Erik and I took Jake to the inland lake at camp a few weeks ago. He seemed to like it for the most part. He definitely preferred the warm towel to the cool water, but he was a trooper. :)
Monday, June 29, 2009
Jake goes swimming
Erik and I took Jake to the inland lake at camp a few weeks ago. He seemed to like it for the most part. He definitely preferred the warm towel to the cool water, but he was a trooper. :)
2009 Summer Staff
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Jake - 6 months
Summer in Ellijay
We are off to a great start this summer at Camp Highland. Our staff this summer is amazing. We are having such a blast investing in the lives of each of the 20 college students. It is truly a blessing to be serving with such incredible people. This is a fun season, but it is also very challenging. Please pray that we can keep our energy high in knowing that all we do is for God's glory.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
New Stats
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
It's the little things
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
It finally happened...
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Jake - 6 weeks

Here is our little man at 6 weeks. What an incredible ride it has been. I (we) have never experienced such a range of emotions in such a short period of time. We are loving being Jake's parents. I will admit that it is a lot more fun in the daytime. (Just being honest.) He's been a great baby. He's sleeping 4 hours at a time at night and Erik is a huge help taking the 4am feeding. It's official, I have the best husband ever.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
open my eyes
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Jacob is amazingly beautiful!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Jacob
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
- We expect a baby really soon, a son, named Jake and Jacob, He will be beautiful.
- We are living in Marietta, and will not be moving to camp, but will temporarily move there during the coming summer.
- We are well blessed by you all, having 68 partners who have joined us and supported us faithfully. Thank You!
- We are nearing our personal support goal- currently at 70%. Thank You!!
- We are praying for you all and have been blessed by your prayers.
- During the winter, we work on marketing, recruiting, building projects, summer preparations, and a myriad of other tasks.
- We work full time, year round with camp, and programs will start again in February.
In an effort to be transparent, free from the burden of social propriety and share with you all what the abundant life is like for the Peddle family, there is here below a recent blessing bestowed on us through the prayers of you all.
As it has been for the past few weeks, that God confirms what he told me a day or two before in the books I am reading the following day. A way of reminding me to be humble and believe He cares deeply for my whole being.
Abba's Child- (brennan manning)
That contemplative prayer at its best is done with an empty chair next to you, at a coffee shop or for me in my office with Jesus in my chair and me on the couch. And a child's faith and joy that I get to speak with God in such a simple, non-religious form, in a completely unorthodox manner. Just talking to Him, half looking down, in temporary fear that I might be crazy, then coming to realize in my deepest self that this is good.
Much different than the contrast of almost every previous attempt to have a simple and pure talk with God.
For as long as I can remember I have looked at empty chairs, in the dark corners of homes, of a room, of my house, and seen death, seen demons, seen my greatest fears talking with me, reminding me to be afraid and angry with God. I have been haunted by this for years, never understanding what God is teaching me by allowing me to see horror on such a consistent basis.
But this morning I went out, in the early dark of sunrise and watching Sophie I looked over at a pair of empty lawn chairs in my yard, remembering the fear that gripped me even last night when the the demons were talking again of my demise, then suddenly, I saw Jesus in that chair, and every chair from my past, and all was free, I remembered His power, I saw Him cast out the lies that I clung to for a false security.
I prayed a simple prayer this morning, that I would see Him, I prayed for you all, that the eyes of your hearts would be open, half doubting that prayer has an effect at all.
But half doubting prayers are heard by God, and demons flee in His presence, I am so glad I see things differently. Please know your prayers are not in vain, that God hears us clearly and without judgment and thank you.
-erik
Matt. 7:7-8
Monday, November 3, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
I think the fact that our son did not want to leave is a testament to the great job that all of you are doing.
Claire came home with so many stories. Everyday was her favorite day, but I believe her MOST favorite day was the one she rock climbed. She didn't realize how tiring real rock climbing is. She also loved the new slide. I will tell you this, when I asked her what her favorite part of each day was, she told me it was the cabin time, devotional time. What else could a parent wish for?
Parker grew so much, not only in his maturity but he truly feels that he is closer to God and is beginning to understand how vast that love is. I am truly grateful for this experience, Parker's first away from home. The counselors were absolutely wonderful and he has not stopped talking about his time this summer. Thank you.
Megan enjoyed the fellowship and support of her peers and counselors. She came home feeling adventurous and proud of tackling many of the outdoor challenges.
Patrick absolutely loves this camp. He wants to be a counselor when he is older so that he can spend the whole summer with you.
Lily and her group got lost in the caves. She later told me that she learned that 'even if you're lost, God still knows where you are.' What a deep lesson, and a vital one.
Cole's best friend Oliver accepted Jesus while at camp - Cole will always remember that. Also, all they talked about was the awesome tubing on the lake!!
I thought the fact that he stayed up until 2:00 a.m. talking about Christ was awesome. More awesome still was that the counselor (Bunker) stayed up too.
Jordan had such an incredible time that she asked me if she could go a second week. That was amazing considering she did NOT want to go to camp this year. This was her first year at Camp Highland and she says she will go every summer. You guys did an outstanding job!!!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
We're Pregnant!!
- 25th-28th: Atlanta Youth Academy. 89 kids, 15 adults.
- 28th-29th: Christian Heritage. 45 kids, 15 adults.
- 2nd-4th: Bridgeway School. 44 kids, ?? adults.
- 4th-5th: East Side. 40 kids, 4 adults.
- 8th-9th: Whitfield Academy
- 17th- 19th: Intown School
- 27th-29th: Hebron School
- 3rd-5th: Briarlake Church
- 3rd-5th: Grace Comminuty
- 10th: Camp Highland Golf Classic (fundraiser)
- 17th-19th: Nicolson Baptist
- 24th-26th: Father/Daughter
- 7th-9th: Father/Son 3
- Our continuing need for more partners to provide financial support. (We are at 60% of our goal).
- God to use us as we mentor our year round interns, Chris and Heather.
- For God to mold us into the best parents He has every created.
- All of the upcoming events and the people involved.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Summer is over
Summer camp is over and fall events are under way. It was a adventures summer, full and overflowing with hard work, good food, spiritual growth, and lots of laughs. It is good to be home and able to sit down for a few minutes. Fall events have already begun. We just had our Father son weekend with 25 pairs. On Sunday all of the dads, one by one gave their sons a blessing in front of the whole group. It was awesome to see 25 dads express their joy and pride for their sons. I can not wait to be a dad! Our next father daughter weekend is coming up in 2 weeks.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, July 4, 2008
The best part

The best part of camp is the closing day ceremony when the campers have a chance to share what they have learned during the week.
So many of the campers come up saying they have seen for the first time how important the bible is, or how they see the wisdom in choosing good friends. Others share that they want to know Christ more or even make a decision to follow Him.
There is nothing more fulfilling than hearing how my small role at camp helped create an opportunity for a child to know God more. Real lasting motivation comes in a lifestyle called service to others. What a blessing it is to be given all this grace and have a conduit through which I may give it to others.
PICTURES
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
It's been crazy!

I eat a lot at camp. Especially after riding the tractor for 3 hours, cutting grass and looking like a dirt ball. And there I am teaching a boy how to place climbing gear. I love my job!!
Some of the girl counselors have decided that we are their parents for the summer. Here is Liz with one of our "daughters." And here is me trying to show Liz I care about her during all of life's circumstances.Monday, May 12, 2008
Saturday, May 10, 2008
our house for the summer
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Father Son April 2008



Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Testing the 200' water slide. Skeleton style.
In just 3 weeks, summer campers will experience this new 200 foot water slide which was donated to camp from Stone Mountain Park. It is fun even without water. Check back in a few weeks to see the kids lives you are changing by supporting us! Not to mention how you are blessing our lives! Praise be to God.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
March Events
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We had another fun and exciting event! A group of 30 7-8th graders came from Acworth. It rained hard most of the weekend but we still had a good time, playing games, worshiping and listening to different speakers. Keeping a close eye on weather.com we anticipated a clear spot and had enough time to get half the group through the pamper pole and drop zone, but only one person made it through high ropes before the thunder picked up again.
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Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Our second group came last weekend. 100 volunteers from Buckhead Church's Singles ministry attended camp for a team building retreat. We had 18 CH volunteers come to help and they were all fantastic! The first night it rained until 11pm, but we set some diesel soaked logs on fire to keep the group warm. Then I witnessed a true spectacle. Serveral people stayed up past 2am playing Rock Band in the pavalion. The next day, we divided them into 6 groups and they all went through high and low ropes. We were all running around so much, picking up the groups in the Pensgower, serving food, running the ropes courses that I didn't have a lot of time to take pictures. Here is a picture of one of the groups on the low ropes course balancing challenge. They got on one at a time to try and stay balanced until the whole group was on and the platform stayed level. I saw many people really push themselves, and it was obvious that they grew closer together. The whole weekend was great, we cannot wait to have them back next year.
In case anyone is interested, when I am not at camp, I am at home or at the office working. We are looking for organizations in inner city Atlanta, who we can partner with and provide events for thier kids. Also, we are looking for ways we can reach out to the Ellijay community. We would love to serve needy families there as well. Here is a picture of me hard at work.
March News Letter
If you have not already heard, Elizabeth and I will be working full time for Camp Highland starting April 1st. Our roles on staff will fill two strategic positions for Highland. Our vision and purpose for taking these jobs are fourfold:
· We will invite God to work in our lives to advance His Kingdom through Camp Highland! Our positions will allow expansion of programs to AIDS affected children in Africa, inner city families of Atlanta, needy families in Ellijay and further development of programs for summer camp and retreat groups.
· During the summers we will be training and mentoring the summer staff for Camp Highland’s Wilderness Program! Our hope is that we will provide the necessary spiritual and logistic leadership for these counselors.
· In the spring and fall we will direct the programs for retreat groups, team building events, and family programs. We will work directly with leaders to provide tailored events to meet the spiritual needs of each group.
· We will be moving to Ellijay for the summer so that we may be a positive Christian influence in North Georgia and establish a strong camp community for future programs.
As you can imagine, camp is an expensive operation. In order for us to be on staff we must raise a portion of our salaries. We are asking you to partner with us, so that we may play our part in accomplishing these goals. God has already begun a great work through many of you!
Our current partners have made 1 year commitments equaling 39% of our goal! And 11 people have committed to praying for us! We will meet our goal if:30 more people commit to $25 a month.20 more people commit to $50 a month.6 more people commit to $100 a month.(These are suggested commitments, any amount is greatly appreciated.)
We would like to have 30 prayer partners.
Each prayer partner commits to praying for us each week for the next year.
You will receive a monthly e-mail update with our specific prayer requests.
If you have already made a commitment, please know how grateful we are for you and thank God for you every day. God promises to bless you because of your faithfulness! To everyone else, we ask that you would seek out God’s heart on this opportunity. Please prayerfully consider making a commitment.
Our April 1st deadline is quickly approaching
Monday, February 18, 2008
Our First Event!


Above is Liz swinging 80 ft. off the ground, and screaming ahhhh! O my wonder! And to the right is me checking the wires. Just another day in the office!
Next day, breakfast, bible study session and low ropes. We heard from our founder Bill Chapman on Unity, from Colossians 3:1-17. Later I spoke on what life circumstances mean to us a Christians Here is the wall element. Their first try took them 7 minutes to get everyone over, the second try with some extra coached encouragement only took 2:45 min.
Then we had lunch, high ropes and a game of air soft war with the Pensgower.
Here is one player doing a split 60 ft. off the ground and to the right the leap off faith off the Pamper Pole.Thursday, February 7, 2008
FEB. NEWSLETTER
This is the first edition of our monthly newsletter! We are so delighted to have this great opportunity to reconnect with all of you on a regular basis!
Enlisting Summer Staff
In January, Liz and I had the pleasure of going to Panama City Beach to a conference for college students. We talked with several dozen students and identified many potential staff for this summer.
We are still looking for 15-20 Christian college students to be wilderness counselors for 8 weeks this summer. If you know of any who might be interested, please send them our way.
At the Office
I have been working at Highland’s office in Alpharetta. I have been designing a few of the adventure elements, including a climbing wall and a new bike trail system. I will be acquiring high ropes certification and helping to design and build the new low ropes course.
Future Programs
I had the privilege of attending a meeting with Georgia’s Office of Child Support Services to discuss partnering with them. We will be meeting again to develop events for “at-risk” parents and their children. Our hope is to offer no-cost events for these families and form mentor relationships between our current father-child program participants and these “at-risk” low income families.
www.camphighland.com
4305 State Bridge Rd., Suite 103-223
Alpharetta, GA 30022
The Peddle’s Partners
We view each one of you as partners with us in this journey. We believe a partner is much more than a donor. We consider you all friends, and great ones at that! You each play a critical role and make a real difference in our life and the lives of the campers! By joining the Peddle Team you are lighting our path so that we may shine that same ignited love into the hearts of Highland campers.
Progress Report
We are currently at 21% of our $3500 monthly goal! We are 13 partners strong. If you are willing to partner with us by contributing monthly donations of $25, $50, $100 or more it would be most appreciated!
How You Can Make a Difference
Make a donation:
· Set up automatic check writing with your bank.
· Establish an automatic debit plan or credit charge on our web site, at www.camphighland.com.
· Mail in monthly or a one time donation with enclosed envelope and donation sheet.
(Make checks payable to Camp Highland)
Other Resources:
· Tell your people about my people
· Bring a group to camp
· Pray for us
Prayer Requests
Please ask God to continue blessing us with wonderful partners. Pray for the 2300 kids and adults that will be coming to camp this year. Also, pray that our first two groups this month will experience a thrill of a lifetime while at camp.
God be with you all,
Erik:
erik@camphighland.com
Elizabeth:
elizabeth@camphighland.com
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
WHY WE ARE RAISING MONEY FOR CAMP HIGHLAND


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