"You're Beautiful." Part. 1

How often are you seized by God's goodness? Seized by nature? Seized by Godly provision?

 

During Paul's second missionary journey, he writes, "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone LIFE and BREATH and EVERYTHING ELSE. (Acts 17:24-25) To put it simply we are needy, He is not. 

I'm currently writing this blog at my aunt and uncle's dining room table in Las Vegas on a hot Sunday afternoon. I sit here pondering what all has happened over the last week here on vacation. What has seized me?

Continuing in Acts 17 verses 26-27 says, From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boudaries of their lands. God did this so that they would SEEK him and perhaps REACH OUT for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us."

These gifts point to a Giver.

Our God is good, he is creative, and he wants to share himself.

I love my beautiful mitten shaped state of Michigan. The beautiful lake front, the green pastures, colored trees in the fall, the misty foggy mornings, and the snowcovered trees in winter. But what I love about heading westward is the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets over the mountains that leave me speechless, the dry baren but open desert, and the coolness of the mountains. As we headed even more west into CA and onto Huntington Beach for the day I stood in awe of the vast ocean, the magnificent waves, the sea breeze that brings my senses into a paradise uknown to a country girl like me. I was seized by God's magnitude, creativity, and greatness over and over on this trip.

So sorry to have to cut this short, but family time is calling me! I would love to continue sharing my thoughts...which will happen in Part 2. Get Excited. Pictures will be shown.  

Waiting.

Waiting does not come easy to me. In all honesty I'm an instant gratification kinda girl, but I'm working on it.

During my health issues the motto my family and I stood by was, 'One Day at a Time.'
There were times I couldn't ride my horse unless my blood counts were high enough. Hospital visits that didn't take just an hour, but several. Waiting to find out the results of a test. Waiting for a cure. In that chapter of my life waiting was just part of the course and it seemed like that was all I was doing,and it became a part of my life even though I didn't want to welcome it. Thankful for God's grace.

As of lately I have been humbled with the amount of grace God has given me when I follow His leading. I have been reminded that God works in crazy great ways when I least expect it. I am being reminded that I need to WAIT on God and WAIT for Him to show me what He has coming next for me. Oh my word. Sooo hard!!!

Psalm 27

Of David.

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation —
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

² When the wicked advance against me
to devour^[a] me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.
³ Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.

⁴ One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
⁵ For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.

⁶ Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the Lord.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, Lord;
be merciful to me and answer me.
⁸ My heart says of you, “Seek his face! ”
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
God my Savior.
¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will receive me.
¹¹ Teach me your way, Lord;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.
¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
spouting malicious accusations.

¹³ I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.

I love Psalm 27, I love the author's words/lyrics about trust and confidence in God. There are strong words describing the affirmation of God's strength. There are also vivid words on our enemy, Satan. The moment we void our eyes from God, Satan steps in. Satan has a way of planting a seed that God is not trustworthy. In return Satan celebrates when we choose us, rather than God.

We can take shelter in the Church, that is where David finds his rest, his shelter. In this shelter we have Hospitality, the restoration and safety. Celebration, of who God is and what he has done. He is anxious to forgive us and to welcome our confessions. Nourishment, having a Sabbath is so important. Here we can gather as a community and encourage one another. In this Psalm, we see David being drawn here to recieve these blessings.

In conclusion I want to focus on the bolded verses. Psalm 27:13-14. We are who we are because God has helped us this far. It fuels us for the future ahead. He is our LIGHT and our STRONGHOLD. In return we have to wait, to wait for His instructions.

Not an easy thing to do when there is the desire to just be there, to have a glimpse into the future. It is not easy when God has had be step away from something and change directions. I want to know why?! BUT, I have confidence. God has blessed me in so many ways through all the different chapters in my life. I'm excited and I WAIT in anticipation for what will happen next!

Blessings in waiting.

Marissa

No Expectations.

 This past weekend I was blessed to reconnect with someone I have always considered a standard in my life. I drove down to lansing with slight hesitation to meet up with a bunch of Michiganders at the very tasty Pizza House close to the campus of MSU. *Go Spartans.* Little did I realize my hesitation would be fully forgotten as the night flew by, and I found myself on my way home crying tears of awe on how God works.

I met this friend about 5 years ago at my cousin's wedding out in Las Vegas. (Heads up, my aunt and uncle are church planters out there. In case you had any slight thought on Vegas.) After dancing the very last song together at the reception, we continued staying in touch via the classic facebook and phone convos. Went to a wedding with him a couple years ago and enjoyed a bonfire at his family's house in lansing that year as well. I was blessed to have him as a tour guide when I visited Vegas two years ago, as we hiked in the mountains and enjoyed karaoking for hours on end during that visit as well.

After hardly talking at all for 2 years, I was humbled and blessed by a long phone conversation about a month ago as we caught up and discussed the ever challenging book, Radical by David Platt. (If you have not read it, I encourage it.) As well as life lessons and how God is working within our lives.

As for the pizza night, I sit here smiling as a ponder what all happened, between meeting some great people, catching up with a few people I hadn't seen in years and being humbled by the group of brothers and sisters in Christ living their lives in response to God's leading and calling. Sweet.

Driving home, I did in fact cry, I also just praised God through a grateful heart for blessing me with an incredible night. No expectations are a blessing.

Faithful Friends.

I have been reading through the book of Psalm this summer and have been fully blessed by my involvement in the Word. It has also been exciting to study this book with my church family as Ada Bible Church is going through a sermon series on the Psalms.

As of recent I have truly been humbled by the people I have in my life. There have been many a moments in my 24 years where I have looked back and am udderly speechless how God puts certian people in my life during moments I need it. Psalm chapter 1:1 says, Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers..Our friends are important. Who are you associating yourself with?

Life is full of seasons and we need godly friends to travel with us through those seasons.

There are many seasons...a season of calm.
This is a season where life is full of wonderful blessings. When all good gifts are be bestowed upon us by God. But this is also a season when we forget to give thanks for those gifts, it is so easy to put God at the back burner of our lives as it is going so well. Do we have friends that will encourage and remind us to give thanks during those times?

A season of storms. Many of us can remember a time when a storm seemed to cascade into our lives. These are seasons of suffering, questions, and at times filled with emense pain. Are our friends those who will help bring the life back into us? Are they friends who will stay positive and encourage us to choose joy no matter the circumstances?

A season of rebellion. Then there are seasons of rebellion, when we dive head first into choosing sin and enjoying it. One of the sneaky aspects of sin is it's deceptive nature to not even realize you are dwelling in it. It is a blessing when we have friends that partner with God.

I'm not sure what I would name the season I am going through right now. It's a bit of calm, peace, with a mix of excitement and anticipation for what God has planned for me next.

In the last few weeks I have had long distance phone calls from my cousin in FL to a cousin and genuine friend in NV. A cousin and friend who will go cowboy boot shopping and friends who will sit and indulge in tasty food as we listen to each other and talk about life's happenings. My friend Tamare came over last week and we went out riding.

I personally have many favorite places, visiting family in Las Vegas, sitting lake side at the cottage, lounging on the back deck listening to nature and the occasional snort of one of my horses in the background...but I have to say, my favorite place is in my saddle on the back of my sweet mare riding around our neighborhood.

Life is good. God is great.
                                       Here are some pics of our fun  night...

Sweet Sammy

Mya

Blessings.

Forgiveness.

I am humbled as a sinner the way Jesus paid the ultimate price for the our sin. I am even more humbled as He continues to forgive our daily sins, over and over and over. Yet, I'm curious as to why it can be so hard to forgive just one person when they have wronged us? On June 20, 2012 sitting in the backyard of the house I was dog sitting at, I asked God to soften my heart to forgive someone who had hurt me, direspected me, and weighed me down with issues that were not mine. I prayed God would give me grace to forgive. I also prayed that God would forgive them too.

Little did I know, several weeks after that Wednesday, I would recieve a phone call from that person asking me to grant forgiveness to them. To which I replied, with tears in my eyes, that in fact I had and do forgive them. There is blessing and struggle to let go, even if it is easier to wallow in bitterness and speak through anger. God's grace is amazing and I blessed to have been filled with it.

Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:22 ESV)
How hard it is to forgive, yet it really is not that much when I think of all HE has done for me.

Tenth Avenue North- 'Losing'.
"Well truth be told it doesn't matter if their sorry or not
Cause freedom comes when we surrender to the sound
Of Your mercy and Your grace, Father, send Your angels down!"

I want to leave you with the lyrics of Matthew West's new song...

It's the hardest thing to give away
And the last thing on your mind today
It always goes to those that don't deserve

It's the opposite of how you feel
When the pain they caused is just to real
It takes everything you have just to say the word...

Forgiveness
Forgiveness

It flies in the face of all your pride
It moves away the mad inside
It's always anger's own worst enemy
Even when the jury and the judge
Say you gotta right to hold a grudge
It's the whisper in your ear saying 'Set It Free'

Forgiveness, Forgiveness
Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Show me how to love the unlovable
Show me how to reach the unreachable
Help me now to do the impossible

Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Help me now to do the impossible
Forgiveness

It'll clear the bitterness away
It can even set a prisoner free
There is no end to what it's power can do
So, let it go and be amazed
By what you see through eyes of grace
The prisoner that it really frees is you

Forgiveness, Forgiveness
Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Show me how to love the unlovable
Show me how to reach the unreachable
Help me now to do the impossible
Forgiveness

I want to finally set it free
So show me how to see what Your mercy sees
Help me now to give what You gave to me
Forgiveness, Forgiveness

God is good. Be blessed.
Marissa

Putting our thoughts on Heaven

I'm going to start this blog out with a statement from Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love: Lukewarm People think about life on earth much more often than eternity in heaven. Revelations 3 talks about how God does not appreciate "lukewarm" people. In fact he spits them out of his mouth. Francis's chapter entitled "Profile of the Lukewarm" digs into what is a lukewarm person and how do they live their lives. I would love to share all of them with you...but that is where you will have to read the book :) The statement above has been put on my heart as of late and I have been pondering it over the last several days.

For those of you who are following my blog know the health struggles I have been through. (If not, read one of my first posts). I have had countless people come up to me and ask how I can still have the faith I do, with all that I have been through? My answer: Because I have something so amazing to look forward to, Heaven. I have the confidence that when my time here on earth is done, I will be living with my Father in Heaven for eternity. If I look at myself in a "worldly/ present" way, I will see the scars, I will focus on the things I cannot do and once was able too, and I will see the way I struggle with different tasks. The only way I avoid looking at life that way is looking to Heaven and seeing this life as temporary. God has given me the grace to look past what I can't do. He has allowed me to choose joy in the midst of difficult times, and He has given me peace in knowing whatever the future holds, He is there. The thing is I cannot live my life worrying about the future and if there will be more health issues down the road, because that would consume me. If I don't look past what I can't do, I will end up having a pretty disappointing life and frankly would probably become a "Debbie downer." With that said, the life we are living in is temporary! Don't focus on earthly things, but eagerly anticipate the coming of our Savior!

So my question to all of us...why are we living our lives focused on our day to day living? Our schedules, vacations, to do lists, etc. When we should be intent on considering the life to come.

Blessings to you in this New Year, may it be filled with a new perspective on the way we as Christians should live. May you all have the peace in knowing that your Savior will always be there in good and in bad times, and may He give you the ability to choose joy when those bad times may arise.

-Marissa
"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things"- Col. 3.2

Just Walk Across the Room

As a class we spent the past week reading through the book Just Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybels. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the thoughts, the concepts and the challenges it brought.  I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to learn more about sharing their faith and how to go about it. Hybels focuses mainly on leaving your “circle of comfort” and jumping into the “zone of the unknown”-scary, I know- The thing is, is that you don’t know what will happen when the circle of comfort is broken and you walk across the room, what amazing things might take place with the Spirit leading.                                                                                                                                                                                                      I have been blessed to have opportunities to share my testimony and faith to some amazing audiences. What I struggle with is sharing my testimony one on one with someone else. How much do I share? Do I just start at the beginning? How much time do they have to spare? Hybels does a very solid job of explaining the power of a story. What are the characteristics of a “good” story and what are the characteristics of a “bad” one? I am learning to keep my testimony short and sweet, be aware of my audience and what they would get out of it, and leave room for questions. He also touched on the importance of each of our stories, he says, “God made you exactly as you are. He wired you and gave you the temperament and the experience and the background that you have because he wanted someone just like you in this world right now.” Are you going through your day looking for spots in the “zone of the unknown”?                                        

As I was reading, I kept having thoughts on where do I begin, how do I even know where the “zones of the unknown” are, will I know when I have an opportunity? Did I miss some opportunities? As much as I was worrying about these little things, I had an opportunity this past weekend to share my testimony with my small group. I kept it short and sweet, said the important parts and actually did it in about eight minutes. The girls asked questions afterward and I felt I got my main points across. I am excited for times in the future where I hope I can “walk across the room” for someone and make adifference.                                                                                                                                                                                                      

I’m going to leave you with a challenge from Hybels, “I challenge you to take the risk to sideline your own agenda and discover other people’s stories no matter how uncomfortable you get, how awkward the situation becomes, or how heavy the sin is that you’re sorting through them.”                                    

This is my last post for this class, but I plan to continue this blog, it helps me sort through things, gives me accountability and I hope helps you who are reading it. God bless all of you, and thanks for reading it, get excited, God does amazing things!