Cascades Camp Blog

Rev. Harvey Drake – Saturday Morning

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Rev. Harvey Drake – Friday Morning

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Rev. Harvey Drake – Thursday Morning

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 ”If the LORD delights in a man’s way, He makes his steps firm;

 though he stumbles, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with His hand.”

Psalm 37:23 & 24

I must admit that I am a bit of a perfectionist.  Once I know how things are “supposed” to be done, I like more than anything for them to be done exactly that way.  A fair amount of this translates to my faith.  I see the example of Christ and the life that He led and want desperately to do things just like Him because that is how it is supposed to be done.  This being said, I will be the first to tell you that I am FAR from living as Christ lived, because as I walk, I stumble.   And sometimes I beat myself up about it.  But I think that I have a lesson to learn from the two verses above:  Psalm 37:23 & 24.  And that lesson is this:

When we walk in relationship with God, He will be the source of our confidence as we strive to follow in Christ’s foot steps.  However, in the process of walking the path set before us we are destined to trip.  We will get caught up in other things and stumble over ourselves or other obstacles that we have become blind to.  Yet our God is faithful to reach out with His hand and keep us from falling.  And the stumbling is nothing to be ashamed of.  Because God won’t let you fall, but He will let you stumble as a reminder to look for that hand which constantly upholds you.  It is not a matter of having a perfect relationship with God-one that is absent of those times when we stumble-but in walking firmly with God and allowing Him to hold you up.

So, be encouraged.  Walk with God, stumble, and be watching for His hand to catch you before you fall.

Blessings,

Dirt

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  Current Prayer Requests Include:

•  Sunrise Ranch has it’s first group of junior highers, Brightwood Station is filled with junior campers and Timber Rock is in it’s biggest week of the summer with just over 100 junior high campers.  Please pray for these campers as we head into Friday night’s D.O.S. which stands for “Discipline of Silence”.  Campers are given the opportunity to spend time with God and reflect on what they have been learning all week.  This night is a crucial night in the lives and faiths of many campers that visit Cascades.
• Pray for the guest groups that come and use the facilities at Cascades.  Our desire is that we can provide a space for their programs to run smoothly so that each guest at camp can experience God and grow in their relationship with Him while at Cascades.
• Keep our nurse Tena (Kristen Engebretsen) in your prayers as well.  Like I mentioned earlier, with the large numbers of campers at Timber Rock, this is one of the biggest weeks of the summer.  Which means that Tena is SUPER busy trying to distribute meds and care for numerous campers.  She does a fantastic job, but please continue to lift her up in your prayers!

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“Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.  When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony.  And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’  then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’ Then the people bowed down and worshiped.”     -Exodus 12:24-27

Can you identify your oldest memory? Reach back into the far recesses of your mind with me this morning and think about that question for a moment.

Some of my oldest memories involve growing up with my brother and two neighbor boys, where we spent our summers playing whiffle ball, building forts, and riding bikes up and down our respective driveways. I will always look back on those times with a great deal of fondness—they are precious memories to me that have shaped who I am today.

I think it’s safe to say that memories are important to who we are as people. They connect us to our past, teach us about who we are and who we are to become, and stand as constant reminders that we ought to be thankful for who God is and what He has done in our lives. In fact, I would venture to say that our memories and the ability to remember are some of the greatest gifts that God has given us. You see, God knows that in our sin we are quite fickle, prone to looking at ourselves in the mirror and then instantly forgetting what we look like. Therefore, in His sovereignty and love He has given us memories in order that He might use them to shape us as His people.

As a staff we are studying the book of Exodus during our weekly worship services together. This past Sunday we found ourselves in chapter 12, a chunk of Scripture often overlooked by Christians in its intricate detailing of how the Israelites were to celebrate the Passover and the miraculous work that God was about to do. What strikes me about this entire chapter is that even before God delivers the people He is teaching the Israelites how to remember what He is about to do.

In His infinite goodness, God knows that we are prone to forgetting. God knows that we are prone to going our own way and trying to run our own lives even after we have witnessed His almighty power (sound familiar to anyone?). And so in His grace, He teaches us what it means to live fully as humans, as followers of God, as recipients of grace… and in this, He calls us to remember.

Like the Israelites, we, too, are in the process of becoming the people of God, and the story of the Exodus teaches us to be intentional about remembering. This week we as a staff are striving to remember what God has been up to in our lives recently, and I offer that challenge to you all as well! What changes has He marked in you in the last days and months? In what ways is He doing a major work of redemption or deliverance in your life? How has He been providing for your every need? Take a few minutes and pray through those things, write it down—make a lasting record of the faithfulness of God in your life that will point you and others towards Him for years to come.

May we as the people of God celebrate His faithfulness together this summer, frequently remembering and putting together the pieces of our lives in such a way that we can see the fingerprints of God upon each and every part. As we do so, may we both grow in our love and knowledge of Him, as well as testify to His goodness to everyone we encounter!

Blessings,

Beasley

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  Current Prayer Requests Include:

• Please keep praying for our kids programs and the camps that we have running all summer long.  In particular pray for the High School camp that is going on this week.  Our desire is to really pour into the lives of these students as they are so often faced with the pressures of the world.  And our prayer is that we would be able to equip them to live fully for God.
• For many of our staff this is the half-way point of the summer.  Please pray that they would have the stamina to serve God with their whole heart as the summer goes on.
• Also, right now there are several people on staff who are sick.  Please pray for healing and continued health for those who aren’t sick!
• In the middle of all that is going on in our Summer Programs, we also have to be looking ahead to what’s coming up next.  Right now we are working on some planning for the Men of Faith, High School M.U.D. and Thunder Retreats.  Pray that God would have His hand in the planning and preparations for these three large events.

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Independence Day Family Camp is going on RIGHT NOW!  Despite a few thunder and lightning storms and a light drizzle here and there, things have been going great.  Last night was a blast with our Family Games and Tiki Party.  The photograph above was taken after the annual Pie Eating Contest.  Congratulations to Dustin Penman (third from right) on his win!

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The energy on June 13^th was palpable as the 2008 Cascades Summer Staff gathered at Timber Ridge Lodge for the kick-off retreat to our summer of ministry together.  Old friends reunited with hugs and exclamations of delight, while new faces tentatively introduced themselves.  I imagine that all range of emotions was felt in those initial moments, but we were quickly brought together as we entered into our first time of worship for the weekend.  In one moment, all of the baggage that we brought with us to camp was laid down as 80 voices rose as one–

Savior, He can move the mountains

My God is mighty to save

He is mighty to save

Forever, Author of salvation

He rose and conquered the grave

Jesus conquered the grave

(Reuben Morgan, Ben Fielding- Hillsong, Mighty to Save.)

This is what stands at the heart of it all, isn’t it?  This is why Cascades Camp and Conference Center even exists.  Because of the saving work of Jesus Christ, we have been given a new chance at life—a life where we are redefined by all that He is and all that He does.  All fears, feelings of inadequacy, lingering sin, or lies about who we are have been erased because our God is mighty to save.  In Christ we have been defined by a Savior that conquered the grave, the perfect author of salvation. 
We as a staff experienced a powerful moment together nearly 2 ½ weeks ago as we sang that song for the first time.  All of our fears, excitements, and expectations were laid down in return for a renewed focus on the meaning of it all.  Since that point, this has become a song that resonates deeply with our desire to both experience the transforming work of Jesus in our own lives as well as share it with every person who steps foot on the grounds of Cascades. 

Take a few minutes this day to reflect on the meaning of those words in your own life.  How has knowing Jesus changed your life?  In what ways is He calling you to a fuller understanding of His saving work as you continue to grow as His disciple?  May we rest in full assurance today that we serve a mighty God who has redefined everything about us—Jesus has conquered the grave!

Blessings-

Beasley

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  Current Prayer Requests Include:

• Independence Day Family Camp begins tomorrow-please pray that God would meet people through the worship, speakers, and events of family camp.  Also, keep praying for safety, especially around the waterfront and at the ranch.
• Similarly, pray for our kitchen crew as family camp is one of the biggest weeks they have all summer long!
• We have two very gifted speakers come to share with us during family camp.  Rev. Ruth Hill and Rev. Harvey Drake will be giving challenging and encouraging messages during the morning and evening sessions.  Please pray that God would speak through them and bless them as they share with us.
• Please continue to pray for the hearts of our summer staff.  We have a great staff this summer (like every summer!) and we just always want to be lifting each of them up to the Lord as they serve and grow while they are here.

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