The service was phenomenal. It was all worship with some verses and testimonies spread through the songs. I haven’t been moved to tears by worship in a long time. Sunday morning, I let it all out, haha. It was just a reminder to me that I need to not put my guard up during worship. There should be nothing between God and I, ever, especially not when worshiping Him. The people around me, the setting, the lighting, or the scene should not hinder how I worship my God.

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Also, I’m going to college next year. Waldorf College, to be exact. It’s a small, Lutheran school in little, Forest City, Iowa.

I’ve been in contact with the cheerleading coach and guess what? I’m cheering I’ll be a full blown Waldorf Warrior next year!

I’ve never been the girl who would go to college, but, there is no doubt in my mind that this is where God wants me.

This is one thing that I know I cannot do without God. So I will rely on HIM fully.

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My prayer for this week is that we finish strong, and not jump too fast to what’s next.

“My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”

Psalms 73:26

One.

Today, I was doing pre-show (all my blog moments happen here) and I was calling the campers over to sit in front of the wagon so we could begin and I hear one of the campers yell an obscenity at me. This caught me extremely off guard. I haven’t heard that kind of language in a few months and I’m just not used to it. I called the camper, D, over and asked him about it and he denied it, but, I have a few witnesses so I know it was him. I sent D on his way and did the rest of pre-show like normal. After it was over I had a moment to think about what had just happened. It just made me realize how much more he needed Jesus and how we need to pray for D and the other campers. It also reminded me of how much I love these campers. I don’t interact with them a lot, hardly at all in fact, but, I love them and I want them to hear about the love of Christ. I yearn for them to draw near to Him and it breaks my heart to see them act like D did tonight.

Two.

After the campers were inside I went up to D’s counselor, C, and explained what had happened. Slightly stunned, he called over and walked with me to his program director, T, and had me tell the story again. T apologized to me for what had happened and asked if I was okay. I told him I was slightly sad and he gave me a hug. By this time two other program directors D & B has walked over and knew what was going on. They all patted me on the back and told me I was a ‘sweetheart’ and encouraged me. They have no idea, but that made my night. I was just talking to a friend today about how I wanted a big brother. Tonight, I realized I have four. These guys mess with me and tease me all day long, but when something happens, they are there to make sure I’m okay. I’m so thankful for these boys and all the other people around me at camp. Praise the Lord for putting me here this summer : )

My prayer for this week is for the campers. For open eyes, ears, and hearts to what the Lord has to say.

Recently, I’ve been reading this new book called, “A Life of Worship” which is a part of the Women of Faith series. I haven’t read the other books but this one looked nice so I figured I’d try it. The first two devotionals were good, but today, the third one, really hit me hard. One of the questions this book asked me this week was ‘What did Paul say about the way our lives should glorify God in 1 Corinthians 6:20?’ This verse says “You have been bought with a price, therefore, glorify God in your body”. I’ve heard this phrase numerous times but, I really looked at it and the surrounding verses in-depth today. I began to think about what we buy, for a price, and then what we do with it. I recently got a new cell phone. I (my father) paid good money for my phone, so I expect it to work. I expect it to do what I want it to do. Well, similarly, God sent His Son, to shed His blood for our salvation. He bought us for a price, that blood. So, shouldn’t He expect us to work, to do what HE wants us to. So, my answer to this question in the book was as follows, “We were bought with a price, so we should fulfill HIS purpose and not our own.” Can we live this out?

[Jacob Kaiser just entered the room, he says HELLO WORLD, READ CHELSEA'S BLOG (maybe I added that last part)]

The following question in my book is, “What does God promise in Psalm 50:15 and what is our response? This verse says “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.” When we do a favor for someone, usually we expect something in return. Not to say we all do this, but we live in a ‘scratch-my-back-and-I’ll-scratch-yours’ kind of society. Also, not to compare God to do something for us and expect something in return BUT, this verse tells us that we can call on Him when we need Him, but that shouldn’t be the end of it. To ‘return the favor,’ if you will, of God saving us from our dark deep pit of sin, we should honor Him with all we have. It’s something that is expected of us, it says so right in God’s Word.

My prayer for this week is that my sole purpose in life would be giving God His due glory and that I would fulfill HIS purpose, not my own.

I love River Valley Ranch, I’ve worked here for five years now. I always kept coming back because I loved the people, the work was fun, and the fellowship was great. But, last night, I realized why I’ve been doing this. For the campers. I don’t work with them directly, but, the things we (summer staff) do behind the scenes help camp run smoother, make life easier on the counselors, and help the campers have more fun. All this clicked to me last night.

The campers have rallies every night, they sing, dance, and hear a message from whoever the speaker is that week. Before they go into the rally, they all meet in a big field and have pre-show. Summer staff, which I am a part of, is responsible for running pre-show. On Wednesdays, we pick a camper from each individual camp and ask them how their week is going, what their favorite part was, and what they’ve learned. Hearing what these six kids learned about God lit up my evening. It was beautiful the things they were learning about our Creator.  After pre-show I went into the rally and stayed for the worship. I saw all the campers lift up their hands and stand together, praising the Father. Then I thought to myself, this is why I’ve been here so long.

I needed that reminder of why I’m here this summer.

That sight, those campers, whole-heartedly worshiping, will be what carries me through the summer.

My prayer for this week is to stay focused on what I’m doing and why I’m here.

As most of you know, I’m the store manager at River Valley Ranch, which means I run the candy store, western store, snack shop, and grill. In our snack shop you will find our temperamental, only-works-half-the-time, soft serve ice cream machine, Taylor.

Taylor is a great machine, when he’s working. He provides so many campers with lovely flavor burst ice cream and milkshakes which bring smiles to all who enjoy them. But sometimes, Taylor starts to slow down, put ice cream out at a very slow pace, and then finally, it quits. No ice cream comes out. This is usually a result of too many ice creams being forced on the machine and Taylor overheating.

I think our walk with God can be like this also. We can be doing so well, working so hard for God, but then, when we take on too much and life gets too crazy, we slow down. We don’t pick up our bible as often, we don’t pray as often, and then, eventually, we stop. Stop praying, stop reading, stop acting like a Christian because it takes too much effort.

But we don’t have to be like Taylor. When life gets crazy, thats the perfect time to pray, pick up the Bible, and walk faithfully. Matthew 11:28 says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”

That’s a promise I choose to cling to.

My prayer for this week is that I keep going when I get tired, weary, or worn down.

Also, last week, I was (and still am) constantly reminding myself that I no longer live for myself. This is a decision I made a long time ago when I decided to dedicate all of who I am to God, but it is a struggle everyday. Everyday I think of what would bring me happiness, when I need to focus on what would bring God the most glory.

My prayer for this week is that I die to self, live for Him, and serve Him faithfully.

Since graduation, I moved back home for the summer, one of my best friends got married, and I’m living at River Valley Ranch already. One of the families here graciously offered the speaker’s room to me, so I’ll be hanging around here til camp starts, getting the store ready and helping out everyone else. So, life surely did not slow down but I don’t think I really expected it to. I love it here so I’m looking forward to the extra two weeks with these wonderful people and I’m super happy for Mark & Alyssa that tied the knot on Sunday

Well, I suppose that’s all for now. Have a lovely week

I mean, I miss her all the time, everyday. But it’s been extra hard lately.

This was much harder than I thought it would be.

I mean, it’s my life, how hard is it to explain?

But, well, it took me about, 45 minutes and a lot of tears to write what I needed to.

So, head over to the tab that says ‘Who am I?’ at the top of my blog and click it if you’d like to read!

I smile really close to 100% of the time. I usually can’t wipe the stupid grin off my face. Recently, I’ve been asking myself why.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I have a good life. Good family, good friends, good job, everything is good.

But when I’m angry beyond belief, I smile. When I’m crying in sadness, I smile.

When life gets really, really hard, I. Still. Smile. Which I feel isn’t very normal.

But, today, I realized, I smile because I know who is in control. I know the God of the universe is on my side.

I know God, the Maker of the heavens and the earth, loves me and is only bringing good things to me.

To me, that is so much more than just a smile.