It's that time of year

Hello, friends!

As cliche as they are, I absolutely love end-of-the-year blog posts, If you share this love, you're in luck! Here we go...

2009

Two-thousand nine was wonderful and horrible. I suppose most years are. Between school health issues, and plenty of relationship issues, this year has worn me out. I have definitely cried enough to fill a pond (hopefully one filled with fish!). But I have learned so much this year. I can't even begin to tell you the things the Lord has done in my little life over the past few months. He's taught me so much. He has convicted me of so many things: not fun, but I'm so very thankful that He does. I've even seen Him work in a place like my school. He has told me to do things, and I have felt the joy of obedience and the regret of disobedience. He has given me a deeper love for Him. Oh my. It's so much more than what I know how to say (is that a song?). This year I actually did things. Small things, but things I believed in.

2009: A year of change, growth, difficulty, and joy.

2010

I will wake up on Friday, and I will still have guillain barre. I will still be in school, and I will still have strained relationships. Two-thousand ten will bring new trials and fresh tears. That being said, the new year will also hold laughter and joy. I cannot wait to find out what the Lord has planned. I'm not really a resolution type person (nor am I a crazy, psycho non-resolution type person), but I do have a few goals. I want to memorize the New Testament, run a half-marathon, not buy a single article of clothing for myself, and read 40 books (I know that doesn't seem like very many, but I am an insanely slow reader).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Much Love,

Marissa

"We all steal looks when we can, driving by the accident, but we never stop..."

A few weeks ago I overheard two girls talking. This is a normal occurrence, of course, but the topic of conversation is what made me stop and listen. They were talking about another girl. Actually, I don't think "talking" is the correct term. It was more like verbally abusing. They literally dissected every aspect of her physical appearance to find flaws. What happened to verses like Proverbs 31:30: "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised"?

But before I judge these girls, I need to look at myself. As I sat there listening to these girls talk about someone who is their equal as if she were a chunk of dirt, I realized something.

I realized that not a single ounce of my soul cared.

It's hard to care. When I care about people like the victim in this situation, my heart convulses with anger and pain when someone bullies him or her. It's easier to ignore all problems and go on my happy way, focusing on my problems, my friends, my classes, my wants, my life, and my goals. It hurts to be selfless and sensitive. So I became desensitized. I became a bystander.

What happened to verses like Proverbs 31:8: "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves"? What happened to me?

I found an easier way. I found a way that was much less important but much less lonely. I closed my eyes and covered my ears and listened to my selfish, greedy, unloving heart. If I close my eyes to this, how much more will I close my eyes to? Where does it end? Physical abuse, slavery, poverty? At what injustice will I finally open my eyes? I'll tell you. At this injustice. At this injustice I will take off the blindfold and take my hands off my ears.

I confessed, repented, found mercy, then wrote this:

Today I walked past a girl being beaten.

She didn't even know it.

She was defenseless

And I didn't defend her.

I closed my eyes and pretended not to see it.

Today I heard a story of a boy

Dying of AIDS.

I covered my ears and walked away.

But that doesn't solve anything; it just makes me part of the problem.

Today I talked to a girl who's hurting.

I offered no words of encouragement.

Today I walked past a thousand people who are perishing for their sins

and told not one of them

about the hope I have within.

Today I was selfish.

Today I told the world that Jesus hates them.

I'm supposed to represent Him, but I walk right past Him everyday

And keep Him tucked away in quiet times and church camp.

Today I made a mistake

but His mercies will new tomorrow.

Tomorrow I will speak up, stand up, and hurt with the hurting.

Father, open my eyes and break my heart.

I want to serve You with a pure life and dirty hands.

Father, forgive me.

Give me Your love and passion.

I'm on a Topical Island

Hello, friends!

I know you just love the title of this post, right? haha.

Topic #1: Movies

I'm really not a movie person at all. They get so old after a while, and I usually lose interest halfway through. I kind of like TV shows because you can drag them out for years. Anyway, anytime the topic of movies has come up lately, I've heard people mention The Blind Side. My family saw it on Thanksgiving. I have to say, I don't think I've ever seen a movie that was as terrible as The Blind Side. A) The acting was atrocious; the only somewhat likable character was Michael. B) The language was way overdone. I'm not a fan of cussing in general, but particularly not when it's obvious that it's only in a movie to be edgy or whatever. It would have been slightly understandable to put some language in the ghetto scenes, but there really wasn't any in those scenes. C) It was rather scandalous; Sandra and Tim were all over each other, and they're not even married in real life. D) The political and racial aspect was overemphasized. We get that you're white Republicans. We understand. You don't have to bring it up every two seconds.

The actual story is pretty neat, but the movie was a waste of time and money.

I will tell you what a good movie is: Larger Than Life in 3D. It was a concert that featured Dave Matthews Band, Ben Harper and Relentless 7, and Gogol Bordello. My sister and I went yesterday, and it was excellent. We were the only people in the theatre, so we were free to talk, which we did quite often. Haha. It was the first movie we've ever seen in 3D, so that was an exciting experience. Gogol Bordello was insane, and I'm pretty sure only half of their stuff was in English. Ben Harper was kind of lame, but I liked the drummer. DMB was wonderful. I've always thought they were really lame, but my opinion has since been changed. There was another band after the credits. I can't remember their name, but they were good. I'd tell you to go see it, but I'm not sure that it's still showing.

Topic #2: Exams

I love exams. I drew a picture in Paintbrush that says "I heart exams." True story. Haha. It's so fun to study independently and then just go to school for an hour and be done. Plus they're fun to talk about. I took my last one today, so I am o-fficially on break. I'm pretty excited.

Topic #3: Marathons

I ran a marathon a few weeks ago. Actually, that was a complete lie. I walked a 5k. Not as exciting but still very fun. My goal is to run a half-marathon next year. White kid much? Haha.

Topic #4: Illnesses

I've been sick for the past two weeks. I had a cold or something last week, and I woke up the other day and couldn't breathe as I normally do. I kinda freaked out, so I told my mom and went to the doctor and it turns out I have pneumonia. Thankfully it's not bad at all, and I'm already breathing better.

Topic #5: Facebook

I deactivated my Facebook the other day. Feels good.

Haha.

Topic #6: Tumblr

I have to say, I really do not like Tumblr. I like one or two profiles on there, but I don't think it can be considered a "blog." Most of the so-called blogs on there are just a series of emo pictures, quotations from movies, and updates on what the person is doing. In a "Which is actually a blog site-Blogspot vs. Tumblr" debate, Blogspot would win.

Topic #7: Knitting

I really want to learn how to knit. I found some slightly-helpful videos on Videojug, so that's a start I suppose. I will say, I rock at casting on. Haha. If you have any tips and such, they would be greatly appreciated.

Well, that's all for now. Get ready; the next post will be a bit intense.

Much Love,

Marissa

Stuff AllTheLameKidsAtSchool Like

The following is a summary of roughly 98% of my school's population. Enjoy, because I sure don't.

#1: Being Rich

Most parents either own businesses or have really fancy jobs, and they are not at all sad about their wealth. They enjoy glazing right over verses such as Matthew 19:24 and Proverbs 11:4.

#2: Showing Off Their Richness

Whether it's using iPhones, wearing Uggs, sporting Coach purses, or inviting you to their ginormous houses, they thoroughly enjoy letting you know that they are, in fact, rich.

#3: Disliking Obama for Stupid Reasons

I can't tell you the number of times I have heard someone say "I hate Obama. I mean, he's not even black. He's half-white." Big deal. If you're going to dislike him, dislike him because of his policies and actions, not his skin color.

#4: Being Unnaturally Pretty

They love songs like "More Beautiful You" by Johnny Diaz. They love makeup and shopping . They are so darn pretty, and they know it. Sometimes I would very much like to give them a bad haircut or something.

#5: Not Getting Angry About Anything

They are so stinking happy. They don't get angry about anything meaningful.

#6: Being Moody

While they are abnormally happy, their world can end in a matter of minutes if you do something that offends them or one of their beloved friends.

#7: Drama

They say they hate drama, but don't be fooled. They love it. If they hated it as much as they say they do, they wouldn't start it.

#8: Having terrible taste in music

Mainstream radio. 'Nuff said.

#9: The c-word, the s-word, and the f-word

Yes, I am well aware that they are not "real cuss words"; they're "replacements." They are still rather annoying. Find some new words, kids.

#10: Living by Titus 1:16

"They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny Him." I could write a whole book on this one. A few weeks ago, a lady spoke in chapel. She then told everyone who wanted to stand for Christ to take off their shoes and stand at the front of the sanctuary with her. I watched some of the meanest, most perverted, unChristlike people take off their $500 shoes and stand with her. I couldn't bring myself to go down. If those people are representing Jesus, I sincerely hope I am not.

#11: Being better than me

They are prettier, smarter, more talented, cooler, and funnier than I am, and their goal in life is to make sure I never forget that.

#12: Making sure you know they aren't racist

Any time they say the word "black," they feel the need to punctuate their sentence with "but I'm not racist!"

#13: Taking A Lot Of Pictures Of Themselves

They have those "Me!!" albums on Facebook with about a bajillion pictures of themselves in a variety of dumb poses. Oh the narcissism.

#14: Kids

They love kids. They love babysitting and taking pictures of kids and making sure everyone knows they "served" at VBS.

#15: Making Out in the Parking Lot

It's one of their favorite hobbies actually. They just stand there and make some purple.

#16: Disrespecting Authority

My grandmother was innocently driving through the parking lot when this stupid girl nearly gave her the finger. And that's mild compared to some of the things I've heard them say about their parents and the faculty.

#17: Thinking They're Poor

I once heard two girls complaining about how poor they are. They go to an expensive school. They have nice cars and huge houses. When they were discussing their misfortune, they were holding their iPhones and wearing $30 shorts. I kid you not.

Eavesdropping

Hello, friends!

So...one of my favorite things about school, church, band competitions, and being in public in general is the opportunity I have to eavesdrop. Here are some of the things I've overheard lately:

-"It won best 4-wheeler of the year 4 years in a row."

-"My pants may fall down."

-"I would have caught the chicken with my mouth."

-"Nice left foot!" (The guy next to me at a soccer game yelled this the entire time).

-"Please take me back! You're the only girl for me. Let's go through this again. Please take me back." (Pretty sure he was being serious).

-"Grandma would love it!"

"I might have suffered from a severe case of amnesia, but I know that I'm white."

-"I want to go home, fill my bathtub with 3 to 4 inches of water, and just flop around in it." (I liked his usage of the verb "flop").

-"You're going to have to be good for a few more days..." (A mother told this to her kid. haha.)

-"Old age is fun!"

-"She started dancing...dancing!!"

-"I've got a dentist appointment coming up."

-"Don't forget you real friends."

-Mother: "You have to wear underwear."

Child: "Why?"

Haha.

Much Love,

Marissa

Happy Anniversary!

Hello! A year ago today I started this blog. So happy anniversary, little blog. Here's to another year of blogging.

Much Love,

Marissa

Random post...

Hello Friends!

As you may have noticed, my page looks completely different. And I changed my name. And yes, I do realize that virtually 94% of all blog titles have the word "musing" in them, but you can't always be original. I'm not entirely certain why I'm writing this. Mostly I'm just avoiding all the stuff I should be doing. I'm working on a few blog posts that I plan to post this weekend. Well, I suppose that is all. Thanks for reading.

Much Love,

Marissa

Just a smathering of things, to use my grandmother's word. :)

Hello friends!

I should be reading The Odyssey right now for my Latin class, but blogging is way more fun. Actually, pretty much anything would be more fun. The Odyssey makes A Tale of Two Cities look like a children's book. It's well-written, of course, just hard to understand. I'm pretty sure I'll be rockin' the Spark Notes in the near future.

Anyway, school is stressful as always and overwhelming at times, but God is definitely working. Slowly, it seems, but surely. He's answering prayers, which has to be one of the coolest/weirdest things in the world. I didn't really start praying consistently until this past summer. It can be frustrating because I usually don't know how to word things and such, but 1) I think it gets easier with time and 2) there's not a "if you have an expansive vocabulary and the ability to perfectly construct sentences" clause when the Bible tells us to pray. Man, I am definitely learning to believe in the power of prayer, but we must use it wisely. I read a book this past summer called Jim and Casper Go to Church. These two guys-one an atheist and a Christian- visited several churches and told what they thought. It was fairly insightful but also fairly lame. Anyway, at one point, the atheist says this: "People are being killed needlessly in every corner of the world, kids are starving, and people are praying for their pastor to meet a rockstar? That's ludicrous." I think I agree with him.

I've been sick all week with the flu or something, so I've pretty much been sitting around watching TV. I saw the greatest craft shows. I'm so inspired. haha. I want to decorate a pumpkin or something to do with Fall. It's so cold! I'm getting pretty excited about the holidays, although my guillain barre is not supposed to be healed until January, so I probably won't be able to eat any of the yummy food. Oh yeah, I think I forgot to tell you all, but after going to approximately a bajillion doctors for my previously-mentioned swallowing issue, my neurologist diagnosed me with guillain barre. Fun stuff.

Go to the Invisible Children website and sign the petition. You can also write letters and send e-mails, which I am in the process of doing. You can get all the info on Invisible Children and the petition at www.invisiblechildren.com.

Well, Homer, laundry, and cheesecake are calling my name, so I must say farewell. Have a splendid week!

Much Love,

Marissa

"Christ is not a fashion, fleeting away..."

I don't really want to write this, to be honest. My last post was on the negative side and God has definitely changed my thoughts toward those people (the people, not the actions) and I don't want this to be a blog that leaves you feeling down, but there are things I need to say and I don't have to have all the answers and tie the post up with a nice little dramatic line that's meant to be a challenge. I can just be honest. I feel like I have two opposing opinions on the topic I am discussing today, but I hope that by discussing them I can combine the two like a chocolate Frosty blends with a vanilla Frosty.

So here we go.

I go to a Christian school, as I mentioned in my last post. We have this event every year called Spiritual Emphasis Week. People make fun of it 51 weeks out of the year because it's fake and everyone makes commitments based on emotions and nothing changes, but this one week no one makes fun of it. It's a very serious matter, you see. We had a musician. We had a speaker. ...We had a speaker... I thought he was pretty cool at first. He showed cool videos. He talked about loving people and giving to the poor.

And that is all he talked about.

I kid you not, I can not think of one time this entire week that he said the word "Jesus." Not one time. He challenged us each day to do stuff, which I absolutely love and accept, but I do so because of Jesus, not despite Him. My church is very into sharing the gospel and discipling people. Very into it. That is not hip. That is not cool. Attractive guys from popular bands do not make t-shirts and websites to get people involved in sharing the gospel. They make t-shirts and websites promoting giving to the poor. Giving to the poor is cool. You can wear TOMS and skinny jeans and use an iPhone and wear t-shirts that tell the world how selfless and giving you are.

A few years ago my former pastor said this, with as much passion and conviction as he could muster up: "There is a shift in the evangelical movement. They believe that we should feed the poor and give clothes to them. But I tell you, if they do not hear the gospel, they will only go to hell better fed!" The crowd cheered. I silently cheered and scribbled down this brilliant nougat of wisdom as quickly as I could and then forgot about it. It came to mind a few months ago and I got pretty angry. He had a nice job, several nice cars, a nice house, tons of food. I feel pretty confident that he has never experienced poverty, yet he practically preached against giving to the poor.

I see Jesus in Mark Driscoll more than I see Him in any other person on earth. Mark is tough; he's not a pansy, but I hear love when he speaks. I did not hear love in the voice of the guy who spoke at school. I heard, "Please like me. I'm saying good, popular things. I'm trying to impress you. I talk to people in coffee shops. I watch independent films. I read Don Miller's books. Please, please like me." One thing I love about my youth group is that the leaders don't try to impress us. We don't have a disco ball on the ceiling. The music is pretty simple. It is not pretty and polished. And I love it. 100% of the sermons point to the fact that we have to share the gospel. They are about sharing the gospel and being a disciple. They don't preach random sermons on dating just to get people to invite their friends.

I don't want this to be a speaker-bashing fest because God has definitely used him, but I'm just not sure how a person can spend four days talking as a preacher and not use Jesus' name or present the gospel once.

This guy angered me a little bit.

My former pastor angered me a little bit.

I wish I had some great concluding sentence that gives us all the answers. Maybe you think I'm making too big of a deal out of this and that I should just come to some conclusion and get on with it, but it seems like I have to choose between two Christianities: social justice Christianity(which includes giving to the poor, listening to U2, quoting Bono, being stylish, and joining lots of causes on Facebook) and following-Jesus Christianity(which includes sharing the Gospel, discipling people, giving to the poor, not being super cool or popular, and giving up my entire life to love and obey Jesus).

Well, that is all I have tonight.

Much Love,

Marissa

Yay for judgmental jerks with blogs.

Hi, friends! I'm currently sitting in front of our schnazzy new iMac. Yeah, that's right. Haha, it's pretty fly. I don't even know where to begin. There's so much I've been wanting to write about. School is back in full swing. I cannot wait to graduate. Or homeschool. Or go to page school. Actually, it's not that bad; I'm actually really loving my classes, but if I have to be around those kids another day, I might die. That's not entirely true; I've actually met some really cool people, but they are most definitely the exception, not the rule. I genuinely feel very sorry for my kids' generation. They're doomed. Not that my generation isn't. Some people seriously should not be parents, namely most of the parents of the kids who go to my school. Today, for example. I heard a lady literally take pride in how bad her kids are and how much they lie. Why are they like that?, you may ask. Because anytime she tries to discipline them, they make her laugh. It's called being a parent, you pansy. Suck it up and ground them already. Going to a Christian school is unlike anything else in the world. I'm glad I go to the one I go to, though, because everyone there realizes that when Jesus said "Give to the poor," He actually meant, "Buy really nice digital signs so you can put them out front and minister to all the people driving by on the two-lane road that backs up for miles and makes everyone late." And when Jesus said, "Give up your life to follow Me," He actually meant "Throw up a prayer and go to Heaven." And when He said, "Be content with what you have," He sort of meant that, but He meant for you to read it after you got an iPhone and a Hummer and an in-ground pool and whatever else floats your yacht. That you drive. Around your island. Really, I love my school.

Well, there's a lot more I could write, but my parents put a limit on how much time I can spend on the computer and that time is almost up, so I must say farewell.

Much Love,

Marissa

Hi!

Hello, friends! I can't write very much but I'm having some blog withdrawals so I figured I'd write something really quick. Our computer broke so I have to use my dad's laptop until we get a new one. I have about 750,000 things I want to write about in the near future so that shall be fun. Well, I have a ton of stuff to do so I shall depart.

Much Love,
Marissa :)

Just a few thoughts.

Well, hello folks! I haven't written a post in so very long. Enjoy!

Vacation

     My dad's side of the family went to Florida a couple of weeks ago. It was pretty fun. It actually stormed a couple of times, which was wonderful. It got so cold after the storms, though. We'd all be sitting on the beach with towels over us, shivering. There were so many odd people at the beach. Haha. We went to the most wonderful store at Seaside called Central Square Record Store. It was probably the best part of the trip. Francesca Battistelli (I'm not sure if that's spelled right and I don't feel like looking it up, haha) got her engagement pictures taken there and my sister and I had looked at them a few days before so we were like, "Oh my word, that sat at this couch and in front of this door and behind this bookshelf!" It was great. On the last day, we were at this pizza place and the guy who owns all the Bud and Alley's restaurants was being interviewed on camera by these two Chinese guys. It was crazy.

Illnesses

      So a few days into vacation, I started having a lot of trouble swallowing. I'd sit there for like 5 minutes trying to swallow food. By the end of the week, I couldn't even drink anything. We got home Sunday morning and went to the worst doctor in the world that afternoon. She jabbed my throat with a stick, then gave me this terrible medicine to swallow, then she told me to drink as much as possible, then gave me these gigantic pills that I had to crush up, but when I did they tasted like the sewer, then she said that I was just making it up so I'd have an excuse not to eat because I'm anorexic. The next day I went to my pediatrician who was much better and agreed that the first doctor was insane. She sent me to another doctor who was wonderful. He suggested that I have a scope done, so I went in the next day and got an IV and a hospital gown and some amazing Propofol (the stuff that killed Michael Jackson, ha) and they stuck a camera down my throat and took some rockin' pictures of my esophagus. I started swallowing milkshakes and drinks a bit more easily, but I  still couldn't eat solid food, so I got a CT done Monday. I went to an ENT Wednesday and he said the it might be a virus or something neurological. He wanted to do this test, but I started freaking out and crying like a baby, so I'll either go back or get it while under the influence of Propofol. I got part of a fry down the other day, and I've eaten a few cookies, so hopefully I'll just continue to get better and I'll just have to go to the neurologist. So yeah, over the past two weeks, I've literally had three small cookies and a piece of a fry. I've been living off Ensure like an old granny. lol. On top of that, I'm rockin's some killer sinus issues. Oh, and my dad found out that he has some mild skin cancer. I tell you what, we're fallin' apart.  

Band

     Today was the last day of band camp. We're doing The Divine Comedy this year. (That's probably supposed to be italicized or something, but it's summer and I forget these things. lol.) Everyone's so pumped and motivated. Band seems so much less intimidating this year than it did last year. It rained pretty much all week and there was a crazy tornado yesterday during practice, so yeah.

School

     School starts in like two weeks. I've had a really good summer, but I'm ready to go back. I'm so excited about all my classes, and all the teachers I was worried about left the school. Which makes me even more excited because I've definitely spent some time stressing over those classes. The beginning of last year was so overwhelming and numbing, but now I sort of know what to expect and stuff. I got some cool school supplies too, so that always helps. haha. My sister is moving back to the university (ooh, I'm cool. I said university instead of college. ha) this weekend. I'm going to miss her so much.  She's just the best! 

Dating

      I've decided not to date for a while. A long while. Like at least not in the next four years while. I want to spend my time on things that are actually worthwhile and meaningful. Plus, I'm terrible at relationships, so it would just be better for society if I refrained from dating. Pretty much everyone I've told has laughed in my face, ha. But I also want to refrain from getting too emotionally attached to people. Eh, I'm not sure if it should be worded like that, but basically I think you can give your heart to people who have no business possessing such a thing without ever even changing your relationship status on Facebook. And I don't want to do that. My youth pastor was talking about this Wednesday, actually. He said that the person's relationship with the Lord should be the thing that attracts us to them and that we need to make sure we're the type of person someone could marry before we go off looking for someone.

Beauty

     I think every female musician's goal in life is to look drop-dead perfect and make us jealous and then write songs about how beautiful everyone is. A few weeks ago, Miley Cyrus posted some stuff on Twitter about how God made us beautiful and everyone is beautiful and all that jazz. Then there's the song, "Beautiful" by Bethany Dillon and "Mirror" by BarlowGirl and there are books in Christian bookstores that are all about fashion tips and how to look good and feel good about yourself and have high self-esteem. I'm a teenage girl. I'm not always happy with how I look. I definitely have my "I don't feel pretty" days/weeks. But the solution isn't believing that God thinks I'm beautiful. The solution isn't buying new clothes or reading fashion magazines. The solution is getting over myself and realizing that there is more to life than  how I look and how I feel. Jesus wasn't hot. And I don't want God to be just an invisible Tyra Banks or someone who gives me a little self-esteem boost when I need one.

Missions

     I don't hate missions. I don't think it's a sin to go to Uganda and help in orphanages or go to Peru and witness to the locals. A team is always going out from my church and I've had a ton of opportunities to go on these trips, but I haven't been on one. I go to a Christian school and a lot of people there have "surrendered their lives to missions" and go on mission trips, and most of them pick up some pride while they're there. I think people read the "go" and miss all the other stuff. So I don't pray that God would send me on a trip, I pray that He would make me missional and have that kind of focus everyday. I don't want to go to Africa (or even Monday night outreach) and witness to people and then go home or to school and never talk about my faith. That's just not cool.

Well, I had a few more things on my list of things to write about, but I need to get ready for the band potluck. (I suppose after this post I should say "potblessing." lol.) Thanks for reading. :)

Much Love,

Marissa

Rants, Recommendations, and Realizations.

Hey everyone!

Rant #1: Books geared toward teenage girls that spell everything wrong.

The other day I spent an abnormally large amount of time at Family Christian. I had some coupons and they had some books I wanted, so we seemed like a perfect match. I looked at the clearance tables, then the Bibles, then the DVD's, and finally to the teen girl aisle. I don't particularly love the teen girl aisle; it seems a little shallow and self-centered, but I was on it. I skimmed the titles and even picked up a few books. I learned something that day. I learned that none of the authors on that aisle could spell. Actually, I think they just wanted their books to look like text messages. I have two problems with that: 1) If I wanted to read a text message, I would open my phone and read one. I obviously wanted to read a book. 2) Not everyone rites lyk dis when they text. I, for one, spell most things out and proofread before I send the message. Needless to say, none of the books I purchased came from that aisle.

Recommendation #1: Mark Driscoll

Wowsers. This guy is insane. I listened to his sermon on Ecclesiastes 12:9-13 last week. It pretty much changed my life. http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/sermons That's the link if you want to listen to him.

Realization #1: I don't want justice; I want a t-shirt.

I used to think that I was really selfless. I used to think that I cared deeply for the poor. I thought about orphans in Africa. I bought TOMS and told lots of people because everyone knows that they send a pair of shoes to needy kids with every pair you purchase. I got on the Invisible Children website and swore that, when I got a job, I would sponsor a kid through Compassion International. I prayed for kids in the Congo and spoke of my hatred for the Lord's Resistance Army. I wanted, and still want, to go on a mission trip to see poverty firsthand. But I don't want justice; I want a t-shirt. I want more Facebook Causes to join. I want to wave a banner saying, "Hey! Look how selfless and passionate Marissa is! She gives to the poor! She cares!" But she doesn't. Not today.

Rant #2: Children's Ministries

God: "Hey, Noah. You're a pretty good guy. I want to take you on a boat ride."
Noah: "A boat ride? What's that?"
God: "You'll see, and you'll be the first person to go on one. Come on, it'll be fun. I'll even let you take the animals and your family."
Noah: "The animals? Really? I get to take them? Ok, I'll go. It actually sounds kinda fun."

That's more or less how I learned the story of Noah's Ark. I didn't learn that it was a horrible judgment for horrible sins people committed. I didn't actually realize that people died until I read Blue Like Jazz. I thought it was just a nice little day on the water.

Are kids even supposed to get saved? I've never heard of anyone saying, "Man, I got saved when I was 4 and Jesus completely changed my life. He taught me so much in preschool." But I've heard a lot of people say, "I 'got saved' when I was 4, but I didn't really care that much about Jesus until I was 12." As Christians, we're called to be disciples. We're called to give to the poor. We're called to love. We're commanded to teach those younger than us. We're called to share our faith. We're commanded to not gossip. And that's just the beginning. How are kids who can barely talk expected to do all that?

If we don't tell kids the truth about God, what's the point of talking about God at all?

Recommendation #2: My favorite things this summer.

Journaling, reading, Twitter, swimming, splatter-painting, wraps(as in tortillas with cheese on them. ha), Come What May, and kayaking.

Realization #2: Our worth isn't based on us.

The other day I made a list of all the things that I think make me cool or give me my worth. I put things like hairstyles, certain books, writing, my hobbies, and my favorite clothes. As I was making this list, I realized that I base other people's worth on these things. But I don't think our worth is really based on those things. The Bible says that we were bought with a price, and that price was Jesus' life. The God of the universe said that we are worth His life. That is what we are worth. I'm not better than you. You're not better than me. Our worth is the same. Our worth is the God of the universe's life.

Well, I could write a lot more, but I think that's enough for now.

Much Love,
Marissa.

Simple.

Hello, kind blog readers! I hope you are having a wonderful summer so far!



I just got back from church camp. Ahhh, it was so much fun! We went rappelling and spelunking and we did a high ropes course and shot arrows out of bows. I met some lovely new people. It was great. Our speaker was so amazing; I learned so much. It was so cool actually meeting people instead of just Facebooking or Twittering them.
I compiled a list of all the inside jokes:

1) Michael's eye trick.

2)Everyone nearly dying on Pirate's Crossing.

3) Popsicles.

4) The Hike.

5) Rule #9.

6) Not shaving. haha.

7)No PDA/PDF/PDFWB

8) Cold and sleepy.

9)Boy stories with Kayla.

10)Cheez-Its on the porch.

11) Praying aloud/in groups!

12)Disgusting food and everyone getting sick from it.

13) Everyone moving to the other side of the cabin.

14) My eyes being half open while sleeping.

15) The "thinking" pose.

16) Not knowing anything about the speaker.

17) "It's camp. Who cares?"

18) Globe volleyball in the dorm.

19) The "in-crowd"



Good times, good times.



So, lately I've been pretty much obsessed with TOMS. I'm going to get the ash canvas ones as shown at the top of this post. They are so beautiful. I smile every time I see them. Haha.





I got a letter in the mail from Samaritan's Purse today. It was talking about the Lord's Resistance Army and how it's moving into the Congo. It makes me really sad. I'm definitely going to be praying that it will END. You should join me.




Much Love,
Marissa

Update! (Dallas, School, Israel, etc.)

Hello, wonderful readers! It has been so very long! I hope all is well in your world. 

Oh goodness, where to begin? Let's see, I went to Dallas! It was right in the middle of the swine flu scare, so it was pretty much a ghost town, but, man, was it lovely. We got to get all dressed up and went to this symphony. I'm not gonna lie, it was really boring, but it was a nice experience. We (as in the school band)  were going to do a parade, but the city was pretty much closed, so it got cancelled. We got to go to Six Flags! It started pouring rain when we were there, so we were all completely drenched for the remainder of the day. We went to a rodeo! It was pretty wild. They had this inhumane calf-roping competition in which they had to lasso the calf and then tie up three of its legs. It was rather sad. 

We got to go to this super cool church called Gateway. They didn't really present the Gospel at all, but aside from that it was lovely. I definitely got to experience some more of what's on StuffChristiansLike.net.  On the way home, I caught some terrible virus. Actually, it wasn't that bad, I was really scared it was the swine flu, haha. Thankfully it was not. 

Ah! Today was the last day of school! I'm not going to know what to do with myself this summer. I'm going to try to take some music lessons, get ahead in math for next year, paint my room, volunteer at an animal shelter, and work at the library. Fun fun. I'm going to this cool camp the week after next...I'm pretty stoked! Oh, my family got this inflatable kayak a few weeks ago...it is so fun! We took it to a local park last week and just paddled it around...it was delightful. Man, I am so stinkin' disappointed in my exam grades. I've stayed up till midnight or one everyday this week to study, and I still didn't make preferred grades. Boo. 

Cory and I broke up last week, and that's all I have to say about the matter. Haha. 

Oh man, they had this event called Israeli Fest this past Sunday. It was so fun! My sister and I bought these really cool hats (hers was a fedora and mine was this other thing, lol), and they had a Jewish band; all the lyrics were in Hebrew. Haha, and they had Israeli ice cream and everyone was wearing these super cool Yamikas(that's definitely not spelled right, but I don't know how to spell it). I have a new love for Jewish culture and I really want to visit Israel. 

Revival was this past week! It was so awesome; I definitely learned a lot. We had this black preacher one night and he brought his choir...oh man, everyone was getting pretty crunk. All these little old white ladies were dancing and clapping and singing. Hahaha, goodness, it was amazing. 

The school year is over and we all know what that means... lots of yearbook signage, so I thought it would be appropriate to give awards for all my favorite notes or whatever they're called.

My Top 5 Favorite Yearbook Signatures (in no particular order)

1. "I'll miss talking to you about politics."-Ryan.

2. "Marissa!  You're so sweet and funny. Oh, watching all those tennis matches. Fun. 'I look like a panda.'"-Katherine.

3. "If I didn't have you as a lab partner then I'd be screwed."-Jami.

4. "Marissa! You need to speak up."-Jake.

5.  "Marissa, you're cool. You should try out for bass drum next year. You sat by us on the bus in Dallas. And we hung out at tennis matches."-Daniel.

Congratulations, folks. I know it means so much to y'all. haha. 

I guess I should go clean my room.

Much Love,

Marissa.

Perhaps God Wrote A Love For Mystery On Our Hearts.

"It's amazing how they can be so happy with so little."

That is something I often hear from people who come home from trips to places like Africa and Mexico. It doesn't make sense, yet it's intriguing. Or maybe it's intriguing because it doesn't make sense. To most Americans, contentment is a foreign concept (both literally and figuratively). We buy when we don't need anything. We eat when we're bored. We brag about our possessions. We spend money on Starbucks and vitamin water simply because they're status symbols. We buy expensive cars. We like to be seen as rich, powerful, and attractive.

But what if we were content with what we have. It's not a radical idea, really. It's in the Bible. We are merely temporary inhabitants of the Earth. We have our own culture in Heaven.

Love doesn't make sense. Peace doesn't make sense. Forgiveness doesn't make sense. The Holy Spirit doesn't make sense. The fact that one man can die and save the entire human race doesn't make sense.

God is intriguing because He doesn't reveal Himself to us all in one sitting. We must follow Him. We must read His words. He is mysterious to us.

We are made in His image.

Are we not supposed to be like God?

Perhaps we were reborn as mysterious creatures. Perhaps we are not supposed to make sense.
Perhaps people are supposed to look at us and how we live and wonder. Perhaps. Perhaps we shouldn't be the path to enlightenment; perhaps we should show and preach the Path. Perhaps the Lord has spoken and we are to obey. Perhaps we should be intriguing. Perhaps merely following God is a mystery in itself. Perhaps a basis of worship is mystery.

The Bible says that Jesus is the mystery of God.

Let's be like Jesus.

Let's let His words change our lives.

Let's follow God and, in doing so, become enigmatic.

this post would be cooler if it was written on recycled paper.

There is much to say and it always seems as if someone else says it better than I do. Tim Lambesis, for instance. He's the lead vocalist/lyricist for As I Lay Dying. I've been reading his lyrics and blog for the past thirty minutes and it seems as if Jesus likes to drop the same messages in our mailboxes. Here is an example: "Some people argue that fundamentalist Christians take the Bible too literally and that makes them exclusivist jerks. I would argue that most fundamentalists don't take the Bible literally enough, and that is why everyone thinks they're jerks. If not one single fundamentalist stored for himself riches and instead lived his life in service of the poor and oppressed, then I don't think anyone could really hate them for what they believe.In fact, if I'm allowed to define what I mean by the term fundamentalist, then I hope to be one someday; someone takes action as a result of believing in the literal truth of what Jesus said." (from his blog). Wowsers. And he consistently talks about giving to the poor and sacrificial love and all this amazing stuff that is so true. He's so concise, yet he perfectly gets his point across.

So, racism has come up a lot this week. We've been learning about the civil rights movement in my history class. I used to think it was an amazing movement (and I have to say that I admire the fact that they took strong action based on how passionate they were) but wow, I never realized how truly bad it was. I mean, let's start at the beginning. Slavery. Black slave owners in Africa sent their black slaves to us. The white plantation owners needed workers. They paid for them and got them. A few of the Africans were treated poorly. People of both races were against slavery. People of both races supported slavery. White folks fought a civil war that eventually turned into a fight about whether or not people should own slaves. White people gave their lives to free slaves. They became free and were given the opportunity to go back to Africa. Some did, but a lot of them didn't. Why? Could it be that conditions in America -even under slavery- were better than conditions in Africa? White people probably wanted them to go back. The slaves didn't belong here. They were merely slaves. This was the white man's land. And what gave the slaves the idea that they were going to become citizens? Whites didn't treat them as equals. Blacks didn't treat whites as equals. Discrimination went on for hundreds of years. Then the 1960s came. There was segregation. People didn't like that. Blacks were violent. Whites were violent. People died. Laws were passed. Yay, everybody's equal. Whatever. A lot of black people believe we are indebted to them because of slavery. A lot of whites believe we are indebted to blacks because of slavery. However, I think we are far more enslaved today than back then. I'm enslaved to being ruled by a President who was only elected because he's black. I'm enslaved to quotas. I'm enslaved to going to black doctors who only got into med school because they're black. My parents are enslaved to paying taxes that go to blacks so they can get Cadillacs, satellites, and drugs. So let's be color-blind. Let's remember that there is only one race: the human race.

(Yeah, right.)

So, elections got pushed until Monday. Everyone has been been using Facebook as a platform to get votes. How mature.

Ah, 4 weeks till Summer! I'm having such a hard time staying focused on and committed to my studies. Four weeks. I can make it. ha.

There's this fair type thing in my town called Spring fest. I'm so sick of hearing about it. I've heard dozens of conversations about it this week. I'm going to feel like such a conformist if I go. That's one of the downsides of being a teenager; you're rarely alone. I used to think it was a good thing but I'm so sick of being like everyone else and being able to relate to them. Well, maybe not everyone, but there are certainly a few people I'd rather not be able to relate to. Like this insanely hypocritical girl I know. She talks about God all the time which would be a beautiful thing, but she is one of the jerkiest people I know. Her face often pops into my mind when I read verses about staying away from the wicked. Will I ever learn to love everyone? I doubt it. People are so weird and insane. Although there is a guy I know who has really stepped up to the plate lately. He's really taking God seriously and being a leader. I don't think guys realize how much they affect girls when it comes to God.

Anywho, Earth Day was Wednesday! Have I ever openly expressed my love for recycled paper? I don't believe I have. I'm not really an environmentalist at all but that type of paper is just wonderful. I love to write on it. Haha.

Well, that's basically all I have to say.

Much love,
Marissa :)

"It's the cliiiiiiiiiiimb."

Hello!
Oh man, I hope you all had a great Easter! I did. All my aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and nieces came down to party at our house. I was so sad when everyone had to leave, especially my sister. You'd think each time she leaves to go back to college it would get easier, but it doesn't. It gets harder. But 2 more weeks and she'll be home for three months!

God has taught me so much lately in the most real ways. I don't think I've ever truly believed the Bible was relevant or real until now. I always thought it was just some boring book you read to look or feel godly, but it's not. It's actually real. It makes sense. I've only met one or two people in my life who have actually personified God's words but they were the most amazing people I've ever met. It's like instead of things just being written on paper, they're actually written on your heart. For example, I've heard a lot of gossip in my lifetime and other people have heard a lot of gossip from me. It has hurt or ruined so many relationships. However, there is a verse in Proverbs that says "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter and the glory of kings to search it out." My life would be so much better if I learned to conceal matters. That brings me to the next example. I said earlier that I've heard a lot of gossip, but I just said my life would be better if I learned to conceal matters. Why? In Matthew, it says, "You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." I have to take responsibility. I have to remove the plank from my eyes first. You'd think it would be burdensome to constantly take responsibility, but it is so freeing. Instead of dwelling on what other people have done, I can focus on what I do. I can change what I do much more easily than I can control what others do. I could go on and on with the examples, but I think you get the idea. :)

Wednesday was tax day. I went to one of those tea parties. It was insanely awesome. I felt like such a hippy. Haha. Speaking of things related to politics, the elections at my school are this week. I'm so nervous. I have to write a speech telling people how wonderful I am. What a great Christian school I go to, encouraging pride and all. Ha. I have like 4 opponents, so wish me luck!

Wednesday is Earth Day. I really want to go see that movie called Earth. Speaking of movies, I also kind of want to see the Hannah Montana movie. Seriously. Not in like a "ha, I'm too old to see it but people will think I'm funny and cool if I watch it" kind of way, more in like a "It looks cute, not overly-produced, and I have a feeling I will cry during it" way. That song "The Climb" already turns my tear ducts on. lol. And while we're on the subject of movies, I saw Kung Fu Panda last night. It was pretty much awesome. Oh, and I forgot to watch The Passion of the Christ last weekend. I sound like such an avid movie-watcher, but I'm really not. I usually don't have the attention span to get through them.

Well, I have a ton to do!

Peace and Love,
Marissa.

Past Few Days...

Hills. 

Green hills. 

No, greenish yellow hills.

A nice-looking cabin.

A bus.

Rude people in brown uniforms beating people down and commanding them to do humiliating things. 

Terror. 

Cold-sweat, I'd-do-anything-to-get-away-from-here terror.

Nazis.

Jews.

Sirens.

Finally.

Something to jolt me from dream world.

No, nightmare world.

That's it; I had my first nightmare last night.

It was a modern retelling of the Holocaust. It was terrifying. I almost cried.

Anyway, it's Good Friday which, among other things, means that my sister and I are out of school. We're watching Gilmore Girls, of course. I desperately need to clean my room, though. Ah, where to begin. Let's see, D-Now was last weekend. It was so amazing; I learned so much. We went to the inner city to do a family festival. It was so cool. I was completely terrified at first, but there were no gun shots or anything, so that's always good. Unfortunately, I got about eleven hours of sleep and, though that's more than some got, I was still pretty out of it all week. Hence the messy room and somewhat lousy grades. My week started off pretty terrible as well. I overheard some kids making fun of this kid because he isn't as social as them. Though, in my opinion, I'd rather be less social that a completely heartless jerk. Man, I was indignant. I kind of wanted to claw their eyes out so everyone else would make fun of them for not having eyes. I cried. Well, more like teared up, since I'm not much of a crier. It still makes me mad.  Of course, now I sound equally as jerky. 

We had our first track meet Monday. It was approximately 37 degrees. I threw terribly. Oh well, we had another one yesterday and I was slightly better.

So, there's a lot more I could say, but I'm tired of writing this, so....

Much love,

Marissa.

For Real.

Have you ever heard the statement, "boys are stupid"? I have many a time. I don't really think it's true. Sure, guys do stupid things, especially in relationships with girls, but a lot of times girls are just as at fault. A friend of mine asked what the point of dating in high school is. She said that it's pointless, because it's all about drama and not at all about the person. I guess that's true. Anyways, dating is kind of annoying to me anyway(I know, ironic). Like I know this one girl who literally had a boyfriend within a day of dumping another guy. It makes me mad. I mean, I know I'm young, but I take dating pretty seriously. I'm not dating Cory to get attention, I'm doing it because I like him and he's fun. I don't constantly post pictures on Facebook or change my status to make myself seem like a... scandalous person. ha. But back to what I was saying, why do we say "boys are stupid" when one guy frustrates us. Why does every guy in the world have to receive a bad reputation because of what one guy did that may or may not have been bad? Why don't guys say things like "girls are stupid" when their girlfriends dump them? Some of the nicest people I've ever met have been males, and some of the jerkiest people I've ever met have been girls. Think before you speak.

So, this past week we've been reading The Diary of Anne Frank in English and studying Hitler and World War II in History. I know it's cliche to say it, but it really is interesting to study. We watched this video the other day in History that completely appalled me. I almost cried, not even kidding. It was a Youtube video of some old movie about Hitler, but it was in German, so the maker put subtitles and made it about Xbox and Hitler's disappointment when his account was deactivated. Are you serious? Hitler is possibly the most openly evil person to ever walk this Earth -he dismembered people and built gas chambers so the lucky dead people could turn to ashes and the living people could scream until their lungs filled with smoke and they suffocated- and this video turned him into some kind of joke, just a spokesperson for Xbox. That's just one example of the many ways people at my school have completely turned our studies into a joke. It makes me extremely angry.

Speaking of the Holocaust, I'm going to an exhibit about it tomorrow. I'm pretty excited; hopefully people at the museum will understand the gravity of it and not just laugh it off like it's a joke book.

Have you ever wondered why the world is the way it is? I have, and I think I got the answer the other day when a student in the band room said that A Haunting in Connecticut is based on a true story. Are you serious? Dead people don't come back from the grave and kill people or whatever else is in the movie. It looks horrifying. I saw the first seven seconds of the trailer the other day and I couldn't get to sleep for a good fifteen minutes that night.

Oh, sorry I only got to Day 4 of my Spring Break Blog. Um, on Friday I went shopping or something, then Juliana and Kendyl came over. We watched White and Nerdy about 77,889,457 times. We also watched videos about the Holocaust,The Great Depression, and The Scripps National Spelling Bee. I have such nerdy friends.

On Saturday, I went to Cory's where he taught me how to do a Rubik's Cube. True story. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.

But Spring Break is over and this has been one of the worst weeks of my life. Seriously. It was terrible. I'm so tired of being around people and being forced to build relationships with them when I don't even like most of them. Oh, speaking of liking people, I read in one of Don Miller's books that people tend to like other people as much as they feel the other people like them. Isn't that interesting, but insanely true? But anyways, school was really lame this week. I'm ready for Summer.

Much Love,
Marissa.

Spring Break '09, Day 4: Smack Down, Stirrup Pants, and Spiffing Up

Hello!

Can you believe tomorrow is the last official day of Spring Break? It makes me sad. 

My mommy took off work today so we could hang out. 

We started our day by going to the 10 A.M. karate class. It was crazy. These two older ladies were there, and one of them was trying to lay the smack down on me; I didn't greatly appreciate that. After class, my mother and I went to Olive Garden. It was delicious, and we had a delightful conversation about brain cells. That's always fun. Then, we went to World Market, which is closing, so the few items left are insanely cheap. They're even selling the display racks; how cool. After that, we went to overpriced Dillard's to shop. We didn't really find anything, so we went to Rue21. That store, however, makes me feel like an immature teenager for some reason, so we left and trekked to Marshall's. Ah, I found the most amazing/expensive clothes ever. Thankfully my birthday was last week, so my mother paid for it. :) I bought these really distressed 80s jeans, and I almost bought stirrup pants. Haha. After about three hours there, we finally came home. 

An appraiser is coming bright and early tomorrow so we've been cleaning like crazy tonight. Actually, I've been cleaning like crazy (well, along with the occasional Facebook/Twitter breaks). So, it's been a Gilmore-less day today, but fun nonetheless.

Much Love,

Marissa.

Spring Break '09, Day 3: Jazz, Onion-Flowers, and Lessons Learned

Hola. My sister left for a vacation this morning, so I went to my grandmother's house where I spent the day reading, watching TV, and napping. I then went to church. Two things I've learned today: It's 2-for-1 day at Blockbuster and Blue Like Jazz is an awesome book. Also, that onion-flower sauce from O'Charley's goes on basically anything.

Much Love,

Marissa. 

Spring Break '09, Day 2: Green, Clean, Dean, and Your Spleen

Hey, folks! 

You know what's funny? I'm never sure how to pronounce that word. Sometimes I think it's like "fokes," but sometimes I think it's more like, "fow-luh-x." It's a mystery.

Anyway, as fascinating as that is, I'm sure you came to my blog expecting to read about my day. Well, it's St. Patty's Day! I've been wearing this green Rolling Stones jacket all day(except for when I was at karate... then I drew a green heart on my hand to avoid getting pinched.)

 I woke up with this terrifying cough; my throat kept constricting. It was pretty scary, but don't worry. I got some Pepsi, so now I'm good. (When I wrote that, I accidentally wrote 'god.' haha.) Anywho, my mom wrote "Please clean me" on all these Post-It notes on various apparatuses, so she could tell us to clean without being threatening. Haha, nice. So we cleaned and cleaned, and I think our house is on the verge of sparkling. Delight!

      I finally finished this book called Eli by Bill Myers. I've been reading it for over a month, but I'm usually studying or doing homework, so I never really had time to finish it until today. Now I'm reading Blue Like Jazz. I'm only on the 29th page, but it is rather wonderful so far. 

     I bet you'll never guess what show I'm watching right now. I can't decide who I like better; Jess or Dean. (For Rory, I mean. I generally don't develop crushes on fictional television show characters.) Jess is cool because he's kind of a rebel and he reads a lot, but Dean is cool because he's the innocent guy who you know probably won't hurt Rory. Hm..

     I got my yellow belt at karate today. Technically I earned it last week, but we kept forgetting the check book, so we couldn't purchase it until today. 

     

Well, I am a sleepy girl, so I'm going to sign off.

Much Love,

Marissa.

P.S. The "your spleen" in the title was used solely for the purpose of poetry, but I think it has the potential to become the new "your face" joke, despite the fact that it kind of makes me gag.

Spring Break '09, Day 1: thrift stores, Star's Hollow, execrable music, and Chinese food.

Hello, folks!

So, my day began with sleep. It was great, but my grandparents and my cousin wanted to take my sister and me out to lunch, so I had to get up at 10 to get ready. They arrived at our house a few minutes early. After a few patient phone calls and gentle bell-ringings, they started hounding us cop-style. I don't know if a cop has ever shown up on your doorstep, but those guys are determined to rap on your ingress as hard as humanly possible. Considering their lack of formal training, my grandparents did rather well. Anyways, we finally got ready and left. We went to McAlister's and just sat around and talked; it was pretty fun. Not as exciting as last time, but still fun! Instead of heading home afterward, my grandmother wanted to do a little shopping, so we went to this thrift store called Bibles for China. Ahh, it was awesome. After sorting through the typical thrift store hodgepodge, I found this $1 sweatshirt, some fab books, and a really pretty painting. Exciting.

When we got home, we watched a lovely episode of Gilmore Girls before heading to a local mall to do some shopping. We went to Claire's. I don't know if you've ever been there, but they play the worst music known to man. Each measure is like a sin against humanity. Actually, that statement comes partially out of truth and partially out of the fact that my sister takes several hours in any given store. However, I still love her, and it bought me some time with these absolutely amazing glasses I found. It's pretty much a dream of mine to wear glasses, so I got to live that dream for a little while today. After we finally left with our 10 items for $10, we went to Lifeway, because it has a delightful atmosphere and fewer undelightful tunes. We didn't buy anything, but we did discover some really rad Bibles and books.

Next, we went home to find my dad, aunt, and grandmother slaving away in the kitchen. They were preparing a lovely homemade Chinese meal. Once it was finished, we all sat down and ate. Fun fun! They just left a few minutes ago, actually.

Well, I think I hear another episode of Gilmore Girls beginning, so I guess I shall depart. Oh, but speaking of those lovely ladies, my dad, sister, and I paralleled their characters with our family; I'm Rory, my sister is Lorelei, my dad is Mr. Gilmore, and my mom is Mrs. Gilmore. :)

Much Love,
Marissa.

P.S. If you know of any admirable, preferably esoteric tunes I could listen to this week, feel free to drop me a line. =]

For the sake of the hamsters...

Hey, folks!

     It's Spring Break! Wahoo! A whole week of no school... just an endless supply of Gilmore Girls, Star Wars, friends, Sudoku puzzles, sleep, and many other pointless-but-oh-so-satisfying activities.

     

     My birthday is coming to a close, and it was rather delightful. I mean, you grow steadily over a period of 364 days and then whoosh! it all catches up with you in one day. 

Anyway, my day started with church, followed by an amazing lunch with Cory. Then my mom and I bought this delightful ice cream cake and took it home and ate it. Well, not by ourselves; we shared it with my father and sister. After that, Juliana invited me to see Race To Witch Mountain, and I obliged. Oh man, it was scary. My sister and I were holding onto each other the entire time. Actually, that is untruthful(just imagine Seth saying that, haha.) It wasn't that terrifying, but it was intense. Afterwards, we saw a couple from my school getting a little cozy, haha.  

Next, we went out to the parking lot which my sister described as "sketchy." 

Our car would not start. 

Perfect. 

After a few tries, my sister finally got it going, and we proceeded to go to Blockbuster which is where we bought half of the second season of Gilmore Girls. I'm sure you're thinking, "why the second season? Why half?" I'll tell you why. They only had 2-6 of the first season, so we figured it would be better to just skip the first season altogether. Also, we did not want to be overwhelmed by all the Gilmore goodness, so we just went with half of them. I really sound like a girl, but it's a really well-written show. lol. 

 

I hope you had a delightful Pi Day yesterday. I can't believe that all the preps got to celebrate it too. I mean, really. It was formerly a day for the few chosen people who know what Pi Day is. No longer. Oh well, I got to eat some delicious pie, so I suppose all is not lost. 

Ooh! I earned my yellow belt last week! Exciting.  

Well, that's all for today.

Much Love,

Marissa.

Spring, demerits, and awkward tan lines..

Hello! I'm writing a blog post on a school night; not entirely rare but probably not the best activity for me when you take into consideration the 2 F's I made today, along with almost receiving demerits. How delightful. Anyways, the third nine weeks is always the best for me; I've learned from my previous mistakes and I'm just amped up and ready to do my best. I always go into Spring Break feeling really spent, and I don't imagine this year will be an exception.
Edline. I love it. I seriously probably get on there just barely less than I get on Facebook. My friends are always scared their parents will see their grades and ground them, but I always check it, tell my parents what my grades are, and proceed to ground myself. I hate it when teachers fail to update it. Like now, for instance.
Oh man, is it seriously March? I really like March for some reason. I'm really not a big fan of Summer because of the skimpy clothes, awkward tan lines, and sweat, but March is just really wonderful.

Anyway, sorry this is so short, but I must depart.

Much love,
Marissa

Can you tell I was homeschooled?

If you have an account on Face book, I'm sure you've seen this. Every time someone has tagged me, it has been as either the shy one or the geek. Psh, I blame both of those on my former home education :) Also -I could be wrong- but I think it should be "the one who," not "the one that."

Anyways, I'm sick. Well, actually I don't feel horrible, but my nose is runny. Ew. Sorry I haven't written in about 300 billion katrillion years. I've been super-busy with track, school, karate, church, homework, studying, etc. *Sigh.* I'm ready for some Spring Break! It's March! My Birthday month. Woot woot. Actually, not woot woot, because I'm not really looking forward to my birthday, but whatever. I finished my first research paper yesterday! Actually, I did one last year, but I never finished it because I was home schooled, and homeschoolers never finish anything. Ha ha. And while I'm on the subject of homeschooling, I really wasn't a hardcore homeschooler, because they are really proud of the fact that they don't wear pajamas while doing schoolwork or wake up until around 11, but I did both of those. However, I'm still virtually 96% more sheltered than the kids at my school. Not that I mind that. Anywho..
I really don't have that much to say.

Much Love,
Marissa

Good.

You know what annoys me? People. Kids in particular. More specifically, kids who toss a $7,000 tuition out the window because they don't focus in class, think "That's What She Said" jokes are the best things in the galaxy, and make fun of people who obey rules. I think I'm starting to remember why I liked homeschooling. Not that I don't love school, but I'm still not used to being around a bunch of rowdy kids all day.
Basically, today has been annoying.

Anyway, that was a lame way to start a post. Hope you're doing well. Tomorrow all the kids with 3.5 GPA's get to go bowling. Yippee. Although I'm kind of scared I might get hit in the head and get a concussion, seeing as it is Friday the 13th.
And I think we all know what that means; Valentine's Day is just around the corner! I'm anxious to see what Cory got me. haha. He said he ordered it from a magazine; shnazzy!

It seems like there are a lot of problems in the world. Perhaps I should remove the "it seems like" from that sentence. There are a lot of problems in the world. From poverty to severe lack of poverty, drugs to lies, killing to hatred, child abuse to divorce, there is a lot that isn't right. So what can we do about it? I'm not positive. What I do know is that, no matter how frustrating they can be, God's put people into our lives. We can teach them and they can teach us. Maybe it's just encouraging someone to tell the truth or giving them a few words of encouragement. We'll never know how our words and actions affect others, but never doubt that they do. People are watching. Use that fact for good. Treat people how you want to be treated. Act how you want others to act.

So what are your ideas? How can we make the world a little better?

Well, I have to go study.

Much love,
Marissa

How Was The Ski Trip, You Ask?

Hi, folks! Oh my goodness, the ski trip was amazing!!

We left at about 2:30 on Friday, travelled for a few hours, and stopped to eat at Lambert's. There were only two vegetarian options on the whole menu, so I bought this ginormous salad. I'm pretty sure I could write a book about salads, because I've eaten a salad at almost every restaurant I've been to in the past month. We arrived at the resort around 9 and, after putting on the wrong shoes and taking a billion and one pictures, finally hit the slopes. It was solid ice; there was hardly any snow, but surprisingly, I never fell. We took a lesson on putting the skies on and such, then this annoying guy taught us how to stop, then we finally hit the bunny slopes!
They were so fun, but after a few hours, we decided we wanted bigger and better slopes. So Kendyl, Juliana, and I skied over to the next level which involved a rope and really slick hills. Juliana tried it first. She did well and decided she wanted to try it again. That didn't work out so well. Here's what I wrote about it later that night:



I looked up and saw Juliana trying desperately to stop but, finding that impossible, she screamed instead.

"Watch out, Mrs. Lynn!"

She knocked my mother down, leaving her sprawled out and shocked. I whisked around as quickly as my skied feet would allow. I saw her nearly sailing through the air and flying off a steep embankment, poles flying every which way. I was terrified when I saw her, unsure of her medical state. She looked so helpless down there.



Oh man, it was emotional. At first I was terrified, but then the uncontrollable laughter began. I'm still laughing about it. Thankfully she was okay, aside from a minor rope burn. It was insane. Needless to say, none of tried that course again. We stuck to the bunny slopes, which also proved to be dangerous because Kendyl was just standing there and some guy plowed into her. Brutal. But hilarious.

We left around 3:30 a.m. We decided that we would be the first group to not fall asleep on the way home. That didn't work out too well. But it was loads of fun and we definitely have a lot of new memories! Ha ha.

Much love,

Marissa

Ski Trips, Sweet Tea, and Post-It Monsters

Hi folks! I'm not positive why I normally start my posts with that phrase, it just kind of comes naturally. As does "Much Love, Marissa" at the end of my posts. You may have noticed that right around the turn of the year, I tried out a few new sign-offs, but none of them really worked for me, so I'm back where I started.

We're out of school tomorrow, so I'm going skiing! Actually, I'd be going skiing even if we did have school, but I just thought I'd hit you with two positive things in one sentence. Anyways, it's my first time on the slopes, so I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited.

Today was a half day at school (thank goodness; I was having an extremely awkward day) so my grandparents took me to McAlister's afterward. It was swarming with people from my school, but it wasn't as awkward as you'd think it would be. Anyway, we chose a table next to a short dividing wall that separated us from these two guys. I know eavesdropping is generally frowned upon, but these guys really drew me in with their intellect and I couldn't help but listen. They spoke as if they had passed 6th grade English class, which is rare in the Southern portion of the United States. I felt like I was listening to people reading essays rather than having a conversation over sweet tea and French dip. It was beautiful.

Anyways, I picked up on the unavoidable portion of conversation that is dedicated to the economy. Eventually they moved from stock markets to Jesus. One of them was a Presbytarian minister and he was unloading his stresses and concerns on to his lunch companion. It was quite interesting because the minister is from the Northwest who recently came here to pastor a country church, and he was contrasting the South and the North. They were still chatting when we left, so who knows where their conversation went, but it was cool.

My sister came up this past weekend and introduced me to this hilarious guy on Youtube named Mitchell Davis. His channel is LiveLavaLive; check him out. Haha.
"Dare. Double Dare. Physical challenge!"
"That would be the best world in the whole world. Wait, that didn't make sense. That would be the best thing in the whole world."
"I was trying to be a Post-It monster."




Well, I have to go pack and all that fun stuff.

Much Love,
Marissa

Quick Update

Hey! Hope you're having a good day. I think today qualifies as a good day for me. So many opportunities have shown themselves to me lately and I'm really excited about them. I just got home from karate; this is only my fifth lesson, but it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. Man, has anyone else seen that "25 Random Facts" deal on Facebook? It's pretty pandemic if you ask me. But being the stalkerish person that I am, I'm a big fan of it. We actually got a snow day yesterday; I wasn't too thrilled about it, but, I have to say, the break was rather nice. This week is really proving to me that there are never enough hours in a day; but I enjoy being busy, except when I'm tired. Then again, I don't really enjoy anything when I'm tired. haha. So, I couldn't tell you what happened over Christmas break, but I've never been so motivated in my life to do well in school. I just have this somewhat-abnormal desire to learn and, hey, the grades don't hurt. I have some ideas kicking around that might turn into blog posts eventually. Well, I know this post is barely a paragraph long, and it's definitely sporadic, but I have a science project to do.

Much love,
Marissa

This Week

Oh. my. word.
This week has been crazy.
Sorry if this post gets lengthy, but it's been a week. I've had withdrawals.
So let's start with Sunday.

Our pastor preached the most amazing sermon he's ever preached and definitely one of the best I've ever heard. He opened the sermon with this quote: "We're not saying you have to be white, Republican, or from the South to be saved. I'm not saying you have to be like me to get to Heaven; you have to be like Jesus." I'm not gonna lie, this was a new idea to me. Sure, I'd never say that I thought you had to be a Southern, White, Republican to get saved, but I guess that's kind of how I've been raised. He talked about how we often think we can earn salvation by voting for Republicans or protesting abortion; or how we try to make people become more like us before we tell them about Jesus because we think we're good enough for Jesus but they're not. Most of us have heard that God's love is equal, unconditional, and never-changing which implies that God loves Christians and non Christians equally, but a lot of times I - and probably other Christians- tend to think that God loves me more because I'm a Christian. He spoke about self-righteousness, which I think is a huge problem, both for myself and a lot of others. It's pride, it's a sin of which we need to repent. Any holiness we have should be completely because of Jesus. God taught me a lot about witnessing that day as well. Even though protests against abortion aren't wrong, I don't think they're extremely effective. I think the thing that will bring about the most change is one person sitting down with another person, telling them about Jesus. It doesn't have to be some nervous, sweaty deal. You don't have to pull out the Romans Road or buy Way of the Master tapes. You don't have to lie. Just tell them what Jesus has done for you and what He has done for them. Show them some verses, listen to them. Love them.

So, on Sunday night, several of my friends from church spent the night at Juliana's house. It was oodles of fun. We watched tons of Youtube videos and I think I'm finally semi-caught up to normal teenage standards. haha. I had to get up at 7:30 the next day for an orthodontist appointment: not fun! Then, when I got home I was informed that all our computers are broken, hence the blog hiatus.

Tuesday. Ah, Inauguration Day!! We got to skip a period and a half to watch it at school. I was awestruck the entire time (except for when Aretha Franklin sang. eek.) I'm so excited we have a new president. I think Obama's a pretty cool guy. He definitely has his faults and will undoubtedly make many mistakes, but, like any president-or person, for that matter- he has a lot to give to us.

On the way to school on Wednesday, my mom's car just randomly stopped so we had to get it towed and we only had one car for three people and three different schedules for about three days: not cool.
Oh, speaking of Wednesday, we had this guy come to chapel that day. He preached a neat sermon about focusing on Jesus, instead of guys, grades, friends, school, life, etc. That is definitely not a strong point for me. The phrase "Focus on Jesus" has to constantly be pulsing through my head and heart.

Thursday was fairly uneventful.

Yesterday, we went to this local restaurant with my grandparents to celebrate my dad's first paycheck. It was in one of the worst parts in one of the most crime-ridden cities in America, so it was pretty terrifying; however, the food was amazing and it was a fun little place to dine.

That brings us to today! I had to wake up at about 7:30(wow, three prepositions in a row) and get ready for the County Spelling Bee. I was so nervous. I was shaking pretty much the whole time. Round 1. Round 2. Round 3. Round 4. Round 5. I think that was the round. The word was goumani. "G-u-m-a-n-i."

I had to sit down.

Excuse me for not knowing how to spell the names of foreign fish. I came in 5th place overall, which was disappointing, but that's okay.

I'm about to go buy a new metronome and pick up my nieces!

So, this week was not the best, but it was full of change and learning :)

Much Love,
Marissa