Speaking of updates...

Hi friends!

I keep thinking of all these things I want to blog about but I haven't gotten around to any of them, so I figured I would just write something. Just writing something is important, you know. I'm sort of reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, and that's one of the things she emphasizes: just writing something, getting something down on paper. I've definitely been trying to make writing a priority lately; it really is good for the soul. And it's easy too; you can just sit down and write about how important writing is and voila! you've written something. Pretty cool.

I would like to warn you that this post will likely be boring and terrible. Boring because my life is not that exciting or dramatic. Terrible because I'm really tired, but I'm trying to resist a nap so I'll sleep well tonight. Oh dear, I think I'm turning into a mom blogger...posting every detail of my sleep patterns. However, if you've ever read a mom blog, you know that it could be much worse than just sleep pattern discussion.

Speaking of sleep, I have to sleep well tonight so I can get up bright and early and go to band camp. Forty-four hours of band camp this week. Forty-four grueling hours. Thankfully, those forty-four hours are pretty much all that stand between me and seeing my beloved sister for the first time in ages. I miss her so very much. Ten weeks without her is just not right.

Speaking of being without people, one of my close friends moved away last week. She says the town is practically Mayberry. Population: 2,000. The high school holds 200 kids. The church holds 100. Her dad's the new pastor of one of the two churches there. To get to Wal-Mart, you have to drive over a mountain. I so can't wait to visit her, hopefully soon! I would very much like for this "people Marissa loves moving away" trend to end soon.

So... I started a garden yesterday. Then my dog dug up half my plants. Also, my mom forgot to tell me some important things regarding gardening, so now I have to dig up my flowers and start again. How delightful.

To offset that incredibly grandma-ish paragraph, I feel the need to say that Underoath is coming near here in 13 days. I really, really, really, really want to see them. Like, it's on my bucket list and everything. Also, I feel the need to see them before any other key members leave. Speaking of concerts, I saw Every Avenue, Amely, The Secret Handshake, Maika from There for Tomorrow, and Sing It Loud a few weeks ago. Everyone except Every Avenue was really awesome, especially Maika and The Secret Handshake.

Well, I'm going to go start on that to-do list of mine now. Have a good day.

Much Love,

Marissa

Book Club 2010, Session 6

1. Grace (Eventually) by Anne Lamott

Review: Anne Lamott has become one of my favorite writers. I like her style and her honesty. She feels like an aunt or a mentor to me. She weaves humor and deep truths together to create brilliant works of literature, this book being one such work.

Quotations: "I knew that if you had the eyes to see, there was beauty everywhere, even when nature was barren or sloppy, and not just when God had tarted things up for spring."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"This culture's pursuit of beauty is a crazy, sick, losing game. The only way to win is to stay off the court. No matter how much of our time is spent in pursuit of physical beauty, even to great success, the Mirror on the Wall will always say, 'Snow White lives,' and this is in fact a lie - Snow White is a fairy tale. Lies cannot nourish or protect you. Only freedom from fear, freedom from lies, can make us beautiful, and keep us safe."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"You want to know how big God's love is? The answer is: it's very big. It's bigger than you're comfortable with."

------------------------------------------------------------------

"Then I figured we probably shared the same human condition: we went to plays we couldn't follow, we worried when we had to pee and there was no bathroom around, we fell into moods, both hopelessness and random silliness. The specifics might be different, but not the essence. We're not so special. That's the good and bad news."

2. It's Not About Me by Max Lucado

Review: I am pretty much the most selfish person I know, so I thought this book would be really helpful. I'm really not a huge fan of the book, but the Lord definitely allowed me to read it at the time I read it for a purpose and I'm thankful for that. Don't get me wrong, it had some good theology and all, but sometimes it was needlessly repetitive and the writing just wasn't that great.

Quotations: "The world does not revolve around us. Our comfort is not God's priority."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"If you think it's all about you, and I think it's all about me, we have no hope for getting along. What would happen if we took our places and played our parts in this universe? If we played the parts God gave us to play?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"In heaven, God won't ask how many times we read the Bible, but did we put our love into action."

3. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Review: I liked this book a lot. Wilde is great at expressing his opinions through his characters. Dorian is so perfect on the outside, but he's hiding his flaws and that leads to his destruction. Those are definitely things I have learned over the past few months: not judging by appearance (because we really are all equally screwed up) and confessing struggles to people who will hold me accountable.

Quotations: "Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I love him because he is like what Love himself should be. But what does he see in me? I am not worthy of him. And yet -why, I cannot tell- though I feel so much beneath him, I don't feel humble. I feel proud, terribly proud."

4. Forgotten God by Francis Chan

Review: This book definitely challenged me and changed aspects of how I think. I read this book about the Holy Spirit, we're studying the Holy Spirit at church, and I'm reading Acts which is chocked full of the Spirit. I think the Lord might possibly be trying to teach me something. ;) I get so frustrated sometimes because of how impossible it is to obey God, but I've been learning how much power the Spirit gives and that is so encouraging.

Quotations: "The Spirit is more obviously active in places where people are desperate for Him, humbled before Him, and not distracted by their pursuit of wealth or comforts."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

"It is easy to use the phrase 'God's will for my life' as an excuse for inaction or even disobedience. It's much less demanding to think about God's will for your future than it is to ask Him what He wants you to do in the next ten minutes. It's safer to commit to following Him someday instead of this day."

------------------------------------------------------------------

"I don't want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit. I want people to look at my life and know that I couldn't be doing this by my own power. I want to live in such a way that I a desperate for Him to come through. That if He doesn't come through, I am screwed."