Thursday, February 20, 2014

5 Things Catching My Eyes & Heart Lately

Confession: I love Pinterest & Instagram...like a lot.  I'm tolerant of facebook as I see it's usefulness, but I really love Pinterest and Instagram because...I like pictures.  I like seeing what's capturing the eyes and hearts of my friends and family.

Life around here has been normal but also kind of fabulous!  Some moments of joy I know are meant to be tucked away into my heart to savor alone, but there have been a few moments and pictures and items that I've come to love lately that I thought I'd share with you!

So here are the 5 Things Catching My Eyes and Heart Lately

1.  Selah's 4th Birthday
If you've hung around my family either in person or via social media you likely know that Selah LOVES a good party.  In fact, she has informed me that she may just one day become a party planner.  (Firefighter, doctor, and mommy are also on her list).

For her first two birthdays I did my best to make Pinterest proud.  You can read about my dismal failure for her first birthday here & you can see a few pictures from her Yo Gabba party when she turned two here.  Last year, however we deviated from Pinterest worthy parties by going to the one and only Chuck E. Cheese.  And although this pizza joint usually makes me break into hives and want to hide under a table, I discovered that having a party at a location that entertains kids AND cleans up after them is actually quite brilliant!

So, we decided to carry on in that tradition with birthday number FOUR and we assembled quite a large party to play at a local gymnastics place.  Here are my favorite pictures.  I think the kids had fun.





On a side note, Selah chose Princess hats, Barbie plates, Yo Gabba napkins, and a Frozen themed cake.  I LOVE MY CHILD.  She utterly destroys all of my perfectionistic tendencies!

2.  Book LOVE!
I've read several books over the last couple of months, but I must mention a couple that I devoured while we took a short vacation to Mexico:

Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey was challenging, encouraging, and empowering.  Don't let this title keep you away - it's not what you think.  I actually went to college with Sarah, and as I read her words with sand under my feet I kept thinking about how much I wish we would have had deeper conversations when we lived down the hall from each other.  Sarah is wise, warm, and open with her life in this book.  What I loved the most is that it wasn't a rant or a how-to book...but it was a story.  Her story, the story of women who have gone before us, and the story that might be - if women - like she and I and you...will accept who we were created to be and live out the gospel.  The last chapter of the book is a commissioning...and I'm not sure what happened in my heart, but as I read these words - meant for me but also meant for women in India and Uganda...I found myself crying and praying for the women on the other side of the ocean.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell was a great little beach read!  If you are looking for something fun - good chic lit - this is one you might consider.

Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist - I'm a major Shauna Niequist fan and although this was her first book, it is the last one of hers that I've read.  It is a book about celebration...and when I read her books I feel like I know her.  I want to go to one of her dinner parties or have her over to teach me to cook.  I feel like we are soul sisters...but I suspect that everyone who reads her books might feel like that!

What I'm reading right now:
To Live is Christ by Matt Chandler
wild by Cheryl Strayed


3.  Sales at Anthropologie have also caught my eye this past month.  Does anyone else love Anthropologie?  I walk in and the Volcano candles tell me that it's going to be a good day...and somehow I've walked in the last couple of months and found a few great deals!

                                                          Hello pretty shoes! ------------------------>





4.  My favorite pins from Pinterest lately

I love this little kitchen nook!


I want to LIVE this!























My Favorite Instagram this week:



5.  Road Signs Love
So I've taught the first two live teaching sessions for my Bible study - Road Signs, and I was beyond blessed when one of the ladies in the class this past Tuesday night emailed me this poem that she wrote as she was doing the daily Bible study.  Her words are rich and beautiful and I just love how God spoke to her through my words & then He spoke to me through her words!  Isn't that just like God to use us all to minister back and forth to one another?

So I'll leave you today with her poem.  Thank you Terese.

Rolling Away The Stone Lord, what are the walls
That I've built against You;

That keep me secluded

And far from Your TRUTH?


Deep in the shadows

Where light cannot shine;

Safe at a distance

And hidden by time.

For the walls that I'VE built

Are MY stone at the tomb;

Keeping death locked away

Protecting every deep wound!

But what IF ~ MY faith,

Could reach PAST the walls;

Building a bridge

From MY heart to YOURS, God?

What IF I trusted;

YOU, Lord, By FAITH;

To breathe LIFE into death

And OPEN the grave?

For it's only THEN, Lord,

I can walk into TRUTH;

Where the Light Of God Shines

And True Life Is In You!

So, TODAY, I ask, Lord,

That You'd HEAR when I pray;

And Command Of The Stone ~

TO BE ROLLED AWAY!

Terese Holloway

Monday, February 17, 2014

When Obedience Can Be Held In Your Hands

I was beyond blessed last week at the amazing support and love shown to me as I announced that my first Bible study, Road Signs, was being self-published!  I had so many friends share this exciting news on social media, that my blog announcement quickly became my most visited blog ever (with the exception of this blog here - apparently people really want to know how to throw a Yo Gabba Gabba party)!

Well the excitement is continuing at my house as we received the printed books this Saturday!




 My girls were thrilled (not sure if they were thrilled about the book or the myriad of boxes that make a great climbing apparatus), but I'm taking their enthusiasm and going with it!  There really is just something amazing about holding in your hands the tangible product of being obedient to the Lord.

And if I'm honest, this is what fills my heart with the most joy.  Have you ever had something in your heart (a project, a person who you know you should call, a desire to travel to the nations, etc.) and it lingers - for days or years?  That is what this Bible study has been for me - a thought...an idea...a passion - that would NOT GO AWAY!  Regardless of how I procrastinated or tried to tell my heart that my voice did not matter...that gnawing inside remained...until I obeyed.

The obedience amounted to hours of writing, rewriting, studying, and fighting the lies that I should stop.  Obedience is rarely seen by anyone.  It is a lonely path that requires sacrifice, but as I held this book in my hands on Saturday, I realized that obedience is what fills the heart with joy and purpose!  Obedience is good.  Whether it's obedience to love and raise my kids the way I know I should when another route would be easier.  Or when it looks like keeping my mouth shut when I really want to gossip - obedience is always better.  It may be hard, but it is good; and the rewards of obedience last a lifetime.

So, as I held the product of overdue obedience in my hands, I was filled with thanksgiving and joy.  I danced around the house with my girls, and then we promptly got into the car and I mailed off all the books that had been purchased online last week - THANK YOU!



For those asking, it is not too late to come to the live teaching sessions that are on Tuesday nights.  We had over 70 ladies show up this past week, and I would love it if we reached 100!  It was a really fun night - I loved watching ladies connect as they shared their "Jump Out of the Boat" stories.

Also for those inquiring, you can go ahead and purchase your Road Signs Bible Study right here on my blog.  If you scroll up to the top of this page, you will see page links (Home, About, Etc).  If you click on the page link titled "Road Signs" you will be taken to a new page where you can place your order.  And I'm continuing my fun deal: if you purchase 5 or more books the month of February, I will send you the DVDs or free once they are ready for release.

So please consider buying a Bible study...but don't worry - if I still have them hanging around my house, Haven has made really good use of them!




Thursday, February 6, 2014

It's Here!!! I'm Excited to Tell You about My Project!

It's an exciting day for me here at Becoming Paige!  I want to introduce you to my side project that I've worked on for over a year now - Road Signs: Stories of Relentless Trust & Extravagant Love - an 8-week Bible study work book!

The message of this Bible study has been in my heart for at least 3 years now, and when I finally stepped out to teach and write these words, I was genuinely surprised by God.  I taught on a Tuesday morning to a room full of ladies, and as the weeks went by, our group went from strangers to friends.  It was such a special experience that I wrote about it here.

Since that Tuesday morning Bible study, I've taught this once more and I had many ladies encourage me to look into publishing the study.  I did my research, talked to a couple of publishers, and ultimately decided to publish this study myself.  It has been a labor of love for myself and Josh.

And can I just take a minute to give a shout out to my husband!  This man has researched, encouraged, set early morning alarms for me, watched the girls at ungodly hours so I could go to a coffee shop and write...over and over and over again...and even this day, here he is cheering me on.  I love you Josh Allen!

Okay, I'm back from my swooning...

The point is - I've got a real - hold it in your hands - book now!  AND we are about to start recording the 8 live teaching sessions that go with this book!

So, this blog is to invite you to join me in this journey!  I need your help.  And here are three ways you can help me with this Bible study launch:
  1. If you live in the Lubbock, Texas area would you consider joining me on Tuesday nights (7-8:30pm) as we record the live sessions that will go with this book?  I promise that I won't teach for an hour and half!  I will pour my little heart out, and then I'll invite you to stay for a bit to drink tea and talk with other ladies. This study is ALL about telling our stories, and I'd love to hear yours.  The tapings start next Tuesday night (February 11th) and will be at Church on the Rock (10503 Slide Road), but I'd LOVE to see my non-COTR friends come too!  Wouldn't it be fun to have a time with ladies from all over the city telling our stories and studying Scripture?

  2. If you want to go ahead and order one of these workbooks you can certainly do that!  If you order 5 or more workbooks at the same time, I will send you the full DVD live teaching set as soon as they are available (they will cost around $30 so it's a good deal).  This will be an awesome group study that you could do in the near future.  To purchase workbooks, just click on the page (seen above) called Road Signs.

  3. Would you share this blog or link to the Road Signs page with your friends?  Anyone who shares this blog via facebook or twitter will be entered to win a free Road Signs workbook!  I'll draw the winner next Tuesday night before the live teaching starts.
Here are a few more shout-outs!
Thank you to my mom who opened the door for me to teach this in the first place...and thanks for encouraging me to finish this project.

Thanks to the COTR media team who designed the most AMAZING book cover - Jason & Michael for the expertise & Leslie for the brilliant idea.

Thanks to Annie who puts up with my crazy at work & who was the perfect model for the book cover.

Thanks to Laura & Dawn who caught my grammar errors and pointed out when my writing needed a bit of "reworking."

Thanks to the ladies of COTR who have gone through this study twice already.  It's been the tears in your eyes and the laughter in your voices when we've had those "you too?" moments that made me decide maybe I should get this into print.
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