Afternoon In the Life...

...of a student. More specifically, a slow-working, undiagnosed-ADD, not-very-smart student. Namely, me. Today's time of homework (which is still in full swing, mind you) has been particularly hard for some reason. But I'm determined to have a good attitude. Determined. The pastor at the church I went to today said that greatness is the peak of the mountain that has been climbed laboriously for many years. That success means burning the midnight oil when everyone else is out living it up (or sleeping; they're practically synonymous). So, with those sentiments in my mind, the strength of the Lord in my heart, and a cup of coffee in my hand, I will press on through the wee hours of the morning, studying and reading and writing.

Nothing worth having comes easy. The pain makes the city more beautiful. etc. etc. (I need lots of inspiration, you see).

Anyways, I'm a terrible time-manager, so in an effort to get better in that area, I've kept a detailed account of how I've spent my time this afternoon/evening and since I know you're all interested in it, I'm going to post it. Enjoy!

2:28- reading Sparknotes

3:10- watching Julius Caesar on Youtube

3:22- Creeping around on Tumblr

3:40- Taking a few photos and sending a text

3:53- Geometry

4:23- Second Geometry lesson

4:31- finished with geometry

4:37- reading blogs

4:40- Twittering

4:58- writing a paper

5:41- Twittering

5:52- writing a paper

6:15- dinner

6:25- lab write-up

6:49- blog-reading

6:55- continuing with the grueling write-up

7:03- coffee break

7:13- lab

8:07- ice cream break

8:23- back to lab write-up

9:05- break from the Lab of Doom to print off some papers

9:10- "5-minute nap"

12:10- wake up

12:12- Twitter

12:42- writing this

I know you are probably super jealous of my life right now. Super jealous.

Anyways, I've wasted enough of my time that could have been spent much more wisely, so I'm going to log off.

Much Love,

Marissa Lanae

Love WIns

If you're on Twitter, you've undoubtedly heard some of the scandal involving Rob Bell, and I just wanted to add my two cents. I, for one, think it's absolutely incredible that he's a worldwide trending topic on Twitter; how crazy is that?

I have a ton of respect for Rob Bell. A ton. I read Velvet Elvis a few years and it changed my perspective so much. He's not about easy answers and ignorant-yet-blissful theology.

He's about questions... pondering, wrestling, believing in a God who doesn't give us all the answers.

When I first recognized salvation, I knew I needed to have a relationship with God that wasn't about Sunday School answers and neatly-packaged ideas. I needed questions with answers I'm not allowed to know. I needed a journey, needed to dive into something weird and mysterious.

And that's not an easy thing.

I talk to my sweet little friends who have everything perfectly figured out in their heads, always ready with a conversation-ending verse from scripture that supposedly answers all my questions and doubts. I love those friends dearly, but I don't really understand them. I'm not saying that black and white don't exist, just that they often combine to form gray. Truth is a hard thing to come by (yes, even when it comes to the Bible) and I think everyone has valuable opinions that don't need to be ignored.

It seems that having all the answers takes away the beauty of pursuit, maybe even takes away the pursuit altogether.

I guess I'm not really a black-and-white thinker, and I think that's a good way to be. But other people are black-and-white thinkers and they know that that is the only way to be. And some people think one thing and other people think other things and everyone thinks of himself or herself as being right.

So really, you can see the problem.

Anyways, I can easily get caught up in blissfully ignorant Sunday school answer theology, but the past few days for me have been full of questions and doubts, pondering and confusion, and Rob Bell is the first person I ever remember hearing say that all of that is okay.

All the questions, stabs in the dark, struggling, and wrestling...they're all okay.

God is bigger than my ideas... confusion... restlessness. Bigger than black and white and gray.

In the words of Rob Bell, "The moment God is figured out with nice neat lines and definitions, we are no longer dealing with God."

Much Love,

Marissa Lanae

-Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz