Expect a Miracle

I saw this on a church sign yesterday.

I looked up Webster's definitions of expect:

Expect- to look forward to; to consider probable or certain.

We know in our hearts that our God is the God of miracles.  Our God is the God who does the impossible.  But do we know it in our heads?  Is it real to us?

 I've seen miracles.  Too many to count.  Eleven days ago, God healed me of acid reflux, which I've had for years.  It was getting worse and worse, and finally got to the point where I would wake up in the morning and it would be hours before I could talk.  I couldn't things that had much acid (which is a LOT of things, actually!), and eating at all made my throat hurt.  There was nothing I could do to make it better.  No amount of tea or cough drops made it stop.  Even medication only worked for awhile.  A couple Sundays ago, my pastors prayed over me for my complete healing.  Before we started praying, one of them asked me, "Marissa, do you believe God can heal you?"  My immediate answer was "Yes."  I've seen way too many miracles in my life to doubt my God.  Monday morning, I woke up COMPLETELY HEALED.  My voice is back, I can eat anything I want, and no more pain!!  I am so thankful, PRAISING GOD, but the one thing I'm not is surprised.  :)

Three times I've seen prayers answered after I prayed for over 5 years.  Besides that, I saw my brother healed from a much, much worse case of reflux, and I saw my God-sister raised from dead.  Not to mention the small miracles I see EVERY DAY of my life.  I will NEVER doubt the stories of Lazurus being raised from the dead, or Jesus healing the blind man, or God making dead bones live again.  

Now, I expect miracles.  I expect my God to do the impossible, because that's what He does. We don't chase miracles, miracles chase us.  

Believe in them, and you will see them.

...and it's over. (plus fair week 2012 :))

I'm so behind on posting on here!  Too much other stuff going on and I just never get around to it.  Well, summer's over, fall's almost here.  Crazy... This year has gone by so fast.  I suppose some pictures of the summer are in order!

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Alright, I changed my mind.  I started by looking at fair pictures, and after going through about 500, I decided this post is ONLY going to be fair pictures.  Best week of the summer right here. :)

 Just chillin... 

Waiting to show.  Swine took ALL DAY. 

 Ian showing Oreo.

 Hangin out at the camper. :)

 Elaina at the auction

 Getting set up before the week started

 Elaina and Boaz

 sheep

 dairy feeders

Webberville kids

Well, those were in no particular order.

  Hope you all had a great summer! :)

It's finally here!...summer 2012

When school started last fall, it felt like the winter was going to be ETERNAL.  This was our weekly check-off for co-ops ^.  

But now... SUMMER 2012 is HERE!!!  

Memorial Day parade with Molly. :)

Open houses!  This picture was at Erin's...can't believe we graduated!  I'm going to miss her so much this next year!

I feel like I learned about 5 times as much this year as I have any other year.  God brought me through so many things.  * I learned that I shouldn't take any time I have for granted.  Soon it'll be over, and you'll never regret the time you spent with people, the hard work you did, and the memories you had.  You WILL regret not living to the fullest.  * I learned that God answers prayer.  Even if it takes ten years, God answers prayer.  * I learned that life is so temporary.  What's eternal is what matters.  * I learned that we need each other.  We can't make it on our own, and we should never take any person for granted, because we might not know how much we need them until they're gone.  * I learned that I need to care about people, because if I don't, who else is going to?  Sometimes a prayer or a kind word is all that's necessary to keep a person going.  * I learned that God brings people into our lives at EXACTLY the time we need them.  Not before, not after.  He knows.  

I feel like I'm a much different person than I was this time last year.  Thank You, God, for what you've taught me, and for constantly drawing me closer to Yourself, even when I can't see the big picture.  I can't believe my senior year is done!

Photo shoot and Pinterest :)

Graduating in 3 days... ahh! :)

We surrender...

...all to You.  All for You.

There's No Place Like Home

Being part of HPA's Wizard of Oz was probably one of the best experiences of my life.  God has taught me so many things this year that I didn't even know were possible.  In fear of not being able to write in a way that does this whole thing justice, I'm gonna stick with pictures.  :)

Andi was a tree, poppy, and jitterbug...

...and I was an ozian and munchkin. :)

Maddie, Andi and me.

The whole cast...98 kids. 

I'm gonna miss this so much next year, but I think knowing that it was my senior year really helped me to give it all I've got.  No regrets. :)  

The little things.

I rush way too much. I overlook the things that make me smile. Today I didn't do that. Today I thought about the things that made my day brighter. :)

Getting coffee with my sister. :)

Living on a farm. Well actually, this is a huge thing, and I thank God for it all the time. Today, when I opened the barn door and saw that the pigs had gotten out and were running and squealing all over the place, I smiled. I smiled as I sprinted up to the house and called the whole family for help, and I laughed when everyone burst through the barn door ready to herd pigs. :)

Before you go to sleep tonight, try to remember a couple things that made your day a little brighter. I guarantee there's something.

The happiest people are the people who see the good in whatever situation they're in. Don't always be looking for something better. Simply thank God for where you are.

Let the little things in life make your day.

I'd fight for you.

And He does. He sees us. He fights for us. He rescues us. Again and again, we don't measure up, we let Him down, and He loves us anyway. He doesn't leave us. He doesn't let go.

Are we willing to do the same? Are we willing to fight for the people who let us down? Are we willing to look past their insecurities and mistakes and stay with them anyway? Are we willing to fight?

It (love) always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:7-8a

Love fights back. Love never gives up.

We really can't love others until we experience God's intense and overwhelming love for us. It doesn't work. So let Him love you.

*The study of God's Word strips the blindness from our eyes

bit by bit until we begin to see what was once invisible.*

"The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him..."

Well, it's been three months since I last posted, but I've been putting it off because this is the post that's been coming for about eight years (although, I wasn't blogging eight years ago... oh well). Here it FINALLY is:

Since I was ten years old, my family has wanted to move out to the country. It's not that we didn't like our house in the neighborhood, it's just that all of us love the country. (: We had our house on the market on and off for eight years. Man, I won't be disappointed if I never have to prepare for an open house again! (; Haha, nah, it's not that bad, but trying to sell a house can be a lot of work.

In October, we had a couple come to look at our house. We've gone through the whole 'showing the house' process MANY times, and nothing ever came of it, so we weren't too excited. Well, the next thing we knew, they wanted to move in--in two weeks. We frantically searched for a house to move to (we were looking in the same general area), but nothing was going well. After a couple fall-throughs, we ended up moving in with family friends from our church for six weeks. Then, finally, the day after I turned 18, God brought us to the place we've been praying for for so long...

(It's not really that big, the back half is the garage... (: )

I couldn't be more thankful for being out here. Almost every day I wake up and ask myself if it's really real! I think God's greatest message to me in all of this is this:

He hears every prayer. Never stop praying because He doesn't answer right away. He may be just waiting for the perfect time...

I've learned so much about..well..everything in the past couple months. God is so good. I haven't taken many pictures since December, but here are some more:

Guest house

Pond...obviously..(:

Barn

One thing remains.

We live in a world of uncertainty and insanity. Nothing stays the same.

Think about it. In a moment, your life could be turned upside down. You don't know if your house will be destroyed, if someone you love will be taken away from you, or if all your plans will come tumbling to the ground. You just don't know.

Whether something huge like that happens to you or not, I can guarantee that there WILL be change in your life. Change is uncomfortable. Change requires you to let go of things and to get used to something different for awhile. Change requires you to step out of your comfort zone.

When things change, we automatically look for something to hold onto. But what are you going to do if there's nothing to hold onto? Where are you gonna go? We look for something to grip, but when we turn our back, that thing or person is ripped out of our hands like everything else.

There's only ONE THING that will NEVER change, and that's Jesus. When everything in your life is spinning out of control, Jesus will be the one thing you can hold onto. He's the one thing that won't leave; the one thing that can't be destroyed. His love NEVER FAILS. Hold on to Him. Spend time with Him. Let His love wash over you and fill you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_KXsMCJgBQ

(I couldn't get it to link to here, but seriously, go to this. Definitely one of my favorites.)

This is not our home(:

There's so much to think about. Life is insane--and so uncertain. Our house recently sold, and we have to be out in 2 weeks...and we don't have a house to buy! Where are we going to live? What should I do next year as far as school? What about after that? Every day I face so many choices, as does everyone!

It doesn't matter. Well, okay, it matters. It matters a lot. Because we are HERE to glorify God. There's a lot of decisions that don't glorify Him, and a lot that do! The only way we can know is by reading His Word. But, if we're living for Jesus, glorifying Him and setting His example in everything, keeping our focus on Him in every minute of ever day, it really doesn't matter what we do. We're only going to be here for a little while. If we suffer, it's okay. And we WILL suffer. Still, it's only for a little while. We can take ANYTHING for this short time that we're here, because we're longing for something so much greater...and it's so real.

One day...we'll spend our days on acres and acres of beautiful, rolling hills. We'll live in a mansion. There'll be crystal clear streams bubbling with the clearest, purest water you'll ever taste. There'll be no more missing people. We'll get to spend every day with them. There will be no more of that painful, longing for more of Jesus, because we'll have Him. We'll be basking in His presence. And you know that music that just hits you hard? You think it's the most beautiful worship music you've ever heard, and it takes you right to the throne of God? We'll be a part of that music- x 98234745679834. There'll be no more pain. No more heartache. We'll be able to give the most amazing, long hugs in heaven. We'll be able to dance more beautifully than we've ever even seen here. Our bodies will be perfect. We'll spend our days running, basking in the perfect love of God, loving others, having bonfires, walking through the woods, swimming in the lake, being in fellowship with ALL believers and with God...

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

We can take anything here, because it's for such a short while. Never lose heart. <3

I wanna run on greener pastures

I wanna dance on higher hills

I wanna drink from sweeter waters

In the misty morning chill

My soul is getting restless for the place where I belong

I can't wait to join the angels and sing

My heaven song

Seth saying AWANA verses- 1 "Acrimpians" 15:4

Still alive!

Yep, I'm still here(:

Well, school has started and fall is definitely in full swing. I'm still missing summer! Fall's beautiful too, though. Andi and I went out and took advantage of the beautiful day today(:

Some things the past few weeks have included:

*Harvesting honey

Our hives did really well this year and we got buckets and buckets of honey and comb! Mmmm. It really does make your teeth whiter, too. I'm tellin ya.

*Hunting

Last Friday night I was sitting at the kitchen table doing Physics like a good little girl....until Elaina excitedly ran through the door announcing that she shot a deer. Turns out she got TWO. I spent the next 6 hours tracking blood trails through the woods in the dark, hauling deer, and chopping and packaging meat. Kinda gross, but hey, now I've got deer, rabbits, and fish down! I should go into business! Ew. no. haha We have a ton of venison now though, which is delicious! Getting to bed exhausted at 2a was worth it.(:

*HPA

This year Andrea and I decided to audition for Homeschool Performing Arts' production of Wizard of Oz. We started rehearsals last Friday. I think this year's going to be an absolute blast! I'm really looking forward to learning a lot, making and building friendships with the incredible cast, and getting closer to God through it!

*Davis Harvest Party!

One of the highlights of the year...definitely a highlight of fall!

Life is great.(: We kinda have a shortage of pictures lately... we haven't been taking many so I really don't have any for any of those things! ^ Sorry! But hey, I posted.(:

Up north Michigan! Cottage 2011(:

We've been going up to this cottage with our Godfamily (don't ask) for the last 15 years. This year was the best yet in my opinion!

Chester kids on a Lake Michigan beach

We saw so many beautiful places up there! It really makes you awed at God's imagination, creativity, and power!

Rest stop on the way there! It took us 3 hours and 59 minutes to get there--I think that's a record! But... it took us about 5 hours to get home! With getting lost, lots of stops, and the dog getting sick, it was a much longer ride. :P Definitely worth it to spend a few days at the cottage with some of our favorite people, though!

Rest stop again!

Love this kid(:

Steel drum band on Lake Michigan! This was one of the coolest parts of the trip! A bunch of kids banging on steel barrels to put it simply. It was SO AMAZING!

Farmer's market! The kids got to be part of the band for a bit! (:

Fishing at the cottage on our small lake. We caught a lot of perch and catfish! I also learned to clean fish this weekend. Yummy!

Tractor ride! What a cool family we are(: haha

Andi, Luke and I in the lake.

I'm so thankful for my amazing Godfamily. <3 We have such a blast with them every time. Riding waves in Lake Michigan, singing country at the top of our lungs, fishing, going to Narnia (;, hiking in the woods, walking around downtown.. these guys are great.

August 2011 has been one of the best months of my life! Life is what you make it, ya know? If you wanna make it great, it will be. So put on a smile and be happy you're alive! God is so good to us(: