A Message from Our URCC Mascot...Baby Kate!

Wild at Heart Camp-Out 2011

It's hard to be a young man of integrity in the world we live in - but not impossible.  Are you longing for more than the surface level Christianity that is so easy to fall into?  If so...

...stay tuned for more details of URCC's up-and-coming weekend for young men of grit who desire to live a life sold-out for their King, Jesus Christ.

Do your summer plans make you feel like...

Face-planting into a pile of mulch?

We get that.

At Uplands Reach, we can promise you one thing.  If you spend a summer, a week, or a day here - you will not be bored.

So shake this summer up a bit!  Visit our website and www.uplandsreach.org for more information on our summer camps and boot-camp intern program.  A summer getting to know the Savior better can hardly be called a waste.

Don't miss out on all the fun!

When Grandmas Find Jesus

I’ll never forget it as long as I live.

The setting was a quant country church, and Reverend Neal was preaching to an enthusiastic group of congregants during their revival week.  The topic was the armor of God.

The room was comfortable – we sat in plush maroon chairs, the recessed lighting cast a glow on the stage, and the heater was dutifully pumping warm air to keep us snug while the winter weather outside blew gusts of freezing air.

But there was something decidedly uncomfortable about the whole setting.  Namely, the topic of the sermon.  This preacher seemed bent (as usual) to knocking people out of their comfort zone and into the scary territory of heart examination.

Then Reverend Neal gave the final kicker – “Do you know you are truly saved?”  He probed.  Silence fell over the crowd like a heavy blanket.  “Do you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that if you were to die tonight, you would be with him in heaven?”  You could hear his heart cry – that people would come to the precious understanding of salvation just like he had. 

There was a lump in my throat; I had been in this position only a few weeks earlier – questioning, wondering if I truly knew Jesus.  I knew how a life of “good works” can confuse us into thinking we understand salvation.  As I looked around the room of sweet, church-going people, I began to pray that Reverend Neal’s words were striking a chord in someone’s heart.

The invitation to know Christ was given, and Jake and I stood on the stage singing, “What can wash away my sins?  What can make me whole again?  Nothing but your blood, nothing but your blood, King Jesus...” 

I had to blink twice to make sure what I saw happening was truly happening.  As we sang, a little sweet Grandma from the very back of the church hobbled up to the front.  She was no less than 80 years old.  Her face was solemn – she was on a mission.  The pastor of the church sat down with her and starting asking her questions...

“Do you know Jesus Christ is your personal Savior?”

“I don’t know.”  She said plainly.

What happened next brings such joy to my heart.  This sweet lady humbly bowed before the Savior and accepted Jesus Christ into her heart.  Finally, she could know.  Finally, her soul could be at rest.  Whatever good she had done her whole life was overshadowed by the goodness of what Jesus did on the cross.

We worship such a big God.  He is big enough to draw the heart of the tribal man who has never heard the name “Jesus”; He is big enough to forgive the man on death row; and He’s big enough to save the precious old lady who didn’t know how desperate she was for Him.

“Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,

Nor His ear to dull to hear.”

Isaiah 59:1

Media Consumption in the U.S.

As we seek to be World Changers for Christ, our media consumption is something we need to take into consideration. Is media adding to your effectiveness and your love of Christ...or is it stealing your time and weakening your testimony? Watch the following video for some convicting statistics.

What Could Boot Camp Do for Your Summer...and Beyond?

Boot Camper Jessica Jordan shares what God did in her life and what He continues to do because of her summer at Boot Camp...

"Boot Camp at Uplands Reach impacted my life in so many ways and is still impacting my life today. One way Boot Camp impacted me was that I came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior. During the summer of Boot Camp, you make friendships like no other and those friendships last a lifetime. You get to work with people who love God and are willing to help you in anyway possible. I'm still being impacted today because I get to go out and tell people what the Lord did for me that summer. I would greatly encourage anyone to come spend a summer at Uplands Reach to learn, grow, and just be impacted by God's word and service to others."

Do want to learn what it means to live sold-out for Jesus Christ in a world full of compromise?  Do you want to have a blast making new friends?!  Do want to be impacted by serving others?  If so, visit this year's Boot Camp brochure at:


http://www.uplandsreach.net/clientimages/34611/bootcamp/boot%20camp%202011.pdf


Are you ready to live life wide open?

The Diary of a Goody-Two-Shoes

If you were a fly on the wall in my childhood home on a Sunday morning, this is what you would see:  a girl with sun-bleached brown hair and skinned knees walking out the door with a huge bow in her hair and a Precious Moments pink Bible headed to church with her family.

That night, you would see me again with sweats, a tee, and blue Cubbie vest on, going to AWANA (a Bible memorization club) at church.

I was the youngest in the Claflin family, and growing up was awesome.  Church was my second home, and Bible study on Friday nights in our house was the highlight of my week. 

Once, I was doing a project for a geography class when I was eight, and I remember crying over all people who didn’t know Jesus.  My heart was hugely zealous for people who didn’t know the Lord – the King of my heart and the One who had given me all I held dear in my little world.

But as I grew older, something changed.

No, I didn’t start sneaking out with my friends; I didn’t get hooked on drugs or drinking; I was never rebellious in my teen years.  But the attitude of my heart changed – I started trying to be a Christian.

I did it all.  In high school, I dressed modestly, obeyed my parents, didn’t date, had godly friends, started an accountability group, played my guitar in the worship team at school, got good grades, and went to AWANA summer camp.

After that, I attended a Christian college, and delved even deeper into Christian activities – leading worship in Chapel, being my class’ “Minster to Women”, mentoring younger girls, fasting once a week, even joining the evangelism club.

By all outward appearances, I was “the girl that had it all together,” but my private walk with God was full of shame, anger, and guilt. 

Every time I would attempt to pray or worship, I always felt guilty and thought God was mad at me for not being good enough.  Because of this feeling of guilt, I would go through seasons of being mad at God for his perceived anger at me.  “Why do you make it so hard to know you?!”  I would often cry out.  It seemed as though God was hiding himself from me in a dark cloud.

It wasn’t until CORE Camp at Uplands Reach that the pieces came together in my mind about what was truly going on in my heart.  Reverend Neal was preaching to the campers about true repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.  I sat stoically in the back of the gym as he talked, glad that all the campers were hearing the Gospel, but not letting it sink into my own heart...until...

What was that?  I felt a tug at my own heart.  I tried to push it away, “this message isn’t for me!”  I thought.  “I’m a Christian and have been a long time.  I mean, look at my life.”  My prideful thoughts hindered my response that morning.  I even prayed with campers who were excepting Christ.  But all the while, my heart felt heavy within me and doubts flooded my mind.  Did I truly understand salvation?  I didn’t even know anymore.

That night as I talked to my husband Jake about my doubts and fears concerning my personal salvation, I was hoping that he would just shrug them off and tell me I was worrying too much – “Of course you are saved!”  I wanted him to say.  But, being the Godly man that he is, he questioned me further.  “Read the book of Romans,” he encouraged me, “that’s the book that taught me what Salvation really is.”

I poured myself into Romans.  I underlined and highlighted; I wrote notes in the margins; I discussed confusing passages with Jake.  But one tension remained in my soul that chewed at my heart and kept me awake at night: what about all the good things that I had done all my life?  Didn’t they count for something?  That whole time I truly thought I was giving my whole heart to the service of God.  Did all that time and service count for anything?

God answered my question in Romans 10:2-3, “For I bear [the Jews] witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  For being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.”

If ever a verse was speaking to me, it was that one.  In all my growing up years and beyond, my zeal for God was great.  I would have done anything to prove that I loved him.  What I didn’t understand was that my salvation isn’t dependent on my zeal or desire to please God.  The only thing my salvation is dependent on is the work that Christ did on the cross for me.  Nothing that I can do can make me good enough – it is only though Christ that I am made acceptable.

This realization drove me to my knees in repentance and acceptance of Christ’s cleansing blood to wash me clean.  I can now enter his throne room knowing that God isn’t mad at me – for he sees a princess clothed in pure white robes; robes made white by the blood of his one and only Son.