Phone Call from the Principal!

At least twice a week I use my lunch hour to talk with Mom. Today while we were talking the elementary school principal called. Apparently Katelynn (a kindergartner!) was the reason for this call. This morning Mom reports Katelynn had a really good morning, but once on the bus she preceded to beat another kid with her backpack. Mom says this is the first of her kids to get phone calls from the principal during kindergarten. Oh, Katelynn.

A Sermon

Today something odd happened in chapel. During any given month Paul and I each preach 2 times. That leaves roughly 12 worships to be filled with faculty and pastors from around Sioux Falls. Today a Presbyterian Chaplin preached on Revelation 21: 1-4 (the new heaven and the new earth). I thought, Revelation, interesting choice, but let’s see where it goes. She used two examples one was about suffering in an orphanage in China and the other was a Pastor and his wife who had an abortion because the fetus had a rare disorder where its organs were forming outside its body. She specifically mentioned that SD’s Vote on Referred Law 6 (an abortion ban that has no exceptions). She talked about the power of grace in each situation and waiting for the new heaven and the new earth. Usually I’d love this type of sermon. It was powerful and I heard lots of law AND gospel. The concern I have is for the congregation. Many students are voting for the abortion ban. I worried that they’d feel this outsider came into their chapel and used the pulpit as a soapbox. This is an issue that has many people of faith on both sides. I worry about how the message was received in a different way than I normally do just as much as I thought, right on! Is this part of becoming a pastor? Only time will tell.

God

Tonight Aaron and Mike are working on some songs for a Saturday night youth gathering. While they were playing I said, "what about a few 'fun' songs"? Aaron, "how about some Pat McCurdy?" Well, I found some awesome guitar stuff on his site, but unfortunately, none are youth appropriate. Here's the lyrics to one of his many great songs.
________________________________________
God loves capitalists more than communists
God loves fundamentalists more than Methodists
God loves Americans more than Canadians
God loves nuclear power

God loves the stars and stripes
God loves Handi-Wipes
Thinks they're so convenient
God knows where the yellow went

God has a VCR
John Wayne is the biggest star
Up in the Ivory Tower

God doesn't love the Pope
God likes Pepsi more than Coke
He won't drive a Subaru or a BMW

God packs a magnum
For protection not for fun
God says make my day

God votes Republican
The only way to get things done
God loves makin' dough
Don't like payin' taxes though

God loves Disneyland
Loves a man to be a man
God loves the USA

God loves democracy more than aristocracy
God hates Iraqians, Russians, Jews and Libyans
(And anyone else who isn't a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant)

God is good, God is great
God don't like the welfare state
(He hates Sweden)
God drives a Chevrolet

God made petroleum to make my Winnebago run
God made plants and trees
We can waste them as we please
God loves the strong and tall
God loves white folks most of all
God loves the USA

God loves the USA
God loves the USA. He told me personally, and
I know what God likes

Pat is one of our favorite musicians. He plays at cool cities like St. Paul and Milwaukee. The pic is in Milwaukee on St. Pat's Day.

Gray Hair

Today after lunch I was brushing my hair before returning to work. I noticed a hair that didn’t look like the others. At first I thought it was the sun coming in the bathroom window, and then I realized it was a gray hair. I searched the right side of my head until I could pull it out (yes, I know two will take its place, but I had to know for sure) and examine - it was a bona fide gray hair. I needed to get back to the office so I did a quick 2 minute search of my head and found this hair to be an anomaly, yet this hair wasn’t the first of it’s kind in my head, two years ago my stylist found one. I’m too young for color that’s functional. I should only be thinking of fun colors, not ones to cover gray!

Shannon’s Wedding, Calorie Counting, and Jamaica – Oh My!

I feel like I'’m always just updating here anymore, but here I go again. So, Shannon is engaged to Tim and I'm getting ready for a wedding. Big huge news - congrats!

On Labor Day I decided I'm tired of my extra weight and it'’s time to count calories. I'm going public with this now, because I want to be embarrassed if I fail - that'’s a big motivator. Goal: 60 pounds by June 16th, Audra and Jake'’s wedding day. So far so good, but it's only day 6. Aaron decided to join me in the goal. Now it's not just about loosing the weight that I'’ve been putting off forever, but we're both to stubborn to quit until the other one doesn't. Our stubborn sides finally show themselves as strengths. Wish us luck!

And now to Jamaica. Well, we got two free flights within the 48 contiguous states, but that doesn't get us to Jamaica. This past week we were kicking around flying to a Royal Caribbean port of call and cruising to a tropical destination, but I thought that we could do better. Saturday morning I got a plan. I'll use the Delta Skymiles I was going to use to get to Ohio in December to get one of us to the Caribbean and just buy one ticket. The flight vouchers are transferable and so we'll sell one to get some cash to offset the cost of the purchased ticket and the other will get me to Ohio. Then I was left with finding an all-inclusive resort for a good price. I started with what I know, Sandals, but they've got stuff we don'’t need and they'’re very large. So I kept looking. Then I found a resort that I swear I would've built if we had enough money to build a resort in Jamaica. It's called Sunset at the Palms. A few awesome features are private treetop homes in a jungle preservation area; the resort is made of native wood and was the first 'green' resort in Jamaica and possibly the Caribbean. Aaron gets to see the ocean for the first time and he gets out of the US; I get my swim up bar (see photo).From what I can tell it'’s a more laid back place than the normal resort -– trading high intensity for natural beauty and sophistication. Oh, and we're on the western tip of the island which means breathtaking sunsets. Tomorrow we'’re off to get passports for our late January getaway.

4

Lori sent an 'about me' thing I had to fill out. Here goes...

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Program Director at Outlaw Ranch
2. Nanny for James and Ellen
3. Program Assistant – All Peoples Chruch
4. Front Desk Clerk – Holiday Inn

Four movies I would watch over and over again:
1. Love Actually
2. Independence Day
3. Phantom of the Opera
4. Twister

Four places I have lived:
1. Presho, SD
2. St. Paul, MN
3. Milwaukee, WI
4. Grove City, OH

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. ER
2. Judging Amy
3. The Simpsons
4. A Baby Story

Four places I've been on vacation:
1. NYC and Niagara Falls
2. Daytona Beach, FL
3. Phoenix, AZ
4. Gatlinburg, TN

Web sites I visit daily or weekly
1. Luther Seminary and Augustana Webmail
2. BBC/CNN/NPR
3. Intellicast
4. Google/Wikipedia/Dictionary.com

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Q’Doba
2. Country Vegetable Soup by Healthy Choice
3. McDonalds ice cream cones
4. Bratwurst with sauerkraut

Four places I'd rather be right now:
1. With Aaron
2. Grove City
3. In a swimming pool with a swim up bar in the Caribbean
4. Los Heroes, El Salvador

Busy

Here's a quick update...

Internship is in full swing. The Augie students are awesome! Sioux Falls living is pretty fun - there isn't a place in the city I can't get to in less than 15 minutes or less.

Latest news:
-My bro is married as of 8/29
-On our flight to TN for my bro's wedding Aaron and I took a bump and got two free round trip anywhere in the continental US - going to FL or CA in January!
-I'll be leading a Service/Learning trip to the Twin Cities in Oct.
-I'll be leading a Service/Learning trip to New Orleans over spring break
-While moving to Sioux Falls I decided to put together another bloggish website instead of unpacking. Much of what I post here is there and vice versa, but it's format is a lil different. Check it out at myspace.com/matson

Okay, one funny story. So, Aaron and I went through the Cincy airport on our way to Knoxville, TN instead of Chicago-O'Hare. Anyone who flies the Midwest knows the headaches of O'Hare. Aaron and I took the bump and ended up with a 2-hour layover. We got off the plane to find out there wasn't even a terminal change involved in getting on our next flight. We had what Aaron swears is the second best hamburger he's ever had at a place called 'The Pub'. It was an English themed pub where he had two Smithwicks and an 8-days a Week Martini (think the Beatles). Anyway, we paid the tab and went to the restrooms before boarding. On the way to the gate I bought bottles of water for us to chug (dehydrations important) and some Swedish Fish (think gummy worms). We’re getting up to board the plane and he asks, “Are Swedish Fish considered gels?” I died laughing at him before shoving them in my backpack before the gate attendant saw them: )

Note: All photos are in TN cabins. The window and mountain photos are from our cabin. The remaining photos were at Todd and LA's wedding cabin.