Give Thanks

Yesterday afternoon Zach and I were able to sneak away for an afternoon just the two of us.  We stopped into Starbucks and got to use a gift card which someone from Hillside so generously gave to us a couple weeks ago.  We were chatting and watching the rain come down.  I looked up and saw a gentleman, arm in arm, with his wife who is blind, walking with a stick.  Starbucks was full of Christmas decorations, the lights on the trees were twinkling outside, and my heart stopped for a moment as I watched these two come inside. The thing that struck me was that she had the biggest smile on her face and yet, all she can do is hear, taste & touch.  I was enjoying watching Zach, whom I adore and could watch for hours.  I could see the Christmas decor, I could see the people breezing past, I could see the clouds, I could see my coffee and I could see her smile.  My heart instantly filled with extreme thankfulness.  When everything shakes out, we really have nothing to complain about.  Sure things don't go our way, sure we have bills to pay, sure we have to work hard & harder than others at times, sure we didn't get good sleep, etc. But we have life.  Life abundance.  Life from Jesus which produces joy in our hearts and love overflowing.  My hope this week is to keep in perspective this lady and what she misses out on each day, but the joy she carried even without sight.  I hope if a stranger sees me walk past, that the look on my face shows of God's love and thankfuless...  Let's GIVE THANKS...

Love,
Cammie

A Lesson For All...

My wife, Cindy, and daughter, Stephanie, had a shopping day this last week.  My grandsons stayed home with their daddy and hung out on the farm with me.  As they were leaving, Maxson says, "Bye mommy and grandma."  Aiden then looks up and starts running towards the car with both arms up, crying big tears, saying "don't leave me mommy."So Rick goes and picks him up and brings him back.  Here then the lesson begins.  Maxson puts both hands on Aiden's shoulders and looks into his crying face and tells him " don't worry Aiden, mommy will come back, she always does."  Aiden still was having a hard time so I asked him, "do you need daddy to give you a four wheeler ride?"  "Yes, daddy, four wheeler ride," was his answer.  After daddy, Maxson and Aiden had their ride the day was a sucess for us all.

Like 3 year old Maxson knew his mommy was coming back because his mommy told him so, we must remember our heavenly Father will be coming back because He also told us so.  And let us not forget every now and then everyone needs a four wheeler ride or a little help.  It may be a family member, church member, co-worker, or friend but be ready and willing to give that ride if and when they need it.  I did not do this for a family member and everyday it bothers me.  So, please if you need a ride, call us here on the farm and Cindy, Rick, Stephanie, Matthew, Abbie, and myself are ready and willing to help you get that four wheeler ride. 

What a friend we have in Jesus
Jack
503-961-5542

Love the Lord your God

A couple weeks ago at Bible study we were reading through the Bible (of course). :-) We read a part of Deuteronomy which I love and hadn’t read for awhile… a long while actually.


Deuteronomy 6:5-9

5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

I am so thankful for our girls and feel blessed to get to shepherd them through life. What a great scripture to learn from and use as a guide. I pray, as parents at Hillside, we all continue to impress truth upon our children, talking with them always about Jesus, in the mornings, throughout our days and into the nights. May our homes be filled with His light and love.

Choose you this day whom ye will serve…

But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.

Blessings to each of you,

Cammie

When Troubles Come Your Way...

This week at church I was talking to a very wise women (thanks Julie :-)) about her experience with sorrowful and troubled times. We also talked about her joyful times and how they go hand in hand together. In her mind they can't be separated. (It is so true how we really don't have one without the other.) A few years back she had sat in with a group of ladies and was heart broken in how they viewed life. They all felt that they couldn't wait for better/more joyful times and were tired of living with troubles. I guess it depends on how you look at your troubles. You can take it as just a icky, horrible point in your life and wish for happier times or you can take your troubles and see the joy or growth that comes from God by living through them and actually live those happier times. "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." ~ James 1:2-4 Talking about this and thinking this all through made me think of this book I read to our boys called "The Person I Marry" by the same author, Gary Bower, of the book called "There is a Party in Heaven." Both are great, adorable books. Anyways, here is the quote that had me thinking:

All days won't be sunny; and during the rain,

my partner and I will be slow to complain.

We'll stick together the way that we vowed

no matter how dark and looming the cloud.

We'll look on the bright side. All hope isn't gone.

Our Lord just decided to water our lawn.

In loosing our little one last year we learned so much from God and how true His word is. I have probably spoke about this before but here is another reminder, how we can have joy in our troubles. Rick and I know this to be true, we experienced it first hand. We could have just looked at our whole situation as a sorrowful pit that we couldn't get out of (the heart break sure hurt enough) like the ladies only seeing their problems. But instead letting God into our lives and letting Him guide us and be there for us, we were able to find His joy, a joy that comes from growing in Him. If you look at your troubles as a horrible storm or rainy days, it is like having a garden or lawn, without the rain or water your garden or lawn would die and would not grow. I believe that our walk as Christian follows the same pattern. If we didn't have these troubles how would we ever grow and learn more about our loving God. Rick and I both agree, if we had never experienced loosing a child and going through a miscarriage we definitely would not have as deep of a relationship with our Lord, as we do now. We trust Him and have faith that He will guide us with that overflowing joy and peace in our hearts. "We are strong enough" with God, to have the endurance to go through the troubles of living in this world because of sin, with joy and needing nothing else but God and the love of Jesus. That is my prayer for myself and for you as my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Love Steph