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Hey everyone, I am sorry this poor blog has been neglected so badly lately.  Other than the occasional What I Wore Wednesday, this blog has not had a real update in months, and a true heart post in almost a year!  Well, all of that is changing with this post.  I am hoping to do a series of posts of things God has been teaching me over this past year, ever since Kenya.  Some of them He began to teach me while in Kenya, and others are much more recent.  I have truly been missing this though, writing is a source of release for me, and while writing in my diary definitely helps me sort through the things I experience and feel, writing on the blog about different things helps me sort through them in a different way.  I have missed this special sorting I get when I am forced to try to write out my thoughts in a coherent piece for my readers to be able to understand.  Often in the process, I find I understand it better myself, whereas in my diary, I just release everything at once without trying to make it coherent and in an orderly way.  It just comes out naturally.  Both ways are so helpful, but I have been a little lopsided in missing the blog side.  :)

I want to start this post with an honest statement, I went to bed crying last night.  Yeah, my life isn't just full of fun and laughter and smiles.  Oh yes, if you know me, you know that I absolutely LOVE to smile, but sometimes, especially in this past year, I need to cry.  Ever since I have been little, I have viewed tears as a sign of weakness and fought them off at all costs, but ever since Kenya, I can't always hold them back.  I am slowly learning, that they aren't a sign of weakness, they are God's gift and can be such a welcome relief from all of the stress and emotions of life.  Sometimes it is just necessary to let go and cry.  I am still not good at this, if I was, I would not have been crying a months worth of tears I have been swallowing until last night when I finally couldn't hold them in any longer.  I am so glad I finally let them out though because all of the emotion I had been bottling up inside of me was getting unhealthy, to the point that I almost couldn't function through anything without being on the verge of tears.  You know what I'm talking about, when there is this undercurrent of restlessness and sadness inside of you that colors everything you do in a not good way.  I had reached this point.  My emotions were so strong and coming to the surface at anything, both happy and sad, that I wasn't even sure any longer what the root of them was, until I cried.

While crying, I found I was crying for home.  The only thing is, I no longer know where home is.  They say home is where the heart is, which really is true, but how do you know where home is when your heart is scattered over the whole world?  I still desperately love my home here in the U.S., but even while I am here, my heart cries for Kenya and the Philippines.  Kenya especially.  Oh, how I miss Kenya and I can't wait to be able to return!  It is so confusing though, because when I was in the Philippines this summer I found myself missing Kenya and America.  Now that I am back in America I find myself missing Kenya and the Philippines, and I know that if I were to be in Kenya I would probably be missing America and the Philippines.  How is it possible to have home in so many places all at once? 

In many ways, it makes me smile when I realize this even as I want to cry yet again for the waves of homesickness that wash over me, because, you see, this summer the book of the Bible that God led me to and that I just can't get enough of is 1 Peter.  I LOVE 1 Peter, in the first few verses Peter calls us something that makes me want to smile, "God's elect, strangers in the world."  Strangers in the world, truly, that is what we all are, isn't it?  While we always hear of how heaven is our home and how we don't belong to this world, it can be so easy to forget sometimes when we get settled in and find "home" here.  Now, I am beginning to realize more and more just how much heaven truly is home and I really am just passing through this earth, just a stranger here on my way to home.  I long for home in a whole new way than ever before, because finally when I do get to go home, to heaven, all of these places I love here that I consider pieces of home that are scattered so far apart will finally all be pieced together.  It's not necessarily the places that I love as so much the people in them.  I miss my Mama Lucy and sister Shiela and all of the children in Kenya.  I miss little Elaine, Judith and Mary Grace and all of the kids I met in the Philippines.  When I am overseas I miss my family and friends here in the states.  Yet, in heaven, there will be no more missing, no more tears missing the people on the other side of the world!  Instead, we will all be together in one place, finally and forever home.  I truly long for the day I can go home.

Blessings,
Mikala (a.k.a. Michelle)

Coral and Lace Edition WIWW

Hey everyone!
Sorry for the long silence, I've been out of the country in the Philippines and just got back Sunday!  I can't wait to share with you the wonderful things that God did while I was there, but until then, here is a What I Wore Wednesday post.  Like always I am linking up with the Pleated Poppy.

Shirt: Kohls
Tank: Kohls?
Shorts: Kohls
Shoes: Rue 21
Watch: Rue 21

I have gotten bangs since the last post too!  Hopefully now that I am back in the states for awhile I will be able to be more steady in blogging.  Also, I have some exciting book reviews coming soon! 

Have a blessed day,
Mikala (Michelle)

Sunshine Day.... WIWW

Hey everyone, sorry for the long silence!  Life has been so crazy getting ready for my next missions trip, this time to the Philippines.  I actually took the pictures for this weeks "What I Wore Wednesday" almost a month ago!  I hope you enjoy them though!  Once again, I am linking up with the Pleated Poppy.  :)

This is one of my work outfits and has quickly become a favorite.  :)

Dress: Maurices
Jacket: Hand-me-down from sisters
Shoes:  Kenya!!!!
Ring:  My Jeremiah 29:11 ring from Family Christian
Watch: Rue 21
Necklace: Rue 21
Belt: came with dress

I hope you all are having a blessed week, hopefully I'll start doing better with updating!
Blessings,
Michelle

WIWW- Coral Edition

Hey Everyone,

Sorry What I Wore Wednesday has kind of disappeared the past few weeks!  It has been really busy and my usual photographers (aka my family) have been too busy to take my picture when I get home from work and then it is off to church for choir.  So yeah, it has kind of slipped by.  This week I decided to go ahead and take the pictures myself using a mirror, so sorry their not the best!  :)

I decided to kind of mix things up on WIWW and add little bits of what happened during the week too, kind of like an Awkward and Awesome post, sound good?

Awkward:
-It has snowed every day since Easter!  I mean, seriously, has the weather not gotten the memo that it is SPRING!

Awesome:
-Looking at the calendar and knowing I will be at the airport to go to the Philippines in only two months, Yay!
-Downloading free books to the Kindle app on my computer.
-Finally getting inspiration to begin illustrating the story I posted on this blog about a year ago.
-Finding the sheet music for this arrangement of Be Thou My Vision and playing it over and over and over!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y3qoN_KWiU
-My awesome coworkers I get to work with every day, they are all so amazing!

Shirt: Rue21
Tank: Vanity
Blazer: Kohls
Skinny Jeans: Kohls
Boots: Maurices
Necklace: Dustees
Bracelet: Dustees

Have a blessed week!
Michelle

Out with the People.... Part 9

After lunch on Thursday we once again went out into the valley to do the Bring the Light project again!   As with the previous days we gathered a large following of children wherever we went.  It was so much fun to be walking along and suddenly feel a tiny little hand slip into yours and look down into this sweet, smiling little face. 

Kenyan children are some of the most beautiful children!

A picture from the drive to the valley.

Some of the sweet children, I just loved them, but truly, how can you not?

One of the men on the roof of one of the shanties putting in a plastic skylight for the bring the light project I mentioned before.

Walking in the valley.

Speed was a huge Arsenal fan and loved seeing all of the Arsenal stuff.

Sweet children.

The crowd of children we always managed to collect.

We were there towards the end of the rainy season so for a few days we had some gentle rain.

Blessings,
Michelle

The Life of Jesus... Kenya Part 8

After the assembly in the school yard, we went inside for our last day of VBS with the kids.
This day was Thursday and we taught them about the life of Jesus.  In story time, Speed (Josh) began with the virgin birth, then told of His miracles, ending with his death and resurrection.  In crafts we had the kids make mobiles of the life of Jesus so that they could use them to tell others about Jesus!  When we visited homes later in the week, several of us saw the mobiles hanging up in some of the homes!

Showing their crafts to us

Working studiously on their crafts.

Cute little girls being silly

The Bible verse the kids learned throughout the week

Every day we all enjoyed listening to the kids sing with Jake, Aubrey and Zach.

A few of us also got to meet kids with the same names as ourselves!

Me with one of the sweet Michelle's I met. :-)

Bryan with two other Brians

Whether we met someone with the same name as us or not, we all made some great friends!

Speed with the kids

Aubrey with some of the kids.

Dad with Daniel, one of the social workers he became good friends with.

Blessings,
Michelle