Paige Elayne; Disciple

This, that and some other stuff.

2008-10-06T16:08:00.000-07:00

Most of the people I know aren't up to date on the happenings in my life. So I thought I would take the time to inform you all with a little photo blog. Enjoy.

This is my boyfriend Kyrre. (Pronounced Curry)He is wonderful.
I ended up saying goodbye to 180JV (a ministry I love dearly) To pursue the will of God for my life which at this point is in Portland Oregon.

I had many rockin adventures in Bend before I left.

Kyrre, Mason, Michelle and I went to Portland for my orientation. I sat in classes, they rode bikes. Michelle was just being awesome. It's her thing.

Kyrre left and moved to Bellingham to attend Western Washington University.

McMenamins.

Sometimes I like Trees.

And Double Blended Caramel Frappacinnos.AKA Grande Double Blended Glory...

:)

I miss my friend Whitney. We went camping together and I wish she was here in Portland with me.

Thats all for now Folks. Pictures of the beautiful city of Portland and my rockin campus soon to come. :)

My Plan...

2008-08-15T20:15:00.000-07:00

My plan was to come to North Carolina and at night to upload my pictures and blog so that everyone can know what is going on in my life. Unfortunately my plan was shipwrecked when I relized I brought the wrong cord to the 'pine needle' state. So. No pictures for now but be expecting at least 4 new adventure stories WITH photo proof soon. :) I love you all. :)
Paige

The painful C-Monster

2008-05-31T21:33:00.000-07:00

con·demn [kuhn-dem] –verb (used with object)
1. to express an unfavorable or adverse judgment on; indicate strong disapproval of; censure.
2. to pronounce to be guilty; sentence to punishment

MY God is powerful. He is big and wonderful and has everything under control all the time. Constantly. He is faithful, loving, kind, gracious..the list goes on and on. He is everything.
As a new Christian I did not completely understand the cross. (P.S. I don't think we ever will, fully) But as I grew into a follower of Jesus I continually was met with this idea that the cross was more than just a guy who died for me. You see. When we say Jesus died for my sins it leaves much unsaid and many minds inquiring as to what that MEANS. This leads me to something that I think I KNEW but never UNDERSTOOD. It's like Golf. I know what it IS. I just don't GET IT. The thing that God has been hi-lighting in my bible are verses that say who I am in Christ. Those verses lead me to the question, "HOW can I be this? How can I be this amazing creation in Christ? Look at me God." (As if He wasn't already) What He said in response hit me hard. "You can stand before me pure and beautiful, with NO condemnation because my Son died AS your sins." You see, Jesus was on the cross and in the 6 hours in which He was on the cross he actually became filled with our sins and died the very death that that sin brings. God cannot be near anything imperfect. HE IS PERFECT. So in that time on the cross His perfect Son was without Him because Jesus chose to die for us knowing that we would all benefit. He dies as our sin, we can now be blameless and without condemnation in front of God. This was all done with a price we didn't pay. Giving our lives to Christ was not the 'fee' to get this. It wasn't a package deal. Jesus did it knowing that some may never know Him out of choice or otherwise but He did it anyway. He was the price. How blessed are we?
So. Why open this blog with the word condemn? Simple. Because we don't have to go through it. There are times when we go through things and we may mess up. In these cases apologies need to happen and prayer and healing must take place. However, be careful how you deal with these situations because God will never point a finger and say, "I can't believe you did that! That was so STUPID!" Nope. He knew everything was going to happen and instead of saying "I'll show them!" He came prepared with the medicine to heal it and the comfort to let you sleep. Who are we that we deserve this? Well. We don't. We ARE however heirs with Christ and therefore God sees us worthy, only by His sacrifice, to sit in His presence and receive comfort from the most famous person ever. God. Jesus is the one who saved us from our own dumb decisions. If He is Lord of our lives than we need to walk in that and as condemnation comes to try and take over let Jesus come in and protect you from it. His grace is enough to cover you and anything that you may do, on purpose or in total pride or something you didn't know was holding you back. His grace is SO amazing. It's not earned, however. It is a gift. When it runs at you, receive it. If you hold onto condemnation, Grace cannot work in your life to the fullest extent. So let go of the painful C-Monster and grab onto grace. :)

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2

No pictures. Just words. :)

The Big Escape...

2008-05-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

There is a lot that has happened over the past few months. One thing that I did not blog about is the trip I took to Seattle in February. Now, for some of you this is no big deal but for me, a future ready, life seeking 18 year old who is looking forward to leaving the nest, it's huge. My parents let me travel form Bend, Oregon to Seattle, Washington with little supervision (you'll see in a minute why I say this) and stay there in a hotel room by myself and visit churches and have some independance. This is HUGE! Here are some pictures form my adventure.

Cassie went with me to guide and mentor me on the way to Seattle. She was on her way to visit her family. We stayed in Maupin on the 13th then drove in on the 14th.

This is the view from my car to Cassies. We had walkie talkies to communicate. And code names too but I don't remember them....something goofy, no doubt.

We sported shades and danced around Praising the Lord. Hey. David did it.

We stopped at a Starbucks, visited some old memories and had some delicious beverages for our Valentines day together. It was fantastic. This is Cassie by her vehicle.

Cool Artsy Shotttt.

and this is my with MY vehicle. (P.S. Driving stick shift in Seattle is not fun.)

So. We finally got to Seattle (Kirkland) and we got me all situated in my hotel room. I was ready to go to the church. Cassie left to go to see her family and, to be honest, I got a little pang in my stomache when she left me. She guided me up to a certain point then had to let me go. So. I was alone in Seattle, Washington and the first place I wanted to go was The City Church, Kirkland.

This is a look at part of the main sanctuary.

After meeting with students in the Generation Interns programme I decided to go to Generation Church (The City Church's youth group). The campus was very cool. It was in the University District in Seattle and the building was surrounded by frat houses. Isn't that how God does things? Jesus was just like a lot of the guys back in the day on the outside. This building was like all the others, I assure you. But it was plopped down in the middle of a bustling place, humble on the outside, revolutionary on the inside and certainly, as Jesus is with the local church, the hope of a city. The hope of the world.

2 things I found to be cool are this EXIT sign and the fact that The City Church has their own water bottles. :)

The next morning I was up bright and early to go to the Generation Interns classes and prayer. It was SO awesome. I met a ton of people who were all very nice and I got to spend time talking with people about the program. John Smith is Jay Smiths brother and the Uncle of Stephen, Alisha, Jesse and Lily Smith. He is very nice and super cool! I went by the Bucks on that early morning, too. (24 hour drive through, Praise the Lord.)

Next I drove to Mill Creek Washington (very pretty) to stay with my Aunt and Uncle. They were awesome to be around and I enjoyed spending time with them! (Danna and Diane, I LOVE YOU!)While I was there I got to go to my first concert (Matthew West, Tobey Mac and Jeremt Camp.) Very cool. Here are some pictures.
Matthew West.

Tobey Mac.

Jeremy Camp.

Me with Matthew West. He is very nice.

And to finish off there are som pictures of the trailor park I lived in for a few years when I was younger. I got locked into the pool bathrooms at the age of 3 and the fire department had to come get me out. I thought I could do it alone but the door was too heavy to open again and I couldn't turn the knob. My mom thought I had drowned. It was not good. And the Monkey bars...I got stuck up there. Once again, I thought I could do it alone. And there is a picture of Hood that I took coming home in the last stretch. I learned how to pump my own gas in Seattle too. Very cool. :)

It was an awesome trip and I enjoyed everything that happened. I went in knowing that God may not call me there and He did not, as it turns out. The biggest thing on this trip was not the time in Seattle or the craziness that took place there. It was the miracles that God did in the planning. The money that just dropped in my lap to go. The hotel rooms at a discounted price just because someone believed that God had a plan for me and that that plan included a trip to Seattle. It was awesome to have fellowship with Cassie and other, too. God is good and He loves to provide for us. I got a chance to reflect on this a lot. So, What am I doing after high school? I have some plans but I am allowing the Lord to direct my steps. Stay tooned and I will inform you as soon as I know. In the very inspirational words of Lindsay Parnell, "God wants His will for your life more than I want His will for my life and if we have a heart that is cultivated around Him and His will we won't miss the mark." God is good. I believe that. He provides. He loves. He is. :) Talk to you soon!

3 Things I learned in 30 days

2008-05-27T17:25:00.000-07:00

It's been SO long. How is everyone doing? An update on my life? Well, there have been plenty of events, some pleasant and others not so much but thanks to the Grace of God and His incredible strength we have begun to scale UP the mountain that stood mocking me and ya know what? With every step the mountin seems to get smaller and smaller. Sometimes I have to climb (out of bed at 1am to pray) and sometimes I run on the less steep parts (this is usually when I trip on a rock because I get ahead of myself) and everytime I fall or slip my Savior is there and He catches me! The last few months have been a huge reminder of a few things.
1. I CANNOT DO IT ON MY OWN! That is a huge thing. Sometimes I get so comfortable in God and things are going great and I say every morning, "God, I can't do this alone." But then He asks me, "Why are you trying then?" At first He whispered it. Then He said it a little louder but I couldn't hear because my music was up too loud. Then He screamed it loudly. But the funny thing is this. God did not scream it loudly while my music was on or while I was waiting for people to come meet me or while I was pounding the keys...No. He screamed it in the most serene silence there ever was. And SO! I learned once again that I cannot do it on my own.
2. I learned that love is not words. Love is not even necessarily actions. Sometimes it is. A lot of times it is. Shoveling your neighbors driveway. Taking out the trash even though it's not your day. Giving a Vet a hot meal. The list goes on. But something that I learned was that love is faith. Love is praying. Love is waiting. Love is believing. In you. In the other person. In God. My mom doesn't tell me every day that she loves me. But I know she does. And here we have God who tells us He loves us in crazy ways all day. This morning He said, "Hey. I made the sun rise for you today. I knew you'd be up early. I love you."
3. No matter how hard the hardest thing is it is not too much for God. Is God so small that He can't change the course of our lives while we are living it? Is God so small that He can't deal with the stress? Is God so small that He can't grab onto or tired, hurting, painfilled, bruised, exhausted bodies and carry us? He does it every day. Pray and ask Him to show you when He carried you. He does it for us. He never gives us more than we can handle. He is a GOOD GOD! :)

Last but not least. I went to Prom. It was fantastic. I went with Jordan Wolfe. We had a BLAST! Cassie was out photographer and chaperone. She was amazing. We love her SO VERY MUCH! Here is a picture or two. :)

Isn't it funny....

2008-03-28T23:48:00.000-07:00

OK! Hello and I've missed you. Wow. Life has been crazzzy this past few months. I have just been going non stop and so spring break was much needed even though I worked a lot more than normal but hey...God is good. I'm doing track. I'm running distance (ouch BTW) and I am going to attempt the Long jump on monday. Woo hoo. Glory. we'll see what kinda hops the Lord gives me. I am currently in the midst of just waiting on the Lord which is good and hard but good all the same. I am working at the GAP still and I've found that the Lord speaks on the sales floor. Who woulda thunk it? I remember being at the front of the store after I had just started my job and I remember hearing God say, ever so softly but clear as day that I would not be there long. And I don't know how long long is but we will see with that too. I'd like to have a job as a nanny or an administrative assistant or something. They would be cool but I think the Lord will have me there for a while longer. It's going to be awesome. Somuchis coming up in the next few months like track meets, sisters bridal shower. SAT's. Prom. Sisters wedding and then. finally. the moment we've all been waiting for. GRADUATION! AH! but for now I am going to go to sleep. God is good. Diacogiannis sisters and brothers...I love you. night.

Steen Mountains Running Camp. Amazing.

2008-02-11T19:06:00.000-08:00

And with great power the apostles gave witness to the ressurection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Acts 4:33 (NKJV)

2008-01-29T13:31:00.000-08:00

As I was at my moms house the other day i smelled something rather distinct. This smell was the smell of smoke because my mom is a smoker. The thing that I have always noticed about smoke is that you can tell what it is weather someone was smoking at that point or not, you could smell it. In their clothes, hair, fingers, house, car...you name it. You just KNOW if someone has been smoking. Now, Smoke is something that we can get rid of but it takes cleansing, washing and purifying to get rid of the lingering smell but also, to prevent it from coming back you have to kick the habit. As I was doing my devotions today, I thought about this as I came across a scripture that talks about GRACE. Woah. What a word. 5 letters, infinate oppertunities to experience it and give it out. I started also thinking about Gods grace and how we feel when we sin, no matter how big or small. We feel bad, to say the least. We also feel bad when we dont' stand for the truth. I know I do. Sometimes I look back and say "That was and oppertunity and I missed it." Grace. Jesus is really cool did you know that? In the New Testament he is really good friends with a guy named Peter. When Jesus was going to go to the Cross this is what happened;
Then He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me." Luke 22:34 (NKJV)

and Peter says "No I won't ever deny you. I love you." It is my belief that Peter really believed that he was not going to deny Jesus. Well...He did. THIS is the part that caught my attention. Peter was upset and he wept. Jesus died on the cross and Peter was not there. He had left. But then Jesus rose again. I used to look at this passage and forget that there was a word over Peters life. One of such great magnitude that it could not be denied or hidden away;

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18 (NKJV)

THAT IS A WORD, my friends. Jesus knew what was going to happen on Peters part (denying Jesus) but Peter didn't embrace right away what Jesus was doing on His part and what Jesus was doing is Grace. It's love and forgiveness even when we don't deserve it. Now. Sin is something that we tend to let linger in our lives. We let it keep pounding us down even if we aren't doing it. We are thinking about it and the pain it caused. We keep feeling bad about it and comparing out sin to others sin. This is not easy to deal with. I KNOW! Trust me. But check this out. Jesus does grace like no other so that we can experience it and give it out. Same deal with forgiveness. We just have to accept it! Jesus said he was building His church in Peter who had denied Him 3 TIMES and He did build His church on Him but Peter had to embrace the grace and love and forgiveness of Christ and press on leaving everything else behind! Lets see what happens is our story:

And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, (15) so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Acts 5:14-15 (NKJV)

Just the shadow of a man who loved the Lord with his all. You see, Sin is just like smoke. It will grab onto you and make you smell. It will linger in your home and car and hair and life unless you KICK IT OUT and go through the cleansing process. His name is Jesus. He died for us and that is so awesome. When it says in the bible we are cleansed it means it. That is truth. Are we going to embrace it though? Are we going to grab onto it and run with it? My friends the reason tht I bring this up is because I am currently learing it. I haven't yet grabbed ahold of it really. But I am trying because God is so awesome. Is Gods grace not big enough to take us over and cleanse us? Is He too small to help us to walk out a life of righteousness and to help us get rid of that? Does he not have enough grace for us? If he could build His church on Peter, who denied Him could He not then use us for His will? Think about it. :)

?Questionable Behavior...

2008-01-21T17:06:00.001-08:00

"Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every moment you believe to be the will of God." -Jim Elliot

There is something amazing about this quote. This was spoken by a man who was so in love with God that he put a relationship with the one girl he ever loved on the back burner and dove head first into missions work. 5 years of corrisponding with this beautiful woman about what God was doing and how he was feeling about everything. Not only could they not be together, they weren't even near eachother. He was a missionary fulfilling the call of God. He said to live to the hilt. The maximum. The most. The best. All of it. Live it to the HILT if you believe it to be the will of God and embrace it.

God is in everything. He's in us. The earth. The UNIVERSE. Every situation and call. Every decision and season of our life. He touches the trees and they come back to life with leaves and blossoms of elegance. He looks at us, His children, with love and He is not afraid to care for us the way He does. He makes every day new. Always. It's NEVER just the same old day.

This has been my struggle. Embracing His will for my life even when it seems like I'm not doing much. I'm in high school. I've been in school for the majority of my life knowing that from September to June of every year I would have it all planned out and know what was going on. I always knew school would be there. And (sometimes unfortunatly) it is...almost every monday through friday...I wrote a previous post about decisions and making them. Now I'm thinking about these quiet moments and embracing them. You see. I've been questioning God a LOT lately. "What's your will?" "How will I...?" "What will I..." (I KNOW you know this one:) "Who will I marry?" Questions about boys and a prom date. Questions about what to do and when can I go? Those questions. This is the conclusion I have made. Now People can tell you all day long "Who by worrying can add another say to His Life?" "Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself." "It's all in God's perfect timeing." Good stuff to say. :) But sometimes I have to walk through things to really understand why people say things like that. You see. God really is Good. He really does have a plan and it will come to pass. Then it will be memories. Testimonies. Joy and pain past. I have had to stop myself and say a quick prayer because, really, when it comes down to it we tend to miss those moments. We spend such a crazy amount of time looking for the big moments that will rock our socks off or change us forever that we don't take the time to admire the small ones. Example: When you are in a relationship with a boy or a girl and they do something like look into your eyes...or the way they talk to children and things like that you admire it. The small stuff. The little moments. Why then, can we not admire the small moments with God in our lives? Because regardless of the moments magnitude is it not still God's will? Why then, has it become so hard to relax in His arms in the quiet? Why do we feel far from God when we aren't doing something big like a missions trip or making big decisions? Why can we not just admire the grass that He made or the fact that the sunset was gorgeous and He knew you'd love it? You see. Something got mixed up somewhere along the line and we began to think that we weren't going to be close to God unless we felt the shaking in your shoes, Holy Spirit, breath-taking, heart shaking, earth quaking, chain shattering, tears streaming, head pounding, voice losing moments. It took me a while to understand that God really does see all. And He loves those huge leaps and heart pounding moments as much, if not more, than I do. But, God also watches me when I'm falling asleep at night and He loves to just sit in the quiet of my bedroom and watch me sleep. It's in those small, quaint and quiet moments that He also smiles. So. If you believe it to be the will of God, weather it be the most nerve racking time for you ever...or it be a time where you feel that you aren't doing "anything"...live it to the hilt because that moment has come and will be gone and nobody can get it back. Have faith. He who promises is faithful and all of the promises will come to pass...You'll do His will if your heart is after Him and you are following Him but please don't go on any longer doing what I did...missing Him in the small moments because I was waiting way ahead of His timing for the big moments to come.

Gods Will... :)

2008-01-16T15:19:00.000-08:00

I'm a Senior in High School. What does this mean? Choices. The most common question I get asked is, "What are your plans?" Now. I don't live in a family that necessarily follows the Lord so for me to say "Whatever God tells me..." just simply isn't good enough for them. This makes it hard for me and for all of those others out there who are pressured to live up to the expectations of others in our families and such. The thing is, we feel that they won't understand. If I tell my non-immediate family what I plan on doing with my life they'll support me "no matter what" as long as it matches the criteria that they set up in their mind of what it takes to be "successful". I may not make millions of dollars a year. I may not win the lottery. I may not get married until I'm forty years old and if i'm not any of these things am I then not "important" or "successful"? Not to dis on people who rock those things. Way to go. :) I'm happy for you. The thing is I don't know God's will for my life exactly because I'm not Him. If He revealed it to me right now moment for moment, at what point would I be surprised by His goodness and love? If I didn't have trials to go through and decisions to make and leaps of faith to take what on earth would I do? Would I just drift through life? I think so. So. for all of you seniors out there...or anyone for that matter...who has to make a decision that could dramatically or not dramatically alter the course of your life...have faith. God is GOOD!!! He's got it all under control. If your big decision is "What coffee will I get at starbucks today?" I have the answer. Get in your car and go to backporch. Get a White Chocolate Mocha and start your day off good with nice people and the wonderful deliciousness of amazing fresh roasted coffee. I'm glad I could help. Now for all of you who have a decision to make that's bigger than a coffee issue...lets pray about it. If you have a prayer request...just find a friend and ask them to pray for you. I promise you, if they aren't going through the same or similar situation, they have before. Seek wise council, trust God and smile BIG because He's got it all planned out and MAN I hope it's a wild ride!!!

Go, Bear, Build

2008-01-14T15:23:00.000-08:00

Luke 14:23 And the master said to the servant, "Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled."

This verse hit me today as I was reading it. It hit me in such a profound way because it was a verse hidden in the middle of a parable and speaks lightyears beyond it's intentions for the story. This was one that was hard to digest. Jesus says "Go" a lot. This parable shows us an accurate picture of what the master, God, has asked us to do. Not to go out and get the ritzy, healthy people and bring them to eat but to go and get the people who need love and perhaps, a hot meal. Those who are lost in the darkenss and the pain of the world. Those who need to be touched by God. You see...this was revelation for me because God does not live in a box. He has enough for all of us and more. Food? yeah. life? you bet. Love? So much more than we could ever need or experience. Thats His job. And he says "Go" to the highways and hedges not to give us gudelines for who to invite into His presence, but to open our minds to a thought process bigger than ours that firmly knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that all people are invited to fill this house. In a later verse it says:

Whoever does not BEAR his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? (Luke 14:27-28)

This is also profound. As we wake up every morning and get ready to go out into the world...a new day...Gods will, we have to do something...that is, take up our cross. The cross was not comfortable to carry or to hang on. It was uncomfortable to watch in "The Passion of the Christ" and it was even more uncomfortable to witness at the foot. So why? What does it mean to pick up our cross? It basically says in verse 28 that we can sit and count the cost and try to calculate the end result just right. Just enough. But is God so small that we can count His will for our life and see if it's WORTH OUR TIME? Heavens no. He's not small. He's big and He can do immeasuribly more than anything we could EVER ask or imagine. So. The question. Can we BUILD this Kingdom for God? Are we going to sit and count the cost? My vote is no because the cost was already counted. His name is Jesus Christ. If He endured the cross and carried His own, so can we because we aren't doing it alone. We have Him and His strength in us. I'm ready to jump out in faith and watch God build bridges, provide parachutes and open my heart. It's not easy because it's FAITH. (the belief in what we can't see) And it's not easy because that means I have to be less selfish and more selfLESS. It's easier because He's real. I wanna go make a difference. So off to the highways and the hedges, the roads and shelters, the schools and the colleges, the businesses and the slums, Aubry butte and Romaine Village. Here we go.

Living out Gods will...

2007-12-30T23:41:00.000-08:00

This may sound like it's something that is easy to do. And sometimes it is easy. Sometimes God asks me to do things i know I can do. Sometimes I do things and I don't know what I am doing. Sometimes I miss it. Sometimes I make it. Sometimes I have all the faith in the world and sometimes...most recently...I've felt that my faith in God is so small...butit's bigger than it ever has been.
Perhaps it needs to be made known that I love the Lord and I want to do His will. 2007 was a year full of trying to live a life worthy of the price Jesus payed. It's been about purity and righteousness and walking IT OUT. It's harder than it looks. Recently, I realized that I was lookin for a formula for Christianity. I was looking for some sort of...equation that would hopefully lead me to heaven. Boy was I wrong. So, I've been trying to seek God out more without checking of my morning list (Devos, prayer, worship) and doing things differently on occasion as to not fall back into the stagnant pattern of making God a checklist...because he isn't a checklist...He's a father. I can't just go through the motions and please Him and to be honest...When we just go through the motions...we get no treasure for ourselves. Whats the point in "seeking" God if we are not in it to find Him. So here I am. 6 months and 7 days from Graduation from High School. I thought I had it all planned out where I was going to go and what I was going to do...and perhaps I will still go to bible college...but God has asked me to embark on an adventure with Him to see some places, talk to some people and step OUT of the boat. I'm laying out my fleece.

This brings me to my next point. Talking to God. The other day I was driving to get somewhere...but I didn't need to be there for another hour and so when I took the wrong exit I was perplexed because I don't usually "accidentally" take wrong exits.

This exit lead me to McKay Park where I got out of my car and went and hopped to a rock in the river and stood and simply spoke to God. He took my steering wheel and turned it because thats how bad he wanted to hang out. There were no people. just me, Jesus and the ducks. I am so blessed that my God would create me, die for me carrying with Him my sin and shame, and then change up the plans to hang out with me as if He though I was that important...and He DOES think that. I dno't know who is reading this but take this into your heart. God cares so much for you. Don't forget it. Don't push it aside. Hold fast to His love. He'll take you places you've never dreamed of. He's taking me now and in 6 months...in 2008...after I graduate and when I am getting ready to go to where ever God wants me to be...I'll think about this road trip for sure...because "The road trip only begins when you decide to leave everything else behind." -Casey Parnell

2008....here I come.

2007-12-26T19:39:00.000-08:00

OK! So. I've been pondering the last year of my life as I get ready to step into the next year of my life. When I step into the next year of my life, I will be leaving 2007 behind. This is a scary thought. There is one a little more frightening than that and that is the thought that it is up to us to decide what treasure we will take with us into 2008 and what other stuff we will let lie in the past. This year has been hard. It was a year of finding myself. This year I ended my junior year of high school and I began my senior year. I met new people. I got to pray a lot and most of all, I started to really find out who God is.
Some Highlights:
Generation Unleashed (If you've never hopped on a bus at 7am with 40 high school kids who love Jesus to travel the 3 hours to go to a youth conference...if you've never woken up at 5 am to see all 40 of those kids up in the hotel lobby praying and doing their devotions...If you've never looked into the eyes of a teenager who loves God more than anything...If you've never experienced their contageous passion for Christ...you simply haven't lived.)
Winter Camp: God spoke volumes to me in winter camp. He opened my eyes to what it's like to spend a few days without the worldly visions, dreams and views...and what it is like to spend those days with Him. He opened my eyes and my heart.
Cassie: In April Cassie showed up. Little did I know that she would be so, so important in my life as a prayer partner, friend, sister, buddy...you name it. (Thanks God)
North Carolina: I went to north carolina in June to see my Aunt and Uncle. I was pulled out of my comfort zone and into the God zone with nothing but Him, my bible and my faith. I also saw the ocean for the first time. Atlantic. SO WARM!!! and I got to walk on the beach at 6 am, praying and meeting with God. wow.
SUMMER CAMP! 7 days with God. 14 messages. 21 meals. 1 God. Countless tears. hundreds of lives changed. wow. God is so amazing.
Revive!!!! I got to see how much work it is to put together and lead a ministry. It's not easy but I loved it all the same.
A weekend in Maupin! Seth Sokoloff, Stephen Smith, Tori Stern, Callie Norman, Michelle Herrera and My self along with some other family and family friends decided to make the 2 hour drive to set out on a weekend adventure to Maupin Oregon where we partook in some Rafting, laughing, eating, stayingup late, walking around, going on private property...things like that. My favorite part of this weekend was that we got to laugh as much as we did. We were constantly laughing from breakfast until we went to bed...and we're going to do it more this summer....but this time we will be kayaking and we will also be cliff jumping. No "River Fest" this year but it's sure to be a great time!
18: I turned 18. Nuff said.
Accepted to college: Pacific life. I'm going in September. This is going to be a big leap. It's already been a big leap of faith so far. But as I trust Him more, the leap will look so much smaller. :)
In November through December it has been hard but good as God humbled me, loved me, held me, showed me, helped me, taught me and guided me as he always does. He showed me how to look beyond me. It's not easy nor is it something I can simply "obtain." no. I'm just looking to Him.

So. It has been a greawt year full of GOD and it's been crazy busy but amazing none the less. Thanks God. and thanks Cassie for the prayers, thoughts...and for showing me how to work a blog. :) ok 2008. Graduation. College. Life. God. Here I come.

OH, CANADA!!!

2007-12-20T17:33:00.000-08:00

CAssie and I are RAD in CANADA! WOOOOOOOO!

10-19

2007-12-18T14:39:00.001-08:00

Now...to most people who are reading this...it would appear that my title is a date of some sort marking some sort of epic event of my life...This however, is un true. Although this does mark an epic event of my life the term "10-19" is not a date. It's a code. Read on and you will find out the story behind this.

My amazing and beautiful friend Cassandra DeAnne Diacogiannis just happens to be about hte coolest person in the world. She loves the Lord and wants to serve His more than anything else in life. When Cassie came to Bend last April and started working at the Bird I had no idea that we would soon become good friends with such a cool bond. Cassie and I also go to church together at Westside church. She just rocks, basically. Cassie has a HUGE family that lives up in Lynden, Washington, whom she loves adn cares for. She frequently makes visits up there to visit the small town and the large family and this time I was honored to be her guest as we made the 500+ mile treck that would take 9 hours. Cassies family has become my "adopted" family as I will be attending college not 2 hours from their house this coming fall...but thats a different story.
This trip, for me, was more than just a trip. This was my first time going on an overnight road trip without my parents...or any of my family, for that matter, and it was a VERY big deal for me to go. So. After making the trip up to Lynden, surviving on White Chocolate Mochas, Judah Smith and laughing...we dove head first into completely organized chaos. Cassie is extremely well known in her town and church and so it was amazing to see people just run up to hug her and just say "hello". It was overwhelming at times but I loved it all the same. I met over 100 people, easily. I got the chance to sit in the middle of a miracle as it was the very first service of Cassies old churches NEW Worship CENTER!!! Woo Hoo! It was very cool to see be apart of the result of God's work in a different state. I was quite the whirl wind adventure to say the very least...and that was just saturday night. Sunday morning we got up and went and had Woods coffee. (Heads up for all Oregonians who love coffee....They have 24 hour coffee stands inWashington. They take their Lattes and Americanos very seriously.) There were more people to meet and see and I got to watch as Cassie talked passionatly about youth ministry in Bend and what God was doing there. She was very happy and was basically like the ball of a pin-ball machine, bouncing from one place to another to see people and all of their children. Wow! what a crazy morning already. God did something super cool in my heart that morning, however. Being in worship I just began to feel God's confirmation for going to Pacific Life Bible College. This is something that has been on my heart for a while now and I was hoping to get some confirmation from the Lord. A feeling...a scripture...something that would give me the assurance that I was indeed follwing the plan and will of God for my life. I got an overwhelming feeling on Sunday morning during one of the worship songs that I was in the right place, at the right time, following the dream that God wanted me to follow. I didn't know what emotion to feel or what to do and when Cassie asked me if everything was ok...I began to weap. We got in her car, turned on worship music and I cried before the Lord, simply overtaken by His love for me. His love that had wrapped itself around me and had comforted me through the whole thing. His love. It is so precious. I began to pour out my thoughts about being overwhelmed and being afraid of the comformation that I had gotten and being afraid that in 9 months I would be embarking on a journey to college that only 5 people in my family have gone on yet and being the only one so far in my entire family who was being called to take a leap of faith and go to Bible college. This, my friends, is a scary thought. CAssie took me somewhere very special to cheer me up. She took me to the ditch that divides the United States from Canada and I jumped over it as she watched from behind the lense of her camera. I took my very first hop in this huge leap of faith. We took pics of me in Canada and then CASSIE took the leap. I took pictures of her as she goofed around and she strutted her stuff as I took some pics. :) it was rad. I'm assuming that the boarder partol thought it was rad too. especially when they sent a guy to tell us to please stop country hopping. :) This cheered me up. As we were speaking to the man we heward a voice from his radio, "Did you locate them?" "10-4 (this means yes) don't worry, it's just a 10-19." (Hence the title of my blog) This was a rad experience for me. So. We went home and we had some lunch (waffles) and then we went to the mall and shopped (Praise the lord) After this shopping, we went home and got dressed for the Christmas play in which Cassies beautiful little sister, Hosanna, starred. It was wonderful. After the christmas play, we met more people and then went home for dinner and a Diacogiannis family christmas. Cassie got a TON of kitchen stuff that she is not putting in her kitchen and trying to find out how to use. :) I got these amazing PJ pants and a beautiful ornament from the Diacogiannis family. We all prayed together, which was amazing, as you can imagine, and then we slowly teetered off to bed and slept. Monday was not as hectic as the rest of the days. On Monday, we got to wake up late and go to coffee at Woods again. It was awesome. We sat and talked about what the Lord was doing in our lives and things of that nature. Cassie had a meeting at 12 with a friend so I decided to take this as prime "Paige and Jesus" time and I walked to downtown and walked around the shops and such. Lynden Washington is SUCH a beautiful town, FYI, and it is worth the drive to experience all it has to offer. I got home and we made hot cocoa using this wonderful electric wisking amazing hot cocoa making thing that Mrs. Diacogiannis picked up because she heard from Cassie how much I loved cocoa and she figured we could try it out this weekend then her kids could use it for the winter. I got the honor of using it first and, not even kidding, it changed my hot cocoa perspective, which, previous to this trip was narrowed down to powder in water (still good) and the Starbuckery which isn't as hot or chocolatey as I would like it to be...It was amazing! (Thanks Mrs. D! You ROCK!) After this, Cassie and I packed up and headed for home. We drove all the way from Lynden to Portland making 3 stops. One for one last Woods coffee, one for gas and one in Olympia for Olive garden. We got to take somepictures of the beautiful Seattle Skyline at night. and it was SO rad gotin 62 mph with my head out a window looking back on one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Wow. We got to Portland and my parents had been kind enough to get us a hotel room so that we didn't have to drive the pass at midnight. We went to bed in this amazing room and woke up bright and early to hit the road. We got on the mountain and did NOT put chains on, thinking we would be just fin if we went slow and chilled behind a semi. Bad choice. We spun out and hit a snow bank. We had to dig it out and a guy came up to us with a shovel, shoeveled us out, informed us that we shouldn't out chains on because in 3 miles, we'd have to take them off anyway...he went on his was to Maupin or the Tyge Valley as we headed home listening to Podcasts from Bo Stern. This was an amazing weekend of amazing things and Gods hand guiding us. I would do it all over again in a heart beat. Thanks for reading. Pictures are coming soon. :)