Where Dreams and Callings Collide {Paige Knudsen}

We started this week of guest posts with Sasha and a DIY jewelry holder.  We’re ending it with the jewelry you can hang on it!  You know already how much I love my girl Paige. She’s such a precious person and friend.   So, mark it on your calendars because she’s coming to BEAN STATION in April!! She’s an ambassador for Noonday (my new FAVORITE line of jewelry)  and is coming to do a trunk show.  I couldn’t be more thrilled!  If you think you might come but wouldn’t be able to do Thursday night, let us know in the comments.

If you’d like to come to our Noonday Show on Thursday April 10th at 6pm at my friend Karen’s house, let me know and I’ll get directions for you.  We may add a Friday morning show at my house if necessary! If you can’t come but would like to place an online order, click here and just add Edie Wadsworth on the checkout page where it says hostess or trunk show.

Give Paige all the love!

“you are never too old to set another goal

or to dream a new dream.”

c.s. lewis

~~~

almost three years ago i dared to dream big. perhaps the dream wasn’t so new in & of itself, but stepping out, which involved resigning from the children’s hospital where i had been employed for twenty years, was a monumental move and a big change. i had entered nursing school with one goal~ to become a pediatric oncology nurse. that was truly the desire of my heart. well. i did indeed become a pediatric oncology nurse. but as life often times sends us down a different path, a few short years later i began to care for & nurse my own husband while he battled cancer. when i returned to the hospital the year after gregg passed, i found working only part time ( i had three little ones at home to take care of) in a high acuity setting quite a challenge. eventually i transferred to the triage/call center area. after ten years in that department-sitting in a beige cubicle, i knew in my heart of hearts that i needed a change. this wasn’t exactly my dream. and that’s okay. bills need to be paid & sometimes keeping on keeping on is a must.

~~~

“tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?”

mary oliver

~~~

well , with a wild & crazy dream & some nervous fears, what has followed has truly been the most amazing couple of years. with the support of a husband who believed in me, encouraged me & blessed me, i launched my photography business.

i remember thinking…on more than one occasion…am i too old to do this? there are so many younger-hipper folks out there. is this a wise gig? is this going to be a financially sound decision? what if no one hires me? what if i do a terrible job & no one likes my work?

when i first began photographing families i would wear a piece of jewelry, acai beads, from noonday collection. every couple of months i tried to either send a donation or make a purchase specifically to a fair trade company, such as Noonday.

one afternoon while perusing the website i realized i could work with noonday as an ambassador. i could actually represent these artisans & be a voice for them here in america. i could play a small part in their pathway out of poverty. jessica honegger founded the company a few years ago as she began to fund raise for her adoption of jack, from rwanda. jessica & i hit it off immediately and her passionate enthusiasm was contagious. i was sold.

being an ambassador for noonday is the dream i never even knew was in my heart. does that make sense? actually working with noonday & advocating for the poor has been more like a calling on my heart i suppose. perhaps a calling is birthed from within a dream, perhaps a calling becomes such an amazing aspect of our lives that surely it must be a dream. it’s truly been a surprise blessing which has opened my eyes to poverty & the orphan crisis and in essence, changed my life. i feel a heart connection with some of our artisans…in guatemala, in uganda and rwanda. i feel a sisterhood with the friends i’ve met along this journey.

~~~

“God calls all people to pursue their unique gifts,

to discover the ways He wants to influence the world through them,

to leave a trail of beauty.”

emily freeman

~~~

teaching preschoolers. mentoring young mamas. creating art. advocating for the poor. going back to college at 52. opening a coffee shop. writing a book. staring a new career. saving pennies for a mission trip. buying a car.restoring economic opportunities in a haitian community.

i obviously have no idea what your dream is. but I believe that He, the giver of all good gifts, has placed a dream in your heart. He’s not only placed a dream in your heart, He’s gifted you to walk into that space where the dream & the calling join hands and welcome you in. maybe you’re already there. maybe your sweet spot, the place where you are effective and confident and thriving, is already a part of your everyday.

i sit here, humbled by what the Lord has allowed me to do, the people He’s allowed me to love on & encourage through a photograph. traveling to meet the beautiful artisans in guatemala who blessed us with prayers, thankful hearts and the most amazing corn tortillas. photography and noonday ~ my heart is full. my wallet isn’t, but my heart overflows. and that my friends, is where dreams & callings collide.

~~~

“calling is where your talents& your burdens collide”

rebekah lyons

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www.paigeknudsen.com
www.paigeknudsen.noondaycollection.com