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

Thank You!

My heart is full of joy today, for all of you. What an honor it is to serve our King with each member of the Hillside family. Our time together this morning was amazing. Thank you for being obedient. Thank you for praying for the other bodies of believers in the area. I'm not sure if you know this, but each of you are bringing truth, inspiration and worship to the churches. WOW!!! I am excited to spend these next weeks being poured into, and meeting together October 7th to pour out, once again. I encourage each of you to seek the Lord this month. Be persistent with Him. Remember that His Spirit dwells within each of you. All you have to do is ask for Him to well up within you. I look forward to another 1st Sunday with you where we can come together and celebrate His goodness! May His fruits be evident in the family of Hillside!!!!!

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:10

We love each of you! Praise Him today!

In His Service,
Cammie