Seven Days

This time next week I'll be on a plane headed for Orlando, Florida.
So that means I have seven days to try and see as many of my loved ones as possible. That also means I only have seven days to try to pack for 10 weeks and keep it under 50 pounds. (Last year, I had a problem with that.)
My church family is amazing. One of the women's groups is doing a potluck lunch for me this Sunday after church. I feel so honored and loved that they took it upon themselves to do this for me. It's so reassuring to know that while I am away in a place I know nothing about, with people I've never met before, there is a group of people I have known all my life supporting and praying for me.
I am so excited to go. Don't forget to write me letters! :) The next time I post, I'll probably be in Florida.

Let's go to Florida

In 21 days I'll be on a plane headed for Orlando, Florida. I am so ready!
Most of my time will be spent volunteering at Give Kids the World.
I will also be doing at least 3 Kids Clubs a week. From what I can gather, they are just mini-VBS's in hotel pools.
Mondays are our free days.
There are a ton of people on my team and they are from all over the place.
I'm excited.
I'll be gone for roughly 10 weeks.
I hope to get lots and lots of mail. I love mail. :)
I'm excited.
This is my address for the summer : 150 S. Roma Way
Kissimmee, FL 34746
That's about it.
Did I mention how excited I am about this summer? I am. (Also a little nervous, too..)

Helloooo!

I know, I know...it has been entirely too long since my last update. It seems that I say that everytime I write now.
Let's see, this week is finals at MSU. I am so ready to be finished with my Junior year of college. Starting today (Tuesday) I have an exam a day. So I'll be completely finished Friday. YAY!
In exactly 30 days I will be boarding a plane in Memphis, connecting in Atlanta, then landing in Orlando, Florida. Can I say that I am so very, very excited!? Because, I am! No, I do not know the nit picky details of what I'll be doing. All I know is that I'll be working at Give Kids the World (www.gktw.org) doing who knows what. I might be working with families, I might be a lifeguard, I might be working in the ice cream parlor, I do know that whatever I do, God's love will be shown through my life. My prayer is that whatever He has planned for me to do this summer, He will receive all the glory! I am going to try and do better about updating this summer. I just ask that you continue to pray for me, my team, and the people we'll be encountering in Florida.
Also, I think I have already mentioned this, but I'll say it again. I am a wife and soon to be mother! Ok, I should probably explain. I am a family group leader at BSU, which means I have a male partner, my "husband" and in August we will have about 15 or so new transfer students in our group, "my kids". I am really looking forward to that. My "husband" and I have been getting to know each other better and I think it will work out wonderfully. We will be going through 1 Corinthians, suuuuch a good book!
Next semester is going to B-U-S-Y! I'm taking 18 hours of classes, doing family group, which will take up a good amount of time, and also going to be leading the Acts Too drama team. It's going to be hectic, but I'm certain I can make it. Moma will have to be on her toes with some good pep talks! :) I love her.
I love doing drama. At ICC, it was a blast and it was absolutely awesome. It is such a great ministry. The audience can laugh at one moment, then be hit with something serious the next. The skits are hilarious and some of them are convicting. I know that no matter how many times I see one of them done, I always get chills. This year of drama, we only went out twice. Participation wasn't the greatest either. So hopefully, with the Henley side of me, I can get some people recruited into the drama team and we can practice and be ready to go at a moment's notice.
I think that's about it. Almost done with school, ready for the summer! Right now, I'm just enjoying the beautiful weather God has given us today. He is good!
Thanks for reading! Love you.

Even when you feel like you don't measure up to much in this life. Know that you are a treasure in the arms of Christ.

What's new? So much!

So it has been a very long time since my last update. My apologies.
Let's see, I'm going to do like Ashley Grant and just list some things that have been going on in my life. (Ashley, I tried to comment on your blog, but it won't let me...)

1. Passion 2010 was absolutely amazing! I want to go to India someday and meet the Dalit people.
2. My moma turned 50 in January. Me, Ben, and Sarah went to Mobile where she and Daddy were for a convention and surprised her. It was a lot of fun and we got her good!
3. School is intense. No, correction, life is intense. I have 18 hours of class, Practicum twice a week, and babysitting 3 children 3 days of the week. I never knew 2 classes could require so many projects, papers, and group work. Elementary Education is NOT a cop-out major like so many people believe. It's hard work.
4. Spring Break is coming up, thank the Lord! I am going with MSU's BSU to Chicago. This is completely out of of element. How? Because there are 10 students going along with the 3 diretors. Out of the 10, I know 1 person, Carlye. We're having meetings each week after BSU to practice sharing our testimony under 90 seconds and making sure we know the Roman Road. Whoa. I'm so excited to see Christ work in us and through us that week.
5. March 4th, I'll be going to the FedEx Forum to see George Strait, Reba McEntire, and LeeAnn Womack in concert. I'm just a tad excited about that. ;)
6. I will be spending the summer in Orlando, Florida. I'll just leave it at that, because I'll go on and on about Florida.
7. I have decided to be a family group leader next year at BSU.
8. My family is amazing. I cherish every moment spent with them.
9. I'm finding out who my true friends are.
10. God is working in me like never before. I look forward to my quiet times with Him everyday. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I spend time with Him in the library inbetween classes. I am so blessed to be able to be in public, read His word, and pray and not be persecuted.
11. My sister, Sarah, will graduate from the W as a nurse. It's been a long road for her, and I'm so glad she's found something she likes and is finally going to be out of college! Haha.
12. I worked my very first DNOW February 19-21 in Agricola, MS. Ashley Farris and I had a group of 9 10th graders and 1 11th grader. I have never seen a group of girls with such a tight friendship and a strong, devout relationship with the Lord. It was overwhelming and humbling and incredibley amazing. I can't believe I've never worked a DNOW before. I loved it. I talked too much, but that's nothing new. ;)
13. I'm ready for next year.
14. I love it when people call me when they are sick or just need to talk. I don't know why, I guess it makes me feel needed. One of my friends was having a tough week, so I made a special delivery to her house to cheer her up. Another friend was getting under the weather and was also having a tough week. Again, I made another drop off just so he would smile and get better. No one asked me to, but I do those things. I like taking care of my people and trying to make them feel better. I'm worried about that aspect of my personality for this summer, though. Children will be there with terminal illnesses. I'm not going to be able to make them better. However, for the week that they are there, I can be as goofy and silly as possible to make them have one amazing week of no worries. I am also going to pour the love of God in them. I'm excited.

I guess that's about it. The weather has been absolutely beautiful lately. My God knows how to make me smile, just by sending sunshine and stars at night. I love that He knows me so well.

I hope you are all doing well. I miss you all! I haven't seen anyone in a long time. Someone please have a party soon!!

Your Love is Extravagant

I strongly encourage each of you to go to Mission Arlington. I could tell you all about it, but it means so much more and makes much more sense when you experience it for yourself. The Christmas store is absolutely amazing. We unloaded about 3 completely full truck loads of toys in the short amount of time we were there. Brand new toys, by the truck loads! I have never worked so hard in my life. We were so worn out and tired every night, but it was a good tired. MA is huge. They own many different buildings, but it amazed me at how incredibely organized everything was. The Christmas store helped give gifts to over 11,000 children. There were over 100 decisions made. Over 500 people came through the store that Saturday. It's amazing to see God at work each and every day. He runs Mission Arlington. We hope to make our MA trip yearly. Please, join us.

Christmas was a blessing as always. I love our traditions. I love that even though I am 21 and the youngest of the Mattox kids, we still wake up early to see what Santa left us. We found some old home videos and watched those one night. It was so nice to have us all together reliving the good old days.

This past Sunday, I, Claire Mattox, preached at my church. It was Youth Sunday, so the other kids just said the prayers that were written for them and read Scriptures. I was in charge of everything else. I spoke on missions; on how I got involved, missionaries aren't special people, we're all called, my time in Nevada (mostly about the refugees), and a challenge as to what is your part in missions. I didn't really think it was anything special, it's just what was on my heart. After the service, I was swarmed by everyone telling me how much they enjoyed it. I was doing fine until people started talking about my Grandaddy. How they could see him coming out in me when I was up at the pulpit, that he was definitely smiling down on me today, and how proud he would be. Quinn Mattox was one amazing man. I am so honored for people to think of him when they see me. My dad and aunt cried through the whole sermon. I later found out that Daddy told my other aunt in Florida that this was the best Christmas present he had ever gotten. I am so blessed to have parents that love me and are proud of me. Some people asked if I was for hire and if I was adopted. Haha!

I'm going with Auburn Baptist Church to Passion. We're leaving Saturday at 6 AM for Atlanta, Georgia. I am so excited. Passion is an amazing conference with about 20,000 other college students coming together to praise and worship our Father. I'm pretty pumped!

My dear Amy Simmons is back from Peru. It truly changed her life, and I loved hearing all her stories. It definitely makes me want to go overseas. Hopefully, that is in my future.
Will comes home Saturday. It's been so long since I've talked to him. I'm ready for him to be safe and sound in Pontotoc, MS.
Matthew Archer is also home from China. He is so much fun! And he brought me back a Chinese soldier statue! haha! We named him, but I surely can't type it....sorry.

Anywho, I hope you all had a marvelous Christmas and have a splendid New Year! See you in 2010! Love you!

So blessed

My first semester as a Mississippi State University student is finished. I took my last exam today. Thank the Lord for getting me through this semester. He certainly held and carried me a lot. I will definitely be depending on Him even more in semesters to come.
So, what are you doing for Christmas break? Well, I want to tell you my plans. A week from today, the 16th, a group of us will be leaving bright and early from Tupelo, loading up in a 15 passenger van, and driving roughly 10 hours to Arlington, Texas. We'll be staying there for 5 days working at Mission Arlington. I am beyond excited. I get the priviledge to go there, help with wrapping Christmas presents, spend time with children, and tell the glorious Christmas story. Christmas and children, what could be better?
After a marvelous, traditional Christmas, I'll be heading to Passion on January 2nd. I've been once before, but it was just a weekend one then. This year it's a full 4 days of non-stop worship. God shows up and shows out at Passion. I am uber excited to see what He is going to show me there. It's an amazing experience to be in the midst of nearly 20,000 other college students full out worshipping our Lord and Savior. It gives me chills just thinking about it. Stay tuned because I'm sure after MA and Passion, the next blog will be filled with lots of goodies! :)

Now can I tell you how blessed I am to have the friends that I have in my life?

I am SO proud of them for giving up the comforts of home especially during Christmas time and going to a foreign place. Amy Simmons, yes, dear, sweet Mamy, is leaving this Saturday with a group from her church headed to Peru. It's hard for me to picture little Amy backpacking through the jungle in Peru. However, I know that the Lord has placed it on her heart to go and she, without missing a beat, accepted and is following His command.
Will Simmons is leaving in 6 days for Asia (for safety reason, I cannot say his exact location). The information I just typed in parenthesis scares me. He stopped by my apartment the other day before he headed home to say goodbye. All I kept saying was "be careful, Will." I am so excited for what he's going to be doing there. He'll be gone for about 3 weeks, which is the longest he's been gone from home. I know the Lord is going to work in him and through him while he's there.
These Simmons twins are some of my best friends. It's going to be hard knowing that they aren't just up the road during break. It's going to be hard not being able to talk to them while they are away. I am already looking forward to the massive amounts of pictures and stories from each trip.
Also, my dear friend Joy Smith, whom I spent the summer with in Nevada left today for Uganda. Wow. She is one special girl and holds a place in my heart. She'll be there for about 2 weeks. She went through a lot to get to go on this trip and the devil tried his hardest to stop her. However, her faith in God prevailed and everything worked out and she's on a plane right now. Amen!
*Please be in prayer for these amazing people who are going to the different nations to spread the love of Christ.
Another thing, I am so blessed to have friends that I can call up and talk about scripture with. I have been trying to get better about reading my Bible. Not just reading to read, to get my numbers up, but reading to get something out of it. I'm blessed that I can call Ashley or Tara and talk to them about how I interpreted what I just read and get their opinions on it, too. That's just so awesome.

As you probably know, I spent last summer in Nevada (not "Nevahdah"). I have already applied for summer missions again for this summer. I am staying in the states again and my top 3 choices are 1. Orlando, Florida 2. Boston traveling team 3. Scarbourgh, Maine. The position in Florida really jumped off the page to me. I'd be on a team called Give the Kids the World. Familes with children who have terminal illnesses come to Orlando and stay at a resort. The family gets to enjoy a week of pure fun. They leave their worries of doctors, bills, and the future behind and just enjoy the attractions of Orlando. I would be able to work with and spend time with the families that came in each week. I wish I could explain just how much I would love to spend my summer there, doing that. However, I know that it is all in the Lord's hands. I mean, I didn't even know Nevada was an option last summer, and that's where He placed me. It was the best summer of my life. So I know that where ever He wants me to be is where He is going to put me. I'm excited to see where that might be.

Love y'all! Have a wonderful Christmas break!

Weekend

I wonder why I have this blog. I'm pretty sure no one reads it, except for Lauren every now and then. (Thanks Lauren). Hmm...oh well, I guess my life isn't that exciting for people to want to read about it.

I'm going to write about my weekend anyways. :)

• Friday - My wonderful friend Carlye Carpenter sat with me out in the Junction from 1 to about 4ish. We got to catch up on each other's lives and enjoy the beautiful day. Hutch came by right at 5 to help me actually put our tent up. So glad I have friends that will come and help me with things. That night, me and Andrea Rodgers went to the men's basketball game. It was really fun and we're looking forward to the next game. After that, we went to Pancake Fest. Now, I've been hearing all this stuff about Pancake Fest and how amazing it is and yada yada. Well, I'm here to testify that Pancake Fest is, in fact, AMAZING. It was so much fun. Three different kinds of pancakes, a stage outside with live music, tons of friends, a pancake eating contest, I mean, the works. Great job Sycamore Boys! I can't wait for the next one.
  
• Saturday - GAME DAY! Mamie Shannon from Philadelphia, MS came up to see me and come to the game. We spent the summer together in Nevada. It was great to see her and talk with her again. Will picked us up and we loaded everything out to the Junction to tailgate. This was definitely the best tailgate we've had this season. Again, that awesome girl, Carlye, made us some BBQ and it was marvelous. We had a great crowd of friends and had lots of fun hanging out and playing Ladder Golf. I'll be happy next year when Will doesn't have to leave to go do his Jumbo-tron business. So Mamie, Andrea, Reed Jones, and I sat in the Student Section for the Alabama game. It was a terrible game, but we had fun. After the game, we all met up back at the tent and hung out some more. Also, one of my best friends from back in the day came for the game, Kristen Mathews. She and I have been friends since 3rd grade, but she moved to Alabama in 7th grade. She and her boyfriend, Tim, came to Starkville. It was so so great to see them again and talk and catch up, which we did a lot of.
  
• Sunday - Mamie left me that morning, it was sad to see her leave. I tagged along with the Drawn Together Band to Mathiston to hear them perform. I got to take pictures of them and record them, too. I loved it. They had a banjo, a mandilan(?), a violin, an upright bass, a piano, and guitar. It was just like some good ole blue grass Christian hymns. I loved it and so did everyone else. That afternoon, me, Will, and Ashley Farris went to Aberdeen for the Christmas Open House. The Christmas atmosphere and being back home was great. I loved showing Will and Ashley my town. There's just something about a good ole Southern hometown where you can't walk into a store without knowing people. I am truly a Southern girl, and proud of it. That night, Ashley and I went to Calvary Baptist Church. After the message from Perry, we had plenty to talk about. I am so blessed to have a friend like that in my life when we can talk on a subject and have the same feelings and just be able to share anything with her.

So all in all, this was probably the best weekend I've had since being in Starkville.

Now, how about a few pictures from the weekend?

Me and Andrea at the basketball game.

Me and Matthew Witbeck, one of the Sycamore boys that hosted the Pancake Fest.

Some of us girls at the Pancake Fest.

Me and Mamie in the Junction!

The girls of the Big Green Tent.

Our traditional tailgating picture. :)

This is the infamous Kristen Mathews.

Me and Ashley being goofy at the Open House.

BTW, it's a big hassel to get pictures on this thing. Maybe there's an easier way to do it and I just don't know about it, but this has taken me FOREVER!