1st Annual Camp Ridgecrest Day!

We are declaring December 1st as the 1st Annual Camp Ridgecrest Day! Why? Well, it’s about half way into the year and we all need a little taste of camp, don’t you think? From this point on, every December 1st will be a day to celebrate Camp! Each year we might do a little something special. This year, we want to give you a few ways you can remember camp, even in the month of December.

Here are a few ideas…

1. Before Dec. 1st, download the recording of the Ridgecrest Reveille Bugle and be ready to wake up to this familiar sound on Dec. 1st.
2. Do your song and blessing Camp Ridgecrest style before you head off to school.
3. Make sure you are wearing your favorite Camp Ridgecrest shirt to school that day!
4. Ask your parents to honk 2 times before backing up. Make sure all the other campers know you are there!
5. Dress up like a staff person of your choice.
6. Do your favorite Tribal Cheer at lunch! Capture it on video!
7. Have a group of your friends over and watch the new Ridgecrest Summer Camps video and even your Session Videos from this summer, or earlier summers.
8. Build a campfire with your parents in the back yard, and invite Ron over to lead you in some campfire songs.
9. Make a packet meal for dinner in your campfire or your oven and enjoy it with your family!
10. Do a Quiet Time on your own, or have cabin devotions with your family before you head off to bed.

For each thing you do, take a picture or video and send it to us. We will enter your name in a drawing for $50 to the Clothing Store!

Be sure to check out our Blog for a recording of the Ridgecrest Reveille Bugle and Ron saying “Goooooood Morning Camp Ridgecrest!” Enjoy Camp Ridgecrest Day and we can’t wait to see you next summer!

Posted in Boys, News | Tagged Camp Ridgecrest, Camp Ridgecrest Day, Camp Ridgecrest for Boys, Holiday | Leave a reply

Jesus Paid The Price

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t get it right; he just kept messing up. Each day he told himself that he wouldn’t let it happen again, but it always did. No matter how hard he tried, he just kept falling into the same trap. It was like he was snared by it. He tried each day not to let it get him, but he felt like it was crouching at the door for him, just waiting. He felt like he was . . . cursed. Was there any way out?

Read Galatians 3:10-14. Take an extra look at verse 13.

What does it mean to be cursed?

Who do you think of when you think of someone who is cursed?

When this passage talks about a curse, to what is it referring?

What is the effect of this curse?

The curse refers to our sinfulness and inability to be perfect. How have you seen that play out in your real life?

How can you get rid of your sinfulness? Can you do it on your own? Explain.

What does this passage teach you about the price Jesus paid to free you from the bondage of sin? How will that change how you live your life today?

Aren’t you thankful that we are saved by grace? The other option is to keep every part of the law our entire lives. That means living life and never messing up, being perfect. Jesus did that for us. He was perfect. Only Jesus, the perfect, sinless Savior, can save us from our sins by offering us forgiveness and grace. We get out of the curse because He became the curse for us. He took everything we have ever done that was against God’s law, took the blame for it, and set us free. Without Jesus, sin would control our lives, but we have freedom from that curse. We can’t even manage sin, much less eradicate it from our own lives. If you’re a believer, sin no longer has a hold on you. Live like it!

Posted in Boys, Devotions | Tagged Camp Ridgecrest, Galatians 3, Reprinted from ec magazine. © 2011 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Used by permission. | Leave a reply

Cabins turn yellow on Choctaw Hill…

What? Really? Yellow cabins? Well yes and no. Part of the upgrade on Choctaw Hill is that the cabins receive new exterior walls. And while they are yellow for the time being (as you will see in pictures), they will soon be painted Brown to match the other cabins on the hill. So don’t worry! Things are going very smoothly up on the hill and the work will be completed before you know it. Today, we want to update you on cabins 13-16, since they have received the most change since the last blog post. You will also notice the nice new screen windows that will help the air circulation and keep the cabins cooler.

Posted in Boys, News | Tagged Cabin Restoration, Camp Ridgecrest, Camp Ridgecrest for Boys, Choctaw, New Cabins | Leave a reply

Good Morning Camp Ridgecrest!

One of the most memorable things from Camp Ridgecrest is the Reveille Bugle each morning followed by the Director’s voice booming over the PA system waking up campers and staff alike. It’s classic, it’s startling, and it’s comforting all at once. Although we like to sleep in once we head back home to our beds, there are times when we would love to remember what it’s like to wake up on a cool Camp Ridgecrest morning. For that reason, we have created  the Good Morning Camp Ridgecrest Wake Up Bugle!

Below you will find a link to the Good Morning Bugle from Camp Ridgecrest, complete with Ron’s voice waking you up! Please read the directions carefully to get this “ringtone” uploaded properly to your phone. The process takes less than 5 minutes.

Don’t Have a Smartphone?

Simply click on this link: Camp Ridgecrest Wake-up. You will be asked if you want to OPEN or SAVE the file. Choose OPEN and then click ok. Parents: you can sneak into your Son’s room with your computer on December 1st to wake them up Camp Ridgecrest style!

iPhone:

1.  Download the following link to your computer – Camp Ridgecrest Wake-up. Save the file.  When the Downloads box appears and confirms the file has been downloaded, drag the file to your desktop.

2.  Right Click on the file and click on “Rename”.  Rename the file to “Camp Ridgecrest Wake-up.m4r”.  (Note the only thing that changes is the “m4r” at the end).  A box will appear and warn you that the file may become unusable if you change the name.  Click “Yes” to confirm that you want to change the file name.

3.  Open iTunes and drag this file into your library.  You can also copy the file and paste it into your Library.  You should then be able to find it in the “Tones” file in your Library.

4.  Plug your phone into your computer.  After it syncs, drag this file from your Tones Library to your iPhone.  Then sync your phone again.

5.  Safely eject your phone and unplug it.

6.  Now on your iPhone, open your Alarm Clock and change the sound to “Camp Ridgecrest Wake-up”.

7.  Enjoy waking up to the Reveille bugle followed by Ron’s voice!

*There is also a free App called “Ringtones” that will help you through the process.

Android:

1.  Download the following link to your computer – Camp Ridgecrest Wake-up.  Save the file.  When the Downloads box appears and confirms the file has been downloaded, drag the file to your desktop.

2.  Plug your phone into your computer.   On your phone under notifications click on the USB notification and choose “Mount”.

3.  Open your “My Computer” file.  Open the drive (your phone under “My Computer”) and make a new folder called “ringtones” (all lower case).

4.  Copy the “Camp Ridgecrest Wake-up” file into this ringtones folder you just made.

5.  Safely eject the drive from your computer and unplug your phone.

6.  On your phone, open your Alarm Clock and change the sound to “Camp Ridgecrest Wake-up”.

7.  Enjoy waking up to the Reveille bugle followed by Ron’s voice!

If you have any questions, we would love to help you out!  We hope you will take advantage of this to have a little taste of Ridgecrest each day!  Don’t forget to use this on December 1st to celebrate the 1st Annual Camp Ridgecrest Day! Set your cell phone alarm or have your parents help to wake up Camp Ridgecrest Style!

Posted in News | Tagged Good Morning Camp Ridgecrest, Reveille, Ron Springs | Leave a reply

1st Annual Turkey Bowl

We hear a lot about being thankful this time of year. And rightly so, we really are blessed. I can tell you that we are thankful for our campers and for all the memories that we get to share in the summer. And of course our parents for making it possible for each camper to attend. To celebrate this season, we have a “Special News Report” from Ridgecrest Summer Camps! Don’t miss this… The 1st Annual Turkey Bowl at Ridgecrest Summer Camps! ( Can you tell we love our jobs?)

Posted in News | Tagged Camp Ridgecrest, Happy Thanksgiving, Ridgecrest Symmer Camps, Turkey Bowling | Leave a reply

Salvation Is A Gift

Ever tried to use an expired coupon? How about play money when shopping at a store? If you have, it probably didn’t work so well. Most stores will only take the real deal—money that has value assigned to it.

In the same way, just being good doesn’t work with God. So how do we pay the debt we owe? How can we make things right with God when we don’t have anything of value to offer Him?

Read Galatians 3:4-9, and pay close attention to verses 8 and 9.

What does it mean that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness?

What was the value of Abraham’s faith?

What is the value of your faith?

According to these verses, is it good works or faith that makes you right with God? Explain.

Are you depending on your good works or your faith in Jesus for salvation? Explain.

Working hard and doing the right things is great, but these don’t restore a relationship with God that’s been destroyed by sin. Good works are important, but without faith, they are empty and worthless. We begin a relationship with God by trusting Jesus through faith. When we believe God’s Word and trust Jesus to bring us into a right relationship with the Father, we are restored and declared righteous, just like Abraham in today’s passage. The truth is, only Jesus can pay the debt of sin that we owe. Our sin has already been paid for. When we accept Jesus’ gift of grace, we are free to do good works for God and enjoy being in right relationship with Him.

Posted in Boys, Devotions | Tagged Camp Ridgecrest for Boys, Galatians 3, Reprinted from ec magazine. © 2011 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Used by permission. | Leave a reply

Retro Friday: Morning Watch

Although Camp Ridgecrest has received a number of “face lifts” in many areas over the years, this is one area that has been the bedrock of this place…  hearing about the life of Jesus and what it looks like to follow Him, has always been the focus here at Camp. We hope that this picture, or some version of it, looks very familiar to our campers and staff over the last 80 years.

Posted in News | Tagged Camp Alumni, Camp Ridgecrest, Retro Friday, Ridgecrest Summer Camps | Leave a reply

The Latest from Choctaw Hill’s Upgrade

Even as temperatures continue drop around camp, construction continues on Choctaw Hill as workers are putting in long hours to improve the cabins. Cabins 10-16 are all being renovated and are getting a nice face-lift. The biggest thing you will notice is the nice, new, covered porches that each of the cabins have received. They are at different stages right now, but rather than trying to explain to you all of the changes, we thought it would be best to give you a quick snapshot of each of the cabins so that you can see the progress for yourself. Below you can see a picture of each cabin, in order from 10-16.

Posted in Boys, News | Tagged cabin construction, Cabin Restoration, Camp Ridgecrest, Choctaw, New Cabins | Leave a reply

It Sounds Good.

Read Galatians 3:1-3.

Commercials do it all the time. The description sounds so good, so plausible, yet when you dig a little deeper (and buy the product), you discover there’s little truth to the claims. They sounded good, but the claims were far from the truth.

That’s the idea behind today’s key verse. Paul wrote those words to the members of the church in Galatia. He had preached the gospel to them, and they had accepted Jesus as their Savior. But now it seemed they had been lured away by a message that sounded good and had elements of truth, but flew in the face of the gospel. They knew that salvation wasn’t anything they could earn through good works or behavior, yet they’d fallen back into that idea. They were making the new believers try to live according to all the Jewish rules and regulations. They were trying to earn grace by doing good things.

The problem with earning salvation is that we have already blown it. By the time we decide to be perfect, we have already sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. That’s why Paul reminded the Galatians where their salvation came from. They had received grace through faith, not because of the good things they had done.

In today’s world, there are many voices sounding off about God, faith, religion, and salvation. Some of those messages sound good, but have little depth or truth to them. Don’t fall victim to them! As we walk together through Galatians 3 this week, cling to the solid truth of the gospel and don’t let go!

Posted in Boys, Devotions | Tagged Camp Ridgecrest, Galatians 3, Reprinted from ec magazine. © 2011 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Used by permission., Ridgecrest Summer Camps, Weekly Devotions | Leave a reply

2011 Pumpkin Carving Champion

Congratulations to Daniel and Ryan Krugman for winning the 2011 Camp Ridgecrest Pumpkin Carving Contest! Job well done to all other entries as well. Daniel and Ryan’s pumpkin (seen below) is a complex and detailed carving of a campfire. Thank you for participating and keep checking back for more competitions and chances to win!

Posted in Boys, News | Tagged Camp Ridgecrest for Boys, Competition, Halloween, Pumpkin Carving Contest | Leave a reply