Awkward...

Quick shout out to all my friends in Omaha...you know who you are.

When I was younger, I was considered to be a little bit of a creeper. I would like to think that I was not. There were some times, however, that due to my shy personality some people could have thought that I was a little creepy. (Because I didn't talk a whole lot and would sit in the back of the room so I didn't draw attention to myself) As the years have gone on, those people would say that I have come out of my shell a little bit and "outgrown" my creepiness...I hope. Here is a story of a recent situation that happened in my life that was very awkward and I hope that no one ever has to go through something like this...but Beth probably will.

Working with a youth group, I get the opportunity to hang out with a lot of kids. Naturally there are some kids that open up to you more than others do. There are the high school boys that are your best buds and like to come to you for advise. There are the high school girls that come to you when they are having boy problems, thinking that you will be able to help. (I mean a guy should know other guys right???) There are the junior high boys that just want attention and look up to you somewhat. And then there are the junior high girls...how can I explain them...they are all about drama and want to be best friends with everyone.

This is the story of one particular junior high girl and the misunderstanding that took place. Enjoy. On Friday nights, I hang out with around 60 junior high kids at the youth center here in town. I get to see all the junior high drama first hand. Seriously, it seems like these kids are dating someone new every week. Oh the drama. There are a few girls that always make sure to get a hug from me, and always let me know that I am their "best friend." I am completely OK with that and don't think that is anything out of the ordinary.

If you have known a junior high girl, you know that they are the champions of Facebook. The queens of status updates. It is the fuel for the drama that they love so much. They fear confrontation, so they use their Facebook to fight their battles...calling out other girls through their status updates, etc. This time in particular, one girl decided to let everyone know that she had a new boyfriend. This boyfriend was the popular theme for her status updates for the next few days, as she never failed to mention that she "loved" him, and how sad she was that she didn't get to see him cause he was out of town or sick. Now by this point you might think that the reason this situation was so awkward was because I am a Facebook stalker and someone called me out on it. That is not the case. All the Facebook information was given to me via a very reliable source. Did I mention that this girls new boyfriend was named Cody? The plot thickens...

This is where the awkwardness begins. I went out of town to meet my new nephew, Malachi James Matteson. While I was gone, I was told that this girl updated her status saying..."I'm so mad that I don't get to see my boyfriend, Cody, cause he is out of town for the weekend"...and later..."I miss Cody, wish he was here. I "heart" you Cody!" When I came back to Norton, I had two different people confront me to ask if there was anything going on with me and this girl. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? Who seriously thinks that me (22) would even consider any type of relationship with a 13 year old. THIS WAS RIDICULOUS! By far the most awkward experience of my life. I kinda told them that I was in no way in a relationship with her and that there was probably a junior high boy named Cody that she was dating. I have since talked to the girl and kindly asked her to stop the status updates and explained why.

This will hopefully be one of those situation where I can look back and say..."remember that one time when..." I hope that everyone gets a good laugh out of this. And Beth, I hope that this makes your day and that you sleep well tonight knowing that you aren't the only one that encounters awkward situations like this...just the one that it happens to more than others.

Randomness...

I realize that it has been a month since my last post...I just haven't really had the urge to blog. In fact, I have been very content in simply reading the blogs of my friends and family. I love it when someone post a new blog. It brightens my day. So when my sister posted on my blog that she was ready for me to make another post, I knew exactly how she felt. It is because of this, that I am going to make a compilation of posts...all together in one. This is my randomness...

I was able to take a few days off to see my family this past weekend. It was great! My oldest sister Miranda gave birth to a baby boy. They named him Malachi James (which is my middle name) Matteson. He is perfectly healthy and I am very thankful for that. I held my new nephew for about 30 seconds...just long enough for my sister to take a few pictures...for those of you who don't know, I really don't like holding small babies. I was also able to see my parents and little brother Austin. It was really good to be able to spend some time with them too. It had been a while. Since I know my family reads this...I LOVE YOU ALL!

I love my friends! This is probably an understatement. It never fails that every day I will receive a text message or message via Facebook from one of my friends telling me that they miss me or sending me a random message remembering how great "the old times" were. Not a day goes by that I don't feel the same way about them. For all of my friends reading this...I Love You All and Miss You All! Being away from friends and family has probably been the hardest thing about my whole internship experience.

My favorite animal is a Polar Bear. One reason why is because they are super smart. Polar bears like to eat seals. And when a seal hunts, they usually sit by a hole in the ice and wait for a fish to come to the surface, which makes a scratching sound on the ice. They sit and wait for that sound, then dive through the hole and catch some lunch. Now Polar Bears figured that out and found a seal hole that was somewhat close to the edge of an ice cap. They will take a deep breath, dive into the water, and swim under the ice to the seal hole. They then proceed to scratch the ice with their claw, and when the seal dives in to catch its food...the polar bear grabs it. Pretty smart huh? Another fun fact about polar bears is that they are the only animal known to hunt humans. Now there are other animals that will attack a human for being in their territory or getting too close to its cubs...but polar bears with actually hunt a human for the sole purpose of eating them.

What do you call cheese that isn't yours???

Someone else's cheese, that's what!

I am in the worst shape of my life. It is getting to the point when I make them lame joke that I am in great shape...if round counts. I have been working a job that requires a large amount of office work. Sitting at a desk. The only exercise that I get is when we play sponsors vs. kids basketball at youth group once a week. And on top of that, I get spoiled here. The church has a sign up sheet for families to feed me, and they feed me well. I need some motivation to work out...and extra time to as well.

It was my birthday today...and I came to the realization that the older you get, the less meaningful birthdays are. I miss the days of hitting those milestone birthdays where you could do cool things like drive and buy scratch tickets. About the only milestone birthdays I have left are the ones that no one looks forward to....like 30 and 40. Although I would like to take this time to thank everyone for their birthday wishes. Don't get me wrong, today was a good day...I just think that we should invent more milestone birthdays. Maybe one that celebrates turning 22 because you are one year more awesome or something like that.

A lot of things have happened in the last month, and I don't really have the time to write about any of them. And my memory sucks so I don't remember half of them. But I just want to say thanks to everyone who has stuck by me through thick and thin. You are all a blessing to me in more ways than you could ever imagine! Be thankful for the life you have been given and remember that it is just that...a gift...live it accordingly.

If only...

Its that time of year again. Yes, that's right. Time to stock up on pencils and notebooks. Time to start a new group of folders on Microsoft Word. Time to show off your new wardrobe that you/your parents bought. Time to get back in the routine of waking up early but not really go to bed any earlier. Time for school!

I have attended school for the last 16 years of my life. (K-Jr in college) That's a long time! I have gone through the routine over and over again. For 16 years of my life, the summer has always ended...the school year has always started...and I listed by occupation as student on most surveys that I filled out. Until now...

For those of you who don't know, I have been attending Nebraska Christian College for the past 3 years. I love NCC very much and some of my closest friends are people that I met there. I love the professors and the love they have (and show) for the students. I love the students. I love living in the dorms. I love late night Taco Bell runs to satisfy my never ending hunger. I love college!

Sometimes though, I think that I loved some things a little too much, and some things I didn't love enough. Long story short...I am on Academic Suspension right now...due to poor time management skills and extreme laziness. I found out that I was not able to return to NCC for a semester towards the end of last year. This crushed me...it meant more than JUST have to be away from NCC. It meant not being able to be a part of the NCC Camp Team with some of my best friends. It meant being dismissed from my current major. It meant having to spend a long period of time away from the majority of my friends. It meant losing my job. It meant losing a lot of money. It meant leaving Omaha. It meant leaving the church that I had been leading worship at. It meant disappointing my parents/closest friends/professors.

I walked away from school angry at myself. Furious that I had screwed everything up that bad. Not wanting to look at myself in the mirror because I was so disappointed in myself. But one thing that I found, in the midst of all that was going wrong in my life, was that God seems to work in mysterious and rather weird ways sometimes. When all I could think about was how much I screwed up...God was whispering to me that I wasn't a failure. When I didn't think there was any way to salvage my future ministry...God provided.

God provided...me with a loving family to support me even though they were somewhat disappointed with the way things panned out.
God provided...me with friends that keep in touch even though I'm multiple hours and hundreds of miles away.
God provided...professors that still see potential even though I haven't lived up to it yet.
God provided...with an internship opportunity that is preparing me for ministry better than I could have ever imagined.
God provided...a great body of believers in Norton, KS that have welcomed me into their community with open arms.
God provided...a youth group that could help me to see what my true calling is and the passion that God has placed in my life to reach out to students.
God provided...me with a mentor and growing friend.
God provided...Godly examples to show me how He intended for people to live.
God provided...grace and healing.
God provided...a second/third/fourth/etc...chance.
God provided...hope.
God provided...just like He promised.

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." ~1 Timothy 6:17~

"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." ~Deuteronomy 31:8~

My Life According To...

Ok, so I did this a while back on Facebook...and thoroughly enjoyed it. (Sometimes little quizzes and questionnaires can be fun) I also noticed that one of my friends did one and placed it on their blog. I thought it was great and decided to share mine with everyone that wants to read it in the blogging world as well...so here it is. Take a journey into...MY LIFE ACCORDING TO EMERY!

Pick your Artist:
Emery

Are you a male or female:
What Makes a Man a Man

Describe yourself:
In a Win Win Situation

How do you feel:
It Always Depends

Describe where you currently live:
In Between 4th And 2nd Street

If you could go anywhere, where would you go:
In Shallow Seas We Sail

Your favorite form of transportation:
The Ponytail Parade

Your best friend is:
Anne Marie

You and your best friends are:
Playing With Fire

What's the weather like:
So Cold I Could See My Breath

Favorite time of day:
Curbside Goodbye

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called:
By All Accounts Today Was A Disaster

What is life to you:
From Crib To Coffin

Your relationship:
Untitled

Your fear:
Fractions

What is the best advice you have to give:
You Think Youre Nickel Slick But I Got Your Penny Change

Thought for the Day:
The Last Christmas

How I would like to die:
In A Lose Lose Situation

My soul's present condition:
While Broken Hearts Prevail

My motto:
To Whom It May Concern

This was fun, but I also learned something from it too. Music is a huge part of my life! The thing about music is that it relates to everyone...there is some form of music out there that you LOVE listening to because it is YOU! When I was filling this out with random and funny song titles, I realized that some of these songs have spoken to me in some way. I then thought about all the songs that have spoken to me in some way or another...and all the times that I was feeling down and out, but some lyrics gave me hope. Music has the power to change lives! God has a way of using the little things in life to speak volumes to a person. Listen to what God is trying to say to you through the little things. Pay attention to the music...