Happy Blog-iversary!

Today is the second birthday of this very blog. That’s something worth celebrating! This has definitely been a trying year, but it’s been really cool to experience growth and joy through that pain.  God is cool.

Since I haven’t really been on here in awhile, I thought I would catch you up-to-date.

• I’m almost officially a senior in college (hooray, almost true adulthood)
• I have an awesome new job, full of working, but mostly life chats and candy
• Stress is a real thing in my life (and if it isn’t in yours, please give me your secret to success)
• I watched three documentaries over the weekend (Superheroes, Saturday Night, and For the Bible Tells Me So [Check them out!])
• I now own a Christmas cactus named Sanjaya
• I also own a beautiful 1999 Ford Taurus with hail damage (hail, yes.) named Ruby
• My life is busy, but beautiful

God is working actively in my life right at this moment, and though I’m outlandishly busy and stressed, it rocks that my God is there every step of the way with me.

I hope your life is less stressful but just as beautiful as mine has been lately.

Love,

Paige

Philippians 4:4-6 “Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.  The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

Learning is Beautiful

Well, I’m two tests away from the end of my second year of college.  You know what I’ve learned? Nothing crucial.  Now, I know what you’re thinking: “But Paige, how is this possible with nearly 70 hours of credit under your belt?” Here’s the thing…I don’t really think I’ve learned anything that is applicable to the real world. 

Here’s some things I have learned:

I have a lot of passions. I love doing a lot of things, and I do it because it makes me feel good.  I play music, relishing in the fact that God gave me this amazing gift that shouldn’t go to waste.  I like to read, exploring the works of fiction and nonfiction works-blogs included. I love people, learning new quirks and facts I wouldn’t know from looking at them.  I like to tell people about Jesus, through my words or actions. 

I have a lot of passion. I throw myself into my work, school, friends, anything that I can because I know people can see my passion and love through that. 

I have a lot of aspirations. I want to travel, for fun or for missions-doesn’t matter, it’s practically the same thing.  I want to own a business in the near future-who knows?  I want to create and be creative (thank you, Pinterest!). 

I have a lot of strength. I’ve had a lot of negative things in my life, but God has given me strength to get through it (Philippians 4:13).  There’s a certain peace that doesn’t come from just anywhere when you’ve been through things I’ve been through.  Life is extremely tough, but God has planned out everything according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). 

These are just a couple of the things I’ve learned these past two years.  Thanks for keeping up with this wild ride that is life.

Love,

Paige

Romans 15:13- “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

In It To Win It

Hey there, dear readers! I hope your Labor Day is as chill as mine is so far! Today I want to dedicate this blog to the 27 million people in slavery right now.

People don’t realize how prevalent slavery is in the world today.  There are approximately 27 million people in slavery right at this very moment, which is more than any other time in history. (1)   The United States Department of Justice website has this about human trafficking:

 “Contrary to some misconceptions, human trafficking crimes do not require any

smuggling or movement of the victim. While undocumented migrants can be

particularly vulnerable to coercion because of their fear of authorities, traffickers

have demonstrated their ability to exploit other vulnerable populations and have

preyed just as aggressively on documented guest workers and U.S. citizen children.

Indeed, because of the vulnerability of minors, where minors are offered for

commercial sex the statutes do not require proof of force, fraud, or coercion.” (2)

International Justice Mission has been fighting against modern day slavery since 1997, and they aren’t stopping anytime soon.  Slavery is happening in our backyard as well as foreign countries like Moldova and Bolivia. (3)

It’s so amazing that I actually get to be a part of this organization.  My school just started it’s own chapter literally a week ago, and I get to be on the board.  I’m the campus chapter fundraising and special events coordinator for our organization, which is such a blessing because I get to be one of the people raising awareness and raising funds for such a rampant issue. (4)  If you want more information, check out ijm.org.  That’s the official website for IJM, and I really encourage you to explore that website, dig deeper into what human trafficking is, and to see for yourself how extreme this issue really is.  Here’s a short clip, just giving an introduction to IJM and what it stands for.  Anyway, I hope you have learned a little bit about what we stand for and why we stand up against injustice.

Love,

Paige

Job 19:25-“As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.”

SOURCES and RESOURCES:

1. http://ijm.org/our-work/injustice-today

2. http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/crm/htpu.php

3. http://www.kansascity.com/trafficking/

4. http://ijm-ucmo.webs.com/

Guess Who’s Back?

So, it’s been awhile.  I took a little break from blogging for the summer.  I was swamped with classes, work and counseling galore!  I, of course, took some time to relax.  I went to St. Louis and tried of for The Voice (amazing experience!), I went to Worlds of Fun (a must) and chilled with some great people all summer.  I so excited for school to start again (less than two weeks!), when there will actually be people on campus! It’s so empty right now!

What I’m really excited for is…football season! Yes, I know, that seems so far away! But, my hometown team, the Kansas City Chiefs, play their first preseason game tomorrow against the New Orleans Saints.  And, my university has their first home game September 5, which is just around the corner. GO MULES!

Another thing I love about football season: Tim Tebow.  So, I’m going to leave you with a great video from the comedic genius, Jimmy Fallon.  I present you with…Tebowie.

Anyway, God bless! I hope you have a good start to the school year, and you’ll be seeing a lot more of me around here!

Love,

Paige

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.

Use the Force

“What are your plans for today?” “Oh, you know…just going to have a Star Wars marathon…it’s whatever.”

Happy Star Wars Day everyone! My fellow geeks and I are having a marathon as I type.  I truly hope you are all doing something extremely similar to this right now!

Here’s a little video to help you celebrate! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk5_OSsawz4

Anyway, I hope you have a great weekend! May the Fourth be with you!

Love,

Paige

Engage 2013

I got to spend last weekend with some great people in St. Louis for a leadership conference.  I learned so much about myself, my leadership, and my future at college and at the BSU.  Author and speaker Steve Saccone spoke at the conference. The Lord totally spoke through him.  It was such a cool experience.

I also attended a worship leadership session.  It made me realize how important the worship actually is! It’s like, yeah, people love to sing and worship, but being in the leaders is such a big commitment.  You have serve, be humble, be true and authentic, be prepared, and be excellent. It’s like, if you follow everything, you’ll be able to be excellent and worship the Lord wholly.

I had such a blast! The people I went with were so cool, and I’m glad I got to know them better and dive into relationships better.

I hope the Lord shows you what you are made to do, and I’ll be working on that, too!

Love,

Paige

Matthew 20:28– “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Believe It!

I’ve been thinking about some stuff lately…like, how cool would it have been when to be around when Jesus was here on earth?  Think about it; being there when he was preaching the Sermon on the Mount, watching the miracles in person, and see the living God do his thing.  It would have been crazy seeing and experiencing all of that!  I would have been a set believer then…how could you doubt?

But, we live in the modern world. There is war, differences in religions, and the thought that we must be P.C. all the time.  We don’t have that guy that came to live with us, teach us, and mentor us.  But, we have the Word and the fact that Jesus is still living within us.  How cool is that?!  He can be our best friend, our love, everything.

John 20:29 says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”  I think this is such an important verse to know.  It’s right after Jesus rises from the grave, and Thomas won’t believe until he sees and places his hands on the marks from the nails.  Jesus is really encouraging when it comes to the people who still believe he was raised, even though they haven’t seen him.

I love this! It’s like, Jesus knew there would be doubters and skeptics in the world.  Jesus was taking us into account.  I love that Jesus was so cool and down-to-earth about everything.  Jesus was an actually man…he was human; the thing is that he resisted sin.  He was like no other human EVER.  Jesus was so cool…I can’t get over that! I absolutely love it.

Keep on staying in faith, and even if you doubt know that Jesus loves you. I’ll keep that in mind, too. Feel free to leave opinions, questions, anything. I’ll respond!

Love,

Paige

Luke 18:14-“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Big ‘Bucks

Ahh, Saturday…you are one of my favorite days of the week.  No school, no plans, no anything important. You are a chill, down-to-earth, beautiful, sun-filled day. Sincerely, The Entire World.

Okay, there’s my love letter to Saturday. I’m sitting in a Starbucks, feeling like a hipster, drinking a tall white chocolate mocha Frappuccino. I’m hanging out with some super cool people, discussing some of our opinions and beliefs. It’s so nice to get out of my little college town to go to the closest college town that has a Starbucks!

I’ve been really behind with my writing, school work, everything. I’m trying to find a job, trying to get through the next three weeks of school and still being involved with everything. It’s been a busy week!

I just want to leave you with some encouragement! School is almost out! Summer is coming! Make the most of it!!!!!

I love you all, and I pray for you all the time. Keep on keepin’ on, and I’ll do the same.

Love,

Paige

Mark 5:36- “Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.'”

Thrift Shop-Christian Remix

You all probably know “Thrift Shop” by Mackelmore…this is a clean, hilarious version that you need to check out!

Stuff Christian Singles Hear

Okay, so I’m a single Christian, and I’ve heard some of this…but some of it is just bizarre! Please enjoy this hilarious video that hopefully brightens your day, singles and couples alike.