i should not be good at this..

we are about halfway through our internship here at RVR... pretty crazy, pretty awesome. along with many many other things i have discovered about myself at the ranch, i have discovered that i am very good at catching every sickness that comes my way. in the past 2 months i have been sick probably around 5 times.. something is not right.. as soon as i stop playing softball and start life in the real world i stopped catching softballs and started catching colds.. (drums please) i know horrible joke, but i couldn't resist. :)

the past 2 days the interns and i spent our workdays in the barn with biz and morgan learning about our horsemanship program and our horse aspect of camp. it is the first of our "rotation" of working the different aspects of camp that RVR has to offer. i am pretty excited about this part. i want to be able to relate to everyone in camp ministry no matter what field they are in. so this is the beginning of that :) our past 2 days included tacking up the horses, grooming them, training some of them, scooping poop, feeding, trail rides, and learning how to ride them better with lessons and games. i grew up around horses so it all wasn't new to me. i still learned a lot more than i did about horses and taking care of them. i really like riding horses even though i am horrible at it. horses are funny and each have very different personalities.. that is very evident when you ride multiple horses in a day. all in all, i have enjoyed the past 2 days.

on a personal note.. i wrote about things being heavy lately.. still don't really know why, but i think i can blame the weather for some of it.. it's snowing again and i am just ready for sunshine! this may sound a bit funny and minute, but i have really been missing softball, being a student, and just being able to work summer camps in the summer. it's something i think graduates hit soon after they enter the real world.. i guess it took me a few months.. the transition is now hitting me. i love where i am and i love growing up and growing in my faith, but i think it is always hard to leave the consistency of life. going to school, playing softball, working at camp, and then repeating. it was normal and it was consistent, something that became somewhat of a routine for me, my life. now, things are different. not bad different, just different. different is good, but sometimes takes a little while to grasp that life changes and moves on. it's hard to believe that something i have been a part of since the time i was 4 is done. over. finished... just like that, it didn't gradually stop, but just stopped. i knew it was coming, but wasn't quite prepared for it. season started a few weeks ago for liberty.. maybe that's why i am now feeling it because I find myself working instead of being on the field. God used softball in my life and now it is time to move on to something different. i used to be a softball player, but i am still a vessel willing and waiting to be used by Him.

stumbling along,
beth.

this weight is heavy..

another week gone and another week in this internship of learning and growth. last sunday was valentine's day.. the interns and i went out with my boyfriend stephen..we had plans to go to outback, but a 3 hour wait was a little much.. we went to ihop instead. a wonderful alternative when you are all dressed up :) i had such a wonderful time. i love seeing people i love all together.. it is one of the biggest blessings in life. later that evening, stephen and i went to grab dessert at one of our favorite restaurant's. the table next to us was a family that had gone to the cove for a few summers and were one of my favorite families that really impacted my life. i hadn't seen them in a few summers so it was such a blessing how God places little wonderful surprises in our lives.

winter meltdown number 4 finished today.. another successful weekend of sharing Christ with teenagers. something wasn't right with me.. i felt the weight of everything in my life the whole weekend.. it turns out that i have a big decision to make about the summer and i am at a loss of what to decide.. for some reason it's weighing on me heavier than i thought. i think it may have carried over into the weekend.. i am still feeling it now. i believe that spiritual warfare is a real thing.. a thing that most of us don't like talking about, me included. satan attacks in many different ways, shapes, and forms. this weekend i felt under attack. when it came time to recite my long poem i was feeling extra hot and my mouth was abnormally dry. i didn't think too much about it.. that doesn't really effect me because this was my 4th time saying this poem.. i wasn't nervous.. close to a 3rd of the way through i was so hot and my mouth was so dry i didn't know how the words were coming out of my mouth. i was speaking and thinking different things.. in my mind i was freaking out, but the words of the poem were pouring out..i finished and i was shaking.. i know it wasn't nerves because i would have stopped and i would have not been able to finish.. God was the one speaking, He was the one moving my lips and speaking the words...in my head i heard mumbling.. in the speakers i heard words.. words of His poem.. satan didn't want people to hear it, God had other plans.. God had BIGGER plans.. thank you God for picking me up for being my Savior and for being my Hero.
it almost happened again today.. it was starting to happen, but stopped when i was finished.. i don't know what is going on, but i know i have someone protecting me and fulfilling His plans regardless of what the ruler of this evil world wants..

loved,
beth.

snow, recruiting, snow, winter meltdown, snow!

well in the past week and a half there has been more snow to go around for the whole winter! we ended up having to cancel our 3rd weekend of winter meltdown and move it to a later date in march due to 30 inches of snow we got that weekend! it wasn't so bad being snowed in at the ranch with everyone else.. we had games and community meals and some time to play in all that snow! after a weekend of relaxing and being stranded i headed down to liberty with the recruiting team to try and recruit some summer staff. it was a great week and great experience for my passion to grow in camp ministry. we were there from monday to friday. talking and standing are more exhausting than you would think! there were times when 4 interviews were going on at once. it was nice to sit in on a few interviews and see how it's done. i got to see the burg again and visit with some good friends.. for the first 2 nights i was blessed to have stayed with a couple that i met a little over 4 years ago at liberty. we actually worked together at sandy cove for 4 summers as well. it was so fun staying with them in their cute house. the next night i got to stay with my pastor and his wife. first donna and i grabbed some dinner and then headed to our church's ladies Bible study that i haven't been able to attend for a long time.. it was a breath of fresh air. i do miss liberty, softball, the burg, and discover church, but i really just miss the relationships i made there.. i am convinced it's the only downside to growing up and moving away.. the relationships are still there just not face to face..after our last day of recruiting we jumped back in the van and drove back to RVR where an hour later we kicked off our 3rd weekend of winter meltdown. talk about being tired.. yeah, my eyes are heavy as we speak.. haha since we have close to 3ft of snow on the ground we had to cancel our outdoor activities..BUT we ended up having basically a huge snow festival.. i was curious as to how it would look, but it was so much fun.. we had a snow man building contest, a snow cone station(the kind you eat), broom ball on our frozen pool, football games, and tubing!! while i was in lynchburg the rvr staff created 3 tubing paths on our massive hills here at the ranch.. it was soo much fun and so fast!! i stood at the top of the paths watching people walking up the hill, people tubing down, and people laughing at the bottom of the hill and it brought me so much joy seeing people enjoy their time. that's one of my favorite things about camp ministry. we just ended the weekend a couple hours ago and i believe like every weekend it was a huge success.. some more children came to know the Lord.. what could make a weekend more successful?? nothing..

during the recruiting trip i figured out what i will be doing this summer. i am going to be the teen adventure camp girls counselor.. it's somewhat weird for me to picture myself being a counselor after 4 summers of experience in other fields, but it is a humbling one as well. i know it will be tons of fun, i just want to make sure i stay positive and open to what the Lord may want me to learn. when i say humble myself i am not saying that about being a counselor, but humbling myself dealing with my own selfish thoughts. i know the first lesson is to humble myself, be less selfish, and follow...

beth.

take 2!

winter meltdown weekend number 2 is done! it finished up 2 days ago.. i wanted to blog about it earlier, but i got busy doing some stuff around the house so i am now :) it was once again a great and fun weekend. it was jr and sr high this weekend, so it was harder to get the kids to focus and listen, but i know the Lord was working regardless of that. i was a little more tired this weekend and therefore it was harder to stay energized... glad i got my girl LaDessa to help me with that! haha more importantly the Lord was giving me the strength and energy to help run the program well.. for some reason i felt a little distracted this weekend, but the Lord brought me right back where i needed to be every time. i think i was a little dehydrated as well so reciting my poems was a little more difficult.. well, i guess all that was to say that the Lord is my strength!! :) winter meltdown is such a cool program. it has some pretty powerful skits, dramas, poems, videos, and other ways kids can see the Lord. it is great to see it all come together.. another cool aspect is that our staff all comes together. we are growing so much closer and with the staff families as well. it is very unusual to see all the ranch families together and i am loving it! it is a cool thing that we get to reach kids for the Lord all while growing as a camp family. i like this camp ministry stuff. :) the Lord is good. i am reminded that He is in control daily. in a conversation i just recently had i realized this truth yet again. Lord, thank you. just thank you for being in control of my life and for being my Savior. i need only You.

humbled by His grace,
beth.