Video Tours of New Buildings

Hopefully you’ve been keeping up with the posts on the new cabins, Bear Trap and dining hall.  You’ve seen the latest pictures and are up to date on the news.  Well, now we wanted to give you a 360 video tour of the buildings.  The first clip is one of the new camper cabins.  Everything is done, now it’s just waiting to be used by campers and staff.

The next couple clips are of the Bear Trap.  The first one shows the downstairs offices.  There’s a lot more organizing that’ll be done (both downstairs and upstairs) before everyone arrives, but you’ll get a feel for the place from the videos.  During the summer, campers and staff can go in and out as needed on the this floor.

This shows the upstairs on the Bear Trap.  It’ll house the staff lounge and VD office and because of that, only staff will be allowed upstairs during the summer.

And finally, a short clip of the dining hall with its new floor.  It’ll look much different in a few short weeks.  All of the tables and chairs will be moved back inside ready for mealtimes.

For those of you new to Crestridge, hopefully this will help you feel more familiar with the place on opening day.  For you returning campers, I hope this makes you even more excited to be at Crestridge this summer!

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Did You Get the Email?

Yes, by popular demand we have added the Email Subscription feature to this blog! If you want an email with the latest Crestridge News to come right to your inbox, then click the Subscribe via Email button that’s on the right hand column at the bottom! You don’t have to keep checking back here! We’ll let you know when we post something new… Summer is almost here and a lot of cool stuff is happening around camp. You don’t want to miss any of it! So Subscribe today!

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A Face Lift for the Dining Hall

That’s a nice front view of the new porch addition to the dining hall.  Since we’ve added more campers and staff we needed more space in the dining hall.  So during the off season we knocked out walls and added the porch area.  But that’s not all being done to the dining hall!  We figured this was a great year to refinish the floors. All the tables, chairs and other miscellaneous items have been moved into the kitchen so the job could get done.  So far, the workers have only sanded the floor, but it looks like new already!  Take a look for yourself:

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A Million Pieces

A Million Pieces
Read This Passage: Proverbs 6:12-15

“Therefore calamity will strike him suddenly; he will be shattered instantly—beyond recovery.”
—Proverbs 6:15

IN 2003, author James Frey released his first memoir, A Million Little Pieces. Publicly praised and touted as a brutally honest portrayal of Frey’s experiences in rehab, the book was selected to be part of Oprah’s book club and topped the best seller list.

Eventually, though, it became clear that Frey had fabricated large portions of his memoir, all the while portraying them as true. While Frey has continued to write, this incident left his credibility shattered—in a million little pieces.

As today’s Scripture passages points out, there are people who deal in dishonesty. Deception and trickery are their strengths. The key verse tells us that they are constantly stirring up trouble; but when all is said and done, they will fall into calamity. There will be -consequences; they will be shattered.

When we sin, there are always consequences. God loves us and is a wonderfully forgiving God, but we still have to live with the fruit of our actions. Asking for God’s forgiveness and repenting are vital and necessary, but they don’t make the consequences of our sinful actions disappear.

If you are living in a way that you know is displeasing God, you need to turn your life around. No one is faultless, but it should be our goal to be more like Jesus since He is absolutely perfect.

We aren’t supposed to be like the wicked man described in these verses. That behavior will lead to disaster—in your relationships with others and with God. It is up to you to go to Him and ask forgiveness. Don’t let your life be shattered by deception.

Real Choices
Take a hard look at your life, then read over the descriptions in today’s Scripture passage. Be honest. Do any of these characteristics describe you? Why or why not?

Digging Deeper
Read 1 John 1:9. Confess to Him. He is listening.

Pray
Father, I am a sinner, and I need Your forgiveness. Help me to live in a way that brings glory to You.

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Moving Into the Bear Trap

During the work weekend furniture was moved from the dining hall to the Bear Trap. This is just one more thing telling us that summer is almost here!  I took some pictures (because now we take pictures of pretty much everything) of how the building looks with furniture in it.  Here’s a look at the downstairs offices:

                             Now the upstairs…here’s the staff lounge:

                                                  and the VD office:

                               Notice the nice counter top village directors?

Of course this isn’t how things will look when everyone arrives for the summer (everything will be much more organized), but it’s a great start!

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Work Weekend

As most of you know, there’s been a bunch of construction going on here at Crestridge (if you’re not familiar with all of it, then take some time and read some older blogs about the cabins and new Bear Trap).  And with all the construction comes many more little details that need to be done before any campers or staff arrive.  In order to get things done in time this year , we added another spring work weekend.  Around forty people showed up and we had a ton of fun!  It was a good mix of former staff, current staff, new staff, alumni and camp friends.

The main thing for the weekend was putting together bunk beds for the new cabins…which the above crew knocked out in no time!  Other things that got done were moving furniture into new buildings, clearing out the dining hall completely so the floors can be refinished, raking leaves (always plenty of that needed after the fall and winter), and a few other little things.  With the bunk beds assembled the cabins are definitely ready and just waiting to be used now!  Check out how the cabins look with beds in them:

Thank you to everyone who came and helped out!

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Slacker

Slacker
Read This Passage: Proverbs 6:6-11

“Go to the ant, you slacker! Observe its ways and become wise.” —Proverbs 6:6

AESOP’S FABLE ABOUT the ant and the grasshopper is a classic. The ant works all summer long, stores his food, and prepares for the winter. Meanwhile, the grasshopper laughs at the ant and plays the entire time. Then, when winter arrives, the ant is warm and well fed while the grasshopper suffers and shivers in the cold. That tale has been used to help children understand the importance of hard work and to fight against laziness for centuries.

Though it was written much earlier, today’s Scripture passage reminds me of that fable. This portion of Proverbs takes the form of a father giving advice to his son. The key verse encourages the son to be like an ant, always diligently working and refraining from laziness.

We’re not supposed to be slackers, either. We’re not to be all talk and no action. And that truth applies to all areas of our lives, from jobs to school to camp to relationships to working for the kingdom of God.

As Christians, we shouldn’t be known for our laziness in any area—whether it’s living the gospel message or doing our homework to the best of our ability. Work diligently for God. Don’t be a slacker!

Pray
Father God, help me to work diligently for You in all areas of my life.

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Freedom

Freedom!
Read This Passage: Proverbs 6:1-5

“Do this, then, my son, and free yourself, for you have put yourself in your neighbor’s power: Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.” —Proverbs 6:3

YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE THIS! Yep, we live in a gotta-have-it kind of world. The latest in technology and gaming systems? Check. The coolest clothes and things to make life easier? Mark those off, too. The newest cell phone, best credit card perks, and every gadget you can think of seem to all be high on our lists of gotta-have items.

All these things are great when we use them wisely, but it is so easy to get carried away. High phone bills and even higher credit card bills are everywhere we look. And more often than not, greed and the allure of an easier way of life fuel our desire for more. Before we know it, we find ourselves entangled in financial obligations, bound by extreme debt. As a result, our relationships suffer.

The Bible tells us that we should free ourselves from the power of debt and live in financial freedom. Today’s key verses warn us to stay away from relationships and agreements that bind us, financially or otherwise. You might not think it applies to you, but it does. Be wise with your money and humble yourself in your wants and desires. Don’t be foolish when it comes to the relationships you allow into your life. Live in Christ’s freedom.

Pray
Father, help me to be wise about my finances and my relationships.

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Paving a New Way

So much is happening during this off season.  The big things of course are the new cabins, the new Bear Trap building, and the dining hall renovation.  There’s still lots of little things to do before the staff and campers arrive, but now we can cross one more off of our to-do list…paving the road leading up to Chipp/Chick hill!  Check out the pics below.

Before any of the questions start, we didn’t pave the entire loop, only that first little bit on Chipp/Chick hill that you see in the above pics.  

Now maybe during sock war all you campers who just have to charge down the hill won’t fall and trip as much since the loose gravel won’t be there!

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Equal Opportunity

Equal Opportunity
Read This Passage: Luke 6:27-31

“Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them.” —Luke 6:31

I ONCE HEARD the story of a woman who had been imprisoned in concentration camps in Germany during the Holocaust. Miraculously, she survived. She had lived through the torture and agony of the concentration camps, watched friends and family members die, and endured abuse and cruelty from many of the German guards.

Much later in her life, one of the guards who had so violently abused her and been responsible for many Jewish deaths came to her seeking forgiveness. This amazing lady, because of the love of God in her life, was able to forgive this man for all the atrocities he and others had done to her, her family, and her friends. Isn’t that amazing?

People are capable of terrible, hurtful, destructive things. Yet we are called to forgive them and treat them as we want to be treated. We can only do that through the love of God. We cannot do it on our own.
In today’s key verse, you find the idea behind the Golden Rule. Forgiveness is supposed to be a marked part of our lives as Christians. And we’re called to not just forgive, but to treat others with the same respect and compassion we would want shown to us. And the people in your life don’t always deserve that. Neither do you.

Jesus made it very clear that we are to respond to all people, including our enemies, with forgiveness and respect. He tells us to love them, do good to them, and pray for them. We’re to treat them the way we want to be treated, whether they deserve it or not. That command is never easy to follow, but it’s absolutely necessary to developing successful, godly relationships in your life.

Real Choices
Think about the relationships in your life in which you’re experiencing conflict and tough situations.  They could’ve have been at camp or at home. What do you need to do to forgive these people in God’s power? How would you like to be treated in the same situation?

Digging Deeper
Read Ephesians 4:24-32. What do these verses have to say about relationships? How do they challenge you in your relationships?

Pray
Father, please help me to always reflect Your love and show kindness even in times of adversity.

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