Daughters of the King, we miss you already....

Daughters of the King 2013 in a word...fantastic.  If you were there, you know this to be true.  But just in case you missed it, here's just a summary of the incredible time we had!




Photo Booth FUN!  At Daughters of the King, we know how to have a good time, and the smiles on these faces are proof of that!  And just so you know, we're not above being a little silly.  And by "a little" we might actually mean a lot....

Crazy crafting.  The girls glitterized and glammed up some cowgirl boot ornaments, made their own lip gloss, and created Shrinky rings.  What's not to love?!?!



 

As you can imagine, seriously good times require some seriously good food.  With cupcakes, punch, midnight movie munchies, a mountain of pizza, and a chocolate buffet that's outta this world, we feasted like princesses.  Like Daughters of the King, to be exact!

But the very best thing...sharing the light and love of Jesus with these fantastic girls.  Thanks to powerful teaching from Elizabeth wickline, Sue Hatfield, and Neal Hatfield...and thanks to Small Group Leaders who loved on their small groups...we had plenty of opportunities to remind these gals of their great worth in Jesus.  There's nothing quite so beautiful as knowing you are a Daughter of the King!

5 Fantastic Reasons to be at Daughters of the King

Man, oh, man---oops, scratch that!  Woman, oh, woman, have we got a newsflash for you!  Just in case you haven’t heard, Daughters of the King (DOK), our sleepover for junior high, high school, and college gals (and even grownup gals who don’t mind getting zero sleep), is just a few weeks away (April 5-6).  And, trust us, you don’t want to miss it.  Why?  Well, we’re glad you asked, because we happen to have compiled five fantastic reasons for you to be at DOK.  So, without further adieu…

 

1.     No boys allowed!  And by that we mean no…boys…allowed.  No boys.  At all.  This is a 100% girl party.  We’re not even letting the guys on the Uplands Staff inside!   Since it’s just gals, we can let our hair down, kick back, and have a blast celebrating the awesomeness of being female.   We understand this might be a bummer for all the guys out there who love Uplands Reach, so that’s why we have Mighty Men of Valor (April 20).  Guys, we love ya, and I would say we’ll be thinking about you at DOK, but chances are, we won’t.  We’ll be way too busy with…. 

2.     Line Dancing!  Lots of it!  Better bring your boots, buckles, jeans, and hats because this is one western adventure you won’t soon forget.  We’re seriously about to cowgirl up.  And is there a cowgirl out there who doesn’t love the Cupid Shuffle?!  No!  But even if there were, the load of fun we’re gonna have at DOK would change her mind.   Now, I know what you’re thinking…”But I don’t know how to dance!”  No worries, we’ve got some incredible gals lined up to teach some fun and easy steps.  But even if you want to opt out of it, we’ll still keep you occupied with…

3.     An abundance of amazing activities.  Where do we begin listing them?  How about with makeovers, manis, pedis, photo shoots with a professional photographer, a late night movie on the big screen, jewelry making…my fingers are cramping up from all the excited typing!  So, suffice it to say, let the good times roll!!  Whew, we’re gonna need some sustenance to fortify us for such incredible adventure.  Good thing we’ve got a….

4.     Chocolate Buffet.  No, that wasn’t a typo.  Plan on a literal buffet of chocolate, as far as the eye can see.  Well, maybe just as much as a couple really long tables can hold.  At any rate, envision fountains flowing with chocolate, skewers loaded with strawberries, and satisfied smiles on lots of faces!  But, last but most certainly not least…

5.     Elizabeth Wickline.   The mere mention of her name makes us smile.  This fun, funny, funky gal loves gals, and she’s got a powerful message about self image.   Feel like getting to know her ahead of time?  Check out her blog, boundinbeauty.blogspot.com.  She’ll be sharing the love of Jesus straight from her heart, and we don’t want to miss it.  And we don’t want YOU to miss it, either!  So don’t!

 

It’s too bad we already promised you just five fantastical reasons for you to be at Daughters of the King…because if we wanted to, we could list at least a billion more.  But we’re gonna save you lots of scrolling by just proclaiming here and now…DAUGHTERS OF THE KING IS FANTASTIC, AMAZING, INCREDIBLE!  (And so are you, daughter of the King!  That’s why it’s your destiny to be there.)

 

For more info, go to www.uplandsreach.org or shoot us a message on the Uplands Reach facebook page!

jjj

He is All You Need

I wasn't sure what to do my devos on this morning. So i prayed that God would reveal something to me. Then i managed to flip through the well-worn pages of my Pawpaw's Bible. I came upon this verse, Psalm 73:26:

My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Heartache is, well basically it's what it says it is: painful. There are things and people in this world that are going to let you down. Wanna know how I know this? I've been there way too many times. 

See, people on this planet are not as perfect as we tend to think. We picture ourselves in Pleasantville where nothing or no one can go wrong. But here's the deal, the same people who you live with, are friends with, live beside, and work with are the same as you and me. 

Romans  3:23 says, "for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.". Notice the word "all" here.  This means that every single person on the planet Earth deals with sin, just like me and you. They deal with the same jealousy, bitterness, irritability, misunderstanding, anger, and pain that we do. Yet we expect them to somehow be perfect.

When we come into heartache, we think it is the most devastating, horrible thing that has ever happened in the history of relationships, best friends, your boss, etc.  But ya know, they are just like you and me; and sometimes we have those situations in life where we wish we would've made the right decision.  Or maybe the decision was correct, we just wish it didn't hurt as bad. 

But check out this verse Christ gave us!  

My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Did you get it that time? Cause if you did, you should probably be jumping up and down (to say the least)!  Read it again:

My flesh (everything that is in me that is not ordained by Christ) and my heart (that soft mushy thing that allows us to come into occasional pain but is the giver of earthly and heavenly love) FAIL; but God is the strength of my heart (able to heal every tear and fill every hole) and my portion (literally this means my territory) FOREVER (even as we walk through those heavenly gates).

So did you get riled up that time?  This verse is telling us we WILL have heartbreak.  God allows it so that we are forced to lean on Him.  Or He may be protecting you from something that only He knows. But we can have assurance in Him. He can bring us freedom from the situation.  He can bring healing.  He can allow a greater work in us that we could ever possibly imagine.  Or maybe you will allow Him to wrap His big arms up around you and let Him guide you to His perfect comforting will. 

God is all we need. We simply need to trust and have faith that He is all knowing.  Pro 5:21 "For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and He ponders all his paths.". He knows what is best for us.  Take comfort in the fact that God loves you and He is the ONLY strength you will ever need. Give your burden to Him. 




Surrendering all,

Elizabeth 

Teen Camp Wrap-Up 2012

This week at Teen Camp, here at Uplands Reach, we had a blast pouring into the lives of young people from all around!  There were campers here from Florida, West Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia!  It started on Monday, June 25th and lasted through Friday, June 29th.  I believe there were tears in many eyes.  

 Lunch was a time where kids could chill out, grab some treats from the Canteen (the snack shop), meet some new peeps, and simply have a blast in the small amount of free time they had! 

P.S.  They could also sit with members of Seventy-One!  The band we were blessed to have for the week.

Lives were changed.

World changers surrendered.  

Praises could be heard from miles away.

The His Reins MOD was able to saddle up onto Mighty Bucky 

and have their try at actually staying on. 

Brother Neal and Ora had a blast helping out with this adventure!

The Epic Worship MOD created sheets for the Upfest adventure on Friday night!  

This was a night filled with a talent show, arts and crafts, music, and hang time. 

 Isn't this sheet beautiful?

 The MudSlingers MOD involved making pottery and crafts all week long.

Maryanne led this Mod.

(I do believe it was one of the favorites of the girls.)

This camper's name was Jordan.  

She created an awesome bowl that she got to take home and enjoy!

Teen camp was a week filled with laughter and tears.  It was amazing to see these individuals grow throughout the week.  These campers grew more this past week than most Christians will grow throughout their entire life.  Their willingness was humbling.  I do believe they taught the Summer Team here at Uplands way more than we could have ever imagined to teach them.

Ephesians 2:4-7

But God, who is rich in mercy, 

For his great love wherewith he loved us,

Even when we were dead in sins, 

Hath quickened us together with Christ, 

By grace ye are saved;

And hath raised us up together, 

And made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

That in the ages to come he might shew 

The exceeding riches of his grace 

In his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Extraordinary You

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."          Ephesians 2:10

Have you ever thought about the fact that each and every part of you was constructed by the great architect Jesus Christ?  Each part of you, from your fingers to your toes was created for a specific purpose.  You have a smile to brighten someones day.  You have hands to shake the lonely man in the back pew.  You have feet to walk and be a witness.  You have eyes to see the broken hearts and heavy-burdened.  You have ears to listen to the stories of your children.  You have a mind which was configured in just the way God wanted it. This mind can be used for Him. 


Each of your intricate details can be used to the glory of God - a light in the darkness.  Let God lead you.  He made you, so He knows that you are capable of extraordinary things!  

Rugged Spirituality...Rugged Awesome

The first Rugged Spirituality wilderness weekend was an incredible success. After all, firecraft, tent camping, paracords, cooking over an open fire, long hikes....it's pretty much every component of awesome. But don't just take our word for it! Here's some feedback from Jared, a super cool youth worker: "Thanks for the Rugged Spirituality weekend and the effort put into investing in the lives of youth.  Christ was clearly the focus of the weekend, and the survival techniques we learned from you and Ken from Survival Tek were great.  How wonderful to use the illustration of how to survive if lost in the woods and relating it to how we need to realize where we stand before God.  I've had some great conversations with my students since the weekend.  Thanks again!”

Check out this short video, and be watching for 2012 dates coming soon!

Make a video of your own at Animoto.