what a past few days!

well, this week (so far) has been full of quite the adventures. :) we usually have sunday's and monday's off, but this week we had to work monday so we had sunday and tuesday off instead. every monday at the ranch their are program meetings.. that is why we worked that day. it is somewhat of our programming week at the ranch. so we sat in on our first programming meeting. it was nice to see how a meeting is run and what the meeting entailed. even though i am not participating in the meetings it is still very beneficial for me and my desire to be full-time in camp ministry. i am trying to absorb every experience i get! later that evening we played in our usual monday night volleyball pick-up league. with this weather keeping me locked up inside, going to volleyball is a very good thing to keep me from going crazy.

tuesday we had off, but i needed to earn a comp day so that i can go to italy in may! a little vacation i have been saving for. i figured i would be working on our summer program and a book report we have due on friday, but matt suggested i go recruiting for summer staff with the recruiting team at Messiah. being in an office all day or recruiting summer staff?? i think you know which wins. hahah it was nice to go to messiah.. i got to see an old co-worker who might be interested in working at the ranch :) she also might go on our vacation! a girl i met at the ccca conference was there as well. that's the 2nd recruiting trip we have been right beside each other! too fun. sandy cove was also there. the head of the HR department was there and so was the director of their summer camp in WV. he is a real cool guy and has tons of connections to camps in austrailia. so, i guess i will confess that i have been thinking about working at a camp(s) in austrailia for a few months next winter. it's exciting to know that it could possibly work out if the Lord wants it. after talking to Tim, i realized it is a real possibility! if it doesn't work out, no worries. it was fun to think about it :) it's nice to have a connection who could really be a huge help if i do go down under. so i will be praying and researching this little idea..

wednesday... sarah and i had the opportunity to go to downtown baltimore for a marketing meeting. i am very grateful for this opportunity and although i still have a lot to learn about marketing, i really enjoy it. i think i need to narrow down a field of camp ministry i want to work in, but i have a problem. i like them all! haha maybe i will just wait and see where the Lord leads in that area. it was vaguely a meeting on how we can bring more campers to RVR. too me very beneficial. i think the meeting was very successful.. a plan was devised and details were made. people were placed in charge of certain areas and all in all a good day. the plan can now go into action back at the ranch.

last night.. oh where to begin.. sarah, taco, dess, and i were going to meet some friends down in annapolis for an andy mckee concert. he is an acoustic guitarist. it was at a tavern so we had some dinner and then walked over to the concert. well, our friend who got all our tickets didn't see where it was a 21 and up show. bummer, cause dess isn't 21. they wouldn't even mark her hands to say she was under 21.. it was weird that rule was in place just for a concert.. we heard that annapolis has some pretty hard core laws about drinking and concerts and underage people.. so her and i ended up not going to the concert. since we were an hour and a half away from the ranch we couldn't just call someone to come get us. so we tried to sell our tickets and with no luck decided to walk the streets to find a coffee shop and sit for a bit. well we chose the wrong side of town to walk towards and saw some sketch places and people so we turned around asap. and went towards the other side of town. much better. since it was 8 and on a week night, not much was open. we ended up finding a little ice cream shop that said they had the best hot chocolate in town.. so we, being frozen, thought this place sounded good and looked safe.. we were right! haha we each got a little ice cream, which was homemade.. delicious. and we split a hot chocolate.. delicious! the place was real cute and real mom and pop shop like. a tradition they have started is allowing people to decorate spoons. they will be hanging them all over their walls soon. so dess and i colored our spoons and then left them there to be placed on the wall. he closed at 9:30 so we had to leave and go into the cold again. haha we ended up walking the levels of our parking deck for the next hour and 15 mins and just talked. it was great to get some exercise after that ice cream.. not gonna lie i was really happy.. there were 6 levels and we walked up and down and up and down the stairs.. on our way home i read my daily reading from my one year Bible out loud.. i felt like i was reading to my little kids.. :)

now, its thursday and the week has already been so eventful... we will see what the rest of the weekend holds.. like sarah's birthday tomorrow.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

joyful,
beth.

change of plans.

life is full of surprises. this being one of them. well, sorta. i had decided to be a counselor here at the ranch this summer. i did have an interest in another position, but it had already been taken. i voiced my interest in the position a little while back and again just recently. after some good honest conversations i was offered the position.. i have some things to work on before the summer to prepare myself. i am excited and nervous. i really wanted this position, expected not to get it, and now i have it. so nothing to complain about or be worried about right?? ugh, well that's the way it should be.. haha but i am doubting myself. i am sooooo excited to work this position, but at the same time i find myself thinking i may fail..this is where my trusting in the Lord comes in.. he brought me to this position i had desired so much, in the hardest way, but in the end the truth is that He knew i was going to be in this position. He is going to prepare me for this summer. no matter how much i doubt myself it can't stop the Lord from doing His work. so that means i shouldn't doubt myself because He is in control, right? RIGHT! well thanks for listening to this conversation to myself. that's how i roll.

full of hope,

beth.

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.

oh man, what a night! wait, i mean weekend!

sometimes we experience things in life that just blow us away. some things are so simple and some so complex. either way it is hard to put into words how exactly you felt. i am relaxing on my day off after an awesome weekend of the first winter meltdown program. i am reflecting on how much God showed up, how much He used us as a staff, and how much i grew as well. i must admit that i was excited for winter meltdown, but i was also so nervous that i wouldn't have minded if it never came. don't get me wrong i really couldn't wait, but you know how nerves can make you feel sometimes! i really had no idea what to expect because we weren't told too much, but we had the big picture just no little details. i guess that is a good thing so we wouldn't go into it with expectations! my role was to recite poems...4 of them to be exact. a few short and a few long. one was about 2 and a half minutes! well, now you see why i was so nervous.. i love being in front of people, but memorizing stuff isn't my thing. now, looking back after the first weekend i am so grateful, thankful, and honored for the opportunity the Lord placed in my hands. i was so far outside of my comfort zone, but so grateful for it because outside of that zone is where you grow and experience God in ways you can't inside your comfort zone. you wouldn't think something as simple as having to memorize some poems would make such a huge difference in my walk with God. i was in constant prayer the whole weekend for the children and for the Lord to be my memory and calm my nerves.. He showed up so big.. each poem went so smoothly and i had no problems! it was not me at all, but the Lord speaking through me. man, i am so grateful for Him in my life! my coworkers and i were in constant prayer for each other as well. it helped me grow in so many ways praying for each other and for the Lord to use us. we grew so much closer as a group. it is amazing when you do something for the Lord. it is easy to get lost in doing things for ourselves, but i pray that i will not get lost in that and that everything i do would be for the glory of the Lord. not only did i grow in my walk, but i also had fun! just because i was working the program didn't mean i couldn't participate with the youth. haha it was a blast. the kids had so much fun as well. the Lord was really moving in their hearts.. around 5 people got saved and some rededicated their lives. we can never truly know the hearts of people, but i so believe that some of these kids came to know the Lord and experience Him in ways they had never before. i am blessed to be a part of this ministry and honored that the Lord would use someone as imperfect as me to give Him glory. i am unworthy and so so grateful.

Lord, thank you for using me for your glory! may i never get lost in giving the glory to myself. keep me humble and continue to use winter meltdown to bring children to You and Your Son!
Amen.

walking in His footprints,
beth.