Cascades Camp Blog

“My fondest memories from my childhood involve a glistening lake, a majestic mountain, adventures with friends and amazing Christian mentors. Cascades was, is, and probably always will be my annual destination for spiritual renewal and restoration.

When I was 19, I couldn’t wait to apply to work at camp and be that ‘cool counselor’ that I had always looked up to. I did not understand as I went through the application process the awesome responsibility that I would be blessed with in touching children’s lives. As a counselor, I delved deeper into my relationship with God, with my fellow staff members, and was daily blessed with new revelations of who God is.

I recall one specific camper, her braids matching all the other girl’s in the cabin, leaning over a slug farm she had made on the weekly trip to Frontier Village. Through a conversation about slug slime and bugs, we talked about God and His work through nature to reveal Himself to us. She accepted Christ and was able to bring home her first Bible (as well as a slug in a shoebox).

My weeks working at Cascades stick out in my memory as some of the most sacred moments of my entire life. The beauty of fulfilling God’s calling in bringing children to Him, of serving in community with others, and of immersing myself in His Creation continues to shape who I am today.”

-Marie “DiDi” Carlson

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Just over a month ago now, Cascades hosted the fourth annual High School M.U.D. (Making United Disciples) Retreat!  The photograph above is of Shoreline Covenant Church at the end of this year’s M.U.D. Bowl!

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Supporter Quote:

“Cascades Camp and Conference Center is a place where futures are determined!  People of all ages make decisions at Cascades that change them and their communities forever.  From young people considering ministry to marriages being healed, it is a place where the voice of God finds its way through the clamoring sound of life filled with email, cell phones and schedules.  [At Cascades] you experience solitude and a renewed assurance of God’s love and grace.”

            -Rev. Mark A. Novak 
             Superintendant of the North Pacific Conference
             of the Evangelical Covenant Church

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“And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ’Man shall not live by bread alone.’”                          Luke 4:1-4 (ESV)

Today is Ash Wednesday, signaling the beginning of Lent.  From what I can tell there are multiple theories as to the history of Lent and where the 40 day period before Easter originated – in the hopes of a bit of enlightenment on the subject, I turned to the lovely wikipedia.com and found that some some say it comes from the 40 days Moses spent on Mt. Sinai or the time Elijah spent traveling to Mt. Horeb, etc…, but most believe it comes from Jesus’ 40 day retreat into the wilderness.

During this time, as we read in the fourth chapter of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus was tempted by the devil – and being perfect as He is, he resisted this temptation.

Now, I have to think about the fact that at this point, Jesus was indeed a human and although He was completely without sin, He was NOT without hunger.  What is unique here is that if you ignore the temptation of the devil, it was completely within His power at any time during those 40 days to create, find, acquire – however you want to put it – food.  But He didn’t.  Jesus knew that the food offered by the devil would not satisfy.

You and I need to learn how to experience such a wilderness as this, so that when the devil tempts us with his unsatisfying food, and he will tempt us, we will be equipped and prepared to resist and wait for God’s nourishment – because it will come!  

So in this season of Lent, where many choose to voluntarily experience some form of wilderness, (whether that be fasting from sweets, tv, laziness, meat, etc…) we all must be aware of the reason WHY we intentionally deprive ourselves – and that is because the things of this world will never satisfty the way our Good God does.

My prayer for us all is that we will seek God in every wilderness we find ourselves wandering in, be comforted by the fact that Jesus has gone the path before us, and hold-fast to the Spirits guidance as we firmly and confidently say no to the bread of this world that comes from the evil one.

Blessings,

Dirt

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  Current prayer requests include:

• Summer Planning – at this point in the year, and really all year-round, we are constantly planning and looking ahead to summer.  Pray that God would lead this process and give us vision for the things He wants to do at Cascades this summer.

• Summer Staff - we are very close to having hired our summer staff for the summer of 2009.  Pray that God would be preparing their hearts and minds for service at Cascades and pray that the last few positions available would be filled.
  

• Weather the Storm - please join us in praying that Cascades, along with everyone else, would weather this tough economic storm, and continue to serve God’s Kingdom in the same ways it always has.

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Hello Faithful Readers!

After a long winter’s hibernation, we are back in action here at the Cascades Camp Blog!!

As a friendly reminder, here is what you can look forward to when reading the blog:

Tuesdays – Prayer Requests (join with us in prayer for the ministry of Cascades)
Wednesdays- Hear the WORD Wednesday (a short devotional message)
Thursdays – Cascades Insider (either special updates, staff reflections, or supporter quotes)
Fridays – Photoblog Friday (fun pictures from last summer and throughout the year)
Saturdays – NEW!!! – “Why I Love Camp” (reflections from past summer staff)

Check back weekly and hear about all the fun things going on at Cascades!

Blessings,

Dirt

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