Adding Character to the Bear Trap

The fixtures are in!  Last week, the crew put in the lights and fans, both inside and out.  They also put in the toilets and sinks in the bathrooms.  Having the lights and fans up add a lot of character!

Hayne and Phil are being crazy as usual!  Hayne and his family live in Black Mountain and help us out with the videos during the summer.  He also does odd jobs around camp during the year.

The construction crew has a few more little things to finish and then they will be able to put in the hardwood floors!  Hopefully within the next week or two!  We’ll keep you posted!

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Reservations

Reservations
Read This Passage: Colossians 1:3-6

For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. —Colossians 1:4-5a

RESERVATIONS. That word probably makes you think of some fine dining experience. But there are many other reasons people make reservations, including vacations, concerts, and plays. Reservations are a guarantee that a place will be held for you at the event.

Someone had to make a reservation for you to attend camp last summer. The only way you can come next summer is if someone makes another reservation under your name.

Similarly, reservations have been made for believers in heaven in the name of Jesus who said, “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus also said that He knows His sheep (John 10:27), referring to those who believe in Him. No one will be allowed into heaven without the right reservations.

A final connection of this example is the banquet. in Revelation 19. Here, Jesus is compared to a groom returning to get his bride, which is the church. It was common in biblical times that a feast or banquet was prepared as part of the wedding celebration. When Jesus returns for His church, all believers will be allowed to attend the marriage feast.

On most wedding invitations that include a reception, there are four special letters at the bottom: R.S.V.P. The letters come from the French expression répondez s’il vous plaît, meaning “please respond.” Jesus has invited you to eternal life through a relationship with Him. Have you responded?

Real Choices
If you have not accepted Jesus’ invitation, will you please respond today? If you have already responded to Jesus’ invitation, share it with a friend today.

Digging Deeper
Another banquet story is found in Luke 14:15-24. What are some of the excuses people had for not attending the banquet? Are these similar to excuses people use today to reject God’s invitation?

Pray
Thank You, Lord, that as a believer my reservation is guaranteed! Help me to be courageous and bold to share Your invitation with others.

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Cabins are almost done

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Walk This Way

Walk This Way
Read This Passage: Ephesians 4:1-6

I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received.
—Ephesians 4:1

ON VALENTINE’S DAY, 1973, 20 prisoners of war came home from Vietnam. The first to touch American soil was Jeremiah A. Denton Jr., a naval captain who had been shot down and captured in 1965. Denton spent more than seven years in captivity, including four in solitary confinement. He gained the world’s notice not long after he was imprisoned when, during a televised interview arranged by his captors, he blinked his eyes in Morse Code. Though hard to believe, he succeeded in repeatedly spelling out “T-O-R-T-U-R-E.”

You might think that suffering years of mistreatment, neglect, and torture would cause Denton’s -allegiance to his country to wane. But it did not. As the spokesman for the other arriving POWs, Denton turned to the microphones and said, “We are honored to have had the opportunity to serve our country under difficult circumstances. We are profoundly grateful to our commander in chief and to our nation for this day. God bless America.”1

In the fourth chapter of Ephesians, Paul wrote about another type of captive, one he called a “prisoner in the Lord.” He exhorted those of us who claim that title to live like it. We, much like Jeremiah Denton, have an opportunity to serve God under difficult circumstances—ones that require all the humility, gentleness, patience, and love we can muster. God’s standard of success doesn’t look like the world’s. Sometimes we’re called to walk through pain and sacrifice.

Does living this way seem like only a duty or obligation to you? Or are you honored to be a “prisoner in the Lord”?  Are you willing to live for Christ outside of camp, in the “real world”?

Real Choices
Are you facing difficult circumstances in your life? Remind yourself daily that you have a unique opportunity to serve God even during this situation. Demonstrate through your actions (and reactions) that you are a “prisoner in the Lord” today.

Digging Deeper
Paul was a prisoner in more ways than one. Research the Book of Acts to learn about some of his experiences in chains. Discover how he viewed his difficulties in Philippians 1:12-14.

Pray
Pray for your enemies. Ask God to help you show love to those who are causing problems in your life.

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Greetings from the road…

February is a big month for recruiting kids and staff!  Ron is recruiting campers down in Florida, then out in Louisiana.  Stewart is recruiting staff in Florida.  Abby will be up in Virginia, Eastern North Carolina and Georgia.  Phil will be participating in local recruiting events.  I have been out to Alabama, Mississippi and am now in South Carolina.  We are hoping to visit over 30 staff recruiting events within the next few weeks.  Needless to say, we are busy!

One thing I love about traveling is the time I get to spend with previous staff and campers!  On my journey out to Alabama and Mississippi, I was able to see around 15 staff and campers.  I started out by visiting Madeline Gaffney in the hospital in Atlanta, GA.  Madeline was recently diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia and receiving treatment.  I saw her in ICU on Monday and a few days later, she was released and is now home!  What great news!

After stopping in Atlanta, I drove on to Tuscaloosa, AL to visit Elizabeth Lewey and Amy Price.  Over the next few days, I was able to go to Mississippi College, Mississippi State University, and Samford University.  I was able to see Alison Knutson Schmitz, Norman, Jane and Sara Catherine Joseph, Seth Ladd, Kathleen Hobbs, Brooke Crutchfield, Lauren Lunceford, Caroline Fortson, and Judith Anne Dansby.  The girls at Samford miss camp and wanted to show you what they do when they have “camp fever!”

I am currently in Columbia, SC recruiting at Shandon Baptist Church College Ministry, Winthrop University, and Columbia International University.

Summer will be here before we know it and we can’t wait for everyone to come!

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Camp Crestridge Funny Video Clips

Over the years Camp Crestridge has built many traditions, including Council of Progress, sockwar, and singspiration.  Another activity that has grown into tradition here at Crestridge is hiking it over to the Nibble Nook for ice cream each Sunday evening.  And with that many girls crammed into one space getting hyped up on sugar anything can happen.  As videographer, it’s part of my job to help make things happen and to capture it on video…which is what the first video clip is about.  As for the second video, it’s a little glimpse into a Cherokee village activity.  I love it when the girls get messy and especially when it’s in the face!  Hope you enjoy watching these as much as I do.

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Cheyenne Bath house has become a home!

I know what some of you must be thinking (especially if you haven’t kept up with all the construction going on at Crestridge!).  Why would anyone want to live in a bath house?  Well, this post signifies the end of calling it the old Cheyenne bath house. It is now the new Cheyenne, Choctaw and Cherokee hut.  Those of you who remember it as a bath house will be amazed at the transformation.  I walked in there this past weekend and was blown away at how much Marty had gotten done in so little time.  Who needs a whole construction crew when Marty is around?  

Incidentally, the walls you see in the pictures are the same kind that’s in the new cabins.

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Bear Trap Construction

Well, like always, a lot has been done since the last update.  The inside walls have been installed and are now coated with a sealing agent (both floors I might add).  The windows and doors all have framing around them.  The tile has been laid, again, in both bathrooms.  Ron, Sharon and Phil have chosen fixtures for electrical stuff which should be installed soon.  And the nice hardwood floor should be going in anytime now.  As for the outside, the crew finished painting it the deep brown that we chose.  With the green tin roof, it should look great come summertime surrounded by all the foliage!  

The first few pics are of the outside, obviously, and then the bottom floor with the lovely window and door framing.

Now take a look at the staff lounge on the second floor…notice the tile on the bathroom floor.

And yes, even with all the new additions we still advertise camp as a rustic camp!

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Whole New World

Read This Passage: Revelation 21:22-27
I did not see a sanctuary in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its sanctuary.
—Revelation 21:22

MOST PEOPLE HAVE ideas about all the things that will be in heaven, but have you ever considered what will NOT be in heaven?

Two obvious things that will not be in heaven are sin and sickness. There will be no infirmary and no nurses station needed.  Evil and illness will not exist in such a perfect place.  Another thing will be missing in heaven, though it may surprise you. According to these verses, there will not be any church buildings in heaven. When we go to heaven, we will be living with God. Since we will be living with God, we won’t need to go to any specific building or location to gather together as the body of Christ and take part in corporate worship. His presence will fill all of heaven, 24/7. The sinful nature that separates all humanity from God during our earthly lives will be gone. Our relationships with God will be restored and purified into the perfect relationships He intended them to be. We will be with Him, in constant communion, for all eternity. We won’t need a sanctuary in this whole new world, because He’ll be the sanctuary. But as a Christian, God’s presence and power are available to you now. Do you live like it?

Pray
Thank God that you don’t have to wait until heaven to live in His presence 24/7.

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Dwelling Place

Read This Passage: Revelation 21:1-5
Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look! God’s dwelling is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. —Revelation 21:3

HAVE YOU EVER met a celebrity? Perhaps you’ve attended a concert or had a professional athlete visit your school. It’s exciting to be near someone famous. So think about this: if your favorite celebrity turned to you and said, “I want you to come live with me,” how would you feel? Or what if we told you that your favorite musician or actor would be at camp with you next summer for 2 weeks?

Most of us would be overwhelmed by such an announcement. But in today’s key verse God states that very thing. Today’s Scripture passage speaks a lot of comfort into the lives of believers because it tells of a time when we will be in the very presence of God. The very God who created the entire universe by just speaking will return to live with all those who believe. We will no longer have to rely on just reading His Word or hearing about God because we will live in His very presence. His dwelling place will be with us.
As Christians, we should live each day looking forward to a time when our relationships with Him will be made truly complete. Pain, grief, and sorrow will pass away, and we will be with Him forever.

Pray
God, thank You for inviting me to live with You. Help me to live like You are returning today.

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