Freshman 2012

I know I haven't really posted very often on here at all...And I probably won't post very often after this one, either, because I'm busy! I have college, now, along with some other things! This is a rare night, though, when I have nothing going on...(and yes, I should be doing homework right now, probably haha). But I just wanted to take a little time to write down some of what God has been doing in my life and what has been going on in general. Things are definitely starting to pick up, but God is faithful and good!

These are two of my best friends: Kristen & Ayana. I have known Kristen for a long time (I have NO idea when we met...). I met Ayana right before school started, even though that is extremely hard to believe because we have all gotten extremely close in such a short time! This picture was taken at Getting Started Weekend, which seems like soooo long ago!

We were trying to figure out our schedules and comparing them and then posing by the rock :)

I have seriously never had as much fun with anybody as I have with them and a couple other people. It has been so much fun :] Thank you, God, for such amazing friends!! <3

Adding to my bucket list...

I need to add a couple things to my bucket list:

16. Have a room filled with amazing outfits/costumes/etc. and travel to really cool places with friends and take pictures and get my picture taken :)
17. Go to some kind of ball/dance (I think it would be so much fun to go to an old fashioned ball like Pride and Prejudice times)

#bucketlist

My current bucket list:
1. Go on a missions trip out of the country!
2. Make some really amazing friends at college :)
3. Pick a major that is meant for me and know what God wants me to do with my life
4. Sing/play guitar in front of people
5. Hang out at the beach/near the beach for a while (live there for a time?) and learn how to SURF!
6. Get good at water skiing/wake boarding (or at least do it several times so I'm decent)
7. Get married on a beach (or at least outdoors)
8. Jump off a waterfall
9. Visit all 50 states (and get a T-shirt or something like that from each one!)
10. Travel to a bunch of different places with friends and just hang out and take pictures & generally have fun :D
11. Get better at volleyball (or at least play it a lot more!)
12. Redecorate my room so it looks awesome and shouts ME all over it!
13. Find an awesome way to collage pictures & quotes without it look sloppy (I can't figure out how to make it look awesome!)
14. Freaking get back in shape!
15. Start building up a SUPER cute wardrobe of awesome outfits (not random pieces of clothes, but completed outfits)

That's all that I can think of as of right now...I'm sure I am missing several things I would like to do. haha. I would love it if you guys would share your bucket lists! <3

#WaitingonHim

"Never let a man tell you you're not worth pursuing. For God became man, died and rose again just to pursue you. You are worth pursuing. You are beautiful. You are loved."

I'm not gonna lie, I've been pretty scared/unsure lately. As I face college coming closer and closer, I wish I could say that I am super excited and that I feel ready and organized and that I am completely trusting that God knows what He's doing and that I am not feeling stressed at all over not knowing where God is taking me. But I can't. I'm really not even looking forward to going to college at all, which is kind of weird. I mean, I was totally excited about it around the time when I was finishing high school and graduating. But now that it's getting closer, I guess I'm more freaked out than anything. I AM excited about playing volleyball with some friends, though!

But I guess I just need to learn how to step out in faith. SO easy to say, but SO hard to do! Even though I'm scared, I need step out anyway and see what God has for me. I can't hide behind my fears. I am excited to see where God takes me on this crazy journey called life, though. I just kind of wish I could see just a small part of his plan. I mean, I have absolutely NO idea what He wants me to do. I don't even have a major picked out for college! I would love to travel someday. Maybe not all the time, but at least go SOMEWHERE! And I like a lot of things, but I wouldn't say I'm particularly good at any of them....but I HAVE to believe that He DOES have a perfect and unique plan for MY life and that, in the RIGHT TIME, He will reveal those secrets to me. I just have to WAIT ON HIS TIMING. I think that's what God is trying to teach me right now....#WAITINGONHIM

Updates...

Heyy :) I know I haven't written in foreverrrrr so we'll see if I can actually keep this blog up for a little bit (haha...yeah right!)
But anyway....I have a ton of updates I guess I can write about. First of all, I got a mac, which I'm super excited about! :) It's been tons of fun!
Second, college starts in less than a month and I'm freaking out and not excited about it at all (except for playing intramural volleyball with Amelia!) and I am NOT ready at ALL....so I could really go on about that for forever I think!
But anyway, another update: we're getting a dog tomorrow!!!!!! I am sooo excited about that! Her name is Goldie and she is a golden, obviously, and she is 4 months old. She is a service dog, so this should be fun :)
Another update: I have really been getting into photography lately :) If you wanna see some of my stuff, check out my Facebook page: Emily Mathews Photography. I have another photoshoot planned for tomorrow, I hope it doesn't rain! This photoshoot was rescheduled because we thought it might rain on the day that it was originally scheduled for.
So...I'm gonna go to bed because I am really tired :)

"Making Time" for God

Why is it soooo hard sometimes to "find time" to read the Bible and talk with God? We find sooo many other things to fill our time. School and work have me pretty much booked lately but that doesn't mean I should push God to the side. I must admit, some days aren't as good as others and I don't "make time" for God. But how dumb is that? When we don't "make time" for One who made us (yeah, we kinda wouldn't be here if he hadn't made us...)we're basically saying, "yeah, um...thanks for dying for me and all that but you're not really all that important right now. School is so stressful and work is filling in all of my extra time so I really don't have time for you right now." Doesn't he promise rest to the weary? And besides, Spending time with God shouldn't just mean reading the Bible for 15 min. every morning and praying for a couple of small things....he should be your everything. We should be thinking about Him and talking to Him all day long, not just for a few minutes in the morning! Hey, watch this video because he says it so much better than I do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgMFXan9pjQ&list=FL4qfShNauK7jPxi49i1ehVg&index=4&feature=plpp_video

Walk in Love

Ephesians 5

5 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. ² And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

³ But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; ⁴ neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. ⁵ For this you know,^[a] that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. ⁷ Therefore do not be partakers with them.

Some of you know that I went on a backpacking trip this past Thursday/friday. I had a lot of fun (even though it was FREEEEEEZING-yeah, that was NOT fun). This was part of the devotional we had around the campfire Thursday night. I like the part that says be imitators of God. So true yet SO hard. And it kinda hit me pretty hard when I read through the list of 'horrible' sins...and then it says: nor coarse jesting (another version says crude joking) And then it says, instead of doing all of these things, GIVE THANKS. I take SOOO many things for granted and it's sooo easy to just get caught up in the business of life but forget to GIVE THANKS to the God who gave us literally EVERYTHING we have :)  Thoughts?

Dreams

Yes, God made all things, and everything continues through him and for him. –Romans 11:36 A

Dreams are a gift from God

We all have dreams. They whisper to us in the middle of the mundane, calling our attention above studying or running or watching TV.

            Our dreams are a part of us, born out of our personalities, hopes and desires. They were knit inside us as God thoughtfully and carefully knit us together. Dreams and the sense of purpose they bring are one of God’s best gifts. They make us feel truly alive and give meaning to the future. Best of all, they inspire us to walk more closely with the One who gave us our dreams.

            When God plants a dream in your heart, enjoy it-and give thanks for what the days ahead will bring.

We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance. –Harrison Ford

The above is from the book: Follow your dreams: wisdom & inspiration for Graduates 

Thoughts? 

Changes

This is a season for changes...mostly good, some terrifying...or maybe I'm just a wimp :p I know I haven't kept up with this blog as much as I have wanted too but I'm going to get better with that! (HA yeah right-how many times have I said that now?? lol) I'd say last week was a pretty good week, other than having to do all that school crap that is...haha. I got accepted at Cedarville University which is a HUGE answer to prayer :) And I got my driver's license! Whoop! :) Soooo nice to be able to leave whenever I want (as long as I have a car...) Another change that NEEDS to happen is I really should get another part-time time to add to my library job cuz on average 15 hours a week during the summer probably won't cut it if I wanna live on campus sometime (though not this year, most likely). But getting a new job means doing NEW stuff again-which I have mixed feelings about. I mean, I now know how to do everything at the library but it's sooo boring because I know how to do everything and its the same allll the time! So I never learn anything new, but that means I'm getting better at it and it's not "scary" or whatever because I know how to do it all. But I have to go through applications/meetings/interviews, meeting a bunch of new pple, and getting trained to do a different job...then I have to try to fit together two part-time job schedules plus a social life cuz heck I wanna have a lot of fun this summer too, of course! And try to not get too stressed out thinking about going to college in the fall, which is just scary in itself.
But right now I guess I should probably just  focus on trying to finish my senior year...which has been CRAZY in itself. But I'm TOTALLY graduating in not very long and...gosh I can SO not wait! And before that I'm going on a Senior Trip! :) :) :)

We're gonna party like it's the end of the world!

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted anything since October! I have been so crazy busy and the only reason that I have time to write now is because I am kind of sick, so I haven't done much today. This morning I did algebra & took a shower then I kind of took a nap & I did two days worth of government. I really should go get my history book and start reading because I really don't feel ALL that bad, I guess and I don't really have time to be sick! Like seriously!

So anyway, what has happened recently? Not much. All I have been doing is work & school...literally. I get up, do school, go to work either at 3 or 5 (depending on the day) then when I get home, I eat & do more school until I quit around 10 or 10:30, then go to bed, then when I get up I start it all over again! I wish I had a bunch of funny stories from work, but I really don't. Honestly nothing ever happens to me. haha. it's kind of sad!

So anyway, back to Christmas! I got two main things: a trip to go white water rafting in June with Papa & Aunt Kristin (AHHHHH so can't wait!) and A PHONE!!! That's right!!!! :D I'd say this Christmas was a success :p haha Okay, so I feel bad saying that about Christmas because I know the true meaning of Christmas is obviously about Jesus. And I KNOW that! It is just so easy to get rapped up in everything else about Christmas.

Well it is now 2012! CRAZY! I GRADUATE THIS YEAR!!!! :D How weird is THAT?! haha One of my new years resolutions is to read the bible through in a year. Let's see how that works...I believe I'm a little behind because of the weekend, but hopefully I can still make this work!

Okay, so I'm off to read history & my bible. :)