Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Dusty Obedience

The weather in Lubbock today is nasty.


I can think of no other word to describe the blowing wind that leaves residue of dust in your eyes and teeth…yes, it is one of those days in Lubbock where the sky turns a shade of brown and you do everything within your power to stay inside. I was going to run a few errands after work, but after one stop I quickly decided I should get home & stay safe from this evil dirt.

As I was driving home, however, I was struck by a sight that has made me think for the last hour. My drive home took me down a street where a man stands every Sunday-Friday, 6am-6pm with a sign that says “Jesus Saves Souls.” I’ve never met him, but I read an article about him a few months ago…and I see him at least twice a day…everyday…on my way to work…and on my way home. I’ve never seen him sitting and I’ve never seen him miss a day (other than Saturdays when he said God told him to take as a Sabbath). His story is fascinating – you can read about it here

http://www.lubbockonline.com/stories/011109/loc_376111280.shtml

But as I saw him fighting the elements of wind and dust, I immediately heard the Lord whisper that there is much more he has to face day in and day out as he simply obeys what God has asked him to do. He fights boredom, exhaustion, the jeers of passersby, and the doubts of so many.

My mind immediately went to Ezekiel in the Bible who also obeyed even in the face of tremendous hardship and condemnation. I once wrote a paper about him in seminary discussing his “suffering” as well as his extravagant obedience. Did you know that he literally laid on his side for A YEAR in obedience to the Lord?! He also lost his speech and was asked by the Lord to refrain from mourning the death of his wife – his life was a life of extreme obedience…and yet, his life was also full of power. The name Ezekiel actually means, “God strengthens” and as I came home today and thought about the man with the sign, the Lord reminded me that whatever He asks of us to do, He will give us the strength to carry it out.

I like to think that I’m an obedient person – Paige actually means “obedient Spirit” – and I do my best to say yes to the Lord…BUT today, as I’m honest with myself I recognize very clearly that there is one area in particular where I’ve allowed the wind and dust to derail me from doing what God has asked me to do. I’ve preferred to stay clean and in a comfortable place…and yet He is whispering to me that there is strength in obedience – it is His strength. I don’t know where you are, but like me you may need to learn from Ezekiel and the man on the street corner – that today is a good day to say yes.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

My New Office/Guest Room/Josh's Office

With the addition of Selah coming next month I've been working to get my house a bit organized.  I'm so blessed to have a job that is willing to work with me in this time of transition and the church has agreed to let me work from home some - yay! 

I know myself well, however, and I know that I need an actual work environment to stay on track.  In the past we've had a guest room & an office that basically became our "junk room."  Josh is also going to work from home one day a week with Selah here, so we decided we needed a space where we would both actually be productive...AND this space would also have to serve as a guest room (and yes,we do have quite a few people stay with us)...

I stared at this room for A LONG time trying to decipher just how to make a need for 2  offices + a guest room work in this one space.  Enter my creative sister, Leslie, who suggested I make the closet into one of the offices.  So, that's just what we did!  All of my pictures won't upload, but wanted to share with you just a few shots of our new room.  I LOVE IT!  I've already spent some time in there writing, and it is wonderfully peaceful.

Welcome to our new space!

I only purchased the desk, paint, brackets, and orgnizers (from IKEA)...I still want a chair, but waiting for the budget to expand :)  Anyways, it was a fairly inexpensive project!


I found this black frame at IKEA and cut down an old bulletin board to fit it (actually my mom did this for me) - thanks handy mom!


I purchased the accent chair a few years ago at a garage sale (it was bright yellow velvet) and with the help of my handy mom, we recovered it in a fabulous fabric!

I found these super skinny book shelves at IKEA which help with the space issue...


I was shocked, but we were able to still fit in a bed for guests & a treadmill!

My next project is to finish the baby's room.  I've been working on it but still have a ways to go...perhaps I'll go do a little work on it now!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Haiti, you are in my heart & prayers

My heart has been burdened for Haiti since last night.  May we pray fervently for this country - in their time of devastation, sorrow, and pain. 

I emailed a friend from ORU who grew up in Haiti to see how our church could help...and these were a few of her words, "....the task looks overwhelming there in Haiti and as you can imagine, looking at years of hard work of building up a ministry crumble in the physical...the missionaries need help!! Their hearts are willing..."  So my prayer continues -

Thank you Lord for so many willing hearts - show us each the role we can play whether it is through prayer, finances, or support.  Strengthen the hearts of those who are willing, give them wisdom, Your words, and the ability to mourn alongside these precious people.

If you would like to give to missionaries that currently work in Haiti, here are the organizations of trusted friends.


Real Hope for Haiti Rescue Center: http://haitirescuecenter.wordpress.com//

Evangelistic World Outreach: http://www.evangelisticworldoutreach.com/

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Jumping Into the Story

Josh is out of town this weekend – he is skiing with our zoe young adults, and for the first time I’ve stayed behind because the Dr. asked me to not travel at this point in the pregnancy. It’s been a little hard on me – I LOVE our ski trips & Crested Butte…but I’ve tried to embrace this time & make the most of it. I finished putting together our new office/guest room (I’ll post pics tomorrow or Tuesday).

I also tried to do some reading, relaxing & getting ready for baby this weekend. I’ve almost finished Donald Miller’s book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, and I have to say it came at the perfect time in my life. I’m not big on new year resolutions but I’ve been contemplating my life – somewhat annoyed that I feel a bit complacent at this time. I’ve been asking the Lord a lot of questions…wondering what this next season of life will look like for me…and somewhere along the way I guess I’ve just waited for life to happen to me rather than going for and living the life I know He has created for me.

Does that make sense? Well, Miller’s book articulated my thoughts as he writes about jumping into the story that God has created for us. He explains that most people just pass day by day – lulled by television, job requirements, and they are basically spectators rather than people who are living an amazing story. There is so much more to what he says – you might check out his blog: http://donmilleris.com/category/storythings/

Anyways, it’s gotten me thinking this weekend. I’ve lived some AMAZING stories – my life has been an amazing story – I’m pretty passionate and I go for what I want…but I want more…I want to know that I’m fully engaged in the story God has written for me! So, I’ve decided to share 10 stories with you that I want to engage in more in 2010…I realized in church that it is in fact, January 10th, of 2010…so here are 10 stories that I hope to really live this year. I’m sharing them as a way to hold myself accountable.

1. A story with the Lord. I feel like God wants to have some really good dialogue this year – He has been teaching me to shut my mouth over the last couple of years…and I think a primary reason is so I am in a better position to listen to Him…

2. A Baby Story – I have a feeling that there are at least 10 stories within this one waiting for me.

3. My story with Josh. I have an incredible husband and I’m thankful for our marriage…but I want to discover more about the man I love this year. He’s brilliant, passionate, fun, and he has the craziest ideas. I want to engage those ideas more this year – show him that I believe in Him and walk more fully alongside him.

4. A story of obedience. God has spoken to me so clearly about a project that I’m supposed to do. I’ve worked on it for over a year, but it is far from complete…it scares me & I’ve never felt such resistance in my life – must mean it is going to be powerful. I want to face that resistance this year…finish what I started & trust God to make it happen or not.

5. A story of freedom. The first year that I went to India my heart broke as I met girls and women & heard their stories. I’ve been praying for over 3 years that God would open a door for me to do something about the injustice that I saw. I’ve gotten to do small things, but just recently I was invited to serve on a committee (Project Red Light Rescue)…and I’ve decided that I’m going to give all that I can…even to see one life safe…you’ll hear more about this in the future.

6. A story of friendship. I’m a horrible friend – seriously, it is a major weak area in my life. I like being alone…and yet I don’t. I have a lot of “friends” but very few people who I let in. I’ve decided I want to enter the narrative of having a few great friends.

7. A story of health. I love to run – it is exhilarating, stress relieving, and a time to reflect. After the baby, I’ve decided I have to start running again. I will at least do a half-marathon…maybe an entire marathon by the end of the year…and I would love to run this story with others.

8. A story of mentoring. God has placed AMAZING young women in my life – so honored that I get to pour into so many…and I don’t know what it will look like, but I’m committed to continuing to be available.

9. A story of pursuit. God placed a dream in my heart about 4 years ago in the area of missions & that dream is coming more & more into fruition. We’ve created a new 501c3 called Pursue Missions International…and I have unbelievable people who believe in this vision…it’s going to grow to an entirely new level in 2010 – and I’m so aware that it’s going to grow as others dream and create with me – I’m excited & open to where God wants it to go!

10. A story of truth. I love teaching…I love studying…I love seeing my students get that Aha! moment…So I’m committed to continue learning myself. I have a goal of reading 50 books this year. I took a long break from reading “difficult” books after seminary, but I think it is time to begin reintroducing them (commentaries, theology, etc) back into my diet.

Well, if you’ve read this entire way – wow! Again, this is mostly to hold myself accountable – I’ll report on my story progress as the year goes on…and I encourage you to look at the stories you are living. Are there stories that you need to enter or jump back into?

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Favorites for 2009




I wasn’t planning on disappearing over the holidays, but it ended up being a nice break to gear up for this new year!  Josh and I just returned from a great trip to New Mexico (He officiated a wedding & we went a couple days early as a last hurrah before the baby)…

One night in the hotel I got his opinion on a few favorites as we look back on 2009…thought I’d share them with you and then we will start to look forward to 2010!

Josh & Paige’s Favorites from 2009

Books
Josh’s Picks: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (non-fiction); A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller (Christian); The Associate by John Grisham (fiction)

Paige’s Picks: Half-Life Die Already by Mark Steele; The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society;

Movies
Josh’s Pick: The Blind Side
Paige’s Pick: 500 Days of Summer; I also liked Julie & Julia and Whip It

5 Discoveries- this is basically a few finds we’ve found along this last year that we loved…
Josh’s Picks:
1.       Palm Pre
2.       “the nuances of a pregnant wife” (not sure what he meant by this but I’m choosing to take it as a compliment)
3.       West Crust Pizza
4.       Man vs. Food (a show on the Travel Chanel)
5.       the Kindle (he received this for Christmas from my parents & has had it in his hand almost constantly…it is pretty cool – he even used it for his wedding sermon)
Paige’s Picks:
1.       30 is actually really great!  I turned the big 3-0 in January and I was DREADING it…however, I realized this year that it feels great to be 30 – I’m more confident in who I am & who God created me to be…I’ve learned to get over pleasing people & to live my life with passion.  I highly recommend 30 & I’m believing it will be a great decade.
2.       Belly Couture – one discovery that was not great is the fact that pregnancy clothes are not the most flattering…AND there is hardly anywhere to find maternity clothes in Lubbock…that was until Belly Couture opened in November.  I just love this store & love that they also carry “regular” women’s clothes as well as unique kids gear
3.       Home Café cinnamon rolls – everyone has asked me if I’ve had any cravings since I’ve been pregnant and unfortunately there has only been one – cinnamon rolls…I LOVE cinnamon rolls right now – I think about them often although I’ve tried to set a limit at one per week so that theweight does not get out of control…anyways, I’ve been searching for a truly great cinnamon roll since this craving started.  I’ve tried rolls in a can (definitely the bottom level)…I’ve tried rolls from donut shops but they are typically too greasy…and then just a few weeks ago I partook of the most glorious cinnamon roll ever – at the Home Café – my search is over.  It is the best.  They closed for the holidays, but I think I may visit there this week J
4.       Leggings- what can I say?  They are comfortable!
5.       Mint Tea- Just makes me feel cozy!

Pictures 
We took a cruise in February & had the hardest time trying to figure out how to put our life vests on...






During a shower Madison decided to take a bit out of Abby's nose - it was a funny moment & I was glad that I got it on camera




 Over Spring Break I convinced Ava to try a lemon - this was her reaction



One of my favorite moments of the year was visiting Herrnhut in Germany - God spoke to me really clearly while we were there - it was one of those moments that I will remember forever...here is Terri Reed walking through the cemetery


My favorite picture from India in October - aren't these girls beautiful?


Madison turns 1 & I loved capturing her eating adventures

Molly Kate turns 1 & I loved watching her open gifts!



It was a great year!  Can't wait to see what 2010 has in store!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...