Hello Friends, 

Welcome back to another Titus Two Tuesday! Today, Paige Cuthbertson, a missionary wife and mama is sharing some Titus Two encouragement with all of us. Her answers have been a blessing to me, and hope you finish reading this post feeling encouraged and challenged spiritually.

Without further ado, I’ll let you “meet” Paige.

Meet Paige 

Hello! My name is Paige Cuthbertson, and my husband, Seth, and I are missionaries in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa. We have three children— our daughters Eden (age 5) and Zion (age 3), and our son, Sebastian who is only a few months old. Between caring for my kids, trying to keep up with housework, learning to speak French (the national language of our field of service) and supporting my husband in the ministry, I manage to keep pretty busy. When I can manage it, I love to write, and share my work on my website frompentopaige.com. I am an avid reader, and have favorite books in just about every genre! I also love baking (such a stress reliever!), studying theology, researching natural health, and enjoying family movie nights.

What is your favorite passage of Scripture and why?

It’s hard to think of a favorite Scripture passage because mine changes fairly often. And I look to different passages for different things. I love Psalm 91 and it’s my “missionary life” passage. Pastor Norman Johnston, a college professor whom I loved very dearly, “gifted ” the passage to me as I prepared for life on the mission field, and in that context it has been a comfort to me many times. I also love Exodus 3. In that passage, God shares so much about Himself with Moses. Every time I read it it fortifies me and inspires me.

What does your typical “quiet time” or Bible study look like? 

My typical quiet time is first thing in the morning. I take a little time to fully wake up (because I am so not a morning person), get my coffee, and read/journal. My husband is so sweet and keeps the kids while I do my devotions. He gets up earlier than the kids and I do, does his devotions right when he gets up, and then gives the kids breakfast and keeps them occupied so I can focus on my Bible. Right now I’m following a reading plan to read through my Bible in a year. I also try to do a separate, more focused/specific Bible study a few times a week as well. After my Bible reading, if I have time, I like to read supplemental material as well, such as a theology book, a missionary biography, or a devotional.

What piece of advice or encouragement would you like to share with single young women?

My piece of advice for single women is simply this: enjoy it! Don’t focus on finding the right man, or trying to mold yourself into a woman who looks marriageable. Your season of singleness, however long it may last, is a real gift. You have the freedom to serve God and others without any other obligations, to learn skills and enjoy hobbies, to build friendships, to travel, and if and once you marry, those opportunities all change. Some of them even disappear completely. Don’t get me wrong— marriage is wonderful! But the Lord has you single right now for a reason. Please just enjoy it and don’t let yourself focus on chasing after a man. Your singleness right now is more beautiful and more God-honoring than a marriage outside of His will or His timing.

How would you encourage wives to love their husbands?

Love your husband by finding out how he personally wants to be loved. A hint: often the way he wants to be loved is the way he tries to show you love. For example, my husband feels the most loved through acts of service. If I clean the clutter off of our bedroom dresser, or make sure that his shirts are clean and dried when he needs them, or if I dust his office, he always notices and it makes him feel very loved and happy. So try to figure out how your husband best feels loved. Maybe it’s through positive words and compliments; maybe he just wants you to be near him; maybe holding his hand or scratching his back makes him feel all the fuzzy feelings! Sometimes it takes a little digging, especially if he isn’t conscious of it himself, but loving your husband the way he feels love the strongest is absolutely worth the effort.

How would you encourage moms to “love their children?”

I would encourage mothers to love their children by treating them like people. In preparation for homeschooling my oldest in a year, I have been doing so much research on parenting and education. And one of the things that jumps out at me everywhere I look is that it is so important to treat your child as a whole person– someone who is physical, spiritual, and emotional. So often it’s easier to only see our children’s behavior, whether good or bad, and to react only on what we see. But I know I’m a complex person– my emotional highs and lows usually have reasons behind them. I might be irritable because of hormones, or because of a lack of sleep; I might be extra energetic because I’m excited about something; and etc. We tend to give each other a lot of grace as adults, but it’s a lot less common to offer that same grace to our kids. And learning to keep that in focus has helped me build much stronger relationships with my girls. Your kids will feel so loved by you if you validate their thoughts and feelings, even as you correct and discipline them.

What is your favorite thing about homemaking and why?

My favorite part of homemaking is also one of the most daunting aspects about it. I get to use my influence in a powerful way– which is so fun and empowering, but can also be terrifying. But knowing I have the power of Jesus to help me, and that I get to draw from His storehouse of love and mercy and compassion, and then turn it around to impact the hearts of my little family– it’s incredible. What a joy and privilege! People who think homemakers are poor, suppressed women just can’t begin to understand how wrong they are.

What’s your best homemaking or time management tip?

I am not great at housekeeping or time management! It’s a constant struggle for me, and I am certainly not gifted in that area. But what I have found helps me personally is to focus on doing “just one thing.” My life is so busy, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the chores I need to do in addition to parenting and ministry! And it’s also easy to get so wrapped up in the housework that I feel like I’m missing out on the rest of life. So what I started doing is picking one thing a day, just one chore, and making sure it gets done. Sometimes there is room to do a few more chores, which is a bonus, but my goal is to do just one thing. So I’ll look at my planner for the week, and in my daily to-do lists I’ll list one single chore– mop the living room, or clean my bathroom, or clean out the fridge, or dust Seth’s office, etc. It helps me not to be overwhelmed, it helps to keep things moving a little bit, and it encourages me that I’m meeting a goal.

Tell us something the Lord has been teaching you lately:

Something the Lord has been teaching me lately is that my weakness is not a problem for Him. And I am so weak! I struggle with both depression and anxiety; I am perfectionistic and task-oriented; and I am an obsessive planner and back-up planner. And I’m a human being. All of that combined puts me in some very uncomfortably vulnerable positions where I am acutely aware of my own weaknesses. But what the Lord has been teaching me so sweetly and patiently is that none of that changes who I am to Him. My accomplishments or lack thereof don’t make me more or less valuable to Him. The times where life feels like it’s too heavy or worrisome for me doesn’t cause Him to think I’m pathetic. It doesn’t change His desire to use me, or His love for me. All my weakness is an opportunity to show Himself strong, loving, faithful, and compassionate. (II Corinthians 12:9; Exodus 4:2-12; Matthew 11:28-30)

Are there any books that have had a big impact on your life?

I can think of a few books that have had a big impact on me! The first one is the missionary memoir Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose. She was captured by the Japanese  during WWII and spent years in a prison camp. She shares in great detail the beautiful miracles of God that she witnessed during that time, as well as the impact her testimony had on those around her– including her captors! Her story helped to fortify my faith, and also helped to spark an interest in missions long before I had thought of becoming a missionary myself. Another book I can’t recommend highly enough is The Incomparable Christ by J. Oswald Sanders. It’s a more devotional approach to Christology, and it is excellent! It helped to stir in my heart a much more intimate knowledge of who Jesus is and gave me a deeper love for my Savior. The last book I’ll mention is Holy Labor: How Childbirth Shapes a Woman’s Soul by Aubry G. Smith. I read it while I was pregnant for the first time, and while I don’t agree with everything in the book, it totally transformed how I viewed pregnancy, labor, and childbirth. The author brings out how beautiful the whole process really is, and how it can give us a better understanding of God’s love for His creation, as well as Christ’s work for our salvation. It’s sort of hard to explain, but I recommend it to any expecting mama!

Any final piece of advice you would like to share with us?

My last piece of advice is: Focus on Jesus. Don’t ever stop. Whatever you know or think you know about Him only scratches the surface! He is so beautiful, and powerful, and loving, and so many other things. The more you look, the harder it will be to look away! And that’s exactly what will get you through the highs and lows of this life. So never stop looking to Jesus. There is always more to learn, and it’s an obsession you will NEVER regret.

Final Thoughts – from Rebekah

Once again, I hope this post from Paige was a blessing to you! Feel free to drop a comment below and share something you learned and/or thank Paige for sharing her time with us!

If you enjoyed this post, you can read the others in this series below:

• Titus Two Tuesday with Sarah Boots
• Titus Two Tuesday with Amanda Whitener
• Titus Two Tuesday with Pat Fry
• Titus Two Tuesday with Brettnay Brazzell
• Titus Two Tuesday with Sarah Schurman
• Titus Two Tuesday with Janice Harris
• Titus Two Tuesday with Rosa Balzamo

Until Next Time,