2A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL March 11, 2015
BIRTHS
IN MEMORIAM
Machele Lee
Grondona-Sturgess
1967-2015
Machele Lee Grondona-Sturgess, 47,
of Cottage Grove passed away March 8,
2015 from cancer.
She was born
May 7, 1967 in
South Lake Ta-
hoe, Calif. to
Barrett and Linda
(Owens) Gron-
dona.
M a c h e l e
worked in the
mill pulling green
chain. She also
worked in a nursing home doing patient
care and was a bartender at the Moose,
and a bouncer at Tap-N-Keg.
She enjoyed Cherokee Indian Heri-
tage, collecting wolves, animals, tat-
toos, fl owers and gardening.
She married Wade Sturgess. They
later divorced.
She is survived by her mother, Linda
Flagg, her father, Barry Grondona, a
son, Christopher Hawkins of Cottage
Grove, three daughters, Arizona Rose
Hawkins, Erica Farmer of Cottage
Grove, and Heather Farmer of Omaha,
Nebr., and two grandchildren.
No service is planned. Arrangements
under the care of Smith-Lund-Mills Fu-
neral Chapel, Cottage Grove.
Cynthia Marie Deff erding
March 10, 1959 -
February 21, 2015
March 2, 2015
To Katurynia Gardner and Devin Nickle of Drain,
a son.
"Dreams come true. Without
that possibility, nature would
not incite us to have them."
— John Updike (1932 - )
Our hope for change
I
’ve found that we can learn
so much about the Lord
by examining His many names
found in the Bible. Each one
reveals a unique aspect of His
character along with a very spe-
cifi c promise for our lives.
When we get to know God—
really know Him—it fi lls us with
hope and confi dence because
we realize He’s greater than any
situation we will ever encounter.
Understanding God’s character
and incredible love for us allows
us to relax and trust Him in ev-
ery area of our lives.
The Bible says He is Jehovah
Jireh, which means “Your Pro-
vider” (Genesis 22:14). He’s
Jehovah Rapha, “Your Healer”
(Exodus 15:26), and Jehovah
Shalom, “Your Peace” (Judges
6:24).
The Lord is also referred to
as Jehovah M’Kaddesh, which
means “The Lord who sancti-
fi es us” (Leviticus 20:8). This
literally means He is the God
who changes us. It’s so encour-
aging to know we don’t have to
change ourselves, because when
we try to change on our own, it
only produces frustration and
struggle.
Philippians 2:12-13 (AMP)
says, …Work out…your own
salvation with reverence and
awe and trembling…. [Not in
your own strength] for it is God
Who is all the while effectually
at work in you [energizing and
creating in you the power and
desire], both to will and to work
for His good pleasure….
You see, when you begin a
relationship with Jesus Christ,
the Holy Spirit comes to live in-
side of you. Now you have great
things on the inside, but they
need to be “worked out” to the
outside. We need to learn how to
think right, talk right, and treat
other people the way we should.
And we can only do it through
God’s strength and help.
As the Holy Spirit begins to
bring conviction in different
areas of our lives, we become
aware of things that need to
change. When this happens,
the Lord doesn’t want us to feel
guilty and condemned. He sim-
ply wants us to have the attitude
that says, “God, I know that
You’re right and I’m wrong, and
I want to change in this area. I
trust You to help me change.”
The truth is you can actu-
ally enjoy your life while God is
changing you. You don’t have to
feel bad because you’re not per-
fect or even worry about trying
to change yourself.
I’ll be honest: it took me a
while to learn this lesson. I re-
member when the Holy Spirit
began convicting me about talk-
ing too much. Instead of asking
the Lord to change me and rely-
ing on His grace and strength,
I took matters into my own
hands. I decided I was going to
fi x it. So I went home and didn’t
say anything at all. As a result, I
ended up feeling depressed, and
everyone kept asking me what
was wrong. Needless to say, it
was a frustrating experience!
First Thessalonians 5:24 says,
Faithful is He Who is calling
you [to Himself] and utterly
trustworthy, and He will also do
it [fulfi ll His call by hallowing
and keeping you].
I love this! Out of His great
love, God not only shows us
what needs to change, but this
verse says He will also do it.
As we draw closer to the Lord
through reading His Word and
talking to Him in prayer, He
literally transforms us from the
inside out and makes us more
like Him. Our part is to cooper-
ate with God and do the things
He puts in our hearts to do.
For example, years ago when
the Lord was teaching me about
walking in excellence and integ-
rity, I began feeling convicted
about little things like putting
my grocery cart away in the
store parking lot. During those
times, I had a choice. I could
either leave the cart out in the
middle of nowhere or I could
obey God and go the extra mile
to put it where it belonged.
The Lord also constantly dealt
with me about how I treated my
husband, Dave.
I remember wanting to start
an argument one day and the
Holy Spirit whispering, “You
don’t need to say anything.”
Sometimes it meant letting
Dave think he was right…even
if I knew he wasn’t. I can still
feel the pain of trying to keep
my mouth shut!
These may seem like small
things, but every time you obey
God and do what’s right—even
when it hurts—you grow spiri-
tually and become more like
Jesus. And as you represent the
character of Christ to the world,
people will want what you have
and be drawn to you to know
more about God.
PROBLEMS
UNDERSTANDING
SPEECH?
Please give us a
call for a hearing
evaluation to see
if we can help.
Friend, the Lord has an amaz-
ing plan for your life. He not
only desires for you to be with
Him in Heaven, but it’s also His
will for you to have a great life
here on Earth! I encourage you
to seek God and spend time in
His Word. Ask Him to change
you and help you become every-
thing He has created you to be.
As you do, the Lord will be
faithful to transform you into
His image…and help you expe-
rience a greater, more fulfi lling
life than you ever imagined.
Joyce Meyer is a New York
Times bestselling author and
founder of Joyce Meyer Minis-
tries, Inc. She hosts the Enjoy-
ing Everyday Life radio and TV
programs, which air on hun-
dreds of stations worldwide. For
more information, visit www.
joycemeyer.org.
Our beloved Cynthia “Cindy”
went to be with her Lord and Sav-
ior on February 21, 2015. Cindy
was born in Kaukauna, Wisconsin
and moved to Cottage Grove, Or-
egon with her family when she was
2 years old. She was one of God’s
special children while on this earth
who loved her Savior Jesus Christ
with a pure and childlike heart.
Cindy’s life was very full of excitement, energy and joy. She
worked at Goodwill in Beaverton, Oregon and was very proud
that she oft en exceeded her work goals. Cindy enjoyed bowling,
going to movies, amusement parks and attending church. At the
time of her death Cindy was enjoying herself at one of her favor-
ite places, Disneyland.
Cindy would give everyone she met a great big hug; the best
hugs ever. Everyone who met Cindy could not help but love her.
She had that special sparkle and excitement for life. She accumu-
lated many medals when participating in Special Olympics and
one of her proudest moments was when she ran a leg with the
Special Olympic torch.
Cindy is survived by her mother Joy Deff erding, Brother
Chris Deff erding (Viki) and Sister Diana Deff erding. Other
special family members are Niece Heather Washburn (Jason),
Niece Rebecca Griffi n, and Nephew Aaron Deff erding (Megan)
and great nephews Henry and Oliver Deff erding (she loved the
little ones dearly). Her father Richard Deff erding preceded her
in death.
Arrangements entrusted to West Lawn Memorial Funeral
Home. Please access the obituary and you are invited to sign the
guestbook at musgroves.com
Why Choose Us
We’re not a high-volume crematory
At S'#."5R5L/(5R5#lls we strive for
excellence and quality … not quantity.
pristine facility cleanliness is required –
Citizens
of
David Douglas
School District
It’s all just part of our commitment to you.
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