This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us---whatever we ask---we know that we have what we asked of him. 1st John 5:14-15

Prayer

This summer I have grown to love prayers. I will admit, at one time it was so hard for me to pray. Some prayers are so long that sometimes I will forget that we are praying. Its awful, I know but it happens. I'm sure if you are honest with yourself, you'll admit that you have done it too.

Sometimes praying is so hard because we do not see the direct answer to our prayer or we don't see the answer that we are expecting. We can't always get what we want. (thats a good song. :D) And that leads me to the verse that is above. If we are approaching God with confidence, anything that we ask for that is according to his will, its ours. ANYTHING! Thats amazing! The hard part is getting aligned with the according to his will part.

I have been reading a book called "The Christian Atheist" by Craig Groeschel. That is where a lot of this blog is drawing from. I'm just regurgetating some of his ideas, so if you've read his book or intend on reading it, this will sound familiar.

Recently I've started praying that I pray with the right motives and that I pray about the things that are aligned with God's will. I don't want my prayers to be long and showy, I just want to talk to my creator. I want to spill my everything with him and I desire to come to him and receive a clean heart. So many times, though, I approach the throne thinking that my heart isn't clean enough. So, I turn away until I think I can get it clean enough to go before the throne. I must think highly of myself if I believe that I can clean my heart better then God can! We use this excuse often, maybe not exactly the way I describe, and we end up just waiting longer and longer because we think we need to fix ourselves and be good when we approach the throne of grace... "hello!! The throne of GRACE! We don't have to be perfect when we give everything up! Jesus came and gave his life for YOU, only he can make your heart clean. Stop trying, you can't do it." I have to remind myself of this so often.

I really recommend ready "The Christian Atheist" by Craig Groeschel. It's a real eye opener. I have realized that sometimes I live my life like a Christian Atheist. I'm striving to not live that way, but its hard not to fall backwards sometimes. One thing I've learned about prayer from this book though, was drawn straight from God himself,

The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Psalm 34:15

I want my prayers to be powerful and effective, therefore I must become righteous and I must have faith. God responds to our faith. I want childlike faith. That is prayer.

-in Christ,
~ML

Walk By Faith, Even When You Cannot See

A women's heart should be so lost in God that a man needs to seek Him in order to find her.

How true is this?! I desire to be like this so much. But how do I even begin to make this my life. I was thinking this morning about how I would need to balance things. But, I don't think that would be the solution. The true solution would be letting go of my heart, wrecklessly abandoning everything that I hold so tightly to, for example relationships, past sins, grudges and the list can go on... those are me specific. Now, when I say wrecklessly abandoning those things, I mean giving them to God in such a way that there is no way that I would even desire, even just a little bit, to take them back. Let go of things that I am holding onto so I can live the life that I have been given today. But where do I start?
I find comfort in these words and want to truly live them.

8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. 9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.-Romans 8:8-9

I know that this isn't simple but I know that it is do-able. Sometimes, God may present me with something that seems like it is too much for me to handle and it may be but the great thing is that he is ALWAYS there beside me. All I have to do is turn to him. That is the biggest part, when in trouble or down or up or ANYTHING look to Christ for guidance.

15Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.16Be joyful always; 17pray continually;18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.-1 Thessalonians 5:15-18

My prayer for this week is this,

14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out[a] the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.-Philippians 2:14-16

Its truly amazing how far from all of this we can get when we get so wrapped up in this world. But we are commanded to live in and not of it. This summer, I have really started to live a life that God can boast about. I want him to be proud of everything that I do and the decisions that I make. I want to do everything for him, consulting him no matter what the circumstance may be. I do not always do the best at this job, but I'm trying! I don't want to forget what it feels like to have God be in control, it helps me to remember what its like without him in control and its NOT pretty!
I pray that someone out there can get something from this. This summer I am praying that I can learn to walk by faith, even when I cannot see. I'll leave you with a song:

Somewhere in the Middle
-Casting Crowns

Somewhere between the hot and the cold
Somewhere between the new and the old
Somewhere between who I am and who I used to be
Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me

Somewhere between the wrong and the right
Somewhere between the darkness and the light
Somewhere between who I was and who You're making me
Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

Fearless warriors in a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle. With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is, But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle Are we caught in the middle

Somewhere between my heart and my hands
Somewhere between my faith and my plans
Somewhere between the safety of the boat and the crashing waves

Somewhere between a whisper and a roar
Somewhere between the altar and the door
Somewhere between contented peace and always wanting more
Somewhere in the middle You'll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

Lord, I feel You in this place and I know You're by my side
Loving me even on these nights when I'm caught in the middle

Love you all,
-In Christ,
~Marisa

What a Life We Live!

It is June. June. What? It's June?!

I have to keep telling myself that. I cannot believe that 2010 is getting closer and closer to being halfway over. Unbelieveable.

This has been one of the most challenging years to date. I feel like I may say that every year for the rest of my life. God is teaching me new things all the time. I was in church on Sunday and this rang clear. Am I living this?

Matthew 5:13-16

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

If I have lost my saltiness, then what good am I? So, my prayer this week is that I am not forgetting the reason that I was placed on this earth. I am the light of the world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. Who am I to think that God cannot overcome my most trying circumstances? He can and he already has! I just keep forgetting because I am human and I am so very flawed. I am SO thankful that Jesus came to wash away all that I have royally messed up! I cannot imagine a world without mercy, forgiveness, love and grace! No grace?! Its a scary thought!

The Lord is conquering so many demons around me. One thing that I struggle with on a daily basis is judgment. While I do not wish to be judged by anyone because no one knows the struggles that I deal with, whether it be my weight, my relationship decisions, my financial situation, my school decisions, in the same way people do not need me to judge them on the very things that I pray so desperately that people do not judge me for! I do not know why it has been a struggle for me, but its a demon I fight every day. Some days are better than others and the Lord is teaching me. Time, it takes time.

Forgiving myself for past mistakes is also something that I struggle with. Sometimes I just can't understand why such a great God would even start to forgive all of the wrong that I have done against him! I am so undeserving! That is the point, though! Even though I do not deserve the love and mercy that I receive on a daily basis, I still get it! I don't have to understand it, it isn't going to change the fact that my God still loves me, everyday. Thank you, Lord! Help me to remember that, always.

The summer has begin and its going to be fraught with a whole new set of challenges. Adjust to friendships that at one point I thought God had led out of my life. Prayer works. I never stopped praying that if those people were meant to make an impact in my life, meant to stay there for a long, what was best for my faith, that the Lord would use them to teach me. There have been struggles but we are fighting through them. Every relationship struggles. Every relationship is flawed, that is the beauty of it all. We have to work at it. We love. We forgive. We're thankful.

This is my prayer:

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers. Psalm 1:3

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far!

-ML

Holy, what?! Its the End of April!?

Here we stand, April 16! What happened to march and most of april for that matter. Tomorrow is the Regina Spring formal and I have an awesome date! I'm really excited that I decided to take Spence. He will make sure that I have fun. There are only TWO WEEKS of classes left. TWO WEEKS! And to make things better, I HAVE NO FINALS!!!! Eeek! I have one take home, but that in my mind doesn't even count! Then its SUMMER!! Josh will be back in Searcy, Brian will be living with his parents and Allison will be living with me! This could not get any better! But just when I think that, it will! :D So excited about being in Searcy this summer! Woot!!!!!

It seems that I don't have anything else to say. ha! Hope everyone is great! Leave me a comment, cause I love you!

-in Christ,
~Marisa

In 2 weeks, I'll be Colorado Bound!

Now all thats left of me is what I pretend to be, So together, but so broken up inside

Where did time go?

I know that no one really reads this, but its helpful for me to keep writing. I feel so out of sorts lately. Things, on the surface, seem to be okay. But when I stop and just think about all that is going on, I fall apart. Not to say that I am not happy but... I'm emotional.

I feel like everything has caved in around me as far as busy goes. I am constantly doing something. Maybe I feel so busy because I'm "growing up" but I need sleep! I'm starting to recognize the importance of a good night's rest and its becoming more of a priority which means I neglect some people cause I can't stay up all the time. :/

I'm trying to get better about handling a relationship. *sigh* There are time when I really struggle with it and times that I'm okay. hmmm

When I started this blog I had a lot to say... now its all skipped town. So... hope everyone is doing well. I'll write again later if I remember what I wanted to say. yep

-in Christ,

~Marisa

My Pride and Prejudice

From the first moment i met you, your arrogance and conceit, your selfish disdain for the feelings of others, made me realize that you were the last man in the world I could ever be prevailed upon to marry... Forgive me, madam, for taking up so much of your time

Its been almost two weeks since I have posted anything and let me tell you, its been a crazy couple of weeks. I feel like my life is in overdrive right now with so much going on! Spring Sing is always happening, School is something that I want to succeed at now so I work very hard to maintain good grades. I currently have a 97% in Biology which makes me very VERY happy with myself, not gonna lie. It is exactly the kind of class that I would usually struggle with.

I'm currently reading two books, Pride and Prejudice and The Search for Significance. I love not having a ton of reading to for classes so that I can be reading books that I want to read. I have never read either of these books and I'm enjoying both of them very much. From what I have read so far, I recommend The Search for Significance! I have it if anyone desires to read it, which you should. I think that everyone should read it. And I've only just began to read it, so that is saying a lot.

There is a nice little winter storm on its way. I wonder if this means that I may get to sleep in, in the morning. I could not be so lucky. It sure would be nice to just sit at home tomorrow and read a book and not get out in the cold weather. But I'm almost willing to bet that I will be getting out tomorrow, for Harding University does not particularly care what the weather is doing. We'll see when I wake up in the morning, I guess.

If anyone has any prayer requests feel free to post them. I love knowing specific things that I need to pray for. I hope that this update finds everyone well, or relatively well at the very least.

If you are reading this from Northwest Arkansas, please be safe with the upcoming weather. I have a bet going that nothing will happen up there and I hope for your sake nothing does. Its safer that way! If you are reading this from Searcy, keep dreaming. The weather will not likely affect us in the way you desire. If you are reading this from anywhere else, have a safe weekend, regardless of the weather may be like. I love you all!

-in Christ,
~Marisa Lynn

Three Day Weekend Here I Come!

Lay down my pride My desires my demise Ready now to see it your way 'cause I'm done I'm through ignoring you now it's true I'm kneeling at the cross of your grace Lay down my pride

So, its been a mad few days. I feel like I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I started my third to the last semester on Monday, which is increasingly exciting! I am taking 12 hours this semester, 8 next fall then in the Spring I will be student teaching! HOLY COW! I just can't believe it! Let me tell you!

We start Spring Sing practice yesterday. For those of you who don't know what this is, its kind of like a musical but not. haha! There is a lot of story telling while you sing and "dance". Ha! There are six shows that each tell their own story. Between those six shows the Ensemble performs some pretty rock awesome songs. I'm really excited to see what having four male hosts this year will be like. They should be amazing!

The show that I am in with my Social Club, Regina and our Brother Club, Chi Sigs, is called Kids and Kicks Soccer. We are going to be a bunch of little kids playing soccer against each other. There will be everything from the kids on the field, Soccer Moms to Refs, a coach and Bench kids! I am lucky enough to be a Bench Kid and I am SOOOO excited! This year is going to be fun!

What else is going on... Let's see. For those of you who do not know I am the President of Regina this semester which is an amazing honor! I'm hoping that this semester goes smoothly. If everything goes according to plan I will be moving into my apartment in May. I can NOT wait. I will likely be living by myself, but that way if I have a girls night we can have fun without bothering anyone. :) Its the best for everyone. :D

Anything else you want to know?! :) Love you all!
-in Christ,
~Marisa Lynn