back from Italy! :)

what an adventure these past few weeks have been..

before i left for italy, i spent some lovely time with a lovely gentleman. it has been a pleasure learning and growing by his side.

my trip began with a very bumpy flight over to london.. thankfully i was traveling with my friend val who i could grab if i got scared.. i love flying, but every time i have to get used to going through some rough terbulance. i got over it :) we made it to pisa safe and sound, but there was one problem.. we were traveling separate from the other part of our group and their flights got delayed. while we were supposed to meet them at the air port we ended up meeting them 4 hours later at our B&B in the town of Lucca. needless to say, val and i found our way around and made it to the B&B.. we are quite the travelers :)

we stayed in Lucca for a night and toured the city and had our first of many great meals. from Lucca we went and stayed in another B&B in Levanto, which is a city outside of the Cinque Terra. did some sight seeing and hiking the next few days. italy is full of beautiful architecture and beautiful landscapes. a highlight of my time in Levanto was a morning at breakfast when i was reading my Bible and was interrupted to my friend Kat giving me a gift Stephen had given her to give to me on our 6th month anniversary. i know, he is a special man! another highlight was hiking the via del amore (the lover's lane). it is a cute little hike full of graffti all about love. there is a seat where couples can sit and there are many many locks locked all over the fencing and wires to symbolize their love locking together forever :)

we stayed in Vernazza one night and did some shopping and had a beautiful meal on the cliffs of the city. next, we traveled to Venice for 3 nights.. it is a beautiful city, but full of tourists. i guess i can't be mad because i was a tourist myself. haha stayed in a beautiful B&B that was 1,500 years old.. they don't make em like that in america! haha experienced the beauty and romance of the city. it was a wonderful trip. i loveeeeeeeeeeee the italian way of eating and sitting for hours at meals. had my first dish of wine and cheese.. of course if you know me i fell in love.

british airways in fact went on strike causing val and i to be possibly be stranded in italy, but thankfully Lori's hubby Mark came to our rescue and had our flights switched.. we were on a better airline and arrived 4 hours earlier back to the states, which allowed me to have dinner with my love and get back to the ranch at a decent hour to catch up on my sleep. man, it is so awesome to look back and see where the Lord's hands were at work... it could have been a disaster, but he turned a not so good situation into a wonderful one.

Lord, thank you for providing for me and my trip and having you hand at work every part of the way. Amen.

beth.

what an adventure..

it is the first day back to work after our intern camping trip.. i don't even know where to begin with this trip. it was exciting and adventurous and full of many different surprises in many different shapes and forms. the first day we got to Assateague we were supposed to canoe out to our campsite but the wind was too strong for us to paddle through the water so we decided to hike 5 miles to our site. we packed up gear that would be good for one night and food as well and started our hike on the beach (sand) to our campsite called pine tree. we were back country camping so you could not drive to your site. like i said our site was 5 miles away. well we got lost. real lost and we couldnt find our site anywhere. well we went off the beach towards the bay and hiked through marsh, creeks, horse poop, and everything else you can imagine for an extra 2 miles.. we didnt find pine tree. we ended up having to set up camp in a random place that is prohibited for people to be on.. we made jokes that not even chuck norris would camp there.. haha it was cold and windy, but after close to 7 hours of hiking we set up camp and had a good meal, a short devo, and hit the sheets.. we were completely exhausted. the next morning the boys left us girls at camp to clean and pack while they searched for our camp site.. turns out that our site was a mile down from where we were.. they came back got us and we picked up our gear and headed to pine tree to drop our gear off. we set up camp and turned around and hiked back to our canoes, but we did not have to walk the last mile or so because a nice couple gave us a ride!! woohoo shout out to bill and inga! got the rest of our gear and food and loaded up the canoes and canoed 5 miles to our site.. we were so tired that the next day we did nothing but sleep, eat, and read the whole day..haha the next day we packed up camp and canoed another 5 miles back.. we drove down to great falls va and ate some outback for dinner!! :) the next morning we went climbing and site seeing at the falls.. the day started off a little rocky when we found out we had to pay more than what they advertised, but it turned into a wonderful day. it was a great trip full of fun and growing as well as tiring mentally, physically, and emotionally. i am so happy that i was with the group i was with.. everyone kept good attitudes and stayed calm. we went through a lot and made it out alive together. i am going to miss this group... a whole lot.

grateful,

beth.

heading out for a little while..

as we speak i am in the middle of hosting a retreat. this group is great and i am very thankful for that as the weather may hinder parts of our day. leading up to this retreat i could see how the devil was trying to ruin plans and bring me down.. funny how times we can see that and other times we can not.. i prayed so much that the Lord would give me strength to resist freaking out. :) i must say it has worked.. i rode the line at times, but God always pulled me back. clinging to the fact that His joy is our strength.

tomorrow morning the interns and i will pack up the van and head down to assateague, md for some canoeing and camping for 3 nights.. we will then head to great falls, va for one night of camping and 2 days of climbing.. so i will be gone and away for this next week and then when i get back i will work 3 days and pack up again and head to the fisher's house for a few nights and then head to italy for 8 days!! sad ill be missing my 6 month anniversary with Stephen, but hey it still counts ;) this month of may is going to be great.. hoping to blog about my adventures as soon as i return from both trips..

love,
beth.

learning.

i've been learning things all my life, but it seems that has been the theme of these past 10 days. i have been learning patience, learning to trust more, learning to stay positive, learning to have faith in all things, learning how to work in different atmospheres, and learning a lot about myself. maybe it's part of the first year after school and on your own kinda thing. i have really been anxious about what's next for me.. what is the next step of my life after the internship? i've been weighing a few options and most of them are jobs you can work without a college degree.. do i care? not really. do others care? yes, they do and i know it isn't a judgmental care, but the kind that they just want better for me.. but what if that is better for me? what if a few part time jobs is the right thing for me next? i understand and appreciate people wanting more for me, but i want what God wants for me and if that means working in housekeeping, at a starbucks, for ups, or anywhere that doesn't require a college degree, than i am ok with that. of course my ideal next step would be into a full-time salary paying job, but like i said before i am learning to have patience and that means if the next few steps aren't in a full-time job that is ok because i know those steps will lead to the next steps and to the new doors that will be opened.

thank you Lord for being patient with me when i am anxious about my future. i know you are writing my story so i need not to worry. forgive me when i do because that is showing my lack of trust. i trust you and help me to trust you more where i fall short. Amen.

an odd feeling..

i am sure everyone has heard about Jennifer Knapp being gay.. well, if you hadn't she was a very popular Christian singer who has now come public with her sexuality..yeah, starting this blog off with a bang.. haha anyways, my heart has been struggling with the news. in the baby days of my faith i would have judged and i would have condemned. now, i find myself breaking on so many levels.. breaking for her and her struggle, breaking for our world that is so confused (this doesn't help), breaking for our Lord.. what she argued on Larry King Live was legitimate.. why is this sin any different? she is right, it's not. sin is sin no matter how big or how small. we are missing the point. the point isn't if she is going to heaven or hell because she is gay.. the point is, is that her(or anyone's) struggle? now, before i go on i want to clear up that i think homosexuality is wrong, but i feel as if we are missing the mark on issues like this. i believe that people with a same sex attraction can be saved just like i believe that someone who struggles with lying can be saved. the key word is struggle. if there is no struggle with the sin or no belief that the sin is wrong then i hate to say that i have a hard time believing that they are a believer. i then find myself struggling with the verses that are thrown back at us in this argument. Verses like John 8:7..When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her," and Matthew 7:3.."Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" it is so true, i am not even close to being without sin so how can i even judge??? it is just that, i am not judging if she is going to heaven or hell, i am breaking for a world that is full of people that are like her... that are struggling with a sin and giving in. if they could just believe that it is possible to struggle with something and not have to give into it, if they believe and put their faith in the Lord and realize that He loves them through their struggles... what is important is not what we struggle with, but how we deal with those struggles and who we run to for help.. so this blog was more about me talking about my struggle with how to deal with these issues rather than the issues themselves..

Lord, help us to love and not judge.. help us to see the bigger picture loving people into knowing you.. help us not to try and take the place and the job of what You said You could only do. forgive us when we try to be You.. give us wisdom in all that we say and do and act.

forgiven by His mercy,

beth.

smiles.

in the past 5 days i have...

gone to LBC to recruit for the internship and got to see some good friends who i worked with at sandy cove.. smiles

gone to chic fil a, rita's, and starbucks all in the same night with sarah, taco, and dess.. smiles

played some good competitive volleyball.. smiles

worked in the kitchen a lot.. smiles

gotten my nose pierced.. smiles

bought seasons passes to six flags with dess..smiles

gotten paid to work in a tree for a few hours with kids.. smiles

gone on multiple pain free runs.. smiles

talked to mommy.. smiles

had one of the best most joyful, most fun, most wonderful dates of my life with the most wonderful man of my life.. big smiles


i realized looking back at all the things i "smile" about are really most of the things i am thankful for in my life. when im down i just need to look back at the past few days that the Lord wrote out. i need to look back and be reminded of all the things he has placed in my daily life that make me "smile." thank you for the smiles Lord.

smiles really can change the world.

:)
beth.

encouraged.

it's a rainy day. it's our day off. that means no going outside or running for me. it's a good thing because i wouldn't have had this conversation that showed how big God is. us girls just had an amazing conversation. one of our co-workers just shared her story and where God is taking her in her life. the way her story has played out was totally and only a God story. when God was taking away in her life He was writing another part of her story to give to her in her life. there was no way she could have wrote this part of her life and there is no way it could have just played out the way it did. without coming out and saying whats going on in her life i can just say that it is a huge testimony to the God who provides! and with hearing her story it is an encouragement to me that God will take care of me. He has the next part of my life planned. there is a door that will open for me. not sure when and not sure what, but i know He is in control. He took care of her in a way she could never imagined and i am encouraged to know that He does that for all His children. it may come in a different way or a different process, but it's coming. i may have to wait, but He is leading. i don't have a problem following a God who leads and takes care of me. i can handle that. God, thanks for encouraging me through your other children. thank you for revealing your provision through other people. i trust in you. Amen.

encouraged,
beth.