Hello!

Who am I?

My name is Marissa Barbee. I wear many hats; a few of which are wife, mother, teacher, and author. The overarching role of all the others, however, is that of servant. Above all and in all, I desire to have every aspect of my life serve God and His kingdom. From the way I honor my husband, to the way I raise and teach our children, to the words I write; may it all bring honor and glory the God of my salvation.

My primary focus in ministry has been to reach the hearts of my children with the understanding that God is involved in their every-day. He is always speaking to our hearts if only we will listen. The perspective of finding Christ in the every day things around

us is captured in the subtitle of this page and is the overarching theme of my book Christmas Traditions Through the Lens of Scripture. I wrote this book for our children with no intention to ever publish it. Then one day God knocked on the door of my heart and said, "I want to use this. Will you let me have it?" Since then I have been overwhelmed by what God is doing with this message.

A second passion I have in ministry is rooted in Titus chapter 2, verses 3 through 7. This is a message to "older women" to teach and train in the Lord those who are younger (physically, but also spiritually). As a young Christian, wife, and mother, I sought for someone in the church who would fill this roll for me. I assumed a mentor would be easy to fine. I am blessed in that I have always been able to call upon my own mother, but sadly, I never found someone in the local body. Don't get me wrong, there were MANY women willing to judge, opine, and even condemn; but few willing to invest and provide the wisdom gleaned from a life spent with God. I wanted a "Clara" (as portrayed the movie War Room by Sherwood Films) - someone to come alongside and offer the needed wisdom of how to deal with the day-to-day struggles of a young mom and wife, and especially how to keep my "first love" (Revelation 2:4) in the midst of it all. I desire to become an older woman ready, willing, and able to fulfill this calling for the younger women in my sphere of influence.

I and my husband, Scott, met just after Y2K (remember that?) and married 16 months later. God began growing our family right away, and has since blessed our marriage with 9 precious children. Our oldest ones are beginning to leave home now, and it is a joy to see them spread their wings. We still have many, MANY years of parenting ahead of us, but we look forward to one day when it is just the two of us again. We couldn't enjoy married life more than we do.

Other things I enjoy and may share about from time to time include:

DIY projects -

I love building things from wood.

We have frequently tackled remodeling projects, both large and small. I often get the opportunity to help our second son design and create projects and it is wonderful to have someone to call upon when I have my own projects.

Games -

We are a family who loves games.

Card games, board games, strategy games, resource management games... you name it we are game (pun intended.)

There are usually 2-3 games set up at all times.

Digital Planning -

I am a list maker and organizer at heart.

I enjoy the digital format which makes it is easy to take with me wherever I go, to change up whenever I want, to archive and search, ... and to start a fresh, new notebook without having to spend a dime or feeling like I have just wasted the remaining 90 unused pages.

Gardening -

To be honest, I really don't have much of a green thumb.

I just wish I did. So, I join my husband every year in planting a garden and trying to make something grow here

at 7,000+ feet above sea level in the Rocky Mountains. We get ridiculously excited over a bowlful of radishes.

Home educating -

I am a second generation "homeschooler".

I have been in the teaching role now for 17 years and still have 12 more to go.