Quick Update

I haven't blogged in quite some time - I'm rethinking the way I blog & have been preoccupied with some other things lately. BUT, I'm flying to India tomorrow & thought I should give everyone a quick update of the life that belongs to Josh & I. I also wanted to request prayers from all of you blog readers... So first, an update from the past 2 months

1. Zoe started & we're having record numbers - between 70-90!!! Woohoo!
2. Took 40 young adults camping (yes, I went camping pregnant...and actually, I LOVED it!)
3. Helped with the Tapestry Women's Conference...enjoyed getting to know Leif & Margaret Feinberg...she made me think about some things & was used by God to plant some dreams in my heart...
4. Started to get a big belly - yep, in the words of my Pepa, "It looks like you swallowed a watermelon or something..."
5. Laughed a lot...mourned a little...had some deep & hard conversations...trusting God about things we just don't understand...
   
6. We found out that in that watermelon resides a precious little girl! We are super excited & thinking about just who is this little girl?
7. Met our friends Lukas & Dita in Houston for the U2 Concert - it was pretty much amazing
8. Had an amazing week with the Pursue & SMI Conferences - LOVED watching God move in people's lives & LOVED getting to share life with some phenomenal people from around the globe
9. Prepping for India!

So that is our wrap up! We travel to India tomorrow & would cherish your prayers. If we come to mind, especially pray for health & strength...pray that our baby girl is covered & protected...also, we have some mind-boggling opportunities before us & I desperately don't want it to just be meetings or a chance for Paige to talk - I want God & His LOVE, His presence, and His truth to be evident, real, and at work in their lives! Here are highlights...please pray for us!

Itinerary Sunday - Tuesday: Travel

Wednesday & Thursday Oct. 28 & 29 - Josh teaching at Pastor's Conference in Aminabad; Paige teaching at Bombay Teen Challenge (this is a home for women rescued from sex trafficking)

Saturday, Oct. 21 - Josh & Paige preaching to 4,000 young people in Aminabad

Monday, Nov. 2 - Minister at LIFE Center (this is a Children's Home)

Tuesday, Nov. 3 - AM - children's school; PM - Paige speak at Ladie's Meeting

Wednesday, Nov. 4 - Josh at leader's conference; Paige will minister to 20 women who work in the Red Light District (these are former prostitutes & madams who now return to brothels 6 days a week to minister to current prostitutes...they lead Bible studies & orchestrate rescues)

Thursday & Friday, Nov. 5 & 6 - At leader's Conference; we also may speak at some youth meetings

Saturday, Nov. 7 - Return Home

Where I am - End of August

Where I Am: Just finished a fantastic nap & I'm watching a little television while the hubs is at a Fantasy Football Draft (I hope he gets a great team! He has been prepping for days - literally...he has been reading, planning, etc). I am about to go support two of our amazing zoe small groups - first young professionals & then the Tech connect group.

What I've been listening to: I've been on the search for some great music for PURSUE & I'm finding that there is some great songs about missions out there right now (loving "Two Hands" by Jars of Clay & "Follow You" by Leeland)...also, I've been stuck on the Ingrid Michaelson pandora station when I"m working - it helps mellow me out (I've needed that quite a bit this week).

What I've been reading: I'm in a dry spell when it comes to reading...I've tried to start Crazy Love but I can't seem to get into it...so I'm spending most of my time reading the Bible, blogs & pregnancy books...

What I've been watching: Project Runway is back!!!! Love me some PR...Mad Men is back too - Josh and I love just how true they are to the time period - it's kind of dark, so not sure if others will like it...but we've watched it from the beginning & are jazzed that it is back. I went and saw "500 Days of Summer" on Friday night - I really liked it! Also saw "Time Traveler's Wife" - didn't like it so much...

Crazy Things that have Happened Recently: Just this past week my belly popped out...at some points I love it - love that it is finally obvious that I'm pregnant & at other points I'm kind of feeling weird about it. Got some great maternity clothes from my sister...we'll see how much longer I can squeeze into my regular clothes though...

Cool Things that have Happened Recently: A couple of weekend's ago Josh and I took a weekend get-away to Ruidoso (I LOVE the mountains). It was just what we needed - we went hiking, played golf, ate great food & spent some time resting and connecting before the craziness of fall hits.

zoe started this week, and I love our young adults ministry! It makes my heart happy to see our young people back in town & ready to jump into what God has in store for this year. One thing that was super cool is that we have some friends from Belgium in town for a couple of weeks. Christian & Mieke are a young couple that Josh and I met a couple of years ago when we traveled to teach at a Bible School in Belgium...anyways, they attended our first zoe service this past Thursday night & after it was over they asked us to pray for them. During the service the Lord spoke to them that they are to go back to Belgium and start something like zoe. They asked us to pray over them & it was a really powerful time. I was incredibly honored & it was almost like a small encouragement from the Lord at the beginning of this new year that we are doing something right...and it is contagious!

Favorite pics fro the last couple weeks: These are from our trip to Ruidoso...LOVE watching my husband play golf...I should mention he shot 1 over par during this round...he's quite good.

Women are a Solution

Just wanted to share this short video/article from the New York Times. It is a testament to the fact that around the world women are not the problem but rather the solution.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/08/20/magazine/kristof-audioss/index.html

After I watched this video I just stopped to think & realized this is SO true. Although I've met many wonderful men around the world who are making an impact, the stories that I've heard from women and the lives that I've seen them live are typically what sticks out in my mind - mostly because they've had to sacrifice, prove themselves, struggled along the way...and yet they sacrifice with love, prove themselves with passion, and struggle with such grace that I'm always in awe.

So, to women like Missy & Rhoda who made a food truck a reality here in Lubbock...to women like Elizabeth Lee who works tirelessly to share the gospel in Thailand...to women like Dita Targosz who juggle a business while also building a church in Czech Republic...to women like Ina in India who teach other women to sew so they can build a better life...to women like my mom who are willing to take on major dreams like a Dream Center or starting a business to help women who've been sex trafficked...

Thank you for showing the world that we are can be a solution.

Where I am - August 2009 & a bit of a rant

Where I Am: As usual, I'm sitting on my lovely couch...just got home from work, but the cray thing is - I'm not really happy about it. I need to work more...I want to work more...I'm doing things that I'm passionate about, but this pregnancy thing is throwing me for a major loop. I literally feel as though between the hours of 3-5pm my body (including my brain) completely shuts down. I'm good for nothing - so I find myself either staring into space, aimlessly trolling around on my computer or just giving up and going home. Today I decided to take a stand. I WANT to work, so at 3pm, I took some work to the local coffee shop (I love you Sugar Brown's) & had a cup of coffee (everything I've read says that 200mg of caffeine a day is fine - so give me a break)...and then I did some work. Actually I did some reading which was work for me today. I read a long letter from a missionary, which left me with the conviction that I need to hop on a plane & go visit...and then I read a lady's talk that she is giving at an upcoming Walk to Emmaus...she had asked me to critique it for her (Wow!!! It was fantastic & I learned so much more about her life)...Sorry for the tangent, but that is what I did as I sipped my iced vanilla latte. So by golly, I worked until 4:30pm today - yay!!!! Sorry for the rant, but I'm the girl that typically works at least one 12 hour work day a week...because I love it...and I'm so frustrated because it hasn't been working for me these past 3 months. Bring on the 2nd Trimester with MORE energy please!!!!

What I've been listening to: This past weekend I went to Rock the Desert Music Festival to work a tent for Pursue Missions (www.pursuemissions.org) & I listened to some great live music there. I found out that my team loves LaCrea & I really enjoyed Leeland & the winner of the Battle of the Bands (Josh Bramos). When I'm at work - perhaps because I'm so tired - I've been so lethargic I've been listening to Family Force Five. It's so crazy, but I love it! Kyla & I are slightly obsessed with them right now :)

What I've been reading: The Pregnancy Journal & What to Expect when you are Expecting. Good information, but it's also a bit redundant... I also started Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity (see, I'm trying to embrace this time of slowing down with grace) - so far so good. It is all stuff that I know, but definitely not what I live. I'm praying that it sinks in - what I like about this book too is that she doesn't just describe rest as doing nothing but talks about playing, giving, and other ways we rest as we love God & love others.

Favorite pictures of the past couple weeks:

Madison at Taylor's Birthday party...she was slobbering...but isn't she just gorgeous?

I LOVE Taylor's expression here...she just realized that Ally bought her a BIRD for her birthday. She was SUPER happy about this.

Josh's sister, Joy & her daughter Zoe came in town for a weekend. Here are the siblings in their superhero T-shirts.

At the 4th of July, Uncle Josh helped Ava with her shrimp. He's going to be the best dad!

LOVE this picture of my mom & Ava. Ava has the squinty eyes when she smiles big too! It is a family trait.

At Rock the Desert this weekend. We gave away Flavor Ice (Popsicles)...at the end of our time there, these fabulous people decided to race to see who could eat one the fastest. As you can tell, Katie was the winner.

Surprising Interruption

I'm at work...and I should be working, but I just had to share this moment. One thing that I equally love and hate is the fact that I'm often interrupted here at the church. The truth is that the interruptions are almost always gifts from the Lord, but my response to the interruptions is dependent on whether or not I'm in people mode or task mode...whether or not I want to be selfish or actually "be a minister." Anyways, today has been a little rough for me. I got sick after lunch (Amoeba Allen didn't really love the bar-b-que that I had)...and I knew that I would be up here until at least 7pm working.

So, I went home for a couple of hours this afternoon to rest & get my stomach somewhat settled. I was driving back to work around 4pm begrudging the fact that I had to come back, and just basically telling God that I just would like to feel better. When I'm in these moods the last thing I want to do is smile & be nice to people - that's just the truth.

But as soon as I walked through the doors I heard a lady say, "Hi Paige, you could help me!" I turned to look at her and vaguely remembered that I met her 3 weeks ago. I was wracking my brain to retrieve her name, but I was unsure so I just plastered on the smile & said hi. She was standing there in the foyer holding a bottle of olive oil & she asked if we could go somewhere to talk.

I brough her upstairs to my office, and as I looked at "Crystal" (I remembered her name) it was obvious that she has not had an easy life. She began to tell me her story - a former meth addict for 25 years who has been sober for the last 2 years. She moved from Arkansas, and she said she had a weird request. She pointed to the bottle of oil & asked if I would pray over it. She explained that she is living with her in-laws who have addictions & after fighting for the last few months for their freedom...she said, "I just can't do it anymore." However, she said that God told her that He would help her fight...and so her plan was to anoint the house that night & ask God to use that oil to break bondages & addictions.

The more I talked to "Crystal", the more I realized I was sitting with someone courageous & actually living "the Christian life." Yes, there she sat without a bra & smelling of cigarette smoke, but there she sat willing to fight for her family's freedom! She is living it - she is fighting for her own faith - and she is winning.

I got a couple of other people to pray with us over the oil...and it was powerful - mostly because we all saw her faith & therefore knew that God would use this - He will use her...

So, I'm thankful for my interruption. I'm thankful that I saw someone today who was giving her all to live the life Jesus is showing her...I realized that today's interruption was the reminder I needed to get my focus off of how I'm feeling & to more fully live the life He intends for me.

LOVE

"you have NEVER been unloved." - Max Lucado

Just finished reading Christa Black's blog, and I'm resting in this one sentence. May we all get this truth in our hearts...even in the worst moments...in your darkest places...you have never been unloved.

Where I Am - July 2009

Where I Am: So here I sit on my couch - just woke up from a late nap & I'm listening as Josh jogs on the treadmill - he is so dedicated! I'll be happy if I get out later when it cools off for a walk (that is the plan anyways)...

What I'm Saying: Well, I've been saying a lot lately - even got to preach at Church on the Rock this past weekend (I love getting to preach)...but what has been on my lips most recently is my new news - that I'm pregnant. The news has been somewhat out for a couple of weeks now, but for some reason I feel as though it is "officially public" because...wait for it...I put it on facebook. Yep, so crazy that this has become the best way to disseminate information, but there it is...I actually made mention of it on my status update and I have almost 40 responses - wow! People are excited for me...perhaps relieved or shocked as well??? Regardless of the reasons for the outpouring of comments - I'm feeling really loved!

What I'm Listening To: At this very moment, I'm listening to Christa Black's myspace page - she just uploaded two new songs & I'm LOVING "Drift Away"...I've also been reading her blog for the last couple of weeks - she is sharing her story of battling an eating disorder & breaking into the music world. I don't know this girl, but she is inspiring and you get the sense that she genuinely cares about all the young girls out there who are following her since she on tour with the Jonas Brothers...so, you should check her out.

What I'm Watching: So, I love summer reality shows, and since we aren't traveling this summer (Josh and I usually are out of the country at least twice every summer)...I've been watching WAY too much TV! But I've just got to make a couple of comments: The Next Food Network Star - I'm just not sure who I want to win...maybe Melissa although occasionally she gets on my nerves. I also just started watching Desing Star it is a favorite in my family & I'm super excited about it! I think my mom should go on that show - she would rock it - the woman is brilliant!

What I'm Reading: I recently finished the book "Angry Conversations with God" by Susan Isaacs - it was a memoir & I enjoyed it although it might be offensive to some of my readers (not going to lie)...I'm searching for something good to read right now. I'm reading a couple of fiction books...but I need something with more substance - would welcome any suggestions!

Favorite Funny Moment: So, this morning I had my first sonogram & I was instructed to drink 32 oz. of water an hour before the appointment. In case you don't know, I'm typically an overachiever - and today was not different...I think I actually consumed about 40 oz. of water. All was fine until there were some problems with my paperwork & the ultrasound kept getting postponed. By the time I actually got back to radiology I was literally dancing & almost crying because I just wanted to pee!!! I was really looking forward to this ultrasound (hoping it would make this a little more real) but if I'm completely honest all I could think about was hoping I didn't wet my pants during the ultrasound! As soon as the guy turned on the machine he said, "Woa, you have a really full bladder!" I laughed & said, yeah...I really need to use the bathroom, but I smiled & tried to act like a jubilant mother to be, but I just kept watching the guy & thinking are you done? I was also making exit strategies in my mind & wondering how far the nearest bathroom was. Even when he was showing me my baby (which was a nice black amoeba)...I just smiled - said, "okay, great!" And then I begged to go to the little ladies room! So much for any poignant moment. Once I came out, I thought to ask a few questions about the health of the baby, etc...but the moment was lost! All I know, is that I will be an underachiever the next time I am requested to consume large amounts of water.

So that's it for now...I'm going to try and be a better blogger, but I say that so often...we'll see!