God's Chisel - The Skit Guys

Hi Y'all

A late Saturday night waiting on Mr. G to call so I can pick him up from the visit to the "haunted house" with the youth group. I do not do haunted houses and the last one I went to was before Pat and I had children. He drug me to the Wax Museum in Grand Prairie. You couldn't tell a wax model from a real person and that just creeped me out. I have never been back. I especially don't like it when they reach out to touch you. 

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It is wedding time around here for my nephew, Kenneth, and his sweet and precious Fiance, Lauren. They will marry next Friday. I saw her today as I am doing the florals for her dress rehearsal dinner on Thursday. They will be a lot of fun to make. This is the first big wedding for my immediate family. All three of the kids are in or participating in the wedding. The boys will be wearing tuxes and I can't wait to see that! G is excited as he has never "dressed up" before. I will definitely post pictures when I have them. We are so excited to have Lauren in our family. 

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The house is still on the market. Not a lot of movement right now. We were warned of this, but we are depending on God to bring that buyer in His perfect timing. I love having a clean house all of the time, but it is getting old trying to make sure it is picked up before I leave for work every morning. Sure enough the day it doesn't look to spiffy, it will show. 

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Clear Choice is in business and Pat is seeing a lot of activity begin. A lot of money is invested in advertising and trying to find that perfect means of advertising. Most importantly though, Pat is happy and loves his new business already. If you know of anyone who needs replacement windows for their home, give him a call. There is short window of time to get the government tax credit. (subtle sales pitch here!)

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Happy Fall!

Pat and I are announcing the opening of our new business, Clear Choice USA Fort Worth! Google the ad and website. If you or someone you know need new windows for your home give him a call. 817. 568. 8900. and see the ad in the Fort Worth Star Telegram and Burleson Star.

Pat is so excited about his new business and God, who never seizes to amaze me, gave him this opportunity just after he left Kinro after 30 years. This company is nationwide and has a great reputation.

Thanks for allowing us to share this new and exciting venture with you!

Hugs!
Paige

Happy 25th Anniversary to Us!

Today Pat and I celebrate our 25th anniversary. This is a lot to brag about! I remember years ago thinking how far away our 25th would be. It came in such a hurry. I have never written in the blog how we met. It is a really cute story, and a memory I love to play over and over in my head. I was 19 and in between my freshman and sophomore year in college at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Oklahoma. I was living at home in Madill and working at Lake Murray Lodge as a reservationist. It is a resort near Ardmore, Oklahoma. On July 8th, Pat came in to the lodge to check in. He was a “business man” with the corporate car and was in sales. According to him, he was to go to Mexico with a friend that backed out at the last minute, so he joined his mother, Aunt Virginia and his sister, Dianne and her boyfriend. Pat arrived early and because he was so good looking, I was trying to impress him and I upgraded their small villa to a large villa. After all, this was one of the most major requests that we had with our visitors. He proceeded to hang out in the lobby and wait around on his family. By the way, he had on hirachi sandles (what I call Jesus sandles). That struck me as odd because I had never seen any guys around my town wear those. Oh well, he still had my attention. You know what he noticed on me? My yellow pants. Now, I would like to think I could be remembered by something else like my perfect hair, or my wonderful personality. Nope….just the yellow pants or as Pat calls, britches! We kept making eye contact while he hung out in the lobby. His Mom finally arrived and she came to check in. I informed her that her son had already got the keys and I had the pleasure of upgrading he reservation. Bad mistake! She got furious with me and really let me have it. She said that she did not want the large villa because she did not want to hear Pat's Aunt Virginia snore. So, I fixed the reservation. A little while later, Pat called to ask for a roll-away and before he hung up he asked if I was able to date my tenants? Yes I said. So, he asked me out on a date. Well, I had some fixing to do as I had already accepted a date earlier that day with a guy named “Matt” who hung out at the lodge a lot. I had to break the date. I told him that I had to go back to Madill and return money to my mom that I borrowed. After I broke my date, Matt and Pat were playing pool or something in the game room and Pat said “I got a date with that girl up there". Matt's reply was“oh really?” Matt confronted me and I was caught. Oh well! Pat and I went to Ardmore and ate the Pizza Inn. It was great date as we got to know each other. It was Friday now and Pat was leaving to go back home to Arlington. I asked him if he wanted to go to a rodeo and watch my mom ride? He said yes. We went to watch and then he came home to my Mom’s house and spent the night. I must say that looking back on this, this was totally out of Pat's character to spend the night at a strange house with people he barely knew. We continued to have a three year long distance relationship as I finished college. I was cheerleading and involved in sorority for a while, but eventually dropped it and made many trips to Texas. Three years later on April 24, 1984 he proposed and I said “yes” and I would say it all over again!

This is our engagement announcement and picture that

was made for the local paper, The Madill Record

The wedding chapel at Lake Murray Lodge

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September 8, 1984

What Have We Been Up To?

It has been busy! Matt got home from Colorado on August 15th and he is now going to school at TCC and working at my church in the after school program. Elizabeth resigned from the bank and will start a new job on Monday with a financial investment firm. She is excited and so thrilled that she does not have to work on Saturday mornings anymore! Garrett has adjusted to high school and he says that he really likes the freedom. The freshman class has 770 freshman. This week he was nominated as the top three boys in the class for the homecoming court. How exciting for G! Oh, one more important event in G's life...he got his drivers permit two weeks ago. Fortunately, he has had a lot of experience driving at the ranch, so his driving skills are not too bad. I just keep wishing time would slow a bit! As mentioned in the previous blog, we put our house on the market a week ago. Pat has been working hard in the yard and around the house to get it ready. We got new carpet to replace Cash's gel pen fun. I have also had to do several florals for my house. I should have done this long before now. Trying to keep the house cleaned and picked up has been a challenge, but I love coming home to a clean house and made beds! Looking forward to a great, long weekend and I am anticipating my 25th wedding anniversary next Tuesday! Pat, you and I rock!

xoxo

Our Journey Part II

I hope you weren't expecting part II of our journey too soon here on my blog! It has been awhile.  I love blogging and miss it so much!  I do want to continue writing and remembering this journey.  If nothing else, I have it recorded as a reminder of God's faithfulness.  I began work at my church on June 1st and now have been there three months.  About the time I started working, things for Pat at his job was unraveling.  Each day was getting tougher and tougher. There were so many changes and changes that were hard to swallow for him.  One Friday morning in early July I got a text from Pat that said "I can't do this anymore".  It was time for him to leave.  That weekend we prayed and felt a huge peace about our decision. The following Monday morning he resigned from his job of 30 years not knowing what was next. We took a huge "leap of Faith".  I was amazed at the peace I felt and I can honestly say that I have never felt more peace about anything in my life before now. I keep telling Pat that "God didn't deliver you from cancer to drop you off at the curb"! My prayer for Pat is that God would give him the desire of his heart.   I know that God has big plans for Pat and our family.  I definitely knew that life as we have known it changed overnight...which was a repeat from a year ago when Pat was diagnosed with esophageal cancer....change again. I could clearly see how God was placing each puzzle piece of our life in place.  God orchestrated the job at the church four months earlier than planned so that Pat could resign and I could carry the health insurance.  Insurance is a must for us and God made sure that insurance coverage would not be a worry for us.  Pat took an extended vacation to see what God has in mind for him now.  He kept thinking of real estate for a couple of weeks, but God had something else in mind and he revealed that to Pat. It was Clear Choice USA, a residential window replacement business. Keep in mind that he has been in the window business (manufacturing and RV) for 30 years.  He was practically a kid when he started selling windows!   You know what another cool thing is? This is a dealership type of business and the only available territory was Fort Worth, Johnson and Tarrant county (the counties we live in and nearby) and surrounding cities.  Wow! That is another confirmation that God gave to us.  Another one...Pat's former company's motto was the "The Clear Choice" and our new business name is "Clear Choice USA of Fort Worth".  God is amazing isn't he?  So since he decided to start this business he has been busy.  We put our house on the market a week ago. We also are selling some land in Hico.  This morning before I started my quiet time, I asked God to show me something. I wanted to hear from him and he spoke.  The message was "Expect the Unexpected". Just as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, that is where we are. We are trusting God to direct us as we do not know what the future holds.   We are trusting God to allow our house and land to sell quickly. We are trusting God to provide financially until our business kicks in. We are trusting that God has the perfect house for us. We found a house, the first and only house we looked at, but we have to be certain that this is God's will.  We are trusting Him again.  In the meantime, I am so very thankful.  One of my prayers that I prayed right before I started working was "Lord, if I have to work full time, I just want to love it".  That prayer has been answered.  I love my job so much and the people I work with.  What joy and peace I have and to know that I get paid to do what I love!  Our church just launched our brand new website www.fbcburleson.com two weeks ago and I have the privilege of being the webmaster.  I have also realized that I am a huge computer nerd.   I also work for the Associate Pastor and the two music ministers.  It is a very busy job and I have a new perspective and appreciation of the church as a staff member. (More thoughts on this in the near future.)  ......to be continued

Hugs!

Happy Birthday Mom!

This past weekend we celebrated Mom's 70th birthday! Doesn't she look beautiful and so young! I hope I get those genes! It was a special day for us to celebrate with you! We love you!

Basketball Is Over For Now

G is through with ball for awhile! He and I both kind of glad and kind of sad. Texas Express had their last tournament this weekend at the national finals in San Antonio winning the consolation bracket and ending the season with 36 wins and 14 losses. We made some good memories and good It was a good season. G has the rest of this week to have a birthday on Thursday and leave for Colorado for Camp Redcloud on Saturday. Love that basketball and can't wait for some more soon! Hugs!

Happenings

Sis had a wreck on Monday, but it wasn't her fault. She was just a few minutes from her house. A girl was trying to break and slid on the wet pavement. So, she has had to deal with that this week.
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I am so excited that I can't stand it! Two of my most favorite things to buy new is a new phone or a new car. I got the IPhone! Woo hoo! I have been waiting for so long and it happened and I am tickled. I am a nerd at heart and anything techno makes me excited!

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G is getting ready to go to Colorado to camp at Camp Redcloud where Matt is working. He and his friend are going and they are pumped! Matt is excited too. Please pray to keep the travelers (by plane and driving back with Matt) safe.

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The rain has been so nice and we are so very thankful. Pat has been hanging out at the ranch this week and we have had even more rain there than here at the house. Now that is exciting!

That is a small update for the fam! Have a great weekend.

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Before I go I want to ask for your prayers, faithful blogger friends. One of Matt's childhood friends, Chad (19) who he grew up with and lived two houses down was shot in a random drive by shooting last Friday night on I-35 near Burleson. He and a friend were coming home from a concert and their truck was shot at. There was a truck filled with people in the back and the police suspect that it was a gang initiation. Two guns fired into the truck and one struck Chad in the back, grazed his shoulder, broke a rib and stopped in his throat. He is suppose to have surgery tomorrow morning at 7:15 a.m. He is a very blessed young man and the doctors say that he could have easily been paralized or the bullet came so close to vital organs. God certainly has a plan for Chad and I am thankful that all things happen according to His good purpose. Praying for you, Chad!

Goodnight!

Our Journey

This blog and the ones to follow in the next few days or weeks is my story on how God has clearly worked in the life of the Easterlings. This journey began June 19, 2008 when Pat was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. The journey is still continuing and we are watching it unfold. If you want to read about the beginning of the journey, click on the link below: http://paigespetals.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html

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It has been eight weeks since I have started working full time at my church after 16 years as a stay-at-home mom. Most of you know that I have piddled with various jobs while at home (Mary Kay, Herbal Life, Medical Transcription, and my floral design business). It was difficult for me to get the hang of getting back into the "work" routine. Most of all, it was surreal. I had heard about a job that was opening up at my church in October as the webmaster and I agreed to start then. Well in May, one of my dearest friends, Marilyn, had another job offer working out of her home. She told me about her offer and we both got the same idea: that I should fill her position until October. Marilyn and I have been prayer partners for several years and we both felt that God was at work here and it was making way for me to step into her job and make it easier for her to leave. I was offered the job, but I needed to pray about it and discuss with Pat. That following Sunday night our Life Group met and I shared with them about praying about starting work sooner than I had planned because of the job opening at church. One of our life group members told me about a job opening as a meeting planner at his job which was my employer those 16 years ago. My reply was "I really don't know if corporate is where I want to be and it is easier to just ignore the corporate job openings." Well, Monday morning I received an email from him with the job description. It fit me perfectly. Wow! I was excited. I applied online that evening. In my mind I was trying to decide which job I wanted before I even got a call from the company for an interview. What to do? I prayed for wisdom and discernment and waited. Let's fast forward a few days. I had received an email from Tracie, who is also in my life group, suggesting a book that was really being talked about. I saved the email. While G was at basketball practice I drove to the Christian bookstore to find a book. Most of the time when I am in a book store I pray for God to show me the next book he has for me. God has used many Christian authors to speak to me and I can make a list of most of those books. They were usually just the book I needed to grow. So, I prayed the prayer and then remembered the email Tracie had sent me. Right there on the shelf was the book: "The Hole In Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns, President of World Vision. Bare with me as I give you a quick summary of the book as it won't make sense unless I do. Stearns was a corporate executive with stints at Gillette, Parker Brother Games and Lenox, America's fine tableware and gift company. He was President of Parker Brothers at age 33 and subsequently president and CEO of Lenox. Following a sense on God's call on his life, he resigned his position at Lenox and became World Vision's U.S. President. This was a very difficult decision for him to make and in the first of the book he describes his anguish as he tried to deny God's calling on this move. One of his paragraphs in his book spoke very clearly to me......page 46. Richard Stearns says "As you might imagine, events like this didn't happen every day in my life. I immediately remembered something Renee (his wife) had said to me about two months earlier, just as I had begun talking with World Vision. She said she believed that at the moment of decision, a great temptation would be put in my path---a financial lure--that would threaten to prevent me from going to World Vision." I stopped right there after I read that. Tears swelled in my eyes and I knew then that God was telling me what to do. I was never more sure of anything in my life. The corporate job was the financial lure because of the better pay, the prestigious job, and it was what I was experienced in. I also remember reading that an open door is not necessarily from God and I had been thinking about that. The church was where God wanted me. Most of my free time is in the church teaching Women's Job Corp, singing on the Praise Team, coordinating the Promises Christmas dinner and various committees. I made my decision to take the job at church and called Pat who was out of town. (Most of the major decisions that we have ever made he was out of town and it is an inside joke between us). He replied with his famous line "who am I to argue with the Man upstairs". I got dressed and drove to the church and accepted the job. Did I ever hear from the corporation in regard to the opening? No. My prayer from the beginning when all of this began was that I would not get a call from them if it wasn't His will for me to work there. So after I accepted the job, I asked God again to not have them call me. They never called!

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To be continued......

Hugs!

G and Texas Express

I love it when people share photos of your children with you! Our team member dad out did himself again and I couldn't resist sharing with you. G has the national finals tournament in San Antonio this weekend and he is ready to get there. It should be a lot of fun and a lot of games. I am excited because I get to take off Friday from work! Good Luck Texas Express!

The Big Surprise!

Matt surprised his Mom and brother this last weekend on Friday with a surprise visit from Colorado. Dad was in on the surprise, but I was caught totally off guard. I arrived home from work Friday afternoon and he answered the door! I squealed, cried and squealed again! It was an amazing weekend and I was so very thankful. He looked like a mountain guy to me....goatee and mountain sandals! I loved it! He stayed until Sunday about 6:00 pm and arrived back in Colorado 17 hours or so later. Unfortunately he got a migraine on the way and was not able to help drive much. He is still getting migraines and hopefully we can do some testing when he gets back on August 15th. Right now he is trying to get his little brother to attend camp the first week in August, so we will see if we can get that together. "Dad, can G have some miles?" I have missed blogging and wish I could have more time for it. Fortunately, a lot of my blogger friends are on Facebook, so I can at least stay in touch. If you are on FB and we aren't friends yet, please look me up!

Hugs!
xoxo

Don't Give Up on Me

I had a few minutes to pop in and sayhello! I have not been able to find the time to blog and miss it so much. Blogger friends, do not give up on me.....I will be back!

Hugs!

Matt Having A Blast In Colorado!

 

        

I thought you might enjoy some photos of Matt at Camp Redcloud in Lake City, Colorado.  He is really living a dream that has come true!  Miss you Bubba!