2A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL DECEMBER 20, 2017
I
used to be one of the most
negative people I knew.
My motto was, “If I don’t
expect anything good to hap-
pen, the I won’t be disappointed
when it doesn’t.”
However, God’s way of see-
ing things is just the opposite!
He wants us to live our lives
fi lled with hope, expecting Him
to do something great at any
moment.
What is hope? One defi nition
of hope is “a favorable and con-
fi dent expectation.”
It’s a positive attitude and the
happy anticipation that some-
thing good is going to happen.
Real hope is not a wishy-
washy, vague “let’s just wait
and see what happens” attitude,
but it’s believing and trusting
that what God promised, He
will do. God is just looking for
opportunities to be good to His
children and He wants us to ex-
pect and look forward to it!
The Bible says that hope is
the anchor of our soul (see He-
brews 6:19). When things look
dark and we don’t have an an-
swer, that’s when hope kicks in
to remind us that our new begin-
ning is right around the corner.
For instance, when it looks
like everybody else is getting
blessed and we’re tired and feel
like giving up, it’s hope that
steadies our heart and helps us
hold on to our faith in God’s
promise.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, hope
is described as a helmet. So,
what we think must be pret-
ty important. Our attitude and
what we’re expecting has ev-
erything to do with what we’re
thinking and saying!
I encourage you to take con-
trol of your thoughts and words
fi rst thing every morning. When
you wake up in the morning,
don’t settle for thoughts like,
Well, I guess I’ll try to make it
through another day.
Instead, anticipate good
things from God. Think and de-
clare things like:
“God, thank You for this day!
I know that You love me and
You have a good plan for me
today. Apart from You, I can do
nothing, but in Christ, I can do
whatever I need to do. And with
Your help, I am going to have
a good attitude and positive
thoughts.”
Then expect your break-
through and new beginning.
Say, “Today could be the day!”
It’s important to realize that
we can’t live by how we feel
if we want to have a positive,
hope-fi lled life. When negative
feelings come, if we don’t give
in to them and feed them, they
will die.
So, don’t allow yourself to
get caught in the trap of wait-
ing to feel hopeful, but instead,
decide to be full of hope. When
you make a conscious decision
to think positive, faith-fi lled
thoughts throughout the day,
your feelings will eventually
catch up with your decision!
God’s Just Waiting to Amaze
You
Several years ago, I asked the
Lord, “Why don’t I have excit-
ing, special things happen in my
life anymore?”
God spoke to my heart and
said, “Joyce, I still do those
things all the time. You have
just gotten used to it.”
You see, God wants us to live
amazed by His goodness in our
lives...to actively take notice
of the truly wonderful things
He does for us. Why? Because
when we live amazed, we will
never be without hope! Let’s
look at the story of Abraham...
God had blessed Abraham
abundantly. However, there was
one thing that he and his wife,
Sarah, didn’t have—a child.
Abraham said, “’...Lord God,
what reward will You give me,
since I am [leaving this world]
childless...?’
“And the Lord brought Abram
outside [his tent into the night]
and said, ‘Look now toward the
heavens and count the stars—
if you are able to count them.
Then He said to him, ‘So [nu-
merous] shall your descendants
be’” (Genesis 15:2, 5 AMP).
Although Abraham’s circum-
stances looked hopeless, the
Lord brought him out of his tent
to amaze him and remind him
that He can do the impossible.
I believe we can spend too
much time “in our tent,” look-
ing at our own problems. That’s
why the Bible says to look away
from all that will distract unto
Jesus, the Author and Finisher
of our faith (see Hebrews 12:2).
Every time we decide to pray,
read God’s Word or simply
dwell on the great things He has
done for us in the past, it pro-
duces hope. And, like Abraham,
we soon begin thinking, Wow,
maybe He can do this for me!
When times are tough and
you feel discouraged, it’s time
to step outside the tent and see
what God has to say. When you
do, you’ll fi nd that He is just
waiting to amaze you.
IN MEMORIAM
BIRTHS
Sophia Braun and Zach Miller of Cottage Grove welcomed a
baby boy on Dec. 9 at PeacehHealth Sacred Heart Medical Cen-
ter-RiverBend.
Laura and Joel Ware of Cottage Grove welcomed a baby boy on
Nov. 26 at PeacehHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center-RiverBend.
Jessica and Joseph Cavaner of Cottage Grove welcomed a baby
boy on Nov. 18 at PeacehHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center-Riv-
erBend.
Happy
Holidays
from the
Sentinel
staff
Jenna Buetow
Grant Gording, BC-HIS
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Family & General
Dentistry
Dennis Lee Mitchell
1931-2017
Dennis Lee Mitchell of Lorane, Ore-
gon passed away December 16th, 2017
in Eugene Oregon from age related
causes. Dennis was born on December
19, 1931 in Stayton, Oregon to Charles
B. & Lucille Addison Mitchell. He
met his future wife Lorena Evelyn Tew
while attending Lorane High School
in 1948. They were married on Au-
gust 25, 1950. Dennis graduated from
Lorane High School in 1949 and then
attended Oregon State University for one year before returning to
Lorane to marry his high school sweetheart, Lorena. He always
enjoyed playing poker and was an avid outdoorsman, he loved to
fi sh and hunt. He worked with his Father at Chas B. Mitchell &
Son Logging before starting and operating Mitchell & Sons Log-
ging. He and Lorena also ranched in Lorane for many years. He
volunteered on the Crow Applegate Lorane School board for 15
years, was an active member of the Associated Oregon Loggers
where he was named Oregon Logger of the Year in 2002, and was
a member of the Eagles on the Green where he and Lorena danced
regularly until it closed. In addition to his wife of 67 years, Lore-
na, Dennis is survived by his 4 children, Robert (Emily) Mitchell
of Lorane, Oregon, Debra Mitchell of Anchorage, Alaska, Lloyd
Mitchell (Peggy Tindall) of Lorane, Oregon, and Carol Mitchell
Reeves (Jim) of Cottage Grove, Oregon, brothers, Gary (Dee)
Mitchell and Russ (Linda) Mitchell. Grandchildren include, Cory
Mitchell, Callie (Glen) Stern, Cody Mitchell, Jeffrey Tindall, and
Jesse Tindall. He was preceded in death by grandson, Jacob Cun-
ningham Mitchell. A private family burial with be at the Lorane
IOOF Cemetery and Celebration of Life will be held at Smith Lund
Mills Funeral Chapel in Cottage Grove on Friday, December 22,
2017 at 1:00 pm. Memorial contributions may be made to Child
Evangelism, 834 Monroe St, Eugene, OR 97402.
Douglas
uglas G.
G Maddess,
M ad
d d ess DMD
DM
“Brightening Lives One Smile at a Time”
914 S. 4th Street
Cottage Grove
541-942-1559
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DEATH
NOTICE
Sampson-Marie Sampson, 87
of Cottage Grove died Dec. 13.
A memorial service and recep-
tion will be at 1 p.m. Saturday,
Jan 27 at Smith-Lund-Mills Fu-
neral Chapel in Cottage Grove.
Alice Martin
1917-2017
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Tammy L. McClung DDS • Park W. McClung DDS
Alice Martin, 100, of Cottage Grove died Nov. 8, 2017.
She was born May 10, 1917 in Pittsburg, Penn. to James
and Nettie Howell. On Sept. 18, 1937 in Cumberland,
Md., she and Warren H. Martin were married. She worked
for the Federal Civil Service and the Social Security
Administration For 18 months she worked in Bangkok,
Th ailand with the 29th Signal Corps as a civilian employee.
She received a Certifi cate of Accomplishment for helping
process Vietnamese boat people as they arrived in San
Diego, Calif.
Alice enjoyed reading and traveling. Survivors include
four children, Ronald Martin of Austin, Tex., Terry Martin of Little Valley, N.Y., Danice
Hagewood of Cottage Grove, Marianne Worley of Henderson, Nev., two sisters, Pauline
Ralston of Cottage Grove and Doris Pappas of Cantil, Calif., and 12 grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Warren H. Martin, on Nov. 19, 1963, two sons,
Warren Robert Martin and Michael Martin, and two brothers, Eddie Howell and Lawrence
Howell.
A Celebration of Life was held Nov. 8 at Middlefi eld Assisted Living in Cottage Grove
presented by Jerry Howell and attended by many family and friends. Cremation, under the
care of Andreason’s in Springfi eld, took place Nov. 10. Th is coming spring of 2018, burial of
her ashes will be placed next to her husband in Indian Wells Valley Cemetery (Desert
Memorial Park) in Ridgecrest, Calif., handled by Holland Lyons Mortuary
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