple months ago, we got him up and had him come in by us in the living room. we were still up {it was a weekend} and we had been listening to music, so we let him join us to listen too, since he wasn't able to go back to sleep. we thought he might get tired again if he was content by being with us, so we held him, danced around with him and tried to help him feel better. since it was still somewhat dark in the house two mornings ago, i think he might have thought this was a repeat middle-of-the-night episode, and once again wanted to be held while soothing music played until he was tired enough to go back to sleep.

so i let him have his way, and i put the cd in. again, though i really love that cd, i never would have thought to grab and play it.

as the songs began to play out, i felt a such a sense of peace... one that, it quickly dawned on me, was the peace i had been seeking. at first i thought it was because i was walking and twirling around the living room ever-so-wispily as isaac cuddled and clung to me the way he does when he is sick. {it was such a precious and tender moment i'll never forget.} but then i realized it was the music itself that was filling me with a peace... much of which was thoughtful, mellow and ethereal.

then the cd came to a song called musings. i won't list all the lyrics, but i'll mention these few, because they are the ones that affected me most... "oh the world is such a big place and You have redeemed it. You have redeemed it. no reason to be afraid. You have redeemed it. You have redeemed us all... help me to remember this world is Yours. You gave Your life to bring the wayward back to You. the wayward back to You." {wow... what a reminder of the message of easter in that last line!}

well, that hit me quite significantly... that this was what was God's answer to my recent discouragement and searching. if you knew the exact questions i had for God the day before {right before isaac's and my nap when i prayed}, those words would mean even more... as much as they mean to me. but i won't share the specifics here. i'll just say that i had been becoming very discouraged about this world we live in, and i questioned how he wanted me to live here and what light to see His world in.

it's not always through digging into our bible that we'll find answers or that God will speak to us. i believe he can use a song or another person... even a sign on the side of the road to speak to us. this day, it was that song, and then another right after it.

the cool part is that right after musings came another song... one which was made up mostly of words that come right out of scripture. and like the first song, it was a big reminder to me of what i should be thinking and doing on this big spinning ball where i don't have all the answers, nor does anyone else, but God's word does. here are all of the words to that song...

trust in the Lord with all your heart

lean not on your own understanding

in all of your ways acknowledge Him

and He will make your paths straight

don't worry about tomorrow

He's got it under control

just trust in the Lord with all your heart

and He will carry you though

once again... wow. simple words straight from proverbs 3:5-6. but so profound when going through times of questioning or feeling disheartened and wondering where God is as you look at the world around or at your own life.

i sat there still... hoping isaac wouldn't cry for me to twirl him some more. i just wanted to sit a while longer and let those words sink in, as i knew so clearly in my heart that those words were God's answer to my quiet prayer a day earlier.

it's not an "easter" song. it doesn't speak of His triumphant victory over death on the cross through resurrection. but it speaks to my heart in a day and age where i wonder how serious people are anymore about God and who He says He is. it seems there are many who want to be saved and want to tap into that power of His resurrection. they want to spend eternity in a "good" place and hope God is real, but don't want to live their days in serious obedience to God's clear instructions for living. and there are many who readily profess their belief that He is  God as the bible claims, but they want to erase other parts of the bible—or ignore them, at best—so as to fit their faith to their lifestyle or this culture we find ourselves now in. i don't exclude myself, as i am just as guilty of this sometimes... it may not be in the struggles or areas of sin that are part of the bigger picture that our culture faces, but it is in my own struggle with sins of selfishness or laziness or bitterness or envy or lying. they may seem small compared to the "big" sins we hear preached {or debated} about. but they are just as prevalent, and i'm just as in need of God's forgiveness because of them. not only that... i need to scan my own life and find hidden sin. my heart is just as wicked as every other person's, so i am equally in need of searching, confessing, admitting and submitting to the truth of God's word instead of ignoring the things i don't want to see there in its pages so that i don't have to deal with those sins in my life and cut them out of it.

when i laid down to sleep the day before, that was the immediate message i sensed God was responding to my prayer with... "examine your own life. I will take care of the rest... the bigger picture. and I will give you a peace about that." then, with those songs the next day, came the peace He promised.

well, i didn't expect this post to turn out so lengthy. but i found i just could not write about this without sharing as much as i did. if anyone did take the time to read it, i hope those song lyrics were an encouragement to you as well.

but if you didn't take the time to read it {'cause... well, it's easter and i wouldn't blame you... you've got places to go, relatives to see, chocolate bunnies to eat *wink*}, then i hope you just skipped down to the end to read my final thoughts.

i'm not typically very vocal about my faith and what i believe on this blog. i try to stick to photography and writing a little about life in relation to those photos. but if i'm going to photograph eggs and birds and talk about spring and easter, i can't not mention the heart of why i celebrate easter and the heart of what's been on my heart these days.

it's not a sermon... by no means. it's not even a devotional or anything like it {i see myself as way under-qualified for that sort of thing!} it's just my heart and my mind and my little lengthy attempt to send a bit of encouragement out into cyberspace this easter... and an excuse to show-and-tell some pretty things like health-happy eggs while i'm at it.

there's nothing left for me to share, except maybe this...

i hope it's a blessed day filled with love and light and a great impression upon your heart about what God has done for us through his son, Jesus.

~love,