"The Snow Man" Glorieta Recreation Intern Chase McKeown adjusts a snow machine on the snow tubing hill in preparation for the opening of snow tubing season.

This post provided by Glorieta Intern Mindy Cook

Exciting things have been happening at Ridgecrest Conference Center.  Here staff and volunteers are working to paint our Spilman Auditorium.

Photograph provided by Randy Bagamary at Ridgecrest Conference Center

This past month we hosted a brand new event at Ridgecrest, Youth2Christ - The Urban Connection. It was a weekend event aimed at urban youth and was attended by over 200 youth and adults. From all accounts, it was a successful event. Everyone had a great time and more importantly, lives were changed by the Holy Spirit.

Plans are already under way for next year's event and details should be up on our website soon. In the meantime, please take a couple of minutes and watch the video below to experience a little of this year's event. You'll even get to enjoy a great Kirk Franklin soundtrack!

The Baptist Convention of New Mexico kicked off their State Convention at Glorieta with a missions banquet prepared by Glorieta’s Executive Chef, Danny Hernandez, and his staff and served by Glorieta staff and volunteers. Thus began three days of what Glorieta Director Hal Hill termed, “a sweet spirit of fellowship.” The Baptist Convention of New Mexico and Glorieta have a long history tracing back to Glorieta’s founding when BCNM put money on the land where the conference center now sits in hopes of convincing the Southern Baptist Convention that northern New Mexico was the right place for the western conference center they were planning to build.

The State Convention featured addresses by Baptist Convention of New Mexico President Bruce Kirby, Executive Director Dr. Joseph Bunce and Michael Dean of Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Ft. Worth TX. Special music was provided by the New Mexico Singing Churchmen. Hal Hill said that both the messages and the worship were significant to the convention and that he felt that Glorieta provided the perfect location for both the formal and informal fellowship of the convention. Glorieta provides a unique experience for guests in the way that the campus brings people together in their day-to-day activities. Thus, Convention guests gained the benefits of attending the Convention sessions as well as the face time that is so important to ministering effectively as the body of Christ.

This post was written by Glorieta Intern Mindy Cook.

Devotional Passage: Luke 9:57-62 
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. Luke 9:62

My Dad grew up in Ruby, South Carolina. There were many times I heard him talk about holding onto a plow and walking behind a mule to prepare the family garden. Dad always related a basic principle of plowing to today’s devotional passage: a backward-looking plowman cannot expect to produce a straight furrow.

In the same way, there can be no turning back in our service to Jesus. There is no place for procrastination, indecision, or excuses. The job at hand demands our full concentration and dedicated service.

I know I have plowed a few crooked rows at times. For whatever reason, I’ve taken my eyes off what is involved in following Jesus, and I’ve made excuses for my less-than-stellar plowing.

Perhaps that’s why Jesus urges us to keep our heads up and our eyes straight ahead. Only when our focus is on the Author and Finisher of our faith can we become all He wants us to be.

Father, keep my chin up, eyes on You, and furrows straight in heaven’s direction today.

©Fall 2008 Open Windows devotional guide. Used by permission. For information about Open Windows, go online: www.lifeway.com/magazines

This past Sunday, October 25, there was a major rock slide that has closed I-40 in both directions. (click here for story) The slide occurred between mile markers 2 and 3 on the North Carolina side. Highway officials are estimating that it could take up to 3 months clear away the rock debris and reopen the road.

Until the highway is reopened, guests coming to Ridgecrest from the west should take I-40 East to I-81 North and then take I-26 East to Asheville where you can get back onto I-40 East. This route is the recommended detour and there should be plenty of signage to help along the way. The detour will add approximately 60-90 minutes to your drive time so please plan accordingly. One good note, the drive on I-26 from Erwin, TN to Asheville is absolutely beautiful and you will definitely enjoy the views.

We will keep updated highway information on our Ridgecrest website. Please check beck for the latest before hitting the road for Ridgecrest!

Several buildings at LifeWay Glorieta Conference Center are undergoing extensive renovations this year. In New Mexico Hall, the conference rooms on the north end are being remodeled to better serve the function space needs of the many adult groups who visit Glorieta each year.  Rooms K, L, M and N have been gutted and will have an entirely new, more modern look by Summer 2010.  In addition to the new appearance, these renovations include measures to increase the energy efficiency of these rooms, which will result in energy expense savings as well as greater comfort for our guests.

Art Snead, Glorieta’s Business and Operations Manager, said, “New Mexico Hall was originally built for summer operation.  Our utilization of this building year-round, coupled with rising energy costs, has placed an increased financial burden on Glorieta.  As we renovate these rooms, we are taking advantage of an opportunity to become more energy efficient as well.”  Glorieta met with two energy consultants and its architect on how to best rebuild the rooms for energy efficiency and guest comfort. The recommended changes include adding two inch rigid foam and batting insulation to existing exterior walls and sound insulation to all the interior walls, which are being rebuilt. The rebuilt interior includes a new storage closet that services all three rooms and an enlarged corridor and storage room for Room K.

Glorieta sees Room K as the crown jewel of the current meeting space renovations. It is being upgraded to an executive board room that will afford a spectacular view of Glorieta Baldy along with the aesthetic and technological commodities necessary for modern executive retreats. These commodities include a custom built oak board table with built in power and A/V connectors, a flatscreen TV, QSC audio system and a slim-profile whiteboard cabinet flanked with notepads. The room will also feature a catering station that will be serviced from a catering area in the storage room located off the corridor that leads to Room K.

Renovations to Chuckwagon and Holy Grounds are scheduled to begin in November 2009 for early spring completion.  Hal Hill, Director of Glorieta Conference Center said, “Not only is this the first significant renovation that New Mexico Hall has had in recent years, it will allow us to update meeting room space to equal or surpass the best anywhere on campus. The changes we will make in the Chuckwagon and Holy Grounds will be amazing - accessible and enjoyable for all our guests. I am glad it will be a tangible improvement that will demonstrate to guests and all our visitors our commitment to excellence and the continuation of our mission as God's training center in New Mexico.”

This post was written by Glorieta Intern Mindy Cook.