Hiding God's Word in Our Hearts

One of the things I have learned this past year is how necessary it is for Christ followers to memorize the Word of God. I am definitely still working on diligence in this area, but I have discovered that it is quite a rewarding and fun thing to do, actually!

When I first got serious about memorizing and meditating on God's Word, I started by making a list of verses that were especially liked or were helpful to me as I came upon them. Then, one at a time, I would memorize them (as I kept adding to the list).

This month I have tried a couple new things. One was memorizing 10 or so verses on a certain topic. I used a book called Light for My Path (which has verses organized by subject), and this month I memorized verses on brotherly love.

Another thing I started which I have really enjoyed is doing one chapter per month. For December I did (or am almost done with) Psalm 18. I must admit, lots of days it has been a real challenge to commit time to memorizing when I don't feel like it. God has really helped me though and over the past many months has been strengthening my memory (it really is a muscle!). I have tried to devote about 10-15 minutes from my quiet time in the morning plus about 10 minutes before going to sleep to memorizing... longer than I had originally expected, but it's worth it. :)

I think I'm going to do Psalm 103 for January. It is such a wonderful reminder of the great things God has done.

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits--
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Psalm 103:2-5

Would you like to share any memorizing techniques? :)

In Christ,
Marissa

Fruits of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

For the next couple of weeks we are going to be sharing with you a study on the fruits of the Spirit. We probably won't do one every day, but we would like to get this done in two weeks.
We hope it challenges, edifies, and encourages you!
In Christ,
Marissa and Andrea

Proverbs 4:18

The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,
shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
Proverbs 4:18

What we've been up to......

dehydrating!

We got this food dehydrator recently and have been having lots of fun experimenting with it. :D

Tomatoes.....

Apples (SO good!)...

and we also did bananas, but I don't have a picture.

All of the things that we have done so far we got for free (from our garden) or really on sale (the bananas). We are working on trying to save money by storing food that we will be able to use later. The apples are a great snack, but the tomatoes and bananas we will probably use in things like salads, trail mixes... etc.

Some things we have canned recently...
salsa and pickles.
We haven't tried either yet, but they both look really good! Sorry the picture is so bright.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life--in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
Philippians 3:14-16

In Christ,
Marissa

2 Corinthians 6:4-10

2 Corinthians 6:4-10
Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; know, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killer; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

The other day I made a list about what each of these things means to me. I numbered each one (1-in great endurance 2- in troubles, hardships and distresses 3- in beatings, imprisonments and riots... etc.), then wrote down what I can do. For example:
#4-In hard work, sleepless nights and hunger - Go to the Lord when my strength is gone.
#10-...in sincere love - Remember how much they matter to God.
#13- With weapons of righteousness - The armor of God-offensive and defensive.
#19- Beaten, and yet not killed - PERSEVERANCE

Those are just some examples that I did. Anyway, I would really encourage you to make up your own and maybe even write down more specifically how they apply to your life. Thanks for reading!
Blessings,
Marissa

"...But overcome evil with good."

I know everyone has a problem with temptation and Satan definitely has a way with tempting us to do evil. I get tempted often-many times a day. It's hard for me-just like everyone else- to resist this. I decided to pick a verse and meditate on it. I memorized it and made sure I would not forget it. It has helped me so much! Every time I get tempted, I can remember this verse and it is so much easier to overcome this temptation. Saying the verse that you pick out loud is a good idea too because Satan cannot stay in the presence of someone who is reciting scripture.

There are many verses that are wonderful but the one I chose is a very familiar verse:
Romans 12:21
"Do not be overcome be evil, but overcome evil with good."

I know this concept is very familiar, but I just think it's a good reminder.

Blessings,
Andrea

At the Lake

Having fun on Monday at our uncle and aunt's campground.....

Trying to catch fish :D

Sisters :D

You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.
Psalm 25:5

If they're breathing, they need Jesus

Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Tonight we went with some friends to work at our local rescue mission. It was an awesome experience. We had never worked there before so we were excited to get the opportunity to help serve dinner to needy men.
Before we started, I prayed that I would be able to see through the eyes of Christ and view these men as Jesus would. I wasn't really sure what to expect. Would they be rough? Scary? Just how poor were they? I just hoped that I would be able to humbly serve as Jesus commands me to. I saw the above verse hanging on the wall a few minutes before they came in. That really helped me to get the right mindset.
From the moment they came in to the moment we left, all I saw were people who were created in the image of God and whom He loves. I am so glad that we got to serve and be the body of Christ.
Always remember that God loves EVERYONE and...
If they're breathing, they need Jesus. -Mark Cahill

God bless,
Marissa

Romans 12

I was reading Romans 12 this morning and a lot of things stood out to me. It is an amazing chapter teaching about Christian life and living in the family of God.
~ Offer your body as a living sacrifice (vs. 1). God gave us life and He graciously allows us to be on this earth, but our lives are His! We cannot lose anything because we don't have anything. Our fragile lives are in the hands of the Lord.
~ Be devoted to one another in brotherly love (vs. 9). God has blessed us with brothers and sisters in Christ. Even in the hardest times, remember that you are not alone and there are others who are also fighting in the Lord's battle. Our job is to build each other up and love each other.
~ Bless those who persecute you (vs. 14). What can be a better way to show people that we love Jesus? No matter how wrong someone is to you, always repay evil for good.
~ Live in harmony with one another (vs. 16). If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone (vs. 18). As Christians, we should be different from the world. Who will want to follow Jesus if His followers are not getting along even with each other?
~ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (vs. 21).

The Ten Laws of Excellent Speech

From the book The Teenage Years of Jesus Christ
by Pastor Jerry Ross

1. Speak sparingly
Proverbs 10:19
2. Speak only after thinking
James 1:19
3. Speak honestly
Proverbs 12:17
4. Speak with grace
Colossians 4:6
5. Speak only acceptable words
Psalm 19:14
6. Speak appropriately
Proverbs 25:11
7. Speak respectfully
1 Timothy 5:1-2
8. Never speak evil of another
Titus 3:2
9. Never praise yourself
Proverbs 27:2
10. Speak the gospel boldly
Romans 1:16

If anyone has not read this book, I would really encourage you to read it. It is very good!!!
Blessings,
Marissa

Sorry the font is so weird... blogger is being.. interesting... :D It won't let me make all of the words the same size.

Living for Eternity

In church today we talked about living for eternity. Wow, it was a very convicting message. Something that I know, but really should be putting into practice much more.
I don't think I spend as much time thinking about this as I should. Everything I do is either going to only effect the temporal life here on this earth, or it is going to effect my life in eternity. I am trying to think of practical examples for this.....
1. If I decide to play out in the yard with my siblings, I could be doing it for the temporal or for the eternal. I could do it to get exercise, only for my own personal benefit, or I could be doing it to build into my siblings lives and building relationships with them. I would also be getting exercise in the process. Why would I want to do it for only the temporal it I could be doing it for the eternal at the same time?
2. If I am going to practice on of my instruments, I could do it for the temporal or the eternal. I could do it simply to get better for my own personal benefit, or I could adjust my focus so that I was doing it to get better for the Lord, so that I could better serve Him.
3. If I am helping my mom shop for groceries, I could be doing it for the temporal or eternal. I could do it simply to help her, or I could be building into lives while I do it. First of all, usually when I am doing this, it's with one of my siblings. Just seeing siblings get along is pretty rare in our world today. Also, maybe I could start a conversation with someone in the store or with the cashier. You never know what simply talking to a person can lead to. You may be able to change their life.

Anyway, I realized that I should constantly be thinking of what I can do to effect eternity.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
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 on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Thanks for reading!
In Christ Alone,
Marissa