Wow, it has been a too long since I’ve blogged recently. Time has been flying by so fast here at camp! Let me get you caught back up to speed.

On Wednesday August 1st it was my first day off in 8 days. Talk about relief! I headed east to Hood River to visit my boyfriend Jonathon. Prior to him getting off work, I had breakfast with my amazing friend Megan. It was great to see her smiling face and just be able to vent to her about my life! I love this girl because she truly understands me!

After a quick breakfast, I met Jonathon after work and we planned to spend the day around Hood River and at Marina Beach! Of course, I didn’t bring my swimsuit, because the only one I had with me was a horrendous one-piece speedo and I was not about to flaunt that on the beach!

We drove all over town trying to find a cheap cost-affective swimsuit! Ladies and Gentleman! Breaking News! If you are not willing to spend at least $60 per piece on a swim suit forget about it! Hood River is fresh out of swimsuits in August!

No worries, I bought at make-shift swimsuit from Walmart for $10. This consisted of a clearanced $5 yellow swimsuit bottom and a clearanced $5 tank top, hey it worked great!

We spent the rest of our day hanging down at Marina Beach watching windsurfers and kite boarders. It was definitely a much needed day of relaxation!

I headed out for the 2.5 hour drive back to camp and was ready to start my 6th out of 8 camps for my time here at Breakaway!

We continued on our 6th group of kids and gave them one of the best weeks of their lives! Again I was blessed to be able to drive the boat again, but unfortunately the tubes didn’t make it! ): Within a matter of a couple of hours both of the tubes became deflated! Luckily we were able to temporarily fix them aka shoving a whole bunch of lifejackets into the tube covering and prayed the kids would get some type of ride! What a disaster, but a major blessing at the same time!

This last Saturday my parents made the trip up to visit me! It was a pretty rough drive from what I heard!

Plus the traffic was backed up pretty bad on Highway 26 and 101. Finally, my parents made it after a long, miserable truck ride in 90+ degree weather!

We relaxed on the beach, where it was nice and cool, and just talked and caught up on life! We headed out to dinner at Dooger’s Seafood and enjoyed an amazing meal! We also walked down the promenade, drank some milkshakes, and drove on the Gearhart beach!

The sunset was so beautiful! It reminds me of how amazing God’s creation really is! “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:16-17

 

 

 

The beauty of God’s creation is speechless to me. No words can describe it’s beauty and wonder! I am so blessed to be able to experience this with great friends and family!

Now finally to today! Today some of my amazing friends drove up to see me! These two beautiful women are like my mentors and role models! They both hold me to high expectations and love me unconditionally as a sister in Christ! I am so blessed to have them in my life! 

We started out our day great by visiting the wonderful Hug Point!

Man it was wonderful all right, but we didn’t know exactly what we were looking for! There were so many rocks. So we decided that all the rocks there were Hug Point!

We took lots of pictures and walked around the beach!

We next headed to Ecola State Park where we had a small nature walk and took pictures by the viewpoint!

We laughed and caught up on life the whole way there! It’s crazy how much can happen in a short couple of months.

Then we headed to Norma’s for lunch and indulged in a delicious meal. Of course, I had the crab cakes, I’m pretty much addicted!

That is the third time since I have been in Seaside that I have eaten crab cakes!

We then walked on the Promenade and sat on the beach for over and hour and just laughed and talked about all of our future plans!

We then headed to the ice cream and candy shoppe for some goodies!

I had deep friend oreos, Danielle had a deep fried 3 Musketeers bar, and Kathie had birthday cake ice cream on a cookie cone. They were all yummy, but I wish my deep fried oreos were a little crunchier. I can’t forget to mention the $16 bag of salt water taffy that Danielle bought, and the $10 bag of salt water taffy Kathie bought! Let me tell you, it was all worth it! Some of the best and freshest taffy in Oregon! I’m sure they ate it all on the way home so they didn’t have to share it with their husbands and children (:

We then headed back to the car and drove to the outlet mall for some shopping! I ended up buying a book from the christian book store and Jessica’s baby shower gift (I would post a picture, but then she might snoop on here and see it)! When we realized traffic was backed up, I convinced Danielle and Kathie to stay for dinner at Breakaway! We shared a meal with some amazing assignment team members and just enjoyed each other’s company before we had to say our goodbyes!

We had such an amazing day! I am so blessed to have such amazing friends who take the time to spend time with me!

It is so humbling to know that God placed people on earth to teach us things. I keep coming back to this key point: community. God is calling us to be in community with one another! To rely on each other, hold each other accountable, and love each other! Words cannot describe how these two women have/are impacting my life! They are such amazing role models and I look up to them for guidance! I am so, so blessed! This reminds me of a verse I read in Colossians, “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you and by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation. ” Colossians 1:21-22.

God has saved us. He died for us on the cross and forgave us of our sins. He is telling us we are reconciled and our chains have been broken. We are no longer chained to our sin.

This reminds me of how blessed I am to have friends who lift me up. I am tired of surrounding myself with people who are selfish. I know I’m not perfect either, but the Lord has definitely been leading my heart to surround myself with other people who challenge me and lift me up, and not ones that bring me down.

I am tired of being bogged down by others’ blemishes and disinterest in my life. I have too many people who are willing to stand by my side and challenge me to be a better woman of God and who help me glorify Him.