becky travis
Aaron, Peyton, Becky and Madison
Email Becky
"The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him."
--Exodus 15:2
Born
September 11th in Austin, TX
Married
September 15th, 2001 to Aaron
Children
Madison Lara (our honeymoon baby) & Peyton Layne
Siblings
I have an older sister Sara, who lives in Pflugerville with her husband Matt and their two kids Thomas and Allison.
Heroes (other than Jesus)
"My parents are both amazing! My entire life they have been a true living example of how to be a child of God. My mom has the most beautiful spirit about her and I enjoy hanging out with her more than anyone else. Over the years she has taught me patience, strength, truth and love. She has walked through every stage of my life with me knowing just when to hug me tight or let me go.
My dad is truly my biggest fan. From when I was a little girl playing sports up until now he has always told me that I could do anything I wanted if I believed in myself and trusted God to provide. He never gave up on me even when it felt like everyone else had. He taught me how to be strong and to never doubt God’s love and power. The man has calloused knees from kneeling at the feet of his Lord and Savior and I can only hope that mine look like his some day.
Together they have taught me how to be a wife, a mother, and a daughter. They have taught me how to be a servant and how to serve selflessly. I feel very blessed that I can count on two hands how many days have gone by that one of them didn’t call me to tell me that they love me."
On Starbucks: "I’ve actually never had a cup of coffee in my life."
On movies: "I love movies! Two of my all time favorites are The Man in the Moon with Reese Witherspoon and Jason London (I cry EVERY time) and Meet Joe Black. I also like to watch old Dawson’s Creek episodes which drives Aaron crazy. I have probably seen every episode in the entire series at least 2 times."
On Music:"I like to listen to all types of music. Some of my favorites are Dave Matthews, Weezer, Chicago, U2, Hootie and the Blowfish, Kelly Clarkson and Cowboy Mouth. Currently in my cd player I have Playhouse Disney. The sad thing is that sometimes after I drop the kiddos off, I forget to take it out and catch myself singing along with the songs."
"...God's timing was so perfect in my life."
Life Story
I grew up in a very loving Christian home. My parents Jim and Cheri Duncan LOVE the Lord and they made sure that my sister and I knew that at a very young age. I asked God into my heart when I was eight years old and was baptized shortly afterward. Growing up, I was into sports. I played just about everything and then at the age of 13 I decided to focus on volleyball and softball. I played both year round at school and on club teams all the way through high school. Sports became my identity. Well, I take that back, my stats became my identity. I wasn’t Becky, the girl that lives down the street. I was Becky, the girl who hit the home run or worse, struck out. I had a lot of pressure to be the best and I was my worst critic. I began putting sports, friends, family and myself before God and quickly learned that it was not a fun place to be. It wasn’t until I was a senior year in high school that I realized that something had to change. I began to pray for direction and clarity and in response felt a calling on my life but I wasn’t sure for what. 'What could I do?' I can remember asking myself. The only thing I was ever good at was sports and that stage in my life was about to be over.
After high school I went off to Texas Tech University. I knew that I needed to be on my own and away from my comfort zone. It was quiet there and I only knew 3 people when I moved. I was excited to start building a new identity in a place where there were no expectations of me. This was an eye opening experience for me and at first it wasn’t a very happy time. I began to realize that I was very selfish and had taken everything that was given to me for granted. My entire life had been about me. I became so disgusted with that part of me and I wanted to change. I prayed that God would change my heart and that he would grow me to be a servant of Him. I went from talking to God 3 to 4 times a week to feeling totally dependent on Him every day, every moment. It was amazing.
I was at Tech for a semester and a half and then felt that God was telling me to go home. It confused me a little, but I obeyed. I packed up my dorm room, withdrew from school and drove home to Austin. I think my parents were a little confused when I showed up back on their doorstep. However, they never yelled at me or told me I was making the biggest mistake of my life by dropping out of school. Instead, they were my biggest cheerleaders and were excited to see why God was calling me back to Austin.
I knew that God wanted me to be in Austin for a reason so quickly I began praying and searching for a place for Him to use me. About a month after being home I ran into an old friend who invited me to attend a college Bible study (It was here where I was introduced to Aaron for the first time) and I felt like I fit in instantly. I devoted the next three years of my life trying to figure out who God wanted me to be and it was during this time that I truly fell in love with Jesus. It was also during this time that he confirmed the call to work in ministry. I learned how to serve and how to find complete joy and comfort in loving others.
God has been so good to me and I know that. I feel like he teaches me something new everyday.
Looking back, I am able to see how God’s timing was so perfect in my life. Just as my mom was so good about knowing when to hold me close and when to let me go, God was the same. Today, I hope that when people look at me they don’t say 'Hey, that’s Becky; the girl that lives down the street' and instead that they would say, 'that’s Becky; the girl that loves to serve God.'
Vision for The Austin Stone
To have a church body that truly feels like a family. One that is open to diversity and that reaches out to those in need with loving arms. I pray for a place where people of any age can come and experience the Holy Spirit move.
Anything else people should know about you?
"Aaron and I have a nickname around The Austin Stone, “Travis family fun in a bag”. See, we LOVE to play games! So much that we have a large duffel bag full of just about any game you can think of that we tote around with us from party to party. If you want to play some cranium just let us know!!"