Get Off Your Spiritual Diet

 “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.” Psalm 81:10 

 Is too much of a good thing really a bad thing? I know it’s a classic saying, and I can indeed vouch for the truth in it (specifically regarding things like chocolate… or queso), but I think we need to take a moment to remove this theory from our spiritual lives..

Today as I was spending time with God, I found myself praying something that didn’t come from myself. I felt like I was praying words for myself that were coming from His heart. (See Romans 8:26). I prayed something along the lines of the following: “I’m hungry Lord! I’m hungry for the real deal. I don’t just want a spiritual appetizer; I want the full meal- all of its courses. I’m not on a spiritual diet, so don’t hold back!” After I prayed this, He immediately took me to Psalm 81:10. “Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.” 

 In the South, politeness is everything. Most people here would even endorse the thinking that sometimes it’s better to be polite than to be honest. When you go to an acquaintance’s house and they offer you food, obviously you say “No thank you” at least once. I mean, we aren’t vultures for Pete’s sake. But how many of us apply this rule to our relationship with God too? “God, you want to give me what? Oh no, that's too much- I'll just take a small bit and I'll be good, thanks.” The Word of God says that He is our Father, and that as a Father He knows how to give us good gifts better than even we do . (Matthew 7:9-11) When my mom makes my favorite meal for me (crockpot pork roast cooked in sauerkraut, just for the record), I don’t respond with a “Oh dearest mother, this is just too much- I couldn't possibly. I'm only deserving of a tiny portion so that's all I'll take, but thanks for spending all day making this for me.” Of course not! I DIG IN. In fact, it would probably hurt her if I didn’t help myself to a large portion of it, as she specifically made it for me.

 Psalm 23:5 says that the Lord prepares a table for us. Isaiah 25:6 says He “will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world. It will be a delicious banquet with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat.” Jesus has an unending treasure chest full of perfect and well thought-out gifts to pour out on His children; of choice foods to lavish on the spiritually hungry. But I know that so often when He begins to pour out these things on me, after just the appetizer, I hold up my hand in all politeness and actual dishonesty, and say “Oh thank you, I really am full now” and proceed to leave the table (as if He’s going to run out of food..), when He's actually prepared courses upon courses for me that we haven’t even gotten to yet. I believe we grieve His heart when we hold up that prideful hand- whether it’s in untruthful politeness or in all oblivion. And I think the quickness with which that hand ascends says much about our closeness with the Father.

 When I am close to a friend, you can tell. One way it usually shows itself is when I am able to walk into their house and head straight for the pantry, without asking, to grab myself a snack or a drink. I help myself. I have no concern for politeness. I find myself challenged as I ask myself if this is what I do with the Lord. Do I DIG IN to the spiritual meal He has prepared specifically with me in mind? Do I open my mouth WIDE so that He can fill it? Or do I settle for a small spiritual salad that I can run off 30 minutes later?

If we want to do powerful things for the kingdom of God, we need the full meal deal. We need to be fueled, and this cannot happen if we do not accept our place at His all you can eat buffet. We will dwindle so quickly and become spiritually sick, fatigued, and drained if we do not allow ourselves to be made not just full, but fat by His love, His rest, and all of His blessings.

I believe that spiritually, there is no such thing as too much of a good thing. Because that’s all that God is! Goodness. And He will never be anything else. So are you willing to lay down your ways of dishonest politeness and just come sit at the table and honor your Father by eating His unending course meal that He prepared and labored over just for you? Or are you content with just snacking on the free bread rolls before the main course even makes it’s appearance?

 I’d encourage you to throw your spiritual diet and politeness in the trash, and to accept the invitation to come feast with your Best Friend- with the One you don’t have to be falsely polite in front of. It honors His heart when you help yourself, as His child, to all that He has prepared just for you, and it is there that you will find rest, contentment, and all that you need.

 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.” Revelation 3:20

Something I’ve learned about brokenness.

Audrey Hepburn once said “I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls”. And you know how everyone loves a nice quote from a good Classic. In fact many of us seem to have the habit of taking those nice classic quotes to heart simply because of the timeless mouths they came out of. But when I really think about this quote, which I’m sure Mrs. Hepburn meant only to inspire, I’m left wondering: what about the beauty in the unhappy girls? What about the ones who have been wounded, the ones who feel as if they are living in the midst of a mess? What about the beauty within the broken ones? 

I’ve had the privilege, as some might call it, of experiencing brokenness in this past season of my life. While I will not compare my state of brokenness with anyone elses’ as I know that mine hardly casts a shadow compared to the real tragedy that others experience on a daily basis, I have experienced a season, which to me, has seemed quite dark at times and left me feeling as if my life was simply strewn in many pieces across my floor, without having any knowledge of how to go about picking them up and putting them back together. 

For me, this was not okay. This was not how Christians were supposed to feel in my mind. Women of God are supposed to be so full of great joy within the hardships, and have that cheerful disposition even when their heart is completely downtrodden and then all will be okay, amen? But months later, after failing many times to superficially hold myself together and fix things on my own, I have learned something about the truth of brokenness.

“Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.” John 12:3.

The perfume that Mary annointed Jesus’ feet with on this lovely evening was a very costly perfume said to have been held within an alabaster jar. In this time period, this perfume was given to a daughter by her Jewish parents before she was married. On the night of her wedding, she was to pour the perfume out onto her husband's feet as a statement of absolute love and devotion. And what a beautiful picture of those two things that is. However, the only way to pour this beautiful and priceless fragrance was to break open the bottle. It could only be used once, thus signifying it’s preciousness. 

The only way to pour this beautiful and priceless fragrance was to break open the bottle. Brokenness was required for this beautiful offering to be given. It was amongst the broken and shattered pieces of this fragile and priceless alabaster jar that Jesus found a most beautiful offering that pleased His heart so much. I have found in this season of brokenness that it isn’t a glued together jar that Jesus is looking for. He sees through the failed attempts at self-reached wholeness. I’ve found that sometimes the most beautiful thing you can offer your Lord is all that you have. And sometimes that looks like every piece of yourself broken and shattered on the floor; a completely empty and broken vessel, but one who’s last drops have been placed upon Christ’s feet as a beautiful offering. It is in this revelation that I must disagree with the ever-classic Mrs. Hepburn. While happy girls indeed are very beautiful, I have personally found that the most beautiful you could ever be is sometimes in fact when you are quite broken. But at the feet of Jesus, pouring out all that you have left. 

(Insert name), Warrior Princess.

          We’ve heard that we’re supposed to be warriors as women. We recognize that there’s something fierce lying dormant deep within us, waiting to emerge at the first sign of need. We see it in the way a mother fights with everything she has to protect her children. We see it in the way a seasoned wife fights against all odds to save her marriage. We even see it in the way a young girl stands in righteous anger against the injustices she sees around her- whether in the form of standing up for a bullied friend or protesting passionately against sex trafficking. There is something within us that almost seems to be bigger than us. Something that when it emerges, we stop and ask ourselves, “Woah, where did that come from?” That thing called a warrior spirit.

          Now I have to stop for a moment and be honest here. Bringing myself to use the word “warrior” to describe something within me kind of makes me shudder just a bit. Because when I think of warrior women, I think of "Xena, Warrior Princess". You remember her- tough, fierce, kind of weird outfit. And frankly, I do not see her in myself one bit. And I’m not sure I want to. See, there’s something about the word “warrior” that puts me off. Simply because for most of my life, that word has only held the connotation of a man in my mind. And if not a man, then a fiercely intimidating woman who used mens’ weapons and played mens’ battle games. And while I’m sure there are some women who get excited at the thought of that- shooting bows and using shields- this girly girl (not ashamed to admit it) would much rather entertain the idea of wearing a dress and painting her nails.  

          And for a while, I believed there was something very wrong with me for preferring that. I mean, if God made us to house a warrior spirit within us (which, looking at the examples of strong and courageous women in the Bible, I’d say He sure did), then maybe I was simply superficial if I preferred the idea of wearing makeup or cuddling over wearing warpaint or running into battle with guns. So I began to ask myself if a woman could really hold a warrior spirit and still maintain her girliness. Could I call myself a strong fighter of God and still be dainty and gentle? Is it even possible to be both?

          But this morning (while I was putting on my makeup, ironically enough), God opened my eyes to something new. The revelation that maybe, just maybe, we’ve gotten confused about what a “warrior princess” is supposed to look like. We’ve taken all that we’ve gathered from movies and books and used that to define the term “warrior” within our minds. We’ve chosen terms like “brave” or “manly” and we’ve written them on “hello my name is...” name tags and stuck them on mens’ breasts while as women we’ve only accepted beautiful, but nameless brooches on our own, leaving us questioning just what our role exactly is in the battle. Or we’ve stolen mens’ name tags and tried to live them out in the same ways they as men would, pulling a Joan of Arc or a Mulan if you will, loosing our femininity and burying our beauty because we don’t want to be dainty and “weak”, and we don’t know how else we can be warriors without abandoning those very things that declare us women. We show up to battle looking like a poser William Wallace from Braveheart, when God never intended us to play his role.

          Now let me just clear something up before I continue: I do not think that just because I enjoy dresses and makeup that every woman should do the same and deny the different passions that lie within them that maybe look a little more adventurous than mine. Let’s just take a moment to recognize that physical appearance and one’s enjoyment of the color pink or glittery things does not define whether or not they are a woman. There is a beauty that is deeper, that lies in every single woman no matter their shape or stature, that was placed in every woman’s heart by God. One that comes from a root of femininity (which again, is not defined by girly things, but rather by the feminine heart God has created within you- the gentleness and the capability to love in the way that only a woman can love) And likewise, let’s also recognize that just as women who enjoy hiking and hunting are not less womanly because of those things, neither are women who take delight in flowy dresses and strappy shoes any less warriors, for the simple delights of ones heart is not what defines the warrior spirit.

          Now that we’ve cleared that up, let me end by proposing a simple theory: the idea that maybe we as women are indeed warriors. But maybe God intended us to fight differently than men. I listened to a podcast once that said something along the lines of “You know, we’re supposed to crush the enemy's head under our foot. And it’s a lot more painful when women do it because we’re wearing heels.” God never asked us to drop the things that make us women in order to fight whatever battle is in front of us. Rather, when we walk out in the things that make us women, when we embrace our femininity, that is when we are most effective in battle. As women, God has equipped us and endowed us with traits that only we as women can bring to the front lines. He has placed a gentleness within us that is not to be confused with weakness, and a quietness that is not to be confused with silence. He’s given us strength that we were intended to lend to others, beauty that was intended to allure others to Him, and bravery that comes from a confidence that we are indeed princesses. Daughters of a King who loves us and fights for us as we step into whatever battle lies before us. We step into battle with beauty and grace as the weapons at our sides. We draw the fear of the Lord from our belts and we slay whatever evil sets foot before us as we place our confidence in God. 

          As women, I do believe we were intended to be fought for. Not to mean that we cannot take care of ourselves, but that we don’t need to. We were not created for independence, but for dependence on God. And in that dependence on God, we do find the confidence of William Wallace as he charges into battle. Only, we find it in a much more beautiful way. We find it in the way of strength, of dignity, and of laughter without fear of the future. We find our strength, our confidence, and our warrior spirit when we allow God to fight for us. We find our warrior spirit in our feminine hearts that so much resemble our Maker’s and that He is more than willing to fight for.

Shine Bright Like a Diamond

“A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds.” Proverbs 31:10

Since I began my real walk with God, I’ve had a goal in mind of becoming a true “Proverbs 31 woman”. I want to be a woman with a gentle and quiet spirit. I want to be like Esther, like Deborah, like all the awesome and ridiculously confident in God women that fill the Bible. And while this journey of pursuing this godly character began with a longing for that gentle and quiet spirit, for taking on the special compassion and empathy that begins in a woman’s heart and for those softer but still such beautiful traits, in the most recent months of this never-ending journey, I’ve begun to hunt after some bolder traits of a Godly woman: the traits of strength, courage, and bravery. And for some reason, in my mind I thought these would come easily and without any trial. After all, if we as sweet and quaint godly women just sit in prayer for long enough, we will easily become an Esther, a Ruth, or a Miriam… or so I, and many other women I know, thought.

Misconceptions have flooded my mind and as God has filtered through them, He has unveiled a beautiful picture of what a godly woman should look like to me. And He has also been faithful to uncover the rocky pathway to becoming this woman….

We read in Proverbs 31:10 that “A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds.” And I don’t know a Christian woman who doesn’t read this and think to herself, “Yeah, I want to be that kind of a good woman, I want to be considered worth far more than diamonds!” The longing to be this kind of woman is buried deep within our hearts. And as beautiful of a metaphor as this is- being compared to the beautiful stone all of us want to wear on our left hand ring finger someday (and that a lot of us envy when we see it on others’)- there is something that we forget to consider behind it: how diamonds are made.

Diamonds are formed deep within the mantle of the Earth- about 100 miles or so down. And they are not formed in a gentle and beautiful manner at all. They are formed through a process involving intense heat and crushing pressure. The diamonds that come to the surface of the earth have been brought there not on a cloud of glitter, but by a special kind of eruption that is quite violent. Upon this eruption, diamonds are carried from the upper mantle to the surface of earth where they wait to be collected and praised by men and women alike.

Intense heat and crushing pressure. That’s quite the process. Yet somehow through all of that intense and not so pleasant process, we get these beautiful gems that are worth thousands of dollars, and as we look at them resting on engaged womens’ fingers, we forget/don’t bother to acknowledge what had to happen in order for that stone to appear to us the way it does, in its full beauty and splendor.

But it’s not so different when we look at some Christian women in our lives, is it? We see these women who are awesome speakers, powerful worship leaders, really well-written authors, and we think to ourselves, “Wow. If only I could be the kind of woman she is.” But we fail to examine what those women had to go through to get to that point. And I can almost guarantee you that 99.9% of the time, it wasn’t through a hunky-dory process that they came to possess their great wisdom and strength.

We want to be women of God. And we don’t just want to be the silent and sweet women, we want to be bold and courageous and brave and strong. We want to be a good woman who is worth far more than diamonds. And yet when trial and risk comes our way, we resign. We cower in fear and think ourselves uncapable of what God has placed before us. We forget that beautiful diamonds are not formed through a beautiful process. They are formed through intsense pressure and uncomfortable heat, down in the dark where they are seemingly very alone. Not much unlike how character becomes embedded in our own lives. If a diamond didn’t go through the entirety of that laboring process, it would just be a rock. But because it sticks through the process, it comes to the surface as a beautiful gem.

          Courage, bravery, and strength are choices. And while I’m sure there are some exceptions, from what I’ve experienced of pursuing these traits, they do not feel so nice. Someone shared a quote with me the other day by a Christian leader who said, “If you’re looking for that warm, fuzzy feeling when it comes to walking out in faith, then pee your pants.” The process to obtaining these character traits is hard. Proverbs 31:10 doesn’t say “A good woman is really not too difficult to find, they're runnin' around everywhere”. It says, “A good woman is hard to find”. A good woman is hard to find, because being the kind of good woman Proverbs 31:10 talks about is hard. If it were easy, we'd all be Kim Walkers and Joyce Meyers by now! Yet, many women come to the diamond forming processes in their lives, and instead of stepping out and choosing courage and strength and bravery, they let their feelings and fears tell them it’s not worth the risk and in turn, they miss out on the chance to become true diamonds.

Nothing worth having in life comes without trials worth withstanding. Not trials worth running from or avoiding, worth withstanding. In Joshua 1:9, God commands us to be strong and courageous. He doesn’t ask us to pray really hard for courage and wait for the feeling of boldness to fall upon us. He tells us straight: “BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS!” If you have found yourself at the mouth of a diamond forming process or even in the very midst of one, be strong and courageous. Take courage. Don’t wait for the feeling of it to come, take it. If you want to be one of those powerful women of God, know that it won’t come easily. If you want to be a beautiful diamond, be prepared for intense heat and crushing circumstances. But take hope in the fact that God is in every circumstance, including the ones below the earth’s surface, and there’s a beautiful worth waiting for you just upon the surface. Strength and bravery and courage as a woman will not come through prayer and hoping alone. Know that you have every capability in the world to be a good woman who is worth far more than diamonds, and God is sitting up on His throne rooting for you to become that woman. But the choice is ultimately yours.

Let me just encourage you to choose to become diamonds. Face the scary steps and challenges in your life with a courageous spirit and let them make you into a sturdy and beautiful diamond. Don't simply settle for being a rock.

In the words of Rihanna, "shine bright like a diamond".

Paige

Why It's Okay To Use Your "Outside Voice" Instead of Your "Inside Voice" Sometimes.

Hello all! It's been a good month since my last blog update, but it's because I'm busier than I ever expected, wow! Between Training and Assessment classes, Basic Leadership classes, (both all day, everyday- but so so good!), the homework between the two, planning for small groups and worship and intercession times, and getting everything ready for the students to get here (they start arriving this weekend, and our school starts next week!), I'm only now finding a bit of time to sit down and put my thoughts into words on here! But because so much has been going on in my life, God has been keeping up with that pattern as well (as He tends to do), and has been showing me SO much! And after skimming through my journal entries over the past month (oh boy, there's lots), I feel led to share one revelation in particular that God brought me to with you today.......

“It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship." -John 4:23

       If you know me at all, you know that I am quite a loud person. And I tend to be a bit outspoken. And I often find myself being ridiculously silly, as well as quite obnoxious and over the top at times. I rarely express myself in small, quiet ways to say the least. I know this about myself and I have known this my entire life. However, there are times when I review myself in certain situations and think, "Why did I do/say that?!" or "They probably think I'm so obnoxious because I just did that..." Times when I'm the loudest one in a group, or laughing at my own jokes (with no one laughing along- which I find to be the case a lot of times!). It's times like these when quite frankly, I annoy myself. So after times like these, I find myself setting boundaries for my personality. Boundaries like: "From now on, just keep your mouth shut until you're spoken to, Paige" or "INSIDE VOICE, PAIGE!" or even "Okay, I am GOING to be the graceful, soft-spoken girl this time!". Boundaries that are so far from my actual personality.

       But it was this week that I realized the following: God is a BIG God. Okay, we all know this. Look around at the scape of the universe, and it's obvious. So obvious in fact, a lot of us have learned this in Sunday School every Sunday morning for our entire lives. But He really is a big God, in every way. And that includes His character- and His personality. It says in Genesis 1:26 that God made us in HIS own image, to be like Him. And He is big. So if there are aspects of our personality that come through in big ways, can we not assume that if they line up with His Word and who He is, that we are merely walking out in His image as He created us to? If these things are true, can I not perhaps make the assumption that He has given me a big personality as a reflection of an aspect of His own image? His big image, which He possesses because He is a big God?

       Perhaps I'm not a quiet, graceful, soft-spoken woman that I imagine in my head to be that "ideal" woman of God. Perhaps I'm not always well composed or subdued. (In fact, “subdued” may be the exact opposite of a good majority of my personality traits) But who am I to determine what the work of God's hands should look like and how it should function? Have I forgotten how MASSIVE God is? And have I forgotten that I was made in His massive image? If these things are true, I don't have to be embarrassed of my rambunctiousness. I don't have to try my hardest to be someone that I wasn’t created to be. If these things are true, I can walk out in the woman that God specifically created me to be, and with confidence. And if I can walk confidently as the woman that God specifically created me to be, I know that my students will be more apt to do the same. It’s funny how that leadership thing works..

       At the end of the day, you can never please everyone. But the beauty of a relationship with God is that all that matters is that you please Him. And when you walk out in the character and personality traits that He has specifically created within you, you will do just that.

       I'd like to challenge you today to truly embrace who God has made you to be. Embrace your big traits- whether you're loud and ridiculous like me, or whether you're extremely full of grace and composure. Put down your insecurities, find the character traits that reflect God within yourself. And if those traits happen to be presented on a larger scale than others, don't let the enemy strip you of that blessing! Recognize the honor of the fact that God has entrusted you with a bigger side of Himself. Worship Him in truth- as you are, being simply and honestly yourself. He has let you represent Him in a big way. And He will best use you in that way.

Blessings ya'll,

Paige

In Training and Assessments classes (TAA). Because the school we're staffing is accredited, we must go through a certified training course.

Intercession and worship time on the YWAM base.

We spent the weekend in Oakey, Australia and spoke to the churches there about a ministry YWAM Brisbane is heading up called the Pass It On Tour. [http://www.gopassiton.org/] 

(We also drank lots of hot tea and wore every layer of clothing we brought with us- um, Australian winters are a lot colder than you'd expect!)

Our home for the night in Oakey.

Redcliffe, Australia

Spent the day bonding with my staff team in Redcliffe :) Seriously SO blessed to be on a team with them all!

Wholeheartedly.

Sunset in Redcliffe

How you can be praying:

• God has been showing me so much lately, and I would love prayer for even further revelation and clarity!
• Our school starts next week, so please be praying for our students as they arrive here- for peace and protection and against any lies or doubts the enemy may throw at them once they get here and perhaps feel out of their comfort zone. Please also pray for wisdom as my staff team and I begin to lead.
• Time management! I have so many things on my to do list and schedule right now, it can be a bit overwhelming at times. Please pray that I would have extra focus, the energy I need to accomplish it all, the peace of God that it will get accomplished, and that I would also see God and get to know Him better even in the little things and within all the busyness!
• Finances. I still don't have all the money I will need for my time here, but because I know God is a Provider, I know that it will come at just the right time :) 

Once again, I cannot thank you enough for your prayers and support. It's so uplifting to know that I have a support system behind me, even when I'm on the opposite side of the world!

What Jesus Has To Do With Sports

 “You must be holy because I am holy.” - 1 Peter 1:16

         I played a sport today for the first time in years. And I didn't like it.
         I just don't like sports- in fact, I avoid them at all costs. But as my sporty friends here encouraged me and pressured me into joining in the "fun", I couldn't help but give in. But I just couldn't bring myself to enjoy even a moment of it! I could feel a deeper root buried beneath the issue though.... So I asked God why. And in return, He provided a memory that had completely and totally escaped my mind....
         8th grade volleyball camp. I showed up to this sports summer camp hoping to potentially find my "knack", but instead I found myself among loads of girls who had been in club volleyball since birth. Needless to say, I wasn't anywhere near their level. The specific memory the Lord brought to mind was when I missed a dive for the ball and one girl in particular called me out and criticized me, and ultimately left me feeling stupid and incapable. I felt inadequate and quite small as I recognized the fact that I would never be able to be as good as these girls who had been intensely playing the sport since they were 4 years old. And it was then that I must have subconsciously put up a wall and made the decision that I simply hate sports and just cannot play. It was one comment that I had forgotten completely about until today- not even a life-altering comment by any means- that actually had been holding a secret spot in my heart, and a deep one too.
       I know what you're thinking- what does a distaste for sports have anything to do with God? So she doesn't like sports- big deal. At first, I thought that exact same thing. But then God opened my eyes to the bigger issue: Sometimes it's the small and stupid things in our lives that hold us back from surrendering our all to the Lord and truly making Him Lord of our lives.
       When you get rid of the junk and insecurities and walls in your heart- even the small and seemingly meaningless ones- you are making more room for God. Walls of any kind do not belong in a heart that is given completely to the Lord. 1 Peter 1:16 says that we are to be holy because He is holy, and if there is any left over baggage in our hearts that we aren't willing to let the Lord deal with, how can that holiness ever be achieved?
       I believe that during this season I am going to be faced with doing things that are completely out of my character, whether it be something small like playing sports or something much bigger, and I will need to face them head on. Because when you are faithful in the small things, God is faithful in the big ones. By stepping out in the things you feel the least secure about, you are giving the Lord so much more power in your life. After all, Jesus said in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” That means surrendering even the smallest walls in our hearts and letting go of the insecurities we barely even recognize, even when it's the most uncomfortable thing in the world. And in the words of Esther, "If I perish, I perish."
       I'd like to encourage you to sit down with God today and ask Him to search your heart. Ask Him to show you the small and stupid things that are keeping you from Him. And don't let the enemy make you feel stupid about being spiritual about such seemingly "meaningless" things. The Lord, who loves you so much, wants all of you. Every bit. Even the littlest parts. Allow Him to tear down your small, hidden walls, and walk in His freedom today.

Be blessed, ya'll.
Paige

How you can be praying:

• We start Training and Assessments for leadership training this week, and it will be a very busy time with classes all day everyday and a large amount of homework. Please pray that the Lord would give me energy and focus this week.
• "Don't look to the right or to the left, but keep your eyes on Me." This is something the Lord has been speaking to me since before I left for Australia, and it is something I pray about often. Please pray that I would indeed keep my eyes on Him and wouldn't be distracted from His purpose and calling by the circumstances around me.
• Health, once again! Like I said last time, living in a community always has risks of something going around. And that includes LICE! Getting sick and having a head full of lice isn't the end of the world, but it definitely takes away and holds you back from all the things going on here. 

I really cannot thank you enough for all your prayers and support!

How beautiful are the feet of messengers.....

  A 15 hour flight, a few days of dreadful jetlag, and a week of readjusting later, I can officially call Brisbane, Australia my new home for the next 18+ months! Thank you so much for your prayers during my travel and in my readjusting. This will be the blog that I use to update my dear friends, loved ones, and supporters during this sweet season the Lord has brought me to. SO without further adieu, here's the first of many updates, friends!:

“But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”  -Romans 10:14-15

       Today as I was reading my Bible and trying to get to know my Jesus better, I happened to flip to that ever so intimidating and sometimes seemingly “darker” book of the Word: Revelation. But instead of feeling intimidated about the coming times or worrying about the salvation of my soul and others’, as I’ve found myself doing at times when reading this book, I was instead reminded of my purpose for this season; why I’m sitting here at the YWAM base in Brisbane, Australia, just 3 days away from beginning staff training. As I read chapter 3:6-13 (Here’s a link to that in case you’d like to read along, but don’t feel like getting up to grab your Bible: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%203:6-13&version=NLT), about Jesus’s words of those who obey Him and don’t deny Him, and about “those who belong to Satan’s synagogue”, I actually found myself becoming not intimidated, but rather excited: SO excited that I know the Truth, and I know it in time! 

Verse 11 says plain and clear “I am coming soon.” If Jesus said this ages ago, I can’t even fathom just how soon His coming is TODAY. Not long ago, I was walking in the opposite direction of the Lord. But now I am saved, and as a result, when He returns, I will sit with my Savior, King, and Friend up in Heaven. But how close I was to not having this privilege just amazes me! What if I hadn’t found out this Truth in time? What if I had missed out on His beautiful gift of eternal life, simply because I didn’t know of the true DEPTH of this relationship with Him- because no one ever really explained it to me? 

I am so blessed to know this gift now; to know His infinite love and to have experienced it. And because I have felt so blessed in that, I really can’t even bear the thought of sitting idly by as others blindly walk the path I once did, completely oblivious to just how fulfilling this great love actually is, merely because no one ever told them about it or showed them what it was like. How blessed I feel to get to tell others about this great love, this great relationship, this great Savior before our time on this earth runs out! 

People are called to all sorts of different places in life to do all sorts of different things. There are so many different spiritual gifts and callings, but I am realizing more and more every day just how much missions is what I am called to. There is something within me that feels a responsibility to make sure people are aware of what they are missing out on, to make sure they at least hear of this potential relationship so that when that final day comes, they can’t say they didn’t know otherwise or that no one ever told them. The Lord truly does save souls, and I feel so strongly that it is my responsibility, not only as a Christian, but as a missionary, to let Him use me as a tool in that, and my heart gets so excited about this fact!

And THAT is why I am here; that is the vision- to be apart of providing others with the opportunity to experience the same great love I’ve gotten to experience, to help others know the Lord in a deeper way than they may have even thought possible, and to carry out the responsibility the Lord has given me to spread His Good News before our time runs out. As I chew on all of this, I can’t help but be reminded of the verses from Romans 10:14-15 which I shared at the top of this post. The Lord has given me the feet of a messenger as I walk out in this calling and responsibility. That is the vision the Lord has given me for my time here at YWAM, and I thank you so much for your prayers and support that help me fulfill that very calling and responsibility the Lord has placed on my life. God is good, ya’ll. Keep praising Him, keep seeking His face. Be blessed.

Paige

Reuniting with my friends from DTS who are back as well, over McDonald's (They call it "Maccas" here) 30 cent cones!

The view from my bedroom window.

 First order of business: GOLD FISH SHOPPING!

Meet my newest little missionary companion: Oliver the goldfish.

[How you can be praying:

• For physical health and restoration (living in a community environment, there are always  bugs going around, and I'm still dealing with jetlag, ugh!)

• That God would prepare my heart even more so to be a leader during this time before the MAD (Music, Art, and Dance) school that I'm staffing starts.

• Lately I have been dealing with some spiritual warfare and have had a hard time remembering God's perfect love for me- the love that I don't have to work for or have my act together for. Please pray that I would experience God's love fully and that the enemy would not have a foothold in my life.

•  Finances. (While I'm set for now, I still haven't reached my goal yet) Please pray that the Lord would open peoples' hearts to give, especially as I cannot have a job while here.

• That my readjusting to life here would continue to be a smooth and easy process.]

Thank you from the very bottom of my heart!