tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28204269980857040762024-03-12T22:48:33.062-04:00Chick-ChatChick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.comBlogger181125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-92144091074610363392016-03-27T08:23:00.001-04:002016-04-24T23:16:13.360-04:00Joy In The Morning!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Can you even begin to imagine such unspeakable, mind spinning, paradigm shifting, reality altering JOY as the realization sunk in that yes, the voice that just spoke her name, and the eyes that were looking deep into hers with a sweet familiarity as Mary wept by His empty tomb, really were those of her Lord and Savior - Jesus... the Christ?!?!?! And He WAS alive - just as He promised he would be! #HappyEaster #threedayslater #eternityforeverchanged #lifeuntodeathuntolife #deathdefeated</span></div>
Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-85658884122985313892016-03-25T14:41:00.000-04:002016-03-25T14:43:24.790-04:00A Deafening Good Friday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UQMWdWyYRvY/VvWF1u4jriI/AAAAAAAAq24/iaAus2kT7-8_gmKVZI4UokyaNRCte7UWg/s1600/1934487_10153680929962408_3436998850883859653_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UQMWdWyYRvY/VvWF1u4jriI/AAAAAAAAq24/iaAus2kT7-8_gmKVZI4UokyaNRCte7UWg/s320/1934487_10153680929962408_3436998850883859653_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;"><span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">Imagine the engulfing and drowning sound of 12 legions of light coming against the dark ones, as the battles and the all out wars were escalating toward a fevered pitch in the spiritual realms on this day, when Christ was giving up everything, taking on himself the unimaginable...</span><br style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;" /><span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">Willingly.</span><br style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;" /><span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">All for us.</span><br style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;" /><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/overwhelmedandgratefulbeyondwords?source=feed_text&story_id=10153680930072408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; text-decoration: none;"><span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">overwhelmedandgratefulbeyondwords</span></a><br style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;" /><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/itisfinished?source=feed_text&story_id=10153680930072408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; text-decoration: none;"><span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">itisfinished</span></a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/goodfriday?source=feed_text&story_id=10153680930072408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; text-decoration: none;"><span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">GoodFriday</span></a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/lovelikenoother?source=feed_text&story_id=10153680930072408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; text-decoration: none;"><span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl" style="color: #627aad;">#</span><span class="_58cm">lovelikenoother</span></a></span>Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-2439981508823597232015-04-30T15:38:00.001-04:002015-04-30T15:44:38.691-04:00America is the best country in the world - a statement that keeps getting harder to validate, and simply isnt true in so many ways anymore<div style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, 'lucida grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;">Had to share this video that my DIL shared earlier today...</span></div>
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And also some things on my heart...<br />
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It's not that I don't love my country, but I am so very disappointed in it. In us.<br />
I've had several conversations with people, with more and more frequency, about the views and truth of the statements in this video... the world doesn't have to change for our lives to be better - WE have to make conscious changes within ourselves and within our own country to once again see America strong, or even see us truly make any lasting difference at all in our world.<br />
We are falling extensively short and farther behind in equal morality, education, compassion, health, and quality of life here - as well as leaving a positive mark on the world.<br />
If only we would ALL decide as individuals to band together to do the necessary things to ensure true equality in every possible way here at home, and stop expecting the next group or person in local/national government office to "fix things". What would everyone's lives look like if we could each stop thinking that any of us deserve more than another? If we quit basing our outreach efforts outside this country on ONLY REACTING to the crisis instead of arresting it where it begins? If we quit attaching a string to much of our aid/assistance that those we help then do things the "american way"? What if we instead focused more energy and funds to find ways and resources to help educate those in need to sustain themselves in ways that work best in their own culture and match up more easily with their natural resources? And most importantly they might honestly think it a good thing to let us help if it was evident we had successfully lessened or eliminated our own hungry, our own down trodden and outcasts, our own destitute, our own have nots.<br />
But we say the "caste systems" in other countries are an outrage, while we are ok that a pretty similar one exist right here in America in so many ways.<br />
And we're ok with the fact that our military are continually put in harm's way to defend another country from treating select groups as unimportant and less, while we watch the same thing continue to happen here daily as if there is a difference. The quote "where you live shouldn't determine whether you live or die, and where you live shouldn't determine your access to the simplest of things that mean the difference between living or just existing" should hold water here too.<br />
I agree, we USED to be the best country in the world when every man and woman did their personal best to give back, to stand alongside, and to personally invest in their own neighbors and communities because they kept a compassionate eye on the bigger picture. We were more selfless as a whole. Being an American was more about how we treated one another instead of what we could consume.<br />
Until we are moved collectively to change the circumstances of those down the street, in the next town, or in another state, we have no business touting ourselves or our country as being the greatest, or the ones qualified to show any one else how to better live... we can never truly make the difference we should anywhere else until we put every effort into making sure this is really the land of equality and freedom it was intended to be. Until we can honestly say we are about EVERYONE here having equal access to a solid education, healthy food, to not die of diseases that are treatable except that the health care and medicines they need are only available to those who have a high paying enough position to afford a better health care plan, until all are living without the daily fear of not knowing how they will clothe and feed their children, and having the injustice in all lives receive the same attention and help - to not base their level of protection or aid on where they live or how much money they make.<br />
The truth of America is that we are still full of our own poor, that we have let achieving the "american dream" become a warped sense of what success really looks like, that we put what we think will make us happy above what the dream was really about in the beginning: that everyone have the exact same basic opportunities, that we impact others in positive ways with what we have - not staying focused on how much we can purchase or consume, when nothing achieved created bragging rights, that it was quite simply about how much good we did for others, and what we could accomplished together verses alone would better everyone's life.<br />
Instead America is: still full and spilling over with our own disadvantaged and hungry, allowing human trafficking to thrive in our own back yards, letting abuse of our children still happen every day, not taking collectively any real moral stand on anything, letting not making anyone angry or causing a possible law suit take a front seat to doing what's right, turning a blindeye to injustice, expecting our government to right the wrongs we as a people have let happen and that we still create every day by choosing not to act, not living by the golden rule (which would literally fix every single problem that exists), and we frankly refuse to accept that the weight of our individual responsibility for one another goes way beyond our own families.<br />
<a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/thelanguageinthisclipisnotwhatitypicallypost?source=feed_text&story_id=10153000563297408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">thelanguageinthisclipisnotwhatitypicallypost</span></a><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/buttheimportanceofthemessageoutweighsafewwordsused?source=feed_text&story_id=10153000563297408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">buttheimportanceofthemessageoutweighsafewwordsused</span></a><br />
<a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/dontthrowthebabyoutwiththebathwater?source=feed_text&story_id=10153000563297408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;"><span aria-label="hashtag" class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">#</span><span class="_58cm" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">dontthrowthebabyoutwiththebathwater</span></a></div>
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Here's to being the 'more' joy in someone elses journey ;)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;">Marisa </span></div>
Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-58621926453478626712015-04-13T08:27:00.000-04:002015-04-13T08:27:58.789-04:00<span style="background-color: #f4cccc; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Instinct matters, more than many are willing to admit and trust. A good instinct is as important in reaching goals and visions as anything that is taught. Hand in hand, instinct and knowledge can be unstoppable.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-54900625034790838232015-04-10T12:45:00.006-04:002015-04-13T08:33:08.590-04:00It's Not The Leap, It's The Landing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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I remember the first time I decided to try the high dive at our community pool. I thought the scariest part would be jumping off. Not that it wasn't frightening enough. Standing there, looking down into the cool watery abyss from more feet up than I've ever jumped off of before. Yep, I was scared. I was almost overwhelmed with the need to shimmy down that ladder, back to the safe concrete below, not caring who I had to climb over to get there. But hey, I'd been triple dog dared. <br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qmhrlaX1Yhk/VSfzy-6mcrI/AAAAAAAAdnk/OBS_dnmAPS0/s1600/img_9662_snapseed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qmhrlaX1Yhk/VSfzy-6mcrI/AAAAAAAAdnk/OBS_dnmAPS0/s1600/img_9662_snapseed.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a><br />
That was the day I learned where my fear really came from. </div>
Because I did jump. I stepped off into nothing but air, plummeting like a small missile into the water below.<br />
I went much deeper than I imagined I would (sunk like a rock really). It was then the fear seized my entire body and mind!<br />
It resonated in me even then - ok, it wasn't the leap I feared, it was what came AFTER. The unknown.<br />
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<i>(Keeping a secret, well... secret, is hard sometimes. But at no time is it harder than when it's a secret of our own. Hard because it causes us the pain of feeling somehow in a constant state of separation from everyone else in our life. We hold it in well past the point of pain, afraid its not a safe enough time or place to let it out. The pain of what we imagine the "after effect" to be (aka - what everyone will think about us) keeps us holding our secrets, our story, close to our hearts. It's like holding our breath. </i><i>ecause sometimes the burning pain it causes somehow becomes tolerable. Familiar. Better than the unknown at least we think. The after affect scenarios that we imagine HAVE to be worse. So the unknown keeps us silent. Our lungs stretch to hold more)</i><br />
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Let's see, where was I... oh yeah, sinking like a rock.<br />
I could hear the muffled voices and laughter from above. I thought, "here's where I'll meet my maker", while all around me life will just chug on by. The adrenaline was flowing and my lungs were burning with the need to exhale and suck more air in. My mind swirled... what if I don't make it?? What if I don't have enough air to make it up all the way?? What if I swallow water and die?? Or worse, what if I don't die (my young mind was sizing up and categorizing the worse of any foreseeable outcomes), and I live only to be seen being pulled half dead from the water, coughing up the watery depths I'd swallow, gagging and spitting it out like a fish convulsing after being reeled in on the bank?? Only I'd be projecting a barrage of water mixed with snot out of my nose, a gasping crying hot snotty mess, and all right in front of the really cute boy I had noticed sitting on his towel by the deep end as I began my (not well thought out at all) ascent of madness.<br />
I knew I needed to exhale, badly, but I knew I couldn't until I made it to a safe place (head above the water) to do so.<br />
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But here's the truth of it. When we offer a declaration of our own secrets, share the thing we're most fearful of someone finding out on their own, or when we bear witness to another persons story with a "me too", or by simply listening and responding with compassion, love, and acceptance, we are validating the fact that the pain, emotions, and feelings associated with them are real. That it did happen, and that the impact the experiences made on each of us matter. In both instances we are finally attaching a deep intrinsic value not just to the story tellers, but to the decisions, choices, and incidents that adversely altered our lives along the way. It’s a priceless acknowledgement that it all hasn't gone unnoticed. And it's a necessary step in the healing process. Necessary because to us it's a direct reflection of what we all need to believe most at our very core, and what we are really seeking in the whole process - to know and believe that God truly sees us, knows us deeply, never left us, loves us as we are, and is for us no matter what.<br />
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Part confession, part healing, and part accountability, bearing witness to each others secrets is a sacred exchange (and <i>we should be that safe place</i>) that blesses the heart of our Heavenly Father, and that gives a whole new meaning to Hebrews 12:1 - “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”<br />
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We need people in our life who know our truths, who encourage us, love us for who we are - the good the bad and the ugly - and want us to be in the best place possible. Then we can more easily let God show us just how much he loves us, by allowing him to rewrite that story. His intent is to assign a "kingdom minded" purpose to our "after" life story - to take us to a whole other level of healing and forgiveness that He can use! We can take off the heavy coat of shame, or anger, or whatever false identity we have been wearing. We can breathe in fresh life once we finally "exhale" the secrets and pain that have long filled us with shame. We can shake off the bitterness that has held us under - suspended somehow in that particular place in time. We can step into deeper water without such fear.<br />
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If you hold a secret too close that is tied to a healing you need, it's holding you captive.<br />
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See, here's the key to the telling, to the leap, to working our way through the unknown, to our purpose. The freedom we attain from letting God lead us out into our healing, is what then gives birth to one of the single greatest calling on our lives... to help others we meet along our journey who are sinking and desperate for a lung full of fresh air, to find a way to believe that Romans 8:28 is for them too - that "God makes all things work together for the good in the lives of those who are in Christ", and that there is a huge redeeming life giving "exhale" waiting for them too.<br />
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Oh, and for those who are interested in the rest of the story - I made it to fresh air, and up the ladder on the side of the deep end, with only a little coughing and snot. The cute boy? Never even looked my way. Dang it. So I took a run when the life guards head was turned, jumped as high as I could, and pulled off a pretty impressive cannon-ball right in front of him ;)<br />
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Joyful on the Jouney,<br />
Marisa<br />
#nolongerboundbysecretsChick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-59732004466782155832015-03-25T21:56:00.001-04:002015-03-25T21:56:51.261-04:00Silence Really Still Can Be Golden<span style="line-height: normal;">Before the storm stirred, Jesus went down into the space beneath the stern of the boat to sleep. He didn't take a cat nap on deck. He knew the storm was coming. And it says he slept soundly. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">Knowing the road into Jerusalem would lead to the cross, Jesus still rode that dang donkey straight into the center of town - midst a fanfare of shouting and singing no less. He didn't hide his arrival. He faced it head on. Willingly.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">Whether listening intently to our desperate prayers, still orchestrating the perfect answer to our circumstance... or boldly announcing his presence, kicking open that door standing directly in your way out of that circumstance.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">Jesus is always there. And for us. From beginning to end. Faithful. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">#trusthimwiththewhole #nevertakesilenceforabandonment #sometimesitjustmeansnotyet #histimingisalwaysbest</span>Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-89122036963794241702015-03-21T17:39:00.001-04:002015-03-23T17:26:02.225-04:00You haven't missed your calling...<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZPPhHsCzS0/VRCE0A2PkUI/AAAAAAAAdZo/upBKKMax81A/s1600/19685_1045841252110507_5240754469545268631_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZPPhHsCzS0/VRCE0A2PkUI/AAAAAAAAdZo/upBKKMax81A/s1600/19685_1045841252110507_5240754469545268631_n.jpg" height="320" width="252" /></a>Your biggest pain, your biggest shame, and your deepest wound is the most important part of your calling... the healing from it, the revealing of it, and the beautiful thing your whole story can then become, is the most intimate way God can use you. The best way to share Him with others is to let Him restore and rewrite your story.Then start telling it. That's how it becomes "His story".<br />
It all starts with where you have desperatly needed Him the most ;)<br />
#noneedtolookforyourpurpose #itsalreadyhere #Hisgloryrevealed<br /><br /><br />
Joyful on the Journey.<br />MarisaChick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-20441557014189218412015-02-02T14:04:00.001-05:002015-02-03T21:15:15.294-05:00Am I Enough?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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Insecurities suck. </div>
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'How does she have the energy to DO all that with her kids, AND cook from scratch?'<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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'How does she juggle all that at work?'<o:p></o:p></div>
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'I should volunteer there too.<br />
I wish I was good at that.'<o:p></o:p></div>
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'God would probably be happier with me if I were more like her.'<br />
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Yep, I've thought those too. And more.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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And getting past them? Ugh, almost as painful as holding onto them. Almost.<br />
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Overcoming insecurities isn't exclusively hard for women. Men definitely struggle with them too. But it often seems particularly difficult for us. So many of the things we desire to be or do, seem to always come so much easier for someone else. </div>
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But in reality, we sabotage ourselves don't we? I mean, on an insecurity scale of
1 to 10, we don't seem to need any help twisting the knob up to about 15 all on
our own. Yes, the enemy does know our weaknesses quite well. But eventually, we're the ones
doing the majority of the work. It comes so easily to us too, almost like second
nature. And then what do we do? Why we consciously choose to play one of the most extremely dangerous and competitive
games there is. A game, that evidently must be able to handle as many
players as want to participate, called 'Comparisons'.<o:p></o:p><br />
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You know that game, right? I do. We've moved our tokens around the game board, strategies of how we can land on the same spaces the women we wish we were more like do. It's easy to see what to aim for. After all, they always seem to be one step ahead. We lay down a little more of what we have in our hand to bet with. They move. We feel envious, lacking, and so we frantically move too, trying to get the same results. And if it isn't working we panic, fearing that we're being left
behind. We might even cheat a little then. Pretend we have exactly what they do so we can move along side them. But before long we find we're totally bankrupt, and we justify the striving and
struggling that got us to wager our sanity, peace, joy, and more by quoting <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2031:10-31">Proverbs
31 </a> </span></span></div>
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"See" we shout, "SHE does it ALL!" <o:p></o:p></div>
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Wait... what? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Hold up a minute. This isn't a mandatory list of things we have to do to be worthy of being loved. This is the biblical ideal of the kind of godly woman King
Samuel's mother was telling him he should be seeking. It shows us a woman shouldn't let her life be dictated by every little thing. And I guarantee Samuel's own
mother could not accomplish it all simultaneously - not even half of it!<o:p></o:p></div>
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NEWSFLASH – these are examples. Examples of how a godly woman
is more concerned with being giving, being trustworthy, using whatever
skills she may have to be supportive, contributing to the well being of her family/community, being willing to jump in and provide in her own way where
needed, being forgiving, and showing grace. It isn't a check list of daily actions.
It should encourage us all to find a balance in our lives that allows us to be soft,
strong, nurturing, and independent in the best ways! Notice her focus is on the
betterment of everyone else but not at her own expense. And not to make herself
feel better or more important.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But I get it. Oh boy do I ever. I've been there. I've played that
game more times than I can begin to count. My whole life. And I see the things that
many of you share on Facebook, and hear in your conversations<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. </span></span>Your hearts reveal many of you find
yourselves there often. You’re playing the game like a champ.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For some of you, insecurities are very new to you.
Circumstances not of your choosing have unexpectedly sidelined you. Your
confidence has been shaken in a way it never has before. Your first health,
finance, career, or relationship crisis has hit. You're reeling, and unsure. These are new feelings for you..<br />
For some it's been a battle for some time. You've been in a dark place for a while now. And have before too. It's a second, or third crisis that's
found you once again sitting down at the table to play the game. And
unfortunately its getting easier.<br />
For some, it’s not just a battle, but the war of a lifetime. Since you were a
little girl you haven't been able to get past the circumstances throughout your life that have produced your feelings of being lonely - even in a crowd, of feeling
used, abandoned, undervalued, unloved, and maybe even invisible. You know the game inside
and out. You'll never need to give the directions another glance. It's as if
you were born knowing how to play, dice in hand, with the question already formed on your lips... "Am I Enough?"</div>
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<br /></div>
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I'm extremely familiar with the game of 'Comparisons'.
Many experiences - some of my choosing, but so many that were definitely not - have left me struggling with feelings of unworthiness, never being enough, feeling less
than. For as long as I can remember I always felt I was two or three times around the
board behind everyone else playing. Those are all stories for another time
maybe :)<br />
Not that there aren't days my mind still doesn’t take me there - but most days
I think I can say Gods very real forgiveness and unconditional love are helping me gain ground on them.</div>
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But you can never let your guard lower, and become
complacent thinking you have it all down. Never assume that you have walked
away from the game for the last time. #youknowwhattheysayyoudowhenyouassume ;)<br />
<br /></div>
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The last few years have brought a new crisis or two. But it turns out the most life altering one, in a long time anyway, would come to a head over the last 12 months. I
would have recognized just how serious the red flags were had I been
paying closer attention. Over the last 6 years or so it seems my body had been
screaming as loudly as it could to try and tell me that all was not right. But in all honesty, I think if not for circumstances that I did not choose that slowed my life FOR me, I may not have listened until the screaming
stopped. And my body completely gave out.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The fact that I was sick, A LOT, weaker than I used to be,
gaining weight steadily, suffering debilitating headaches, that I could hardly
get out of bed some days and felt like I'd been hit by a truck most of them,
wasn't just because I worked 60 hours many weeks. It wasn't even that on top of that I
was heavily involved in women’s ministry, and was a wife and mom.<br />
BUT, because I did all that I chalked it up to normal for someone who juggles
those things. So I kept juggling for far too long. I mean, if I didn't do it all who would? #imsurethatdoesntsoundfamiliartoanyone<br />
So I decided that the physical fall out was something I would just have to suck
up and deal with. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But 12 months ago I wasn’t working like that anymore.
And instead of things getting better now I couldn't walk very far (to the
mailbox and back had me needing to take some very deep breaths and hurting). I
couldn't lift very much, couldn't sleep well at all, and now needed naps daily
- sometimes more than one. I was in pain a lot, sore, stiff, still having
numerous migraines, was forgetful, and felt like I was living in a sort of fog
all the time. I've never felt more useless, worthless, depressed, and
frustrated. I didn't even have the strength to TRY and measure up
anymore. <br />
But the guilt? Oh yeah, it was still there. And that made me
insecure wondering if people thought I was faking, or wondering if it they thought it was all in
my head (because I wondered that myself more than once), or if they
thought I was just lazy. </div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Then one day an allergy appointment of all things, with someone who
listened VERY closely to some answers I gave to some pretty standard questions,
began putting 2 and 2 together, And she set me on a path that eventually discovered and answered so
many questions I didn't even know to ask. And the red flags began to finally make sense. And eventually a plan began to come together.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have seen more doctors in the last year than I have in the
last 10 years combined I think. Some I dropped like a hot potato as I learned
more about my own body, as I learned that the "normal for people with your
issues" still wasn't MY normal. I learned who truly listened and who
didn't.<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><br />
When I discovered what the very real problems with my health were (hypothyroid w/goiter, and 2
separate auto immune diseases), what needed to happen for me to heal as best I could, and that there would also
simply be a new normal for me I needed to accept - I was happy to know what was so wrong with me, but was even more depressed at what that said about my new life.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My husband, friends, coworkers, my family - would they be
disappointed? Would they understand? Could they make allowances, or would they tire
of them? And I
asked over and over and over again - "Why God??? This isn’t how I wanted my life
to go! I'm not even 50 yet and this is crazy!"<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was focused so much on what negative things I thought
others would feel, that I didn't even consider how it might
actually be exciting to them that there could now be a plan of action for me.
<br />
But then my sweet husband began showing me how much it meant to him. Me feeling
better was all he was worried about. Not the weight. Not that he had to make
sure he didn’t plan too many things in a day, or even a week, for us to do. Not that he would
have to count on me less to help with certain strenuous activities around the
house for awhile because they cause me too much pain. Not that we have to find things that
allow me to not sit, or stand, too long. Not even that our diets had to change - AGAIN, removing some delicious things, normally very healthy, because they cause my body inflammation. All he cared about was that we do what we need to do for me to feel
better, so our lives together would be as full and joyful as possible! </div>
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His refection of loving me how my Father loves me began to
sink in.<o:p></o:p></div>
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No matter the reasons, and how frustrating it is at times, I
realize that even if my daily life has to be very different than many others, it's okay. Stress makes my issues flare, becoming over tired, not moving
enough, being too cold or too hot, too much or too little of some vitamins/minerals, etc.
It’s now definitely not about what someone else thinks, or me feeling guilty for my circumstances and what I can't do. God wants me to do what I need to, to be as healthy as possible. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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It really all comes down to how, and who, I spend time worshipping. God is trying, so very patiently, to show me that my mind, heart, and body ALL are individually His. </div>
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So for me now, its way more important that I begin balancing my time & activities in ways that produce better physical health and emotional well being for me. That is HOW I can begin to best serve Him through my family, friends, church, and community. When I do the healthiest things for me possible, I can continue to do the things He has prepared for me for as long as possible. Not what someone else does. When I'm striving for a life and image other than my own, I'm trying to achieve what was never intended for me. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Will I worship God by carrying for the mind heart and body He created just for me, listening to the signals actually telling me what it needs or shouldn't be doing? Or will I worship an idol, something or someone I wasn't designed to be?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Will I continually regret what I can't seem to do as well as “she” or “they” can, feeling guilty and less than? Or will I gratefully accept that I'm just different for a reason, doing what I can with the things that make me uniquely ME, and worship God thankful for what I can do? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'm learning that when I do what's necessary for me to feel my best, that's what allows me to more consistently do more for others and enjoy more of my life. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I focus on what I can do, what I'm good at, instead of making myself crazy trying to measure up to someone else. It doesn’t mean I don’t try new things. It just means I don’t pressure myself to succeed in all things.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You may not have my same health limitations, maybe you have
different ones. Or maybe different talents, skills, passions, amounts of time
available, responsibilities, and interests - but can't seem to help but want the others ones you don't have. The point is that who and where you
are is your reality. Letting your insecurities drag you into a fight that
is not meant to be yours, is a conflict you cannot win. Feeling guilty for what
you do or don't do for yourself or others, based on your abilities, is a battle
you are not supposed to fight. It's not real. Take care of what
you've been given, to do your absolute best with what you have. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="color: #222222;">“For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
beforehand, that we should walk in them.”</span></i></b><span class="apple-converted-space"><b><i><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></i></b></span><b><i><span style="color: #222222;">Eph. 2:10</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I don't know what convinces you to sit at the table<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span>to play the game.
But<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">i</span>f your legs are growing
numb from being there for far too long, isn't it time you stood up, got
some feeling back in them again, and walked away? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Joyful on the Journey,</div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Marisa</div>
</div>
</div>
Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-56061178069381511982014-12-24T09:15:00.001-05:002014-12-24T10:38:35.000-05:00The Wonder of My Christmas Journey<span style="line-height: normal;">I'm finding it overwhelming this Christmas that my journey really began to take shape </span>strangely enough in a familiar food trough.<br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">I believe my life was dreamed of and planned from the beginning of time by my Creator, but </span>what a wonder and mysterious miracle that actually my eternal life was literally birthed within the hands, the feet, the side, and the heart of a baby. THE baby no less. The SAME hands, feet, side, and heart of THE Messiah that were pierced for or transgressions set or own<br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">Hard to comprehend isn't it? Wrapping my mind around the fact that as His mother pushed fluid, blood, and life onto the floor in a place that smelled like sweat and sheep dung. That it was at THAT moment MY journey truly began too?</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">Mercy: such sweetness of life within filth; such forgiveness in horrific death; bursting forth first onto hay, and then again from a borrowed resting place, into gloriously intertwined lives... Jesus and me, destiny.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">Your journey began in that same trough, your life has traversing the same path, intertwined with that same baby, that same Messiah.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="line-height: normal;">From cradle to cross - Merry Christmas friends!</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">Marisa </span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-5652942142761724322014-12-12T16:22:00.001-05:002014-12-12T16:26:20.015-05:00Looking for the Unidentified<span style="line-height: normal;">It can be frightening, to not know. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">To be uncertain what life is bringing to you.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">But it can also be exhilarating to just imagine all the options and possibilities that could be out there. Around the corner. Either hurtling through space and time towards you at lightening speed, or steadily moving towards you at a consistent unchanging rate. Both arrive at a precise and predetermined time. Both crossing the same distance. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">More importantly, whether now or later, good or not so good - God's eye never wavers. He doesn't lose track of what's coming. And whether it's fast or slow, easy or hard, He can and will make much of it.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span>
Joyful on the Journey,<br />
Marisa<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-12202839555264371572014-11-19T10:32:00.002-05:002015-04-13T08:24:51.351-04:00Wash Your Face and Save a Life!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gmG-b_ZsfVU/VGylfCOPUDI/AAAAAAAAX2g/p65JK-CrQg0/s1600/royalset-500x500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: #f4cccc; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gmG-b_ZsfVU/VGylfCOPUDI/AAAAAAAAX2g/p65JK-CrQg0/s1600/royalset-500x500.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;"><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Did you know simply cleaning your face can actually help a woman escape poverty and oppression? Me either! <br />I was shopping at Earth Fare recently, and was drawn (as I always am) to the heavenly scented soaps and such. While sniffing around (pun intended) I remembered I needed some chap-stick. </span><br /><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">So I wondered over to the familiar Burt's Bees and other names I saw that I recognized, but decided to peruse the other brands before picking up an old favorite. That's when I spotted "lip butter" (the word "butter" always garners my attention) in what looked to be really cool biodegradable packing in delicious flavors like Vanilla Orange, Passion-fruit, and Raspberry. YUM!</span><br /><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">The name on the package intrigued me too - </span><a href="http://www.rootedbeauty.com/" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" target="_blank">Rooted Beauty</a><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">. So I pulled out my smartphone and went to the web site on the label. I saw that low and behold that not only are their products organic and natural, but also with my purchase of the lip butter I could have a hand in meeting the needs of a woman named Sange escape poverty and learn a new skill/trade to support herself! </span><br /><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Each product is assigned to a specific woman. Some looking to leave an abusive relationship, some single moms needing to support their children, some want to go to school.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I decided this was definitely worth investigating further. I emailed the founder and ask her about how they choose their partners (listed on the web site). Kim Garret told me that they choose organizations to work through that are on the ground in areas where there are no resources available to these women, and who have a exemplary record of also not only meeting physical and emotional needs but their spiritual needs as well - they are all faith based! Some aren't obvious about that on their own web sites due to where they are serving - for safety and for easier access to these women. But it is important to Kim that these partners offer a holistic approach in how they minister. <br />Since then I've added another flavor of lip butter, and also now use their Mango facial moisturizer (LOVE it, so silky and a dab goes a LONG way). When I use up all the cleanser I already had spent money on I plan to try theirs as well!<br />Check out </span></span><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=235277806607104" href="https://www.facebook.com/rootedbeautyskincare" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;">Rooted Beauty</a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> - skincare products that are made from pure healthy ingredients, but just as important each purchase helps an individual woman's story be rewritten from one of helplessness to one of hope and life change through their Woman2Woman Project </span><i class="_4-k1 img sp_5Em_GKHOCoP sx_de2a21" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yg/r/N74Yz5v6w2Z.png); background-position: 0px -7986px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; color: #141823; display: inline-block; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 16px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"></i><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/givehope?source=feed_text&story_id=10152634739197408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">givehope</span></a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/makeadifference?source=feed_text&story_id=10152634739197408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">makeadifference</span></a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/shopwithpurpose?source=feed_text&story_id=10152634739197408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">shopwithpurpose</span></a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"></span><span class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/imchangingliasangeandgloriaslives?source=feed_text&story_id=10152634739197408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"> #</a>changealifewithwhatyoubuy</span></span><br />
<a href="http://www.rootedbeauty.com/woman2woman/" style="background-color: #f4cccc;" target="_blank">http://www.rootedbeauty.com</a><br />
<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;"><br />
Joyful On the Journey,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;">Marisa</span>Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-61583546707561267612014-11-07T14:04:00.002-05:002015-04-13T08:25:52.306-04:00Experience Compassion!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gl_FCA3Q1kw/VF0XPPnOoUI/AAAAAAAAW1E/U_tZumKbxh4/s1600/10516807_10100280308941000_1783011622072244880_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gl_FCA3Q1kw/VF0XPPnOoUI/AAAAAAAAW1E/U_tZumKbxh4/s1600/10516807_10100280308941000_1783011622072244880_n.jpg" height="118" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">This unique walk thru experience will challenge your views of poverty, transform your understanding of the world, and give YOUR heart hope - come and see for yourself what love and compassion can do!</span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/nov7thru10only?source=feed_text&story_id=10152612145037408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">Nov7thru10only</span></a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/compassion?source=feed_text&story_id=10152612145037408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">compassion</span></a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/injesusname?source=feed_text&story_id=10152612145037408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">inJesusname</span></a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/teachingmoments?source=feed_text&story_id=10152612145037408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">teachingmoments</span></a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"></span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/godsstory?source=feed_text&story_id=10152612145037408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">GodsStory</span></a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;"><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Go to </span><span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #222222; font-family: proxima-nova, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">http://on.fb.me/10yJ6g0 for details - and you can even reserve a specific time Nov 7-10th!</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;"><span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #222222; font-family: proxima-nova, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #222222; font-family: proxima-nova, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Marisa</span></span>Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-75971000715314536232014-11-06T12:03:00.003-05:002015-04-13T08:27:18.646-04:00Homemade Gifts!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hLOQe1UbP4M/VFuppjbmu2I/AAAAAAAAWxw/jWc-vTR0IqY/s1600/1380473_371180903058824_7211657089976080833_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f6b26b;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hLOQe1UbP4M/VFuppjbmu2I/AAAAAAAAWxw/jWc-vTR0IqY/s1600/1380473_371180903058824_7211657089976080833_n.jpg" height="292" width="400" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /><span style="background-color: #f4cccc;">This </span></span><span style="background-color: #f4cccc; color: black;"><a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/page.php?id=360203840823197" href="https://www.facebook.com/craftedknoxworkshops" style="cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;">crafted knoxville workshops</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> event on Saturday has some really neat hand crafted ideas that would make great Christmas gifts... they show you how and all supplies are included!!! Actually, they would make super gifts for any occasion really </span><i class="_4-k1 img sp_zl77dta7erX sx_5ce406" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/y7/r/I2KDOKxP-hB.png); background-position: 0px -8075px; background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; height: 16px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"></i><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> so sign up quick before spaces are gone and follow them on Facebook thru the link above and on <a href="http://instagram.com/crafted_knoxville_workshops">Instagram</a> for more upcoming events too!</span></span>Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-24746265266564150702014-10-15T15:32:00.001-04:002014-10-15T15:55:50.913-04:00Behind the scenes...As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain your mercy from me;<br />
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!<br />
~ Psalm 40:11<br />
<br />
"Preserve": to prepare; a sphere of activity regarded as being reserved for a particular person or group<br />
<br />
WOW! God is preserving His plan for me even as I fumble, preserving His path before me even as I struggle to find it, preserving His thoughts and dreams for me even though I question, preserving my joy even when I don't feel it - He is EVER working out what He has reserved for my good!<br />
<br />
Joyful on this journey indeed :)<br />
<br />
MarisaChick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-27186934267235832292014-10-09T15:45:00.004-04:002015-04-13T08:27:45.800-04:00Just a little off my chest today... :)<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;"><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Okay auto-correct... in what situation in any universe would it ever seem plausible to you that I would be trying to type and send the word "sardine" in all caps, and with exclamation points no less???? It's "AWESOME!!!"</span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/happenseverysingletime?source=feed_text&story_id=10152547533542408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;"></span></a><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/whydontieverturnitoff?source=feed_text&story_id=10152547533542408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cm"> </span></a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15.3599996566772px;">I keep trying to picture why I would be yelling "SARDINE!!!" <br />I have never been in fear for my life or anyone else's from them, never seen them suddenly become airborne and fling themselves at my head, nor have I ever (even though I like the ones in mustard) become that overjoyed at seeing or opening a can of them. Strangeness. </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/happenseverysingletime?source=feed_text&story_id=10152547533542408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">happenseverysingletime</span></a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/ineverheardofasardineattack?source=feed_text&story_id=10152547533542408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">ineverheardofasardineattack</span></a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/autocorrectfail?source=feed_text&story_id=10152547533542408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">autocorrectfail</span></a><span style="line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"></span></span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/oneofmanyperday?source=feed_text&story_id=10152547533542408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;"> #</span><span class="_58cm">oneofmanyperday</span></a><span style="color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"> </span><span class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/whydontieverturnitoff?source=feed_text&story_id=10152547533542408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"></a></span><a class="_58cn" data-ft="{"tn":"*N","type":104}" href="https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/whydontieverturnitoff?source=feed_text&story_id=10152547533542408" style="color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-decoration: none;"><span class="_58cl" style="color: #6d84b4;">#</span><span class="_58cm">whydontieverturnitoff</span></a></span>Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-12911390938941600992014-09-22T14:33:00.002-04:002014-09-24T12:36:30.118-04:00How God talked me into praying for a flood...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-glEt9hb4UrQ/VCBrg2LPiKI/AAAAAAAARx0/5JrkeEh18Zo/s1600/hqdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-glEt9hb4UrQ/VCBrg2LPiKI/AAAAAAAARx0/5JrkeEh18Zo/s1600/hqdefault.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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God is so aggravating sometimes. There you are minding your own business on Sunday, thinking about how this message is SO good for that friend you have been praying for. Wondering if they are hearing the same thing you are - if they are paying attention, because wow, this is just exactly what they need to hear. And you're so excited for them you can barely sit still!<br />
And then it happens. BAM! You can sit still now for sure. Because you get nailed. Nailed to the very chair you are sitting in. Wait a minute... what the heck - this is for me????<br />
Dang it.<br />
<br />
At the moment we are in a series focused on Ephesians at my church on Sundays. One of my favorite books of the bible actually (and just like God to use what I love against me).<br />
Yesterday as our Pastor took us through the second week of this series called "Immeasurable", focusing on Ephesians 1: 17-23 - Paul's prayer for the Ephesians he served and loved - that's when it happened. I got nailed. One verse in particular seemed to reverberate through the room. I mean his lips were still moving, I could plainly see he was still talking. But all I could hear was THAT verse. I mean I know this verse, read it many many times. I did mention Ephesians was one of my favorite books. This time though - BAM!<br />
My favorite translation says it this way "I pray that your hearts will be *flooded with light* so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he has called..." ~ Ephesians. 1:18<br />
<br />
I managed to get through the conversations after church with those around me, through lunch with friends, through a visit with my mom, and even some chill time with my husband on the couch before bed watching some HGTV - all the while knowing this wasn't over. And sure enough as my feet hit the floor this morning, as I was brushing my teeth, and as I was on my way to work there He was again with the same verse. Dang it!<br />
<br />
So when I got to work and settled in at my desk I prayed and asked God to reveal what he wanted me to get. What He wanted me to know today more completely than I knew yesterday. <br />
(I admit I did this halfheartedly but that didn't dissuade Him at all - he was loaded for bear)<br />
I then looked up the meaning of the one word from that verse that kept resounding in my ears and mind the loudest since yesterday morning.<br />
Flooded.<br />
There were many definitions I found, but a few jumped off the screen at me like "arrive in overwhelming amounts or quantities" and "fill or suffuse completely".<br />
But the one that cut me to the core and made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up? "As to drive someone out of their home or business with a flood"<br />
BAM! <br />
Okay, I said to myself looking back at the verse. My heart. It's a home for Christ to reside. Right? What's in my home that needs to be driven out?<br />
I immediately wish I hadn't asked. I didn't like where this was going at all. But I had come this far and if the last 22 hours were any indication I needed to forge ahead or be nailed every time I turned around.<br />
So I ask myself the question I didn't want to answer - Who is at the center of my heart that He battles for space?<br />
The answer was immediate in my spirit. Almost audible. And matter of fact. The answer was Me. <br />
My concerns. My worries. My wants. My needs. And all this "Me" affects everything I say and do. Every single stinkin' day.<br />
And I write those with capital M's because that's where I put them all most days. More important and ahead of Him. I try not to. Some days I do pretty well - for some of the day. But at some point, even if its for just a little while, my home becomes suddenly flooded once again. Only with Me instead of Him.<br />
<br />
I looked again at the scriptures we went through yesterday.<br />
To pray that my heart be so overwhelmed and filled completely (flooded) with His light (His Spirit and unveiling of truth) that there's no more darkness there, so there is no room for anything to be covered and unseen. I mean, I want to know the abundance of His hope and His calling on my life - but to pray that is isn't messing around. It means I must vacate the premises. Me - less. My concerns - less. My worries - less. My wants - less. My self evaluated needs - less. (any one else hearing Mercy Me's "So Long Self" yet?)<br />
<br />
Now hold on just a minute. That sounds and feels pretty icky, like I have to disappear. And in a world where I as a woman battle the insecurity of feeling invisible already many days, what the heck does that really mean? What will that look like?<br />
But dang it, that's exactly what's required... "He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less." ~ John 3:30<br />
I went back to the section of verses and looked again. Because to get to the end of Paul's prayer, to attain what is so precious and desirable, "to be made full and complete by Christ" (verse 23), this is what the sacrifice must be. <br />
Every stinkin' day. <br />
DANG IT!<br />
<br />
So, there you go. No denying it. It's not like I haven't prayed this before. I have. But you now what I mean when I say THIS time it means something else. THIS time its with a whole new level of understanding what that means. Scary stuff.<br />
Starting today my prayer every day has to include that I become invisible. <br />
I have a feeling now however that because I know what he wants though, that He'll be even more aggravating if I don't. You know? I know you do ;)<br />
I fully acknowledge I will fail at this many days, but would you like to join me? It's always easier to do anything when you know you aren't alone, when you know there are others in the thick of things with you. <br />
If so, here's what we'll be praying daily together:<br />
God please drive "me" out of YOUR home, flood my heart with more of you, so there isn't room left for what I want or think I need, but fill it to overflowing with more of you revealed, and what you want for me. Show me the FULLNESS of the hope you have called me to - a completeness in Jesus!"<br />
<br />
Comment below or on the Facebook post that led you here to let me know if you'll be praying this too<br />
<br />
Joyful on the Journey<br />
MarisaChick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-19521742094683461372014-09-17T12:54:00.000-04:002014-09-17T12:56:40.803-04:00You have something to offer...Our own "camera angles" to a common held vision are shaped by our own experiences, and our own gifting's. And they are as individually unique as we are. We can share that vision with those around us, still run side by side passionately to achieve it, but move creatively along our own path to get there. Honor and make the most of your uniqueness :)Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-68864811821003199102014-09-02T14:32:00.000-04:002014-09-02T14:32:05.321-04:00We Dare To Hope<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-toRwqMr4NK4/VAYNFiQCa1I/AAAAAAAARIs/iHZ49-GNaMI/s1600/hands-holding-a-small-tree-hidesy.jpg.opt688x764o0%2C0s688x764.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-toRwqMr4NK4/VAYNFiQCa1I/AAAAAAAARIs/iHZ49-GNaMI/s1600/hands-holding-a-small-tree-hidesy.jpg.opt688x764o0%2C0s688x764.jpg" height="320" width="288" /></a></div>
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Yet, I still dare to hope when I remember this:<br />
The faithful love of the Lord never ends!<br />
His mercies never cease.<br />
Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.<br />
So I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”<br />
Lamentations 3:21-24<br />
<br />
Even though, in spite of, even when, in the midst of, after all this, even if...<br />
No matter what has happened or what is lacking - YET we are not destroyed, we are not without mercy, what has come before doesn't matter to what comes after. We aren't broken evermore, we aren't consumed, we aren't totally depleted... there is a promise of healing, replenishing, and fullness.<br />
Dare to hope again - He promises a tree of life where hope is found!<br />
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Joyful on the Journey<br />MarisaChick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-28762736495965236462014-05-28T09:13:00.002-04:002015-04-13T08:29:23.238-04:00I'm way more than 5...<span style="background-color: #f9cb9c; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Is it just me? Am I the only one who sometimes feels like a 5 year old - crying to not have wait for what I want NOW, trying to convince God to IMMEDIATELY pick me up, telling me "yes, you can have what you want, and yes, I'll do exactly what it is you think you need me to, and right now"? </span><br />
<span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"><span style="color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Realizing I'm waaaaay more than 5, and that God will no more do that than I would have to my own 5 year old</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #37404e; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> is both embarrassing (that I behave/think that way sometimes), and also a relief (that He loves me too much to give in on what's not HIS best for me)...<br />Romans 8:28 - "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."<br /><br />It doesn't mean the waiting and discipline is fun, or even any easier, but it does mean we can trust Him <i class="_4-k1 img sp_IAa2ktb_meE sx_7a4a9a" style="background-image: url(https://fbstatic-a.akamaihd.net/rsrc.php/v2/yR/r/e_o94TChQjQ.png); background-position: -102px -946px; background-size: auto; display: inline-block; height: 16px; vertical-align: -3px; width: 16px;"></i><br />Isaiah 26:3 - "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."</span></span>Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-24547434080268936382014-05-27T08:48:00.001-04:002014-05-27T08:48:54.289-04:00When you are His you are:<br />
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Marked - having a distinctive or emphasized character; a banner, a dividing line, a border around...<br />
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were MARKED in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit - Ephesians 1:13 (NIV)<br />
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Sealed - evidence of authenticity; insuring that the contents have not been altered...<br />
"In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were SEALED with the promised Holy Spirit" - Ephesians 1:13 (ESV)<br />
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Identified - to cause to be or become identical; to be or become the same; claimed as known by or belonging to another...<br />
"And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he IDENTIFIED you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago" - Ephesians 1:13 (NLT)<br />
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Have the kind of week that leaves no one around you in doubt, that you KNOW without a doubt, that you belong to THAT kind of God!<br />
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Joyful on the Journey<br />MarisaChick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-52378305619701470512014-05-18T12:33:00.001-04:002014-05-18T14:38:50.563-04:00A thread in time...<span style="line-height: normal;">Some down time this morning has me reflecting on a thread. A thread that I and some friends all seem to be traveling through life tethered to lately. A thread the weaves itself around and within all our paths circumstances. The kind of "similar" that shouldn't be ignored. The kind that leaves no doubt something very specific is happening. And obvious "something" that is somehow linking us together in some deeper way we have yet to see or can't begin to know. </span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">Same lessons to learn? Same lessons to teach? I'm sure that's part of it, but not the full of it.</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">Maybe the outcomes won't be alike, but the journeys sure are - that much is VERY evident at the moment :) </span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">I hope I'll get at least a small glimpse of the bigger picture God is surely painting, using each of our "colors" to blend the one tiny area on His canvas we exist on into all the others... after all, the picture isn't complete without our part in it is it?</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: normal;">praying eyes and ears open :)</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: normal;">Joyful on the journey,</span><br />
<span style="line-height: normal;">Marisa</span>Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-58836225606086339752014-05-05T08:55:00.001-04:002014-05-05T08:55:52.024-04:00Roll With It...<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;"><span style="color: #292f33; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Mondays have a life of their own sometimes it seems - instead of trying to beat it into submission, lets decide here and now to just let God handle all that mess & we'll jus</span><span style="color: #292f33; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">t</span><span style="color: #292f33; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> roll with the punches ;)</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #292f33; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Joyful on the Journey</span></span><br /><span style="color: #292f33; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Marisa</span></span></span>Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-86440393490634703692014-04-24T08:17:00.003-04:002014-04-24T08:17:35.263-04:00Ready... "If Jesus backs you into a corner, it's to set you free. He's holding you down long enough to snap that trap you're in." - Beth Moore<br />
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ready to hear the sound of the chains breaking... ready to stop wrestling... ready to shake off the bindings... ready to breathe in deep, and finally exhale just as deeply... <br />
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Awaiting a breaking - and so ready for it,<br />MarisaChick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-1825565439714154082014-04-21T12:55:00.001-04:002014-04-21T12:55:04.819-04:00Monday Morning Musing...<div class="text_exposed_root text_exposed" id="id_53554d106a97e9646887358">
<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">What did we leave our bed, our car, and our house, believing this morning? That the day was defeated already, or that an adventure just may await us? <br /> If God was thinking of us when He created the world, then He was most assuredly thinking of us before this Monday morning began too!<br /> Having faith that He faces whatever the day brings with us isn't entirely accurate - He also faced it BEFORE it reac<span class="text_exposed_show">hed us. In its very design. <br /> So instead of straining blindly against the things that try to trip us up, sticking to us and causing us to panic - as if we just walked through spider webs - we need simply to let His love and plan for the day wrap around us like the very air we walk through - clinging to us on all sides, above and below, in front and behind. <br /> We bump into the things the enemy throws up in our path, yes. BUT all within the very day GOD created. <br /> Don't hand over the day to the enemy - walk freely in with the Creator! <br /> Have a victorious week!</span></span></div>
Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2820426998085704076.post-85288417411588408412014-04-16T12:35:00.000-04:002014-04-16T12:35:26.979-04:00<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Bum0jb3woug" width="560"></iframe><br />Chick Chat With Marisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04292577781684044002noreply@blogger.com0