How I Met a Rockstar on Thanksgiving Day

As you might have guessed from the title, this is the account of how I met a rockstar yesterday and got my picture with him.

Thanksgiving. Family. Food. Fire. Not exactly.

My family's travels took me down to Wichita to see my grandparents. We stopped by the front to go the bathroom real quick and I stood out in the entryway to watch the coats. Make sure they don't float away, right... haha. Mom got out of the bathroom and was standing close to me. I was looking down at my phone and in my peripheral, I saw about 3 or 4 people come in the front door. Mom kicked my foot and I got pretty ticked that she was in my space. Was was her problem? The people passed on, and she hissed in my ear, "Hey! That guy that just walked in, he looked

like Phil Joel from the Newsboys!"

From then on, we creeped down the exact hall my grandpa lives in. We saw Phil on down the hall in a sort of living room where about 8 old people were wheeled up to a TV to watch a movie. Phil was visiting with someone down there.

We ran into say hi to my grandma and grandpa and whispered our star sighting. The staff people needed to work with my grandpa real quick after we greeted him and so we all got pushed out into the hall.

Here came Phil Joel.

I creeped.

I took blurry pictures.

And then up walked his father-in-law. My grandma chatted with him super quick and she mentioned that there was the question if his son-in-law was a rockstar or not. He confirmed it. I didn't need his verbal confirmation, because as Phil walked by with his 2 elementary-age kids, I was "discreetly" taking his picture... and he turned his head... AND LOOKED ME IN THE EYES. It was scary. He didn't smile. It was awkward.

But, his father-in-law called him and his kids back in (no idea where their mom is) and we got to shake hands with him. He came in, peeled off his rockstar sunglasses and said in his brilliant Australian accent, "Hello, I'm Phil."

"Hi, I'm Elizabeth," I said.

"Hello, Elizabeth," he replied.

Phil went on to meet Abigail and mom. It was glorious. We thanked him for his time, and he said, "Oh, no worries. It's Thanksgiving."

We got our picture with him by the christmas tree in the foyer of the care center.

Mom asked Phil if he was doing his own projects and that if he has his own ministry. "Yes, I do," he replied. I honestly don't think he was too thrilled about being there. O well. I did talk to his ten year old daughter a tiny bit. She was adorable. I had heard in the adult's small, quick talk that they came in from Nashville for the holiday. I asked her if the flew in. She looked at me and said, "yep." She also said that the plane ride was fun. As for the six year old son, he was off in his own little world by the door. Haha, boys.

And so, from this day on, every time I pass those tiles, I'll say to Abigail, "OMGOSH... DO YOU KNOW WHO STOOD THERE! I can't believe he was standin

g RIGHT THERE!"

haha.

The End.

Wait

You know those days when you hear a song on the radio or your iPod or whatever that you haven't heard in forever?


Darling did you know that I
I dream about you
Waiting for the look in your eyes
When we meet for the first time
Darling did you know that I
I pray about you
Praying that you will hold on
And keep your loving eyes only for me

Cause,I am waiting for
Praying for you darling
Wait for me too
Wait for me as I wait for you
Cause, I am waiting for
Praying for you darling
Wait for me too
Wait for me as I wait for you
Darling wait
Darling wait

Darling did you know I dream about life together
Knowing it will be forever
I'll be yours and you'll be mine
And darling when I say
Till death do us part
I'll mean it with all of my heart
Now and always faithful to you

Cause, I am waiting for
Praying for you darling
Wait for me too
Wait for me as I wait for you
Cause, I am waiting for
Praying for you darling
Wait for me too
Wait for me as I wait for you
Darling wait
Darling wait

Now I know you may have made mistakes
But there's forgiveness and a second chance
So wait for me
Darling wait for me
Wait for me
wait for me

Cause, I am waiting for
Praying for you darling
Wait for me too
Wait for me as I wait for you
Cause, I am waiting for
Praying for you darling
Wait for me too
Wait for me as I wait for you
Cause, I am waiting for
Praying for you darling
Wait for me too
Wait for me as I wait for you
Cause, I am waiting for
Praying for you darling
Wait for me too
Wait for me as I wait for you
Darling wait
Darling wait
Wait for me
Darling wait
Cause I'm waiting for you
Cause I'm waiting for you
So wait for me
Darling wait
Wait for me

Hope

Hope.

Dictionary.com defines hope as "the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best." Do I have hope? Do I have hope for my future semesters at K-State? My future career as an elementary school teacher? My future beyond that as a future wife and mom?

Can we all help but look to the future?

I can't see myself as a schoolteacher. Granted, I didn't see myself as a college student living in a dorm two summers ago, yet here I am. I feel lost. Like a person swept overboard from their familiar ship into a dark, inky black sea, waves foaming over them in every direction. In my despair, I cry making more saltwater to drown in.

I may not show this pain all the time. Heck, I wonder if I'm the most popular person on my floor besides my RA. Not to get a big head about it... I just wonder... everyone likes to stop by my room and talk to me. Especially the freshman. Man, they are easy to fool with my mask of funniness. That's all I might be to them. Just a cool, funny senior.

To actually see that written out... I know I don't want to be remembered that way. I don't want them to see through my masks to my heart of despair either. I need hope. Not any sort of fake hope like, "o boy, I hope I get a CD for Christmas," but a legit, tangible "I can hope in the Lord, because HE has this all under control."

But I know that I need to look into the dark abyss with that real hope. Too often we think, "I can't trust in God if I don't have hope."
False.
It's the opposite way around. Trust in God PRODUCES hope. "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11 hits the nail on the head. We need to trust him with all-- when all hope is gone.

Sick Day Reflection

Don't you hate those days when you have a headache, some kind of cold,your sinuses are clogged up, any type of light bothers you, your limbs are sore, and you feel kinda sick to your stomach? That's me. Not exactly how I would spend my Tuesday, but whatever. I wish I didn't feel like this. Actually, I can't think of anyone who would WANT to feel like this. Ha.

But the time of resting does indeedy give me time to reflect on my sweet and legit weekend. For the most part. It was a roller coaster ride, starting with last Thursday and the Nebraska game.

It was a 6:30pm game... which meant I had to be there at 11:30am for the supervisor meeting. I started to freak out, because I procrastinated getting a ride to the game. I tried Jordan, but she was coming later than I could be there. I had a freak out moment. Right there in class. Before the group presentation I was going to give. Who had a car and would probably give me a ride? Jaron. I gave him a text, and he was able to give me a lift. I think he enjoyed going Down South and seeing where the players go in, and the coaches and such. I got out and waved goodbye to Jaron, and just as I walked in the door, they started the supervisor's meeting. I learned cool things there like the parachutes coming in with the football and stuff at the beginning of the game.

We chilled and got out on the lots and stuff. There were 3 important things to note here. 1) As we were about to saddle up to go out to our gates, none other than Coach Frank Martin appeared in front of us in sweats and a hoodie. "Who IS that guy?" I thought to myself. Haha. I figured it out and walked a few steps closer to him and said, "Welcome to K-State, sir!" He looked at me and said, "Thanks!" Ah, I jumped up and down with delight in the parking office of saying hi to the best basketball coach ever. :)
2) We were out on the lots and Jacob Pullen and all his basketball buddies including Victor Ojeleye drove through my gate several times. I felt special. Haha.
3) Coach Martin came through my gate after grabbing some lunch in his big, white, expensive SUV. He rolled down his window to chat again! There were 5 people at the gate, and only 2 of us knew who he was. The two guys were spacin' out, and the other girl didn't care that much. Me and the another girl held a conversation for about a minute with him. He asked why there was so much red in the stadium even though Coach Bill Snyder said to keep the red out. Suggestions were posed, but I said to the coach that we should get ninjas to carry out all the people wearing red. He smiled and offered a more practical solution: that the Cats win the game!
Unfortunately, Coach... kinda looked off and was like "yea" and kept talking about the ugly red. O well!

Who Will Save Her?

There's a girl in the dark room
staring out the window
into the gray skies.
The wind stirs the tall trees
pushing them out of its way.
Her thoughts are bent on tomorrow.
What happens tomorrow?
Who will she see?
Who will she meet?
How will she accomplish
the task before her?

Emptiness and loneliness
are what she feels.
Heartache and rejection.
War and turmoil is within her soul.
The silence consumes,
the dull grayness reigns.

Who will save her?

She turns around.
Flips on the lights.
Light.
She needed light.
Is there light?
She wonders if this light
will be enough to get her through tonight.

Chance Meeting

Tonight was special.
Tonight, I was kinda able to meet Jaron's dad.

I've been friends with Jaron for about six months now. I know he has some interest in me. He has expressed that he's in college to get a degree, not a girlfriend. And I feel the same about having a significant other... but this is college. Why can't I have a boyfriend? Needless to say, Jaron is giving me attention, so I'll give him my time and hang out with him. We'll cross that bridge if and/or when we get to it.
Justin and Jaron are roommates this year in Goodnow. Justin is one of my good friends back from high school at Olathe Bible.
I met Jaron last year at the Swing and Salsa club at KSU. He was the one who first taught me how to dance east coast.
Since I moved back in super early this year, Jaron and I hung out a tad before everyone else and their brother moved out to the residence halls. We've been trying to chillax on the weekends, so far.
Today, I worked on HGB stuff until lunch, and then I ran as far and as fast as I could from all the females in Boyd as I could. I asked Jaron to come pick me up so I might hang out with him and the guys from his floor today.
It was a good day. Jaron got a "new" Nintendo 64, so we played some legit Mario Kart. I lost about every single time, but it's okay. I enjoyed it.
Then we watched some Glee and Chuck, then ventured to dinner at Kramer. It was weird. Eating with guys and girls... I didn't know or recognize any of them at all, besides the guys I had already met from Justin and Jaron's wing, and the boys themselves.
We played some Apples to Apples in the floor lobby, then Jaron helped me out by getting Mare from work at Dillon's. She rewarded us with cookies. Hehe.
Back at Goodnow, I wanted to stretch my legs, so Jaron and I kept walking and went on down to Old Stadium. There were quite a few people there chillin' and watching a Frisbee game going on in the dark.

I wanted to run. Real bad. We walked along the 50 yard line... and I encouraged Jaron to run... and he declined. I said that that was too bad, and took off flying! It was so great to run! Jaron didn't want to lose me, so he tried to run close behind. Off we went to the other side of the stadium. I pulled up and Jaron came behind me. As we went into the stands, Jaron had a thought, "O, we just ran over my dad."
Ran over his dad? Is he buried under the turf?

Jaron's dad suddenly passed away during the beginning of the spring semester, 2010. Is his dad buried here?
"We had my dad cremated, and we sprinkled some of his ashes here on the 50 yard line."

I'll be honest. I was shocked. I didn't know what to say, or feel, or do.

I was an idiot and said that. I said that I didn't know how to react. But Jaron was kind, and helped me out.
"He loved it here," he said. "Dad would have settled down here if he had enough money for my mom and him. But he didn't. I would love to live here too."
"Me too," I replied. "Manhattan is beautiful. So crazy beautiful"

Good For the Soul

They say laughter is the best medicine. I got a healthy dose of it. Just what the doctor ordered.

It was a BEAUTIFUL afternoon. Not too sicky out for Kansas in July, at least. We're into week 5 now. I was headed out to canoeing with Daniel, a "senior" camper and his group. Daniel will tell you everything there is to know about camp.. and still act like it's his first time. Believe it or not, this is his 8th year. And his 3rd week this summer.

First, he almost got his canoers stuck in the middle of the pond... but the best part was him trying to get up on shore!

The bank where the canoeing is a nice slope covered entirely of mud, with some roots for a tad bit of traction. Poor Daniel isn't the skinniest kid around, and therefore might be a bit balanced-challenged. Yep. He fell. Slipped, fell, splash. Into the pond! Oh, not once, not twice, but about 15 times. You would THINK he would have learned his lesson. Thankfully, he wasn't doing it on purpose, otherwise i would have been mad.

The "grub" helping me this time around was Aiden. Cute high school sophomore with some adorable freckles and red hair. Well, we got to watch first-hand Daniel's bumbling, and just took off from there. Another kid who was on shore fell in too several times... that didn't help. Our laughs became louder! Finally, the climax came when we heard yelling from the canoers out on the pond. We jokingly had told them to hit a tree, and at this point, they were doing exactly that! They were yelling and screaming being tangled in the tree and Daniel slipped, and so did the other kid, and Aiden was cracking up, so, naturally, I cried. I laughed until I was just about sobbing.

Best. Day. Ever.

For Those Who Wait

AH. Can you smell that? *sniff sniff* Love is in the air!
Everyone's starting to date!
Everyone's getting engaged!
EVERYONE'S GETTING MARRIED!

And here am I. In my little corner of the world. My single corner. And it's getting smaller by the day. Am I alone in this? I see more people dating who are my friends than lovely single MEN. Well, I do see lovely single men, they they aren't showing any signs that they like me... or are willing to date... yet.

Yes, welcome to the world of me going off on something about being single. Again.
But bear with me. This might turn out to be a harsh lesson for Elizabeth and her small, one-track mind.

A friends just said to me, "Your day will come. It just might not be when you want it to be." How true. I want my day to be tomorrow. Or now. Like, RIGHT NOW.

I DON'T WANT TO WAIT! Yup. I said it. I have a huge feeling in the pit of my stomach that I won't actually enter a relationship if I'm searching for one. Or it will be a mistake.

But then, it is fun to totally immerse yourself in the guy's part of the dorms. Personally, I hope to be over in that neighborhood a lot in the fall. I'd like to get to know the guys in Navigators or InterVarsity better. Or both. There are quite a few opportunities there. O well. Time for a song.

Fireflight- For Those Who Wait.

This is for those who wait

Another day another waiting game
A little different but it’s still the same
I am here but wheres the One I’m longing for
I’m having troubles feeling all alone
When my heart find a home
I want to hope but sometimes I just don’t know
I know I’m not the only one

(Chorus)
So you sing a lullaby
To the lonely hearts tonight
Let it set Your heart on fire
Let it set You free
When you’re fighting to believe in a love that you can’t see
Just know there is a purpose
For those who wait

I want to open up my eyes
I know that I’m in need is time
I’m growing stronger every single day
God, I’m gonna lead them to You now
Letting go all of my fear and doubt
I can’t do this on my own so I’ll give You control
I know I’m not the only one

(Chorus)
So you sing a lullaby
To the lonely hearts tonight
Let it set Your heart on fire
Let it set You free
When you’re fighting to believe in a love that you can’t see
Just know there is a purpose
For those who wait

The pressure makes us stronger
The struggle makes us hunger
The hard lessons make the difference
The pressure makes us stronger
The struggle makes us hunger
The hard lessons make the difference
And the difference makes it worth it
(Chrous)
So you sing a lullaby
To the lonely hearts tonight
Let it set Your heart on fire
Let it set You free
When you’re fighting to believe in a love that you can’t see
Just know there is a purpose
For those who wait

Set your heart on fire
This is for those who wait

And the difference makes it worth it. Wow. I hope it's worth it. I really, really do...


In other news, did you see that Harry Potter will be 2 movies? yea, I might be late. But o well.

Bad Attitude

I had a really bad attitude at camp today.

It all started with Sunday's monsoon. I doubt even a duck could survive. I really enjoyed having all that rain. Listening to it, watching it outside my house. It was glorious. But then it made the dirt on the trail in the woods all muddy, and the dirt road a giant slip and slide. More like, "you WILL slip, and you WILL slide, and I will eat little kid's shoes too!!!!"
On the nature hike today, there was this adorable girl near where I picked to walk in the line of kids. Or so I thought. She ended up being really whiny and annoying. It was 9:45am and I was not ready for this. She fell in the mud, and either screamed or cried ever time she fell. I told her to walk on the grass, but she chose to walk on the mud. She kept losing the line of kids in front of her because she was soooo slow. It was horrible. There was mud everywhere. The creek was still muddy. There were spiders and snails on every single plant and tree.
But then... I remembered as we ended the walk... God made that. God made mud. God made that little girl. How old was she? She was 6 years old, going into 1st grade. She NEEDED to be loved. She NEEDED to hold my hand.
I was so selfish. I missed the beautiful woods dripping with raindrops. I missed the beauty of God in the eyes of a little girl. I missed the adventure boys find at every turn, at every rock climb, every mudslide.
I wanted that walk to be over. I was done before it began. How many times am I like that? During the school year? During weekend breaks? Christmas?
Is it fair of me to complain? Perhaps... perhaps not.

The Bible talks alot about God being our Father. Our culture strives to make us into individuals. Strong and independent, we will need no one. Is this how it ought to be? We do need to be able to stand our own and not be weak people, but we also NEED to lean on someone. We can't live this life alone.
The Psalms are littered with pleas. People in need, crying out to God to rescue them from the mud.
Psalm 40:1-3 is perfect for today.

I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new son in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.

The amazing thing is that God gave me a soft heart to learn from Him today.

I learned about the Creator of the universe from a whiny, muddy little girl.