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.”

Why I Hate Fairy Tales

“…and they lived happily ever after.”  The end, that’s it, ever after is what every single girl is aiming for. It’s been drilled into our minds since we could watch Cinderella’s glass slipper fit perfectly, Ariel be swept off her brand-new feet, and Snow White with her true love’s kiss.  Find a guy (normally the first one you see), make him love you, and get married. Ugh.

That’s not real life. In real life, you’ll probably meet a couple not-so-prince-charmings, get your heart broken a few times, and end up watching those very same fairy tale movies on Saturday night. I can’t believe this is what young girls look to for their love life. I know I’ve done it, seeking after that love story ending that isn’t even close to reality.

Instead of looking to princesses for love advice, we should be looking to the original love story author, God. He’s the one who loved us first, before we were even born (Psalm 139:13). He sent his only son to die for us (John 3:16, 1 John 4:9). Absolutely nothing can separate us from God’s love…NOTHING (Romans 8:31-39).

Next time you seek after that “true love feeling”, remember who loved you first.

Love,

Paige

Romans 5:5- “…hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

 

DISCLAIMER: I don’t hate all aspects of fairy tales: I admire their perfect hair.

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.”

Easter: Not All About Bunnies

Happy Easter, everyone!

I know I’ve been loading you up with video after video, but I had Blogger’s Block (trust me, it’s a real thing!).

This week has been a really cool experience for me.  Since it’s been the week leading up to Easter, the Christian organization I’m involved in has really pumped it up.  On Tuesday we read through the entire gospel of John.  That was such a cool experience for me because I had never just sat down and read through the story of Jesus.  We all read it out loud, one chapter at a time, as a community.  I heard things that I had never really realized.

Thursday we did something a little, well a lot, different from the normal church service.  We had a Jewish Seder, which is an order of celebrations…a meal.  We had different herbs, greens, breads, and juices to eat in a certain order.  There was different kinds of music, speaking, prayers…it was such a cool experience.

On Friday, a lot of us got together to have a meal with each other.  It was sort of to symbolize the Last Supper.  We then watched “The Passion” together.  I had never seen it before.  It was so good to see, especially right before Easter.  It was so real; I couldn’t stand to watch some of it.  It really wrapped this week up nicely.

I can’t wait until Sunday when we celebrate together with all of our churches everywhere.

Love,

Paige

John 13:14-“And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet.”

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.

You Jealous?

Well, today is my birthday! I’ve been so blessed this past year, especially being in college.  I’ve been in this Bible study on Tuesdays with a group of great girls.

This week we talked about jealously, which was a super interesting concept on the take of Saul and David.  Saul was so jealous of David, which eventually led to Saul’s demise and David’s reign as king.  There are so many other stories in the Bible that revolve around jealousy.  Cain and Abel (Genesis 4), Joseph and his brothers (Genesis 37), and even the parable of the prodigal son and his brother (Luke 15:11-32).

To cope with jealousy (because we are all jealous at one point in time), remember that God is love and just and for us, not against us.  We need to be in the world and not of it (John 1:15).  Jealousy isn’t something that should burn inside of us because if we let it take hold of us it will destroy us.  Staying jealous keeps us feeling terrible.  We’re supposed to love our enemies as ourselves (Luke 6).

Stay humble and leave jealousy at the door and I’ll keep working on having grace about jealousy!

God bless,

Paige

Proverbs 27:4-“Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?”

This Is Only A Mountain

Man, oh man, it’s good to be back writing again.  I haven’t been on here for quite some time, but I think it’s perfectly acceptable with Christmas and whatnot.

Anyway, I spent January 2-6 in Colorado.  I was soaking in all the magnificent beauty of CO in a great lodge called Glen Eryie, or The Glen.  Like, there was a legit castle on the grounds…I’m just saying.  It was so beautiful.

I got to go with the BSU from my college, and it was such a great experience.  I really think it strengthened me as a Christian and as a college student.  I was blessed to be able to meet new people, explore my thoughts and doubts, and build a great community with people with whom I go to school.

I don’t want to blab on about what went down, but I think I must.  God always provides, which He definitely did on the way over.  Our bus was having major tire troubles, and we got stranded in Kansas for two hours longer than anyone wants to stay in Kansas (no offense, Kansas residences).  But, God got us there safe and sound, just a little late.

We got to hear some great speakers who were full of wisdom and strength, which was I think, just what I needed.  It was really awesome to get tips on how to strengthen devotional time with God, being made in His image, and different seminars like that.  I realized everyone is pretty much in the same boat I am with struggles and fears, and we are able to overcome it together.

We not only got to learn and absorb knowledge from so many great people, we got to go exploring as well.  I climbed a mountain! Well, a sort of mountain…it was really high up for me, okay?  I overcame a huge fear of mine by doing this and it was awe-inspiring.  And we got to go shopping, which is always a plus.

All-in-all, it was a fantastic trip and I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for me this coming semester. (Pictures to come!) God bless,

Paige

Ruth 1:16 ESV-“But Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you.  For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge.  Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.’”

The Start of the Beginning

They say if you want to become a great writer, you should write every day.  It doesn’t matter when, where, what, or even if people read it or not.  So, that is what I’m going to do.  I will write about the awe-inspiring things I see, read about, and experience…every day.

This is going to be a hard chore for me, not only because I feel like a blog can be frivolous, but I don’t feel like people will read and absorb what my blog has to say.  But, you know what?  This is for me, and not for my readers.

So, to begin this journey…well, it’s November 10, 2012 at about 10:20 am.  I’m sitting in my pajamas, listening to the cool breeze rustling the golden leaves outside my window.  Life is good right now.

I’m trying not to worry about my upcoming mission trip to Mexico.  I still have quite a bit of money to raise, and my college paycheck of nothing isn’t going to get me far.  Plus, it’s quite a dangerous city we are travelling to, or at least that’s what I’ve been told (multiple times).   I’m praying for strength, faith, and love for the people around me.  I know this is what I’m meant to do with my life right now, but they don’t seem to see it that way.   I have been so blessed by the Lord in so many ways lately; I want to share and love the people the way Jesus loves me.  That’s the number one thing racing through my mind 24/7.  I’m not thinking about classes, homework, finals, any of that.  My mind, heart, and soul are trying to concentrate on Jesus and the mission trip to Mexico.

I’ve also been trying to read the Bible, cover to cover, for the past few months.  I’m almost half way through, having started the Book of Psalms yesterday.  One thing that stuck out to me during my reading was Psalm 9:9-“The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”   This is so powerful to me because this is what my life has needed so many times; I’ve needed that stronghold in times of trouble.  Sometimes, though, I would seek out things of this world.  I never tried to ask God for help because I felt I could do it on my own.  Well, I can’t, and that finally clicked after eighteen years of struggling to be the best, strive for the best, and accomplish everything.  I mean, the Lord doesn’t care about who is popular in high school (which I swear I felt like He did).  He doesn’t care who got first chair or last chair in band.  He doesn’t care who won the election.  He cares about you, about me, about everyone.  The person you are and striving to become is who He cares about.  God is that one solid thing you can stand on throughout any hardships in your life, and get through the pain of life.

I also noticed many verses in Psalms are about singing and praising the Lord through music.  I absolutely love to sing and play guitar, but a lot of the times I play for myself and not to glorify God.  I’m one of those people who are really conscious about my musical abilities.  I have strived to excel in music for almost fourteen years, and I still feel inadequate when I perform. Even when performing in front of my church, I was always worried about what I sounded like and how the chords were coming across; I wasn’t even thinking about how I was to be praising the Lord with my music.   I’m starting to come out of that place where I only play for me; it’s just taken me awhile.  I will actually be glorifying the Lord tonight in front of perfect strangers at an appreciation dinner at the BSU on campus.  I have complete faith I will be able to sing well, glorify the Lord, and entertain the parents and supports of the BSU with a few songs that have impacted me through my journey.

Well, if you got this far in the blog, I’m glad! I know you are supposed to keep a blog short and sweet, but I just couldn’t help myself.  I might even add some more to today’s entry if something thoroughly exciting happens tonight.  I’ll keep all of you updated.  God bless,

          Paige

-1 Timothy 4:12-“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example to believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.