Unspeakable J-O-Y!!

Is there a difference between joy and happiness?

YES. YES. YES.

My definitions:
Happiness- What you feel when something good happens to you or when things are going your way

Joy- Well.. why try? It's indescribable!!

Joy's like, when you wake up, and for no apparent reason, you're just... joyful. I know I'm at a loss for words here.. That's because NO WORDS CAN DESCRIBE THE JOY THAT OUR GOD GIVES!!

Take a look at your life.... all the good God has given you, and the fact that HE'S SIMPLY GOOD. Isn't that a cause for joy?!



~Joy, unspeakable joy
An overflowing well
No tongue can tell
Joy, unspeakable joy
It rises in my soul
And never lets me go!~

Chicks! Summer's on its way!

This completely makes me feel like summer's coming. YAY!!!! :D

"Here's how you can practice sisterly affection to brothers in your life: Let men be your brothers and don't assume that there is a more-than-friendship interest, unless he actually states it. With his mouth. In English. TO YOU!" --Joshua Harris

...stole this off facebook from Stephanie. :) Isn't it great?

You know this... or do you?

For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths.
Proverbs 5:21

God's always watching us, right? Right. But really think about this... if Jesus were physically standing right next to you, how would it effect what you do, say, or think? I found that when I kept this in mind, it actually changed my behavior, speech, and helped me to be more gentle and patient. Crazy, but it really worked!

Give it a try! And remember, not only is Jesus watching, but others are too...

"Live your life like Jesus is standing next to you watching everything you do.... because He is..."

College... my plans, God's plans...

I've always know that God will take care of me. I've always known that He'll fulfill His plans for my life if I trust Him. I've always known that He has a plan.

But now.... high school only has a few short months left and graduation is fast approaching. I'm finding myself worried, forgetting to trust in the Lord. I'm a firstborn; I feel like I need to have everything planned out. :) I'm fairly certain that my purpose is life is to lift God's name up and help others to see His greatness through music. Music has pretty much been the focus of my life for... a long time.... and I love it. :) As of now, my plan is to start our community college's music degree next year. I pretty much know for sure that my knowledge and skill in music will be raised studying there. What I'm unsure of though, is what I'm going to do after that... I feel like God has a plan, but then again, music isn't the most booming field out there right now...

I guess my fear is colliding with my faith at this point. The world tells me that I probably won't be able to succeed out there with music. God tells me that He will provide. He'll give me everything I need if I'm following His will. But if I'm not following His will... that's a dangerous boat to be in.

This morning as I sat down to spend time with the Lord, I recommitted myself to listening to Him and relying on His promises. It's so hard to tune out the world's lies, but that's what I know I need to do. In my Bible reading today was Psalm 138. Verse 8 struck me:


The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your love, O Lord, endures forever--
do not abandon the works of Your hands.
Psalm 138:8

So here's my point:
Trust God. Let Him run your life. Does the Maker of the Universe and the Keeper of Time not know what's best?

Hallelujah!
~Marissa~

ER visit -- part 2

Thanks for your prayers, everyone! Everything went very smoothly and Ian is home doing great! Andrea said that she was more squeemish at the hospital than he was! Here are the pictures.
Note: Don't continue if you dislike blood, wounds... etc.

Waiting for stitches

Before

After

Look how brave he was!
My brother is amazing. :)

God is good! Thanks again!

ER visit -- part 1

Hey everyone,
My brother Ian cracked his head open in our basement this morning. Right now he's in the ER with my mom and Andrea. He was a little nervous about getting stitches and going to the hospital, so prayers would be very much appreciated!

I'll update you all later! Thanks so much!