Yesterday

From Oswald Chambers "My Utmost for His Highest" December 31st

"You shall not go out with haste, . . . for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard." Isaiah 52:12

Security from yesterday. . ."God requires an account of what is past" Ecc. 3:15). At the end of the year we turn with eagerness to all that God has for the future, and yet anxiety is apt to arise when we remember our yesterdays. Our present enjoyment of God's grace tends to be lessened by one memory of yesterday's sins and blunders. But God is the God of our yesterdays, and He allows the memory of them to turn the past into a ministry of spiritual growth for our future. God reminds us of the past to protect us from a very shallow security in the present.

Security for tomorrow. . ."the Lord will go before you" This is a gracious revelation-that God will send His forces out where we have failed to do so. He will keep watch so that we will not be tripped up again by the same failures, as would undoubtedly happen if He were not our "rear guard." And God's hand reaches back to the past, settling all the claims against our conscience.

Security for today. . .” You shall not go out with haste. . “As we go forth into the coming year, let it not be in the haste of impetuous, forgetful delight, nor with the quickness of impulsive thoughtlessness. But let us go out with the patient power of knowing that the God of Israel will go before us. Our yesterdays hold broken and irreversible things for us. It is true that we have lost opportunities that will never return, but God can transform this destructive anxiety into a constructive thoughtfulness for the future. Let the past rest, but let it rest in the sweet embrace of Christ.

Leave the broken, irreversible past in His hands, and step out into the invincible future with Him.

Amen and Amen

Logan's Story

Check this out:  a story of a radio station call from a 13 yr old.  

We should be so wise and so bold!!

(copy and paste this link into your web browser and play the video)

http://www.ksbj.org/features_details.php?ld=76

Don't Even Think About It Little Men!!!

RE: Below Post...
See you all Sunday...smiles.

-Scott

Date anyone?

Elijah, Noah, Judson, Maxson, Michael, Titus, Baby "boy" Woltering...
Take your pick! You might have to wrestle each other. Hillside needs more girl babies!!!

From left to right: Grace, Ava, Bella, Ainsley

Merry Christmas!

The Word of God will not return void. Jesus, the Word made flesh, was born into this world with one purpose, the redemption of mankind. This act of love truly surpasses all knowledge. This morning we wake to celebrate the truth that Jesus did come and was obedient unto death in order that mankind might live through Him.

It is finished! Celebrate this morning in knowing that we have been saved by amazing grace through the gift of faith. Life can never be the same for those who know this wonderful love.

Merry Christmas.

Pray for Peace. Live in Love. Hope in Christ.

IHS
Zach

A Great Reminder!

I KNOW WHO I AM

I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )
I am united with the Lord(1 Cor. 6:17 )
I am bought with a price(1 Cor. 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth ( Matt.5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ(1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant ( Phil.3:20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God(2 Cor.5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot b e separated from the love of God( Rom.8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor.1:21-22)
I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8: 28)
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16 ).
I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3).
I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God's co-worker (1 Cor.. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1).
I am God's workmanship(Eph. 2:10 )
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil 1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven(Col.1:14).
I have been adopted as God's child(Eph 1:5)
I belong to God.

"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.."Numbers 6:24-26

Taking out the Middle Man

On Sunday, in Zach’s sermon, he said, “ take out the middle man.” It made think of our dairy and our new adventure of bottling our own milk. As of now we ship our milk to Horizon Organic processor and they take our milk and then sell it to the stores who then turn around and sell the milk to you guys, the consumers. Because of how many hands our milk goes through before it gets into your refrigerator, we the dairy farmers have little say on the price and little contact with the consumers. My dad has always said, “if only we could cut out the middle man.” And now we are taking a step to getting closer to selling our milk directly to the consumer by bottling our own milk. This will allow a closer relationship with our milk drinkers. ☺ I then kept thinking about how this was the same idea as with our relationship with Christ. I know I have thought before how so and so is closer to our Lord so maybe I could have him pray for me and He will hear. By doing that we lose out on the close relationship with Jesus. So like our dairy getting closer to the consumer, take out the middle man and draw closer to God. Go directly to him in prayer with whatever you need him to hear. He is always there and always hears.

Love Steph

Genesis 26:3

God asks Isaac to dwell in the land of God's choosing, not Egypt. Isaac obeys and prospers greatly. God swore an oath to Isaac's father Abraham. The pronunciation in the early text was Shav-vah. It meant to give one's word. I find it interesting that the Mightiest Entity in the history of the world makes loving promises to us. He has the power to do anything, yet he is gentle and kind with us and even adds incentives so we will choose Him as our Lord instead of a million other temptations. I ask myself "Who is this Guy?" He can have His way with us if He wishes, but never imposes on us His will or anything else. That is love beyond my brain or even my heart. The word humility I always attribute to humans. But our Lord is the humblest of the humble.

We talk about waiting upon the Lord and the problems we have with that, but how long has He waited for you? How long did He wait or how long has He waited for your parents? Are you teaching your children not to make Him wait? I sure did not and now must watch them self-destruct more each year. But more importantly, how long are we going to make Him wait? Let's see!!! "Be still God, and know that I am human!" That is what we are telling God. "Just calm down Mighty King and I will eventually show up to respond to the greatest deal anyone was ever offered." All in MY own time God. ALL IN MY OWN TIME??? I do not think so!!!
In His own time? YES!!! Wow, He is so awesome!!!

In Matthew 25:29 God wants to give to us abundantly. I do not see that as cars and houses. I see that as joy and peace, which is better than cars and houses. God watches the faithful use of our talents to determine how He may give to us. He says that "to everyone who has, more will be given." Use your talents to glorify Him and do it faithfully. He wants to see us smile. He wants to see us laugh. And we can only obtain His perfect Will if we live within His perfect Will.
Love from Doug.

I no longer live...

Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

This life is easier than we make it...we have the Holy Spirit who did not come to help us with this life, but to be our very life. Whether you are a stay at home mom, a farmer, electrician, a daddy, firefighter, a school teacher, or a friend...Christ wants to be your life. He wants you to let go, hand Him the reigns, and let Him accomplish through you the "works" or "ministry" that He ordained for you to do. Imagine...God wants to actually BE a police officer through me! Well, why not? He'd do a far better job than I could ever do anyway...more glory to Him, right?! It is no different for you!

What is it that He has given you to put your hand to? That is your ministry! That is what will bring glory to God. Extinguish any guilt you might have right now, that you are not "doing enough" ministry. Notice that Jesus only did what His Father was telling Him to do, and would only say what His Father was telling Him to say. Why should we be any different? It really takes the pressure off of us to try and create "ministry." He has given us abundant life! So much so, that it should be oozing....I mean overflowing into those around you. We are all in the ministry. If you are alive because of Christ...start living, so others can too!

I beg you...in fact challenge you to lay down that life of yours....as a living sacrifice, and watch everything He touches through you turn to gold. It is sooo fun when you yield your life to Him. Each of you are so precious to Him. You are sons and daughters...do you see yourself as His child? Behind the weariness, behind the smile, do you know...do you really know that He is thrilled with you, proud of you, in love with you?

Even if you never lifted a finger "for the Kingdom" again, do you realize there is nothing more, or nothing less that you could to to gain His approval. You are the righteousness of Christ Jesus! You are always....and will always be in right standing with God....you are pure because He is pure! That goes totally against a world that operates on conditions only..."you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours."

Satan is a ripoff...a liar...and a basically a nuisance. You've been given great riches, so do everything possible to guard them. Remember...Christ is Alive and so are you! No more hangin' around that old cross...enter in freely and with confindence into the presence of God...you are always welcome!

Love all of you and miss you dearly...thanks soo very much for loving and spurring on our family in our ministry. I'll be praying for yours.

Nathan Wallbaum

WOW!!!!!!

Thank You guys so very much for all the love, the prayers, the support, the food, the gift cards, etc. We are so overwhelmed with joy & love and blessing. I have to be honest, I felt a little weird having meals brought to my home and people calling with what to bring. I didn't think I was in need. . . there's so many other people that NEED more than I do. But that's what's funny, God knew I had a need, even before I did. Thank you Hillside for taking care of us during our new "Police" adventure. You really are an amazing family that jumps at the chance to be Jesus' hands and feet to anyone.

"And my God will supply all your needs, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus," Philippians 4:19

With love,
Jocelyn, Nathan, Elijah & Noah

Are you willing to try and enjoy the valley?

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10

As I mentioned earlier things have been challenging the last couple of months. The hardest part of all this has been is, it is hard to put into words how it has been challenging. It has been unlike anything that I have ever experienced. I have from time to time faced challenging times, like everyone. However, as I have gone through this valley it has made me think about the valleys I went through before I new the Lord. During those times there was no hope that things would get better, life was just flat out bad. However, now I can turn to scripture and see time after time that our Lord and savior is there for us. The interesting part of this is, I have not found anywhere were He says it will always be easy, but He does promise He will be there for us. Over this last month it has been one of the most challenging times I have faced, yet there has always been some sort of comfort knowing that He is there watching over me. It has been a struggle to spend time in the word, yet my prayer life has increased dramatically as I have worked to draw closer to Him. The interesting part of this is that as I have tried to force myself to study the word I have had a hard time finding value in it. I guess my insistence to be a “good Christian” forced me to strive and spend a set amount of time in the word. However, when I would spend time in prayer drawing closer to Him, He would provide me with the scripture that I needed to maintain the relationship that we have. I would spend days wrestling with one or two verses. He would use these to work on certain lessons that I needed to be taught or to give me direction. The verses that He would provide in these times proved to be far more valuable than the verses I was trying to make myself read. I guess tonight my challenge to all of you is to enjoy the valley as all to often it is being used to work on one thing or another in your life and He is there watching over you. One more thing, enjoy the time of these valleys as it is an opportunity to truly seek the Lord out and draw close to Him, I know this is easier said than done, however I am currently experiencing this very thing and as I come to terms with this, more and more, it is a wonderful gift that He has given to me.

God Bless,

Rick

Introducing....

For those of you who have yet to meet him, this is our friend Cameron! He has been a part of our Hillside family since the summer. He is a sweet young man! His birthday was this last week so we sung Happy Birthday to him on Sunday. Anytime we get together, make sure you look a little lower than eye view to find Cameron...shake his hand, give him a high five or a knuckle, and tell him you're so glad he's here...because we are!

IHS,
Cammie

Confession From a Tired Brother!

For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing…What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Romans 7:19,24-25

Brothers and sisters I write to you as a tired brother that has been in a struggle for sometime now. I have talked with some of you about this struggle off and on over the last couple of months from time to time. Yet the confession I have is that I have never laid it all out there for you to examine and pray for me. Tonight I looked back at the last time that I have blogged and it has been over two months. This is not to say that I have not had anything to blog about, because the Lord has lit me up over several things during this time. Yet I find myself in this battle of doing just as Paul describes above. The part of this, that is the hardest for me is the battle that we are fighting against Satan. In scripture you can see this battle playing out with Paul. I know that for myself that I am a lightweight compared to Paul when it comes to these things, if Satan is able to play this out with him, what does this mean he can do to me? The question I have for you tonight is what battle is he playing out with you in your life right now. We are in this continual battle with good and evil. I encourage all of us to go to bat for one another and pray, pray, pray for protection. Tonight as we head to bed or rise in the morning for work remember what Paul writes in Ephesians.

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Ephesians 11-13

God Bless,

Rick

Wednesday Night Is "SPECIAL!"

Every week after I walk away from Z & C's house on Wednesday night to get in my car, I always have the same thought. "My sweet church family is missing a blessing." Now I know some live a long ways away and some have to get up early and some have kids and cannot get away and there are many, many legitimate reasons. BUT, just in case there is someone out there reading this right now who just might be able to get away for a couple hours, I want to invite you to what I have found to be one of my favorite times of the week. God always has a message through Zach and the Holy Spirit always shows up to illuminate His Word in a "SPECIAL" way. We need do nothing
but show up and watch Jesus teach us just as He always has and always will. I am actually being very selfish as I love my church family dearly and would love nothing more than to see us together more and more and more. Hope to see you Wednesday where
"SPECIAL" always shows up because God always does. Love you folks! With love from Doug!!!!!

Devotion...

I read the Utmost for today and loved the message. I know most of you read it but just in case you needed it a second time today...here you go. :-)

November 30, 2006

"By the Grace of God I Am What I Am"

By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain . . . —1 Corinthians 15:10

The way we continually talk about our own inabilities is an insult to our Creator. To complain over our incompetence is to accuse God falsely of having overlooked us. Get into the habit of examining from God’s perspective those things that sound so humble to men. You will be amazed at how unbelievably inappropriate and disrespectful they are to Him. We say things such as, "Oh, I shouldn’t claim to be sanctified; I’m not a saint." But to say that before God means, "No, Lord, it is impossible for You to save and sanctify me; there are opportunities I have not had and so many imperfections in my brain and body; no, Lord, it isn’t possible." That may sound wonderfully humble to others, but before God it is an attitude of defiance.

Conversely, the things that sound humble before God may sound exactly the opposite to people. To say, "Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified," is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.

There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.

The reason why I love the message is it's so true for myself and I hear these thoughts from other people all the time. Zach calls this "crapping on the cross," ...Oswald calls it "defiance." I think the last thing we want to do as His children is to be defiant. May we boast strongly in the Lord daily.

In His Service,
Cammie

Thank You...

Thank you Hillside for your prayers today! It's wonderful to know that we have brothers and sisters, believing in faith for healing. We love each of you and look forward to seeing you all next Sunday!

IHS,
Cammie

God is faithful - rejoice with me!

At the beginning of the month, I was worried about money. I paid some extra on bills that left us with not enough living expenses so I knew we were going to need to pull from our meager savings which was depressing as that is our Christmas money. Then my van needed to be fixed. *sigh* I prayed: "God you know our needs you promise to meet them and take care of us. I am claiming that promise. I can't see how you are going to do this, but I know you will." I kept praying that prayer, but never checked our checking account or took care of any banking chores. I put it off for an entire pay period. When David's second check of the month came in, I updated the checking account and found God's faithfulness. A few days after I prayed, the state deposited child support money [which we do not get regularly]. Not only did we have enough money to take care of bills, winter coats, the mechanic, and not having to touch our savings, but I paid the rest of November's bills and we have all the money we were hoping for Christmas sitting in our savings account ready to be used.

Praise God for He is faithful. He keeps the promises He gives us in the Bible. Praise God for He is a provider. He didn't simply provide for our basic needs, He provided for perks and niceties, too. Praise God for His love and caring; in the whole scheme of life and the world, my problems are small and yet He cares enough to take care of me. ~ Becca

Ginger Frosted Cookies!!!

It is with humble gratitude us Box's extend a massive thanks to our church family. It is crazy to sit back and consider how blessed we have been by you all. In one way or another, every family has reached out to us over the last few weeks since Titus Wilson Box arrived. From amazing steak, stew, lasagna, meatball subs, teriyaki, and entire chickens to amazing desserts including lemon cakes and ginger frosted cookies! This list obviously does not include the wonderful gifts of clothing, blankets, pictures (and frames), toys and other functional gifts and blessing to our family. Thanks for thinking of Ainsley too. She has most certainly not been forgotten! Thank you for this. All of this has been almost unbelievable; except as we are realizing, it’s not so unbelievable anymore - not from you, not from Hillside.

What is so amazing is how, as a “people called church,” you are getting it.

What we mean is it’s one thing to rally each other for an exciting purpose like blessing John Mark and Tami Comer, but it’s a whole different thing to step up and put together two weeks…two weeks of dinners for our family! Honestly, I (Scott) thought it was crazy to have two weeks of meals covered for us. I even asked Cammie to call-off the second week at first. But the fact is we have needed help and my goodness, you have come through for us. Thank you sooooooo much.

With a huge love and appreciation we say again, “thank you.” We are overwhelmed with the love you have extended to us. Happy rainy Saturday. See you in the morning as we proclaim, cultivate and celebrate the truth and love of God together!

-The Box Family
(Oh and I realize I'm in glasses with all these pics...I'm not trying to be cool, I promise!...my wife and kids look great so we gotta go with those pics!...you know, taking one for the team. We're just one goofy family!)

Thoughts

I work Monday through Friday, 4:30pm to 12am. I come home from work, try to wind down and be in bed by 1 or 1:30. My body is more than willing to snuggle into the flannel sheets but for some reason my mind does mental aerobics, sometimes for a couple of hours! It makes mental "to do" lists, grocery shops, writes thank you notes, amazing huh? Most often I wish it would heed the hours noted by the lighted clock hands and just go to sleep. Other nights like tonight, when God directs my mind to something worthwhile I'm glad to miss some sleep. This morning I found my thoughts reflecting on Zach's sermon and the Sunday email entitled "Grace Leads to Confidence, Love Leads to Boldness." It has spurred me on in my prayer life and fostered some thoughts on how prayer connects us to God.

Here are my early morning reflections.

Praying men and women tap into God's...

Presence (we are before the throne)
Pleasure (the joy of His fellowship)
Passion (for His children, lost and saved)
Promises (extended and accepted)
Plans (for ourselves and others)
Priorities (not the world's)
Possibilities (beyond our imagining)
Power (to live Godly lives)

I'm so grateful we can plug into the "source of life" through prayers.
Hope you slept well!

Love, Diane

Saturday is not as good as Sunday!!!

I sit here at my computer doing my banking and answering an email but all I can really think of is tomorrow. I get to see all your kids. I get all those wonderful hugs. People are smiling and in love with our Savior. I'VE GOT IT!! We will all quit our jobs and just hang out together at the Legion Hall. We can sit Maxson and Judson on the corner with a tin cup and probably make enough money to eat and pay the rent on the Legion Hall. We can pray all day, fix leaks in the roof, paint the walls mocha (of course!) and just praise God 24/7. Now you know I am right. So everyone give their two weeks notice Monday and in two weeks we will meet in Aurora. We won't need our houses and STUFF anymore so we could sell everything and buy the Hall and the property next door. Now we have it made. Nothing but God and communal activities. We will have to put Zach to work or he will want to preach almost every hour. Can you imagine Scott and Jesse and Brian playing in the background 24/7? We will have to buy the coffee shop on the corner that is for sale to keep them going at such a pace. AREN'T WE WORTH IT? God and music and coffee and activities and keeping Zach busy so he won't preach all the time? I'm loving this idea. By the time Judson and Maxson are five they will figure out we are existing only on their panhandling and we will have to cut them in. So we need to recruit a lawyer (a spiritual one?) to help us with their lawsuits. This is a plan that can not fail. So get ready church. I will meet you there two weeks from Monday with my sleeping bag. And you thought old people couldn't think new stuff up!!! Love you all and see you tomorrow, Doug.

A Friday Reminder...

This is a great reminder...

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is
uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him. Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)

The Lord knows us so deeply...we should not be ashamed or hide from Him. Let's commune with Him and if there is anything not of Him in each of us, let's pray that He weeds it out. Come on God!!

I love our Hillside family!!

IHS,
Cammie

To the Body of Hillside:

How did you do this to me? How did you steal my heart like this. It has never been done before. No one was allowed into my head and heart like this. I was always free to be alone whenever I wanted. But, OH NO! You had to climb into my pocket and hang out and be loving and caring and just plain wonderful. What's a guy to do? All I want is to be around you people. Can't wait for the next Sunday to come around. Thank God for Wednesday nights at the Elliotts for bible study. My church body fix mid week to get me to Sunday. I already am going to miss a Sunday In December picking my mom up at the airport. If one of you would do that for me, I would pay for the gas. LOL!!! Anyway, thanks for loving Marilyn and I. We now can not do without you. The hugs and love we receive on Sunday morning are perfect. The honesty between ourselves is so, so refreshing. I want to thank John and Shari for sharing with us last week. For letting us into their hearts and lives and letting us be part of their struggle. We are acting just like God had in mind when He created us. Praise God for openness in Hillside. Praise God for John and Shari's
availability to His will by allowing us to share with them. Thank you Judy for your hugs. Very special. Thank you Jo for your creativity. We love what you do. Thank you Merricks for the integrity you bring each week. I could go on and on but I am going to bed. It is so easy to pray for my sweet Hillside body of believers. How blessed Marilyn and I are to have each and every one of you. Love to you all, Doug.

Seeing Satan

I try to read the daily devotion for Proverbs 31 ministries. I shouldn't have been surprised to find that today's is entitled "Tricks of the Traitor". I strongly believe the trick to resisting Satan is simply to be aware of his sneaky little tricks and that he generally starts small so as to be extra sneaky. So I hope you'll read today's devotion and think:

http://proverbs31devotions.blogspot.com/2007/10/tricks-of-traitor.html

~Becca

Holding the door for Satan

As promised, the efforts of our enemy to steal our joy, peace and unity in ‘believing God’ were redoubled, even as the gathering of believers dispersed Sunday morning.

Within hours after church, as Lisa and I were entering the Dollar Tree to buy a gift for a friend we were intending to visit, he showed himself...

Our enemy loves disguises. In this case, he chose that of his own person:

As I offered the common courtesy of a door held open, I realized it had not been for a lady and her daughter, but for the enemy, as he said to me in the pleasant voice of a 7 or 8 year old girl with red horns on her head, “Thank you.”

Taken aback, I turned to her and said, “That’s the first time I’ve ever been thanked by Satan.”

“But, I’m a nice Satan,” she answered, oblivious of the impossibility.


Lisa found the exchange a little disturbing, I think. To me, it was a little funny ... at first.

Later, Lisa reminded me of what the little girl had said. And, as I reflected on our encounter with the ‘nice Satan,’ it dawned on me what an extreme contradiction in terms she was: A cute little 8 year old girl: sweet, innocent, full of joy and happiness, but already toying with the idea of being the ugliest, most vicious and hateful of hearts in all creation.

Will she go home and contemplate her choice of costume this season? I hope so.

Will we courteously hold the door open for Satan, and let him walk in and out of our lives, welcomed and unheeded? I hope not, no matter his disguise. Rather, I pray we will be on our guard and have opened-eyes to see through his disguises. I pray we will be prepared to confront him with the Spirit of holiness and truth.

I pray we will slam the door in Satan’s face.

(Tim)

Encouraging Word

I found this verse in my inbox after church and thought it was right on track with all we talked about.

I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.
John 17:15, NLT

Becca

Extraordinary Life?

One of my girlfriends was recently asked, "what's so extraordinary about your life that you would need a blog?" This question made me look up the word, just so I could answer that question.

The dictionary defines extraordinary as this-1) going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary, and 2) employed for or sent on a special function or service (an ambassador extraordinary).

Hmmm, what a wonderful thought for us all. My life before I truly knew Christ was not worth sharing with others. But the more I have grown to know Him, the more my life has gone beyond usual, regular or customary. It's pretty exciting to also think that we're employed for or sent on a special function for Christ...to go and make disciples of all nations.

What a perfect spot, on a blog, to share the joys of our lives. These joys, at the root, stem from the love of our Savior. He has poured out his life for us all, and I say we pour out this love to others so they may come to know Him too.

Are you an ambassador for Christ? Does your life reflect this joy, this love, this faith that the Lord has bestowed on each of us? I hope so.

Christ is our King. The triune God. A mystery to us all, but a wonderful mystery to seek daily. He dwells in each of us.

I think that is pretty extraordinary!

IHS,
Cammie

Step into the Ring!

I'm in the middle of reading a fabulous book by Dutch Sheets called Intercessory Prayer. It really spoke to me today. It's been talking about spiritual warfare and how we so often are scared or nervous to verbally fight the battle in prayer, here's a story from it. . . .

"Don't be like the bodybuilder visiting Africa, who was asked by a village chief what he did with all his muscles. The body builder thoguht an exhibition might better serve to explain it, so he proceeded to flex his bulging calves, thighs, biceps and triceps, demonstrating how he performed in competition. After admiring this amazing specimen for a few moments, the chief inquired, "What else do you use them for?"
"That's about it," answered the muscular man.
"That's all you use those huge muscles for?" reiterated the chief.
"Yes."
"What a waste," muttered the chief in disgust. "What a waste."

So many of us are like this body builder. We're strong in the Lord, well equipped to deal with our adversary, but we never use our strength or our weapons. Step into the Ring!"

If we're walking with the Lord, we need not to be afraid to rebuke the enemy when he attacks. Satan and his demons may have power over us, but they do not have authority over us when we're covered by the blood of Jesus. So be bold! Fight against the darkness. Recognize it as attacks of Satan and thwart him. I'm reminded of a song we use to sing with our youth group. "Romans 16:19 says, Be excellent at what is good, be innocent of evil and the God of peace will soon crush Satan, the God of Peace will crush Him underneath your feet." So friends, stomp on the enemy in the name of Jesus!!!!! Step into the Ring!

Love you all,
Jocelyn

1st Sunday November 4, 2007

We are pleased to host the Sandy Youth Christian Marimba Band at Hillside! You won't want to miss this! Please bring extra food to share with our guests. Bring your kids to play along on the marimbas. And bring your hearts ready to celebrate and rejoice with others who belong to the body of Christ! You will be encouraged!

Sunday, November 4, 2007
10:00am
Potluck Breakfast

(Remember to pray about how you can "bring what you have" for the Comer Family on this day.)

Thank you from the Comer Family

Hillside,

Where do we start? Never in eight years of ministry has anybody been so kind, so generous, so encouraging, and so inspirational. Our hearts were deeply moved by your gifts and your kind words. They were like fresh kindling rekindling the fire for ministry. The enemy tries every single day to extinguish that flame, but God's Spirit and God's people (you!) keep it alive. We're shocked that God would use weak, fragile, needy people like us, but to God be the glory! Great things He has done. So thank you! We so enjoyed the gift certificates! "Date night" was awesome! We ate fresh omlettes every day with the awesome vegetables! The flowers look beautiful and fit our house perfectly! I could go on and on! But most of all thank you for your prayers. We covet them. Please continue to pray! We love you guys and are inspired by your heart for unity in the church. Christ is the head! God bless, The Comers P.S. Jude loves the car!

Thank you from the African Gospel Acappella...

"To Thank You...Thank you, your kindness was appreciated more than you know."

A very special thank you to each and everyone for inviting us to sing and fellowship with you. Your generosity renting a car for us touched our hearts deeply. Thank you also for your prayers and your love donations. We all feel the love of the Spirit among you. We also want to extend our gratitude to Doug for repairing the brakes on our van. Your love and kindness will always be remembered. We would be delighted to return and fellowship with you once again. God bless you all richly, in Christian love, Pat McGraw (driver & friend), Michael Logan, Lawson T. Jallah, Emmanuel S. Roberts, Morris Kermon & Korpo.

Dear Church,

You can call it eating crow. You can call it being humble. You can call it letting your pride go. You can call it sacrificing. You can call it doing what the other person should be doing. You call it whatever you want but if you have even a small
"issue" with someone at home or at work or in your family in another state, please don't wait another minute to sit with or write to this person and tell them how much you love them no matter what happened or who was wrong. I have been dieing because I waited just two days to accomplish this. The enemy convinced me many times that I was justified in my feelings even though our Lord and I knew better. Praise God that
the Holy Spirit won out and the letter was written. Not only did God lift a great weight off my shoulder but the people wrote back and now we are even closer and will accomplish more to Glorify God in the future. I am now forgiven by my Lord and my friends and even by myself. How sweet is that? Thank you Father.

See you Sunday,

Doug

The Way

I went to The Way Friday night again. (I did not see you there.) God is doing incredible things in that place! It is always SRO
(Standing Room Only).

John Mark Comer read an article that was printed in the Oregonian. (it was not in our paper because it was in the local section.) Check this out!!! Love, Jo

Young adults can party with Jesus on Friday

Religion - Teens and twentysomethings are drawn to the worship, including a rock band
Thursday, October 11, 2007
CORNELIA SEIGNEUR
Special to The Oregonian

TIGARD -- For about a thousand 18- to 28-year-olds from as far as Salem, Vancouver and Gresham, Friday night means a different kind of party -- a spiritual one, called "The Way," in Tigard.

"Friday is the typical night for young adults to get drunk and get stoned and so The Way gives people a choice between walking with the world and walking with Jesus," said John Mark Comer, 27, associate pastor at Solid Rock church.

The Way, which meets at 7 p.m. Fridays in a large warehouse, known as The Garage off Southwest Nimbus Avenue near Washington Square. "Jesus said, 'Be either hot or cold, be passionate about the Lord.' It is not sugar-coated to make people comfortable."

The Way, a reference to what early church believers in the book of Acts were said to follow, offers worship led by a rock band, communion, prayer and Bible teaching, all followed by a barbecue. The Way also hosts summer mission trips.

The young-adult ministry began 31/2 years ago with six people in a downtown apartment rented by a Portland State University student.

Kaitlynn Taylor, 21, a nursing student at PCC Sylvania, has attended The Way for 21/2 years. When she started coming, about 100 people took part.

"I instantly felt welcomed and got connected. I've seen people's lives radically transformed."

The Beaverton woman, who grew up in what she called an unchurched home, said she thinks young adults are looking to fill a void.

"There truly is a hole in our lives that we try to fill with parties or shopping or relationships. But we realize that only God can fill that void, and I think that is why people come," Taylor said.

Comer said his goal is to reach "kids that grew up in the church that are maybe bored, apathetic; and also those that grew up in the church and might have walked away in their 20s, to take them deeper in their faith."

People such as Ryan Doucet.

The 25-year-old from Hillsboro said he was raised in a mainstream denomination, but got involved with drugs in the eighth grade and continued using through his years at the University of Oregon. Back in Portland, two years ago, he wanted to get his life on track.

"I had a lot of bad relationships in college. I started to skip classes. So when I came back I was determined to find a college group," Doucet said. "I also realized I wanted to get married eventually -- and I didn't want to meet my future wife at a bar."

A friend invited him to Solid Rock and The Way.

"At first I was drawn by the music," Doucet said, "but then the preaching is what keeps you there."

Dear faithful servants on Sunday church,

I am so proud (in the best spiritual sense) of you guys and gals. All went well in the beginning and the middle and the end. And we didn't even have to listen to Zach!
What a party! What a blessing! What wonderful love just a bouncing off the walls! God really blessed us. He had it all under control. His ultimate plan I think was for us not to just hire a band and have a good time, but also to make new friends and discover another ministry in which our church can pray for and support. I think of the money we could of saved, (I would!),if we weren't always giving it away, and I know for sure that God is fully in charge of our little congregation. He is able to bless all over the world because Hillside is willing to ride His train into His station whenever He pleases and whenever He chooses. How exciting. I checked with the guys from African Accapella and their van broke down only because someone left a switch on and it ran the battery down. But Hillside (you guys) came through and blessed them with a rental. God allowed the battery to go dead. Hillside stood in the gap and now God can further our friendship and relationship with even more people that have only one thing in mind: God being glorified. Thank you Father for
your faithfullness to Hillside and to African Accapella. I also learned from them they need brakes installed on their van. I have the tools and am currently finding out when it is best for them for us to go there. If anyone wants to share in that blessing let me know. They have nothing scheduled for this weekend so I am leaning in that direction. No worries if you can't make it. God will provide. He certainly proved that on Sunday with the help of a certain small congregation I am so proud of (in the best spiritual sense!) Love you all and see you soon. Doug.

A big thank you letters to your Church.

(From Morris, one of the singers in the African Gospel Acappella group)

hello Zach Elliott.
unbehave of the AGA. Ministry We want to extend our many thank to you guys for Blessing us today. We ready appreciate what your Church did for us and still willing to help us.
this is our first time for our Ministry for a Church to rent a car for us to go and sing for them and bless us more.
We want for you guys to continue to pray for our Ministry, So we can be able to bring one or two of our friends to joins us to continue to preach the good news of Jesus Christ.
thank Morris and the other guys.

Encouragement

PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!

Pulling an Amtrak

Sitting at the railroad crossing in Canby, I saw something pretty cool: an old, green train engine creeping slooowwwwly toward the crossing, blowing his musical horn over and over. Expecting a long wait for a sluggish freight train, I put on my e-brake and sat back to watch the conductor, wearing his striped hat, coming toward me. Then I noticed it wasn't a freight train at all; it was an Amtrak, being pulled along by the old engine! I'd never seen an Amtrak before that wasn't flying through town in a matter of 10 seconds. I wondered what was wrong with it, and pondered that maybe its engine had broken down, and this old conductor had agreed to rescue it by pulling it to its destination. How cool! Even the fastest train needed help. I started thinking about how we can pull others along when they are weak, and allow ourselves to be pulled when we are weak. No doubt the Amtrak will get repaired--but not without the help of the old green engine.
Lisa G.

A Prayer for the Hillside Fellowship Church

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your heart through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generation, for ever and ever! Amen.”
Ephesians 3: 14-21

Love Steph S

Encourage One Another. . .

After many, many attempts by the enemy to keep me from going to "The Way", Solid Rock Fellowship on Friday night (sore throat, cough, sinus headache, sleeplessness, car problems, traffic jams, etc.) yet by the grace of God, I got there.

If you have not been to “The Way”, you MUST GO. The experience is incredible; 600-700 college/young adults greeting each other with love, fellowshipping, praising God, celebrating, eyes and ears wide open focusing and listening intently on the words of the Father.

The music is awesome. John Mark Comer is captivating. After the service, I met John Mark to give him words of encouragement and tell him how much I enjoyed the service.

Chatting with John Mark, I told him that I came from Hillside in Aurora and we chatted some more. Suddenly, his face lit up and he got excited. He said, “ . . . you are from the church that gave us the card!” Yes. He couldn’t thank me enough. He said that he and his wife really, really enjoyed the dinner out and it was such a blessing and such encouragement to receive the card. He went on and on. He called over his wife, Tami and introduced me “from that church”. They both asked that I bring back thanks to our entire church from them.

Hillside, I wish you could have been there to see and feel the warmth of their smiles and the thanks in their hearts. We have made a difference! And we can do more!!! Come on church, let’s make the next seven (7) months better than the last! I implore you to be an encourager. Pour on the cards, letters, poems, prayers, photos, music CDs, books, drawings, gift cards, coffee, pies, quilts, toys for their son Jude (who is almost 2 yrs. old), flowers. Think of the things that would encourage you. In the words of Zach, “Bring what you have.”

And if you need inspiration, go to “The Way” on Friday night at 7:30pm! (10500 SW Nimbus Ave, Bldg T, Portland, OR.)

“Therefore encourage each other, and build each other up. . .”
1 Thessalonians 5:11

Love,
Jo

How Can We Praise Him If We Don't Know Who We Are Praising...

God calls us to worship Him, adore Him, and praise Him. How can we do this if we don't know who we are worshiping, adoring and praising? Do you know how many names our God has? The list is endless, right in scripture. I am struck with these today:

Our God is:
Good
Powerful
Great
Excellent
Love
Wisdom
Holy
Patient
Changeless
Merciful
Almighty
Glorious
Righteous
Just
Grace
Majestic
All-Knowing
All-Wise
True
Pure
Sinless
Radiant
Faithful
Magnificent
Worthy
Creator
Redeemer
Strength
Truth
Lifter of my Head
All-Sufficient One
Savior
Hope
Son of God
Resurrection
Holy Spirit
Light of the World
Lord of Lords
King of Kings
Authority
Consuming Fire
Restorer
Comforter
Stronghold in the Day of Trouble
Resting Place
Refiner
Deliverer
Refuge from the Storm
Overcomer
Peace
Bread of Life
Fortress
Everlasting Father
Shade from the Heat
Healer
Counselor
Author of my Faith
Rewarder
Hiding Place
Shield
Purifier
Sustainer
Sovereign Lord

WOW!!!!!!

If you are battling with something today, if you are weak, if you are tired, if you are full of joy, if you are in sin, if you need refreshment, if you are discouraged, if you are weary, if you lack endurance, if you feel like you're losing the race... Call on these names of the Lord! He will lift you up, He will provide! How amazing, how awesome, how wide is our MOST HIGH GOD!!!! Have you seen Him today? Have you looked to the heavens, have you lifted your hands to the skies, have you seen Him in your homes, have you seen Him in creation, have you seen Him? It's hard for me to imagine that you haven't. If this is so, please stop, take a moment, breathe and thank our King for being sufficient, and for fulfilling all He's promised. He is EVERYTHING!!

IHS,
Cammie

Are we afraid to pray?

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3

Last night I was reading “Fresh Wind Fresh Fire,” again, and the idea hit me that maybe some of us are afraid to pray. Sure we pray at church or even at home by ourselves, but is it a mechanical prayer or is it a deep down, pour your heart out, fall to your knees, passionate prayer. In this book Cymbala quotes Charles Spurgeon saying, “ The best style of prayer is that which cannot be called anything else but a cry.” When I read this it hit me that I suppress my prayers. I cannot count the number of times I will be praying at church or even at home and the tears start forming in my eyes and I stop praying immediately so I can get my emotions under control. I don’t want to make a scene at church, have someone wonder if I am all right, have another think something is wrong, and me be embarrassed. Who wants all that especially when it isn’t true. In reality it is far from the truth. The tears are just the result of letting myself go with the prayer and letting the passion of God take over. I had never thought about what I was doing before, that I was the one inhibiting the prayer to God by not letting the emotion come out. I told Rick this last night and his words to me were “let it rip.” So if you see me at church crying, dancing, shouting, or something crazy, know that I am just letting it rip and letting the passion flow into my prayer (just bring me a tissue ☺). So to those in the same boat as me in suppressing your passion in prayer, I will quote my husband in saying “LET IT RIP.”

Love Steph S

Confessions of a waterworks mechanic!

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139: 23-24


Well to say the least, today at work God had to do some refining in my heart. From time to time I let pride and my competitive side get the best of me. Well over the last couple of months at work various guys have been working on our meter change out program. At the end of the day they would come in pumping up their chests stating how many meters they changed out. Well, I have been in their shoes before and could not figure out what they were doing all day since they were not really changing out that many meters. I could not wait to start changing out meters to show them how many I could change out in day.

Well this week I got the opportunity to start changing out meters. It did not go as planned. As my partner and I changed out meters we were able to change out many. However, we were not able to reach the number that I thought we should reach. We kept getting pulled of the task at hand and had to go do other things. Well so much for showing them. As I started today changing out meters I started to pray, why Lord is it that we cannot reach this total number I have in mind? Well all of a sudden the lights and sirens went off, PRIDE. Once I figured this out, I thought no problem, I recognize the problem and could move on. Well, not quite yet. It was then I thought of the above verse and was convicted. It was one thing for me to say that I knew the problem and it was fixed, but it is a whole other thing for me to ask God to search my heart, see if there is anything offensive in me and then lead me in the way everlasting. I urge you all to pray about this verse and ask Him what is it in your heart that needs to be removed.

I can tell you once you are able to come to your knees before Him and ask this of Him, it will be so rewarding. At the end of the today we far surpassed the number that I had in my mind. The great part about it was that I realized that I served no man in this task, but I served our Heavenly Father as I drove around Clackamas changing out water meters.

God Bless,

Rick

The task given is not completed, in our eyes.

“And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake of the dust from your feet.” Mathew 10:14

Wednesday night at Bible study we were discussing the tenth chapter of Matthew. As I studied to prepare for Bible study this verse stood out to me and after we met it stayed with me and as I have prayed through it I find so much hope in it. This was spoke to the disciples as Jesus prepared to send them out to spread the Message to the Jews.

How often are you given a task to complete? How often do you fall short of that task? Are there times that you think that you have failed Jesus, as you were not able to finish a task that He asked you to complete? Maybe the better question is did you complete it in your eyes or His? I can all to often be given a task and in my own mind see how it is to be completed, but I think all to often I miss how He sees the plans unfold. The interesting thing is that as He gave the disciples these instructions He did not tell them that they would be successful. He simply told them to go and do as He instructed. Brothers and sisters I encourage all of you to come before Him and ask Him is the way you see the plans unfold in line with the way He sees them unfolding.

God Bless,

Rick

No Worries

I listened to the words of a song that Tim Mcgraw sings. It really made me stop and think about where Rick and I are right now. We have changed so much. God has definitely had his hand in all of our lives. I remember worrying about what would happen to Rick if I died and if he would ever find God or if we would both see each other in heaven. I know now, that God tells us not to worry for a reason. “There for I tell you, do not worry about your life…” Matthew 6:25. His plans are so much greater. I thought I would share the words to this song with all of you. I know that God will take care of us and I pray that you will know that too. I praise Him for His plans.

If you’re reading this, my mamma’s sitting there
Looks like I only got a one-way ticket over here
I sure wish I could give you one more kiss
And war was just a game we played when we were kids

Well I’m laying down my gun, I’m hanging up my boots
I’m up here with God and we’re both watching over you

So lay me down
In that open field out on the edge of town
Know my soul
Is where my mamma always prayed that it would go
If you are reading this I’m already home

If you are reading this half way around the world
I won’t be there to see the birth of our little girl
I hope she looks like you, I hope she fights like me
And stands up for the innocent and the weak

I’m laying down my gun, I’m hanging up my boots
Tell dad I don’t regret that I followed in his shoes

So lay me down
In that open field out on the edge of town
Know my soul
Is where my mamma always prayed that it would go
If you are reading this I’m already home

If you’re reading this there’s gonna come a day
When you move on and find someone else and that’s ok
Just remember this I’m in a better place
Where soldiers live in peace and Angels sing “Amazing Grace”

So lay me down
In that open field out on the edge of town
Know my soul
Is where my mamma always prayed that it would go
If you are reading this, if you are reading this I’m already home.


Love Steph S

How far are you willing to go?

“…urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.” Jude 1:3

Awhile back Steph and I went to breakfast with some friends. They know that our faith is very important to us and we had a nice discussion about it and why we follow Christ. After talking with them about our walk they began to talk about how they do believe in Jesus and what He did for us. Their problem was with the church and the problems that it faces. Both of them were raised in the church and once they got to a certain age they stopped going for all types of reasons. To this day they still have not found a church that they are willing to try out. I do trust that the Lord will send them when they are ready. We are able to talk about prayer with them quite frequently and they do check in with us to see how the prayers are being answered. I do pray for them though that they are able to find a family like we have to strengthen their faith and they will see the church the way Christ intended it to be. These friends are some of the nicest people that any of us will ever meet and have two of the biggest hearts that I have ever encountered.

Well after the meal, the bill came and I took the check to pay for the meal. They have done so much for us, it was the least I could do to show them our appreciation for all they have done. This is were it gets interesting. Our friend decides that he is going to pay the bill and under no terms was I going to pay. I proceeded to get up and go pay for the bill and he follows me to the register. As I walk up there he reminds that he is a sinner, just like you and me, and he has no problem raising a fuss in order to pay for this meal. I told him that it did not matter to me what he did I was buying breakfast. After this he proceeded to tell me that it did not matter to him if they had to call the police he was going to pay for breakfast and he was serious. He then proceeds to tell the waitress that it is going to get ugly if he is not able to pay for this meal. Well push came to shove he ended up paying for the meal. I have been able to return the favor since then, but it is usually a fight.

The part that sticks with me to this day about this whole experience is he was willing to put it all on the line for a simple meal. Are we willing to put it all on the line? We have something more than just a meal in Christ. Are we willing to go to the ends of the earth to defend the faith he has entrusted to his holy people? How far are you willing to go to defend the very thing that we strive to center our entire lives on? Are we willing to go head to head with a good friend over a ten dollar meal because he believes that he should pay for it?

God Bless,

Rick

Keepin' it Real

HEY FOLKS!! How about a great laugh?!?! Check out the following link for some great dance moves. Trust me, you'll bust up, this guys great!: http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=327252cbd93ad6be0b1f&page=33&viewtype=&category=tf
I expect to see some of you cuttin' the rug during worship this Sunday. We're gonna do it before the Father one of these days anyway....might as well start now. : ) Oh come on fellas...I know you do it when no ones looking.

Work like you don't need the money.
Dance like no one is watching.
And love like you've never been hurt.
~Mark Twain

Love you guys,

Nathan

Prayer- Cure for the Common Church- Part II

Well I must write to add to what my wife had to say last. How amazing is He? As I write this I must admit that for her to get to the point of writing her last blog, I had to get through some pride issues and ask for help. For a couple of months, prayer with my wife has been on my mind. I recognized that I had been failing her and our marriage in not setting aside time for prayer as a couple. I would spend hours praying about this issue and would obsess about it. I felt so bad that I was failing her as the leader of our house and it made it even harder to come to a solution for how I was failing us. As most of you know I do have a stubborn streak and all to often I try to go about it alone. It has not been until the last year or two that I have come to realize that I get to go about it with Him. I will admit, that as I prayed through this I could not come to a decision in how solve this problem. However, if He would have answered the prayer a couple of months ago I most likely would not thought much about it and would not be writing this blog.

Part of my problem was I tried to take this burden on all on my own. I was seeking Him in how do I fix this but did not share my burden with anyone. I cannot tell you the number of times I told all of you that things are great at home and Steph and I are wonderful. To tell you the truth things were and still are wonderful. With the exception of our prayer life as a couple. I have to admit this is a pretty big exception. The cool part about all of this is how things came to a head this weekend. For some reason she picked up the book “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire,” it had been sitting in our house for months. Sunday after church I met with one of our brothers to talk and I was finaly able to set aside my pride and admit to him that I recognized that this is were Steph and I needed to work on our relationship. I cannot explain to you the relief that I felt as I shared this with him. For the first time in months I was able to share this with someone and they were able to bear some of the burden for me. That night I was able to come to Steph and tell her that I had been struggling with this for months. Well that night we sat down as a couple to pray in deep prayer. None of this short couple minute prayers here and there, but deep prayer. I know that He is going to take a good marriage and make it even stronger as we unite in prayer as a couple.

Brothers and sisters I urge you to unite in prayer as my wife does. Pray together, admit were you are prideful, set your own agendas aside and come to the Lord in prayer. HE WILL ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS.

God Bless,

Rick

For all the Fellas.

For all you Young Men, Husbands, Daddy's or soon to be, and Granddaddies, please click on the following link to watch some exceptional videos of parents and their children. Our little ones learn the most from us...good and bad. What kind of legacy do you want to leave your sons and daughters? Ladies, please feel free to join the viewing so you can pray for your husbands. If you are a single mom, God will give you the grace to parent them as best as you can. Just point them to their TRUE FATHER, and it will all work out.

http://www.fathers.com/content/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=411

Love you guys,

Nathan

Prayer- Cure for the Common Church

Prayer has been heavy on both Rick’s heart and my heart as of late. And I am writing about prayer today to encourage you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, and also to encourage myself. I started reading a book called “Fresh Wind Fresh Fire” by Jim Cymbala and it has re-enforced that we all need to pray. We hear Zach tell us to pray, pray, pray. Do we listen to our calling? In this book this small little church was changed significantly because they united in prayer. They were told by a guest pastor to think about one thing: “You can tell how a popular a church is by who comes on Sunday morning. You can tell how popular the pastor is by who comes on Sunday night. But you can tell how popular Jesus is by who comes to the prayer meeting.” I believe that this is so true. Jim said it plainly to his church “If we call upon the Lord, he has promised in His Word to answer, to bring the unsaved to himself, to pour out His Spirit among us. If we don’t call upon the Lord, he has promised nothing—nothing at all. It’s as simple as that. No matter what I preach or what we claim to believe in our heads, the future will depend upon our times of prayer.” So let us pray as individuals, but most importantly let us pray as a church. There has been so many answers to prayers in the short life of our little church and I can only imagine what will be answered if we continue to pray with passion and our whole being.

Love Steph S

Peace

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things. ⁹Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me -- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:6-9

Good afternoon Hillside!

This morning I went in to the dermatologist to be checked out for possible concern for melanoma skin cancer. In most circumstances in the past, I would be biting my fingernails, worried, worried and worried some more. But this situation has been different and I know it is the peace of God which transcends all understanding, that has guarded my heart and mind in Christ Jesus. I am amazed! As I was waiting for my appointment, I actually had to take a double take at myself wondering why I wasn't freaking out. Calm as ever. About 4 months ago when I made the appointment I was scared. But one day a few weeks ago, the Lord brought me complete peace. And I haven't had an anxious thought since that day.

Judy encouraged me with this verse last week and it's so true, I love it!
"My health may fail and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart. He is mine forever" Psalm 73:26 AMEN!!!!! Thank you Judy!

So as the story continues, next Tuesday October 2nd I go in at 4pm for what they call "surgery." A removal of all of these possible cancerous spots. So far there are 10, and possibly more. They will send them in for biopsy and then we'll get the results. Today, I am full of peace. I know my Savior...and all I am is His. So I submit my life to Him. He is King of Kings...and Lord of Lords. That's my King. :-)

I pray that this same peace my transcend over each of my family members at Hillside. If you are worried about anything, even something small. I would love to pray for you. Please email me!

Thank you to those of you who prayed for me today. God answered your prayers! Be encouraged and stay strong in your faith!

Love,
Cammie

"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing; and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."
(Isaiah 55)

Can you imagine what it would sound like if mountains were singing, and if trees were clapping their hands?? We serve such an AWESOME GOD that even the inanimate parts of His creation want to worship Him!

(I felt really, really small standing under these trees--and a little dizzy. Look at them reaching up as high as they can to praise their Creator!) Love, Lisa G.

Dear Church

Please pray for our country. The prayers we submit now from Aurora may be the last umph to convince our Lord we are worth saving. Our politicians are blind to what is happening. I believe they are not all corrupt, just fooled by the very one that tries to confuse us daily. The love of money and power hides from them what God is trying to present to them each and every day. We must be intercessors and stand in the gap for them. We must get between them and the enemy with our prayers so just maybe an angel or two can squeeze through and be noticed by even one of them. God will see our devotion to His glory and hear our cries. We must act like the tender warriors he has created in each and every one of us. "We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised." Hebrews 6:12. God does not take His promises lightly. We do. Let's go church. Its time to march. Pray, Pray, Pray. Its our job. Its our duty. Its our orders. Love you all. See you Sunday. Doug.

Jesus and the farm four-wheeler!

Well I worked on the farm this past weekend and I find it to be a true blessing. I get to work outside around the farm and be around family the whole time. However, there was one problem this weekend, the electric starter on the four-wheeler was out. I had to use the pull rope to start it. At least I can get it started, but it sure is a pain to do. It is hard to pull and does not start up right away. I have always taken the electric starter for granted and never thought much about it until this weekend. Whenever I came to a stop I automatically turned of the four-wheeler and had to go through the whole process again. Talk about a pain.

Well this whole thing started me thinking about Jesus. How easy do we have it with Him? Jesus has made it so easy for us in that all we have to do is believe.


“Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law.” Galatians 2:16


It does not get much easier than this does it? Every time I read this verse I am amazed that this is all He asks of me. I then think about the reading that I have done in the Old Testament and all of the rules and laws that they had to obey. However, in this verse it states that it is not by obeying the law. I cannot explain to you how important this is, we do not have to jump through a bunch of hoops and complete a whole list of items to make it into heaven. We simply have to have faith.

Why did I start to think about Jesus and all he does for us when the electric starter would not work on the four-wheeler? I started to ask myself do I take this very thing He does for us for granted? Am I grateful that He did all this work for me to make things easy for me. Do I thank Him and praise Him for this very act? I challenge all of you to take time to thank Him. I know that after the four-wheeler is fixed that I will have a reminder how good we have it in Christ. I challenge you to find a subtle reminder in your life that will cause you to think of this blessing.

God Bless,

Rick

Be on Guard!

Hello Hillside family! I really felt urged to send this out today.

"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith." 1 Peter 5:8

I really sense that many of us, myself included, let the enemy get small footholds in our lives. We so easily brush them off as nothing or as one of our brothers or sisters who have gotten under our skin. We often think that the other person is in the wrong or their walk with the Lord isn't strong, or one of many, many other lies that the enemy throws at us. BE ON GUARD!!! It's not truth, that's exactly what the enemy wants for us to believe.

"So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God and He will come close to you." James 4:7

We have got to first recognize that it's an attack of the enemy. And second we need to resist him. . . verbally. He has no power or authority over us. Tell Satan to GET OUT! Claim Jesus as your Lord and Savior. . . .satan and his army will tremble at even the name of Jesus. So shout it out. JESUS IS MY GOD, SATAN LEAVE!!!!

So Hillside family, this week, we all need to BE ON GUARD together, and watchout for the attacks of satan. The last part of James 4:7 says it best . . . "Come close to God and He will come close to you." Seek His face and His truth.

I love you all.
Jocelyn

Keep Our Eyes on God

The Adventures of Bailey and Morgan, or at least that is what I call the stories about my two dogs, Bailey and Morgan. I have wanted to tell you this one ever since Rick wrote about the farm and finally I have time to do so. My dogs do this all the time and it is funny to watch them. Often times we get this big hawk that just soars around the farm and when it does the dogs start running after it. Where ever the hawk flies on the farm the dogs will follow. They will run back and forth in the field running as fast as they can. If you ever get a chance to watch them, they don’t take their eyes off the hawk. They never watch where they are going, but keep their eyes upward. They often fall when they trip in a gopher hole, but they will just get back up, eyes still on the hawk, and continue on. Do we do the same with God? Do we follow him wherever he leads us? Do we keep our eyes on him no matter how hard the path is? Do we keep our eyes on him even when we fall? Do we get back up in obedience keeping our eyes upward? We could learn a little from my doggies in not having any fear of falling and just keep on going no matter what happens. Do we trust God enough to take care of us? Where do your eyes look?

Love Steph S

God's Lullaby

Yesterday we were walking along the beach watching the waves roll in. It was Maxson’s first trip to the beach. It didn’t take long for the rhythm of the ocean sounds to lull him to sleep. The ocean was a lullaby for Maxson, but really it was God’s lullaby. Have you taken the time today to listen to one of God’s lullabies? I didn’t think about that till this afternoon while I was listening to the wind blow. It has been so windy today and if we would just sit down and listen we can hear God singing to us his lullaby. God speaks to us in many ways and I believe that he sings to us too. Just listen around you and you can hear the sweet soft lullaby of God. He may surprise you with peace amongst chaos and comfort in sadness. All we need to do is stop and listen a minute. It really is so peaceful and relaxing. I don’t stop and listen enough to what God has to say. If I would just sit and listen to His voice, it might bring me to my knees and have me come close to Him more often.

Love Steph S

An Invitation to Worship God

Psalm 95

Come, let us sing to the Lord!

Let us give a joyous shout to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come before him with thanksgiving.

Let us sing him psalms of praise.
For the Lord is a great God,
the great King above all gods.
He owns the depths of the earth,
and even the mightiest mountains are his.
The sea belongs to him, for he made it.
His hands formed the dry land, too.

Come, let us worship and bow down.
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God.
We are the people he watches over,
the sheep under his care.

Elijah's Favorite Song

Most of you know my favorite "nephew Elijah," he stands at about 2 1/2 feet tall and weighs under 30lbs and he is 3 years old + 1 month. He has blue eyes and acts just like his daddy most of the time. My favorite thing about Elijah is if you ask him to sing you a song, he will most likely sing you a song that is called, Jesus Blood. How many 3 year olds will sing you this?...

Jesus Blood
There's a secret I must tell
Of all the love I've found
And it's hidden in my heart
The day you tore my world apart
Hallelujah, King forever, friend and Saviour

Jesus' blood never fails me,
Jesus' blood never fails me,
Jesus' blood, Jesus' blood

And this secret, it will run
To the corners of the earth
Where every woman, every son
Will carry high their chains undone
Hallelujah, King forever, friend and Saviour

Jesus' blood never fails me,
Jesus' blood never fails me,
Jesus' blood never fails me,
Jesus' blood, Jesus' blood

Sing your songs of freedom
Praise the God of heaven
Love that never fails me
Jesus' blood, Jesus' blood

Elijah will sing, over and over, Jesus' blood never fails me. What an amazing thought for a 3 year old. Let us all keep those words on our lips and share them with those people who ask what our favorite song is.

Hallelujah, King forever, friend and Saviour Amen!

IHS,
Cammie

"How to Save a Life"

Now that school has started again, I look at the all of the kids and my heart weighs heavy. I ache because I cannot help enough of them. The inequities of life are vast. The unloved, the homeless, the abused, the low self-esteem, the unkept, the smelly, the unpretty. . . What about the kid that gets picked last or the one at the playground that sits alone against the side of the building or the loud bully screaming inside for attention?

I cry. I pray.

We can help. It is our responsibility as God’s people. God gives us what we need: the heart of Jesus. Will you please reach out and touch as many kids as you can?

Maybe this will help you get started. Please watch and listen to the words of this video: (get a tissue) This song was influenced by Isaac Slade’s (The Fray) experience as a mentor at a camp for troubled teens. To quote Slade about one of these teens "No one could write a manual on how to save him".

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid348471276?bctid=353578845

I cry, I pray.
Love,
Jo

The Fray -- How To Save A Life

Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it's just a talk
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you begin to wonder why you came

(Chorus)
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
And pray to God he hears you
And pray to God he hears you
(Chorus)

As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours and grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came
(Chorus)

No Favortism

Good stuff from John Macarthur...

Galatians 6:3 says, "If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself." At times we don't follow up and support stumbling believers because we feel superior. A lot of people like to look down on those in sin. They see someone in sin and they look down on them with a smug, self-righteous attitude.

I was touched by what one writer said of his own experience. "I've often thought that if I ever fall into a trespass, I will pray that I don't land in the hands of censorious, critical, self-righteous judges in the church. I'd rather fall into the hands of bar keepers, street walkers, or dope peddlers because such church people would tear me apart with their long wagging gossipy tongues, cutting me to shreds."



Remember when we were of those listed above? Thank God for grace...distribute it abundantly!!

Love, Nathan

Yielding to the Holy Spirit

A few weeks back I was praying for people in our church body and the Lord gave me a vision of a pure white bird with it's wings spread wide....it was just soaring. No flapping, just along for the ride.

I prayed into this asking for revelation. He is so faithful to answer, never wanting to leave us hanging. He said that the color of the bird, "pure white" was key in that each and every one of you are clean and pure...not because of you, but because of Him. You are secure, and sealed with His Holy Spirit. He has made a deposit of His very Life in you...His blood is good forever...unconditional. Though our sins are as scarlet...we ARE as white as snow!! No more wringing your hands over the matter...if Jesus said it is finished...then it is finished!! Nice!

As for the flight pattern of the bird. God impressed on me that we must more and more live by faith in God. The bird in my vision was so clearly enduring turbulence, choppy weather, and then calm currents. He allowed himself to be carried about as the wind took him. Never once did I see this bird flap....it just soared...it rested.

Brothers and sisters....no more flapping, trying to do it on your own strength, no more wearing yourselves out! Rest, and allow the Holy Spirit...Christ in you...to carry you from here to there. What He decides to do in you and through you is His business. Get this! As you do, He will blow your mind! He has chosen the weak things of this world to shame the wise. Let us all yield to His power in us. Enjoy the ride!

Isaiah 40:30-31 (NKJV)
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

Love ya,

Nathan

Truth

Truth is a powerful thing, it is absolute, it is real-even more real than the world around us and we can not escape truth! God is truth. He is absolute, and He is more real than anything we know. I was at the staturday market with some friends and we came upon a few activists holding a sign that said "question 911-truth ends war" Yes! truth could end war! Because if we all knew truth (Jesus Christ and what He did for us) there would be no war- but more importantly what if we all knew Jesus? every single one of us? WOW! We had an oportunity to share Jesus with these people all because of their sign- Thats the power of truth! Remember to pray for the lost, ones who believe in the lies of world, pray for truth to be revealed.
sara

From Emie: Worms and Wonderings

I'm not sure if everyone gets the emails from Heath and Emie so I thought I'd post the latest email that they sent out . . . . . . . .
FROM EMIE:
Ok, I've experienced some disgusting things since I've lived in Africa
these last 6 months. Frogs in my sink, dying rats under my bed (right
under my head), a rat jumping out of my drawer onto my foot, the smell
of 23 chickens constantly wafting through my screen windows, brown
water, and bugs galore in my flour and noodles, just to name a FEW!
But the other day I experienced THE MOST DISGUSTING thing YET! On
the bus ride into South Africa, I noticed what I thought was a large
zit forming on my left collar bone area. I tried to pick it but it
only got bigger. Within 2 days and lots of attempts to pop it, it was
HUGE. Sunday night I stood in the mirror and squeezed with everything
I could, only to pop out something that didn't look exactly like a
normal zit. So I yelled for Heath and he came with tweezers to pluck
out of my skin a WORM the size of an uncooked piece of rice! It had a
black head and when he squeezed it, it wiggled!! AHHHHHHH! That's
when I about lost it! It left a hole in my shoulder the circumference
of a toothpick! Oh the joys of African living! After some
investigating, we discovered a few on Heath as well! We're pretty
sure we acquired our little "friends" at the "prison" guest house we
stayed at in Maputo!! Needless to say, we are going to look for
different options on the way back!

You've heard sayings that mention things like "You are who you are
no matter where you are." Or, "Wherever you go, there you are." Well,
again I've been thinking about how the body of Christ in general is
waiting to get some "call" from God to go and do and be, or else they
are sitting in pews letting those who have supposedly heard the
"call," go and do and be on behalf of Christendom!
As I've pondered this vacation, again I am struck with the reality
that we are just who we are no matter if we are living in the States,
Africa, Russia or South America. I can't get away from who I am or
what God has created me to be and do. I can disobey or be totally
selfish and thus not fulfill the "good works God has prepared in
advance for me to do" (Eph) or I can walk into the fullness of who God
sees me to be in both the mundane moments (most of life) and in the
majestic moments (a small portion of life).
All that to say, the Heath and Emie you know are still the Heath and
Emie you know. And if you were to pick up and move to Africa and
drill a million wells for the poor to have clean water or house
hundreds of orphans or stay in your back yard and love your neighbor,
your kids and your wife well, you will still be you. So what's more
important? Figuring out your calling in life or figuring out WHO is
calling you and HOW HE SEES YOU? Because if I live my life in line
with knowing more about WHO IS CALLING ME than what my calling is and
HOW HE SEES ME than how I see myself, I think I will truly begin to
"do the works God prepared for me to do!" That's when my life will
start to reflect His glory with increasing measure (I Cor 3) and I
will continually do good, kind things for others (Col 1).

Today, if you're wondering what God wants you to do with your life
for Him, maybe He just wants you to know Him more and believe what he
says about you more than believing what you think about you or the
world says about you. That's when your eyes will get off yourself and
onto Him and He will flow through you in ways you may never see but
you'll be reflecting Him in greater measure than ever before!

Praying no worms for you and lots of your own wonderings,
emie

Heath wants me to add that we are planning to go to the wild game park
either tomorrow or the next day. Pray we see lots of good stuff!!
Thanks.

--
All for the glory of Jesus,

Emie Kay