A month later...

Again, not so good at this whole blogging thing. I won't go into why I haven't blogged in a month exactly, but to put it simply: life gets in the way. Unfortunately "life" in my case is work... and it has consistently been "in the way" of not only blogging, but a lot of other areas of my life. As I have mentioned before, work is not my favorite thing to sacrifice time to. This has been both a constant struggle and a prayer request for the entire summer. I know this might not make much sense, but essentially work is taking up time & I'm using it as an excuse to push aside important things. God is working in this area of my life. Sorry again.

On a lighter note, some fun things have happened since my last post! I got to go to a Rascal Flatts, Eli Young Band and Little Big Town concert (for all you country music fans)! I attended the concert with some other LTers along with some co-workers. It was a blast and a great evening. Also, the 4th of July happened! (Happy 4th... late) I was able to have the evening off of work and enjoyed watching the fire works from the beach and playing with fire with some good friends (dangerous... but we love America!) Lastly, I was able to spend some quality time with my family as they were able to come down for a few days. I really loved having that time with them! They rock and I constantly take them for granted.

God has been teaching me some really hard lessons while I've been down here. He has been teaching me how to value myself and see myself through Gods eyes. I am learning what it looks like to be desired by God with a unique love created only for ME. (Hey, He has one for you too!) I am falling in love with Jesus all over and realizing again the love He has always had for me. I am also learning how to listen. This may seem crazy - or maybe not - but in the past I have been an awful listener. I love to talk and love attention. These are some major sin struggles in my life. As I have been here, God has been teaching me what it looks like to earnestly listen to others and pour into their lives. This has been an awesome experience. I thank God for helping me realize this about myself.

As we approach the last weeks of this program, we are spending time looking at our dreams and ambitions. This fits perfectly with my life as I have been currently wrestling with my plans for my own future. I have been searching and praying all summer about what God wants me to study and where He wants me to study. It has been a hard journey, but through it God has revealed some awesome truths, gifts and plans about and for my life. I still don't have all of the answers, but I am running towards God and I know that He will hold on to me.

Thanks again for all of the prayers and support. I have recently reached my financial goal for the summer and I would love to thank all of you and God for providing and being faithful. I couldn't ask for a better church community, better friends, or a better family. God is so good. I hope to keep this updated a couple of more times this summer! Love y'all! 

Learning is Hard

I'm learning a lot about myself here in Virginia Beach. One of those things I have learned is that I'm bad at blogging. I apologize. I have no excuse for not updating this more often. I am very busy, but I also know that you all have supported me and are praying for me and I owe it to you to let you know what is going on.

Most of my time is taken up by work. This is a new challenge for me. Although I LOVE my job, my co-workers and my work environment, I have never necessarily liked working. It is a challenge for me to give up so much of my time to work, and I am learning how to keep a positive attitude even when it's hard. I would ask for prayers in this aspect as God is teaching me discipline and work ethic. 

My main struggle at the moment is missing Delaware Grace and Operation Everything. I am struggling knowing that most of the people I love are spending the week at a camp that I have not missed for the past 7 years. I know that I am here for a reason & that God is doing amazing work there through all of the amazing counselors and staff - I am just struggling with thoughts of what I would be doing if I was not here in this moment. This has not been a struggle for me until this week. I just pray that God will direct my heart to the things I am doing here & at the same time will be working tremendously through Operation Everything. I love you all.

The overall plan for the summer is focusing on the gospel, our walk with God, purity, & dreams, faith and the future. Right now we are in the section dealing with our personal walk with God. I would like to share with you some of the things I have been learning. The way I am going to do this is to type out some of my notes from sermons I have heard here. I am not going to elaborate, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask. These are some of the main points that have stuck out to me recently:

"The unique trait that Christianity has that no other religion has is grace"

"The one who never not existed DIED for us. He became sin. All sin past, present, future was laid on him. He bore the weight of all that sin."

"Religious people find God useful, Christians find Him beautiful. How do I find Him?"

"Our gospel is too small if it is anything less than death, but the promise of the gospel is life."

"We are dead and the life of Jesus is being revealed in us through our mortal bodies."

"God doesn't call us to witness... He calls us His witnesses."

"It's not about doing everything - it's about doing the right things and doing them well."

"There are no rules on developing intimacy with God. It is different for everyone. Devotions, prayer and worship are not a formula for how to get close to God."

"God wants us to bask in his glory and not try to 'measure up'. We put that pressure on ourselves, we are not called to 'measure up'."

These are scatterbrained and random, but I just wanted to give you some snippets of what I'm learning and what has been sticking out to me. Again, I know that I didn't explain these things, but I would be happy to discus any of them with anyone! 

I hope this blog entry finds you well & know that I have been in prayer for all of you as well! :)

Becca, Katlyn, myself & Shannon at Kroger

Some of the LT group hanging out in one of the boys condos. 

Megan, Becca & I hanging out - love these girls.

Zephaniah 3:17 - The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

Long Awaited Update

Sorry that it has been about a week since I have posted anything. I have been learning and growing and working so much. Since you last heard from me I have experienced my first project day, worked about 49 hours and grown closer to God and many friends. It is amazing what a week can teach you, and I still have 9 more to go!!!

My first project day was last Wednesday. We woke up at 8am and were given time to spend in the Bible and with the Lord. After this we got closer to our "project groups" which will be the group I will be doing most of my service with this summer. We then had time for lunch & attended 3 workshops on how to start a spiritual conversation, how to share our story, and how to tell someone about Jesus. We got time to practice some of these techniques later when we were taken to the boardwalk and instructed to talk to strangers. Also on this day we were assigned "life groups" which are groups of about 5 other people of your same gender who talk about what is going on here and in our walks with God. I am very excited for more project days to come and much more to learn and experience.

Along with this me and my good friend, Becca, were appointed as food managers in our condo. This means that we go out every week and buy the food for 7 girls with an allotted amount of money. This is something that we really enjoy and I'm very glad that we were given this opportunity. We have already met quite of the few Kroger employees and are excited to potentially get the chance to share Jesus with them this summer. Please be praying for that opportunity.

My job is waitressing at a restaurant called The Square Whale that is located in the Holiday Inn & Suites North Beach here in VB. I have a crazy work schedule and this weekend alone worked more than 30 hours. I am LOVING my job though, and couldn't possibly ask for anything better. My co-workers (both other LT students, and VB residents) are amazing and I can't wait to get to know them better. It is tiring and tough work, but I am really enjoying it!

Lastly, every Monday and Thursday night we are given a message from a speaker. Those are our "church" messages since on Sundays most of us have to work. I have learned so many different things already. Right now we are focusing specifically on the gospel and what it is to us. The gospel is so complex and such a hard concept to grasp sometimes, but I have really been challenged by the idea that the gospel is not something we "graduate" from. It is not a rite of passage. It is more something that we have to remind ourselves of every day. That is something big I have been learning. Also, I have been learning how to fall in love with Jesus all over and in a whole new way. I am trying to make God less "useful" and more "beautiful". God is amazing and there are so many ways that we can experience His beauty daily and be in awe of Him. Sometimes when you are comfortable (or old) in your faith, you forget those feelings of awe or they become rarer. I am beginning to try to experience that every day. Those are only a few of the things I have been learning here.

I love my housemates and they are amazing girls. I have grown closer to them faster than I have most people in my life. We have become so open with each other about our sins, our worries & our hopes. I feel as if I know them and they know me on such a deep level even after a week. It is so refreshing and great to be here. I already don't want it to end.

Here are some pictures of some experiences here:

Friends

The whole LT clan on the boardwalk

Day off!

Today I had a nice day off so I, naturally, spent it relaxing at the beach and pool. What else would you do on a day off? I really enjoyed my time today getting to know some of my roommates better in my free time and I am excited to have a project day tomorrow. We don't exactly know what that entails yet but I'm excited to find out.

God is good :)

(Katlyn, Becca, me, Lauren, LeAnna, Shannon & Megan)

Me and my housemates being silly outside of our condo :) 

Thanks for reading even though it was short today! <3

Work & Growth

"Nothing can separate even if I ran away, Your love never fails. I know I still make mistakes but You have new mercy for me every day. Your love never fails."

This is a verse to a song that I really felt moved by this weekend. It is important to constantly remind yourself of the gospel story and to lay down your past life to chase Jesus DAILY. It is a constant choice to let go of your sinful life and follow Christ. If you are choosing to follow Christ with your life you are not "dealing" with your sin or "making it better"... you're running from it and running towards Jesus. We are dead to our old selves and alive in Christ. Justified.

Also, today was my first day of work at the Holiday Inn & Suites. I didn't do work, I was only trained. It lasted about 6 hours. The restaurant that I will be working at is open to the pool and you can see the ocean and boardwalk from every table. Also, my manager is really nice & I'm excited to work with her. Here are some pictures of the restaurant that I stole from the website (please don't sue me)!

We had our first family dinner tonight as well! Spaghetti and salad for our condo :)

From left to right: Lauren, Megan, Katlyn, Shannon, LeAnna, me & Becca!

Thanks for reading! :)

Wake Up Call

This morning we were issued a harsh and unexpected wake up call at 5:30am and were corralled to the beach with only 5 minutes to get dressed and brush our teeth. They then proceeded to write on our foreheads and give us a verse to meditate on while we sat in the very cold wind and mist. We soon were given a talk in which we discovered that our foreheads said "IN" and we pledged to be "all in" for this summer and give it all to God. Although early and unexpected, it was a great time to focus on our relationship with God (and, hey, we were on the beach!)

(taken at about 6am)

I am excited to see what God has to teach me now that I am dedicated to give my whole summer experience to Him. It's scary to think that the next 3 months of my life are not in my control, but I could not think of anyone better to lead it than my Savior. 

Tomorrow is my first day of work in which I will be trained and oriented. I am attending this with many of my already good friends that will be working alongside of me. I am nervous, but also really excited. I will be working at the Holiday Inn & Suites North Beach as a waitress. I'm very ready to learn more about what I will be doing. 

Here are a few more pictures of me and my housemates that were taken today!

(Megan, myself & Becca)

(Megan, myself & Shannon)

Thanks again for all the prayers and I'll continue to update you! 

I have arrived!

After a very long day full of driving, I am here! I left around 6:40 am and met some of my new friends around 8am in Jeffersonville, OH. From there I drove all the way to Virginia Beach, arriving around 7pm. It took a long time and we ran into a lot of traffic. I am exhausted but happy to be here and making tons of new friends! We just got back from a late night Wal-mart run to get some essentials. Tomorrow we have orientation which is just a day jam packed with information (but we're doing it on the beach, so how could it be bad?) Thanks for the prayers!

Included are some pictures of my condo and my new friends!

Living Room

 Bedroom 1

Bedroom 1

Kitchen

Kitchen (with all of our food)

Bedroom 2 (my bed, sorry for the mess I'm in the middle of unpacking)

Leanna, Becca & I (roommates)

I thought I would include my address in the event that anyone would like to write me!
Mai Kai Condos
c/o LT: Kelsey Ice
208 C 57th Street
Virginia Beach, VA 23451