chic-fil-a, fun, and community.

this has been a light work week for me.. it was greatly needed.. i had monday off like usual and then worked on tuesday on race stuff! the race is in 2 days and i am soo excited! besty's and my costumes look so good! wednesday we got up at 2:30 am and made our way to my first chic-fil-a grand opening.. yes i know you think we are crazy, but hear us out.. so we left at 3 and got there around 530am.. if you are part of the first 100 people you get 52 free coupons for a #1 meal! =) well needless to say all 14 of us rvr's made it in and got our coupons! the deal is that you have to stay on site for 24 hours and camp out there.. you have to be there for line checks to make sure that you haven't left. i had such a blast.. one of the most fun times i have ever had. we played games, watched the phillies, ate a lot of chic fil a, dominated in the competitions, and met new people. the only bad part is that i have slept only 8 hours in the past 2 days! its rough and that is why i will be sleeping in about 10 mins =) so, spending 24 hours in the same parking lot with 100 other people is a sure way to get to meet people... here is one of the funny and yet crazy stories that took place.. i was in line with jodi to get sauce for my sandwhich and we saw some people from PBU and we started chatting because i was wearing my liberty softball shirt.. one girl said she was just there a few weeks ago visiting her best friend.. she saw that i played softball and said her friend played soccer.. well her friend was my roommate my last year at liberty!!! she also came to visit her and slept in my bed!!! haha small small world.. liberty was probably about 6 hours away from the chic fil a we were at.. crazy crazy =) but what was awesome was meeting new people and watching people.. it almost became a little community.. watching people watch the phillies game not knowing each other, but having that common bond that brought them together.. it was great to sit and look and think about that's how the christian community should be.. filled with different types of people, but all connected with the same love for Jesus Christ.. so many of us get community right, yet others get it so wrong.. the bond of Jesus Christ should make the christian community stronger, but sometimes we allow things to tear us apart like different views and different takes on aspects of life (as long as it's Biblical:), but if we could just focus on the central theme that we both love the Lord our world would be a little easier to live in. =) so look past people's differences and find that similar ground of Jesus Christ and let that be the foundation of a great relationship...

in Him
beth.

reward.

my job comes with some rewards and some of them include watching children overcome their fears.. i look back on yesterday and today when i was working the top entrance on the high ropes and seeing the children's faces filled with fear turn into smiles filled with a little fun and trust. after climbing the ladder and making it onto the cables they begin to relax and beat their fears.. ah it is so rewarding to me to be able to talk them through those fears and see how intently they listen to me trying to grasp anything that will take the fear away. while waiting for another child to come up i sat on the log filled with so much joy that i almost started to cry. i look back now and think that God must feel like that.. when we are so scared and look to Him and only Him to find strength to overcome our fears about mostly anything. He must be filled with so much joy when He sees His children overcome the very things that hold them back.. how i long to overcome the fears of mine to see the Lord filled with joy.. Lord help me face those fears with the strength you give. I love to bring you joy.

<3

rested and ready.

yikes. i stink at keeping up at this.. so it's been a while.. a lot has gone on. this past weekend i was the tnt host. tnt stands for teens in training.. they come to work the meals for the weekend groups. i basically work with them the whole weekend and am in charge of fun stuff and devo's and what not. the kids are so solid. it's awesome.. they are really good kids who love the Lord. it is very encouraging to me. i was trying to put together devotions for the crew and i kept thinking that they probably already know all these things.. haha.. but it went well and i had such a fun time with them.. this blog is going to be very random and i apologize for that. today Matt (my boss) and his wife Michelle had their first baby!! her name is Lila Sage.. how cute! so he won't be around for a few days.. the past 10 days that i haven't written have consisted of working out door education groups.. so basically the ropes course, the zip, rock climbing, and the swing.. it has been fun and very good experience for what the summer will look like... our maize fest was canceled this weekend because the weather has been horrible, but with that being said i was able to go to sandy cove for sunday night and monday. it was the rest i needed.. working in the ministry as well as a camp that serves people non-stop can be very exhausting.. it is by far the most rewarding aspect of our jobs, serving others, but it really can tire you out if you don't get the rest you need. this past weekend i received the rest i needed and when i say rest i don't mean sleep and being inactive, but the kind where you see old friends and people who have become your family that fill you back up.. that happened for me the past 2 days. i was with my family that has been built over the past 4 years.. from visiting people in their offices to watching football to having dinner with great friends, it was exactly what i needed to feel full again. =) if i could tell all those people how much i really love them i would! well.. i do. hahaha anyways, after being rested and filled i am ready, ready to go out into the new week to serve these new guests.. rvr is such a great place and allows me to serve others almost every day.. sometimes it is hard to go into it with the right mindset of being a true servant. some days i am tired or not focused and have to get my heart right. not easy! i am learning how to be a true servant and i am learning how to think others better than myself. like anything in our faith it is a process. a journey that i am on to be more like Christ. i fall short so many times, but i am learning more about God's grace and love together.. i have a hard time forgiving myself and God is teaching me through other people that i need to not be so hard on myself.. i am thankful for the ways that He works.. i am ready Lord to be used by you, to stop being distracted, to truly love like you love me.

beth.

it's fall.

i'm excited it's the fall. i can't believe it is already here that it's already cold and the leaves are changing...crazy how time really does fly. things around here are going well. we hosted a couple of outdoor education groups this week.. i worked the high ropes course finally and also the climbing tower.. my favorite thing to work and play on is the high ropes.. stuff that high off the ground is so fun to me. i got to catch up with a few friends this week on the phone. it's good to hear familiar voices and hearing from the people you love. i wish i had more time to catch up with all my friends. i miss everyone from home, lynchburg, and sandy cove so much! that's part of growing up though i guess. jodi came up to work the corn maize today!! she is a friend i met at liberty who did the internship before me and we grew to be good friends so it was so good to see and hang out with her. today was the 2nd weekend of the corn maize and i worked the tower.. basically i am on a really really high tower.. probably over 20ft tall.. and helped lost people find their way around our 6 acre corn maize! it actually is so much fun and i get to work it again on halloween which will be so fun! =) there is also a 5k race for the ranch on the 31st and i am running it! my first race.. i have been training pretty hard for it! i can't wait!

i love the feel of fall.. the feel of Christmas time.. it's such a great time.. it just reminds me of good friends and spending time with family.. i love bundling up and getting coffee with friends, sitting around the fire, camping, snuggling inside and watching a movie when it's cold, and watching football. i love it. it is such a great time for relationships to build and it makes me reflect back on the way God made people to be relational.. it's an awesome concept if you sit down and think about it. He is such a relational God. He wants a relationship with us as well. I want my relationship with Him to grow and grow. to sit around the fire and talk about Him and His goodness, to sit and talk with him, to snuggle up with my coffee and read about Him, to sit and be with Him. the fall and winter time remind me of how awesome it is to have relationships with His people and with Him. it is such an awesome aspect of the life He has given us. i can't imagine what it will feel like having a family one day that i can spend time just being with in the fall. it will be beautiful. as the leaves change i am reminded of His beauty. sitting on that tower today was such a blessing. i saw the countryside and the trees with the sunset starting to change colors.. absolutely captivating..

May my life reflect the beauty of the Lord. <3

along this journey,
beth.

undeserving.

so, yesterday was an awesome day in so many ways. i went to church and was able to relax on one of our days off. i had plans to meet one of my friends for a movie and dinner at 5. didn't work out... the story goes like this. after church i had lunch at camp with the tnt'ers. love them.. anyway.. and then after that Taco had a special day planned for us.. we left around 2:30ish to go on little adventure... i was stressed out because i didnt know if i was going to be able to make my plans and the skins were losing again! haha the part about the skins really didn't stress me out. im not that crazy, but moving on.. we got to our destination which was a cute little park where he had made a picnic for us with a pinata and everything! i started to feel guilty because i was in such a bad mood and i was letting it effect me so much..i also started to feel guilty i couldnt stay as long as i wanted with my coworkers.. these such small issues became so huge in my mind when they really werent! haha i then also felt bad that i might have to change my plans with my friend... well i had to change the plans from a movie to dinner and hanging out at 6.. first off he was so understanding and really flexible.. i just assumed it was going to bother everyone when in reality it didnt. so i was able to stay with my coworkers longer and still meet stephen later on.. on my car ride i was thinking about all the reasons i was stressed and how minor they really were.. i usually dont get stressed out, but for some reason i was. when we got to the restaurant there was mark and lori! the president of sandy cove and his wife who are like 2nd parents to me.. it was a blessing after blessing kinda night. i was so grateful and so blown away that the Lord really blessed my day even when i doubted.. all i did was stress and assume things weren't going to work out.. doesn't God always work things out for us and tells us not to stress? yes, but i did anyway.. i am so undeserving of the blessings He sends my way. being able to hang out with my coworkers and then the fishers and stephen all in one day was far better than the day i had planned... the day the Lord had planned was far better than the one i could even imagine. and i doubted.. it shows how we are so undeserving esp. me. i am thankful for the lessons learned and the blessings received. it is a perfect exampled of Ephesians 3:20 which stephen shared with me last night.. it spoke to me so much and i am so thankful for such a solid friend like that in my life! God's plans are far better than our own even little days like yesterday.. His plans for our lives aren't just better than ours but His plans are better even in the small things like our day to day plans.. i am so grateful for a God who spreads His grace over me. i am undeserving...

feels like home.

first day of corn maize today.. i worked the obstacle blow up inflatable.. not too bad. =) it was beautiful out. these next 2 days off are going to be great. =)

i am beginning to feel more at home here. i have loved it since day one, but it wasn't home yet. it's becoming more and more like a home to me. i love it.. i am growing closer to the interns, to the staff, to the community here. to be honest i was really homesick for a while.. it was weird. i have been away from home for 4 years and wasn't ever really homesick.. haha kinda funny.. i think it was the whole being done with softball and school and growing up kinda deal. you know, moving on and growing up?? yea. i didn't want that just yet, but i don't have to grow up. =) i'm at rvr and i can still be a kid and a grown up at the same time.. how lucky am i? i wonder where the Lord will take me after this year. it's fun waiting and knowing He is writing my story. there is beauty in the waiting. i love that.. it's not always easy waiting upon the Lord, but the only way to go! =) isn't is reassuring that you aren't in control, that you don't write your life story, that someone who loves you and knows you better than you know yourself is writing your story with perfect hands?? ah, i am captivated by Him.

Lord give me one pure and holy passion, give me one magnificent obsession. give me one glorious ambition for my life, to know and follow hard after you.

coming up for air.

hmmm. my b. it's been a while.. that's cause we have been busier than normal. this is me coming up for air and taking a break.. i have realized the more i grow in my faith that i need alone time.. i actually got a great day and a half just sitting, being, being with my Lord. it was last weekend.. the rest of the interns went to jersey to bill's house.. i really really wanted to go, but i knew that i needed some time with the Lord and time alone.. i needed to talk to Him, to read His word, and to just be with Him. it's hard to find time like that these days. we are basically out in the morning and not back until night and there are so many things we have to get done. i know i am here to work and i am not complaining by any means, it just shows me that i need to make time for the Lord. if it requires less sleep than i must do that. i need that time with Him to grow and to keep myself in check to serve Him with my whole heart. it's amazing how not spending time with Him and in His word really effects me.. more than i knew it did until i started to spend less time. i had a rough night last night.. you know how sometimes you just get down? really for no reason, just everything seems to weigh a lot more than it really does. yeah, it was a need to talk to mommy night. i hate times like that and at the same time i know that i have to go through them.. God uses everything and every time in my life. i know that i must go through highs and lows.. i just really felt the spiritual warfare on my heart last night.. it was weird.. then God gave me exactly what i needed the next morning.. how awesome He always is!! i get up at 6am to run with one of our director's wife and she didnt show this morning.. i couldn't be happier, not that i didnt have to run, but that God was giving me the time i needed to spend with Him!! it makes me wanna cry, but why should i be surprised??? He ALWAYS takes care of me. i got to spend the time i needed with Him this morning.. thank you Lord.. i am so in Love with you.. please let Your light shine through me, through the darkness.

to update on what we are doing.. we have been hosting retreats like usual and also working on our annual corn maize!! it is a 6 acre corn maize that is open every sat this october.. it is basically a little fall festival type deal.. so cute and i can not wait to run/play in it! i cant wait for some rvr/ liberty people to come visit that i have gotten to know! they are so fun and really are sold out for the Lord. i love that. we have been cleaning a lot and working meals.. pretty normal stuff.. we have also been working on our support letters to send out and raise support to work the internship.. i am well on my way from selling tie-dye t-shirts.. it has really been such a blessing to see the sales.. i am really grateful and humbled that they have been selling.. i know it is the work of the Lord. so, this is random, but i have been thinking/praying about missions.. it's just been on my mind so i will keep praying and thinking about it. love yall.

-beth.