Julia's Journal

2011-03-18T17:56:00.000-07:00

Today I was holding my sweet little 8 months old niece Carrie. Every time I see her I swear she's gotten bigger, or has come up with a different adorable facial expression. She's changing everyday. As I held her she was warm and cuddly, perfect and innocent..(I'm sure my sister would beg to differ on that last one. haha.)
I kinda chuckled to myself as I watched my mom trying to get her to say "mama", and it made me think... We all wish babies could stay babies, but yet we encourage her to speak, and to take her first steps. I whispered in Carrie's ear that she needed to stop getting so big, but then I looked over at my other niece, Christy. She's 3, and it felt like just yesterday she was Carrie's size and I was telling her the same thing...to stay a little baby. But today Christy came into the house and said to me, "Hey you!" I told her she looked and acted like a teenager and asked her if she was...Her response was.."No Auntie I'm not teenager, I'm Christy". I of course died laughing and gave her my apologizes for the mis-understanding. I guess what I am saying is, even though we sometimes want things to stay the way they are, nature has a way of constantly changing things. And each change, each new facial expression, each new attempt at a sentence structure is enjoyable along the way. We need growth. We take pictures to remember that "exact moment", we try to freeze time. But the world just keeps spinning, we get older, we grow and we make memories along the way. I guess the same could be said of our spiritual lives. We get to a "comfortable place" and we "freeze time", we stop growing. Don't stop at just saying "mama"...go for the full sentence!!!

It is time to work-out!

2010-04-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

Last night Ray and I went to the gym to do our regular work-out, and
we were so surprised to see the gym just about packed. We kinda
chuckled to ourselves because everyone is just realizing that summer
is just about here, and they can no longer hide under those big bulky
sweatshirts. Everyone is there to get results fast and easy. Those of
you that have worked out before know that it’s anything BUT easy. It
takes discipline, dedication and lots of hard work. I love the
different groups of people you see at the gym. There’s chatty Catie
who spends most of her time talking with her friends and lightly
tossing a 5lb. ball. There’s heavy weight Harry who tries to lift way
to much weight and makes enough noise to erupt a volcano. There’s lazy
Larry, this guy wants results but isn’t willing to work for them. Then
there’s newbie Nancy, she tries hard, but a lot of the time does
exercises incorrectly. And then finally…there’s precise Pete, this guy
has invested time and energy into learning everything he can about his
body, and how he can get the best results. He does his work out
smooth, correctly, and he pushes himself until it hurts, and did I
mention he’s pretty much jack’d? Okay, so you might be wondering what
my point is of this blog. Well…here it is…the Bible says the end is
drawing nigh, so that means now more than ever we need to be telling
our friends and family about the Lord. We need to be living the
Christian life. Don’t be like that person that joins the gym a month
before summer so they can get in shape for the beach. Let’s start
making a difference now. Don’t be like chatty Catie…The Christian that
has a weak relationship with the Lord and spends her time gossiping
about other people. Or heavy weight Harry…the Christian that does
little for the kingdom of Heaven but is full of pride and wants
everyone to know of the little he does do. Lazy Larry is a bad place
to be. You want to go to Heaven, but you don’t want to read your
Bible, pray or help out in Church. If your newbie Nancy…you’re okay.
You know why? Because you’ve joined the gym, you’ve started working
out. You might not be doing everything correctly, but that’s because
you don’t know any different. The awesome thing about you is you can
dig in. Get plugged into a discipleship program. Learn all you can
about the Lord, there’s books, internet, Church programs. You’re going
to grow in leaps and bounds; you’re going to build muscle. Precise
Pete is pretty much our goal…we need to aim to have our Christian life
with God solid. Rock hard. Un-movable. We need to be an example and
encouragement to others. We need to serve the Lord until it hurts.
Don’t be content just to toss that 5lb ball…go beyond that…step out of
that comfort zone. Make a difference.

Planting Seeds

2010-03-12T15:21:00.000-08:00

It’s the beginning of March and everyone is so much happier with that little taste of spring. This weather reminds me of when I was little. Every spring mom would take us kids to our local greenhouse to help her pick out several different flowers to plant in her garden. When we got back from choosing just the right flowers we would get on our hands and knees and start digging in the dirt, and I’m pretty sure get as dirty as humanly possible! During the first few weeks, we would water the flowers so carefully. We would glow with delight when they grew bigger, and prettier….and then…..without fail, about half way through the summer our beautiful flowers would wither up and die. Maybe we didn’t water them enough, or maybe we watered them too much. Whatever the case, I remember mom would stand in front of our once beautiful garden with her hands on her hips and say… “I just can’t grow anything in this soil”. Dad would always laugh and say she just didn’t know how to do it right, while gleaming with pleasure at 150 acres of beautiful, bountiful crop that he planted that year. It was always a mystery to me how dads crops would grow tall and luscious and our little flowers would wither up and die. As I grew older I came to the conclusion that the difference was, dad probably prayed over every single seed he would plant, because if we didn’t have a good crop, we wouldn’t be able to eat that year.

Why am I telling you all this? Well….I was reading in my devotions the other day about the sower and the seed. We’re all familiar with this parable, and we’ve all heard hundreds of sermons, and read several books on the topic. But I just want to encourage you, that when you plant that seed of the gospel in someone’s heart, pray! Pray for the souls of your un-saved loved ones, friends, or perfect strangers. You may feel like the little things you say about the Lord, or your kind actions towards some else are irrelevant, but only God knows how far they may go to help bring some else closer to HIM

It's been 10 years.....

2009-10-16T05:54:00.000-07:00

It literally just feels like yesterday when our cute little family of five piled into a minivan and made our first trip to Marion, Indiana. We were so nervous about making our first appearance in the States. I remember the very first concert we did at the Northern Gospel Singing Convention. The emcee gave us a huge introduction and people stood to their feet anxious to hear what Canadians sound like…We were the new faces in Southern Gospel Music…My hands were sweaty and my stomach was a ball of nerves, I thought for sure I was going to puke right then and there…. Then…our sound track started and we started to sing our first song…”Goodbye World Goodbye”….we were off….the only problem was…”Goodbye World Goodbye” wasn’t the track that was playing….So…We were singing “Goodbye World Goodbye” to the sound track of “We Shall Wear a Robe and Crown”….we were off to a smashing start. I remember Jessie finally noticed that our vocals and the track didn’t match up, so she stopped us, and then we all looked at the sound man horrified that he played the wrong track….everyone laughed, and Dad told the audience…”This happens every time we’re in the States”...hahaha! Those were good times

HFM is Celebrating our 10^th year anniversary, and we want you all to be a part of it. On Nov. 21^st we’re hosting a celebration concert at Calvary Church on Ireland side Rd. in Simcoe, On. We are going to re-introduce some of the “old classics” like; “Standing on the Rock”, “When He Was on the Cross”, “I’m Satisfied”, “Feeling Fine” and many, many more. We’re going to share funny stories, super embarrassing photo’s, and never before seen photoage. Sharing the stage with us, our emcee, and dear friend, Drew Geerts from Indiana, “DW and Jessie”, “Kingsway Quartet” (who were very influential to us in the early years), and the “Johnson Quartet”. It’s going to be a great night. There’s no admission, but a loving offering will be taken. We just want you come on out, laugh with us, cry with us, and re-live “The Glory Days”, I can hardly wait….

Change Is In The Air

2009-09-18T05:42:00.000-07:00

Well, the Hilton Family is going through yet another transition of change. In August our drummer Brandon Bouwma drove out to Saskatchewan to start the next chapter in his life at college. We are so proud of him. Brandon brought energy, a servant’s heart, creativity and laughter to Hilton Family Music. We will miss him terribly! Even though Brandon is moving on, we are excited to have a new fresh drummer come on the scene. Gregory Kekes. Greg is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, he’s 17, and lives in Simcoe with him mom and dad and 2 younger sisters. Greg has played drums in his Church praise teams, but this is his first time in a band. We hope we won’t teach him too many bad habits! :) With Greg’s sweet humble spirit, and his quickness to flash his handsome charming smile we’re sure that we’ll have those single girls piling in to our shows!! Hahaha!! Greg is constantly smiling, and we are so blessed to have him apart of our team. We are so excited to see all that God has in store for us. When someone like Greg has this much talent, I’m you’ll be seeing him a lot in the music industry.

Greg’s first concert with HFM will be on
Sept. 26^th @ St. Paul's Presbyterian Church - Burlington, ON - 7pm
& Sept. 27th @ Rosebank Brethren In Christ - Rosebank, ON - 6pm.
So common out and meet the new face in Country Music.

Summmer!!!

2009-07-10T05:28:00.000-07:00

So summer is finally here. That means no more running outside in your slippers…starting the car, and then making a mad dash back to the house before frost bite sets in. No more heating bills…YES….and my personal favorite..no more snow shoveling…oh wait…I don’t shovel snow. Thankfully my wonderful husband looks at snow shoveling as his work out for the day…what a great guy…I should marry him…oh yeah…I DID! Haha!!

I love summer, not only because I love soaking up vitamin D on the beach, but because HFM gets to sing almost every weekend. We have already started our jammed packed weekends full of travelling, lots of junk food, crammed sleeping quarters, 3 hour set-ups, 2 hour sound checks, hour and half performance, 45min tear down, midnight snacks, late nights, early morning, and then…doing it all over again…but…It’s not always that glorious!! :) We often get very exhausted, sometimes discouraged, and emotionally drained…So we’ll need lots of your prayers this summer!

Check out our schedule for when we’re in your area. We’d love to see you .http://www.hiltonministries.com/Tour%20Schedule.htm

HFM has been so overwhelmed with the awesome response we’ve had from our new CD “READY TO SERVE”. Everyone has been so encouraging! It has been such a blessing for us to hear different stories about how our songs have been able to touch your life, or encourage you in your spiritual walk. It makes all the long hard hours we’ve put into each song worth it! So thank you!!

We hope you’ve been inspired with our new album just as you inspire us each day with your support and prayers!

To My Mom.......on Mother's Day

2009-05-06T18:27:00.001-07:00

I like to say that my mom is the perfect KJV (King James Version) mom/wife. Common…you know what I’m talking about…you know those sermons we hear about wives being submissive, obedient, prudent, wise, and hard working?? The ones we all despise? Well…that’s my mom. I hardly ever remember my parents fighting…and if there was a “disagreement” Dad was always quick to apologize and my mom was even quicker at forgiving. I’ve never known someone to forgive so quickly. Mom is just one of those people that you instantly fall in love with. She’s bubbly, friendly, kind; considerate, extremely emotional, selfless, and Godly…just to name a few…

Growing up my family didn’t have a lot, but some how mom always was able to come up with something for dinner. I’ve never known anyone else in the whole world to make soggy wet celery look and taste so wonderful. She taught my sister and me to always make sure the men of the house get enough to eat. She taught us to put others before us…But most importantly…my mom has taught me to live, laugh and love….she’s taught me to take everything to the Lord in prayer….

I’m pretty sure that the reason my mom is such a great mom is because of her mom. My Granny has been gone for 8 years, and I miss her dearly. She was awesome. She was the kind of Granny that brought chocolate syrup with her, when she came to visit, so that we could make chocolate milk. She would take her false teeth out and my sister and I would giggle hysterically as she used the teeth to tell us crazy stories. Granny was my family’s biggest fan. She bought up pretty much all of our CD's. To tell you the truth…I think she was the ONLY one buying our CD's. lol. She would be so proud of us today.

When my Granny was in the hospitable, she somehow always managed to put on a smile for us kids. She lots a lot of weight near the end, and I remember distinctively her lifting up her one leg, and making jokes about it. She told us kids that her legs looked like a scrawny little calf leg. This of course sent us into hysterics. She was something else.

The last time I saw her I remember giving her a hug and a kiss….and she whispered in my ear “Don’t forget your little ole Granny”…I hugged her tight and told her that I would never forget her. So today…this mother’s day…I want to honor my Mom and my Granny…These are the people that I hope to be one day. These moms preserve, encourage, live life to the fullest, and inspire…..

I love you mom, and I miss you, Granny!!!

A little history....and a trip down memory lane...

2009-04-21T17:47:00.000-07:00

Many of you know that the Hilton Family started off with just my Mom and dad, and then later my sister (Jessie) and I joined, followed by my younger brother (Dale). For years we traveled just the 5 of us, in a mini van and trailer. Those were the days.....So often my family and I take that trip down memory lane and laugh and joke about all the memories we shared at that time in our lives. Just the other day we were talking about how every time we used to arrive at a hotel in some different town or State, it would be Jess and my goal to hid the TV remote on Dale. Oh we hid it in the garbage can, microwave, fridge or inside his pillow case...where ever! Dale would get so mad at us, and Jess and I would sit on the bed laughing our heads off. And then at some point Jess would go into the bathroom, and Dale would hid in the closet. And every time Jess came out, we would ask her to check the closet and see if there were any extra blankets. And without fail, Jess would open the closet and Dale would scare her half to death. Jessie never expected it, and if she did, she would still scream. It was just one of those things. Mom always got great deals on hotel rooms, she one time got 2 room with 2 twin size beds for $66 bucks. The poor guy at the desk didn't know what hit him!! Dad taught us so many things about traveling and saving money. For instance, Dad would make sure to get a hotel that had continental breakfast. And in the mornings he would tell us to eat as much as we could. Preferably oatmeal or something heavy. Something that would last us a long time. And then we wouldn't stop to eat till around 2:00PM. And it was usual pizza....we would over order, so we'd have at least one box of pizza left over. Most times we wouldn't eat again until after our shows. Which was about 9:00PM. The worst part was, the next day we would eat that left over pizza for breakfast, lunch and super...and any snacks in between. If you were hungry...you could either eat the cold greasy pizza that was shoved under neath the seat of the van, or you can ignore the hunger pains, which Dad often said would "eventually go away". Hahaha! Yeah, I've never see anyone make the best of one box of pizza then we did. The funny thing is, my husband and I did a road trip down to Louisana not to long ago, and I found myself pulling the same money saving skills....minus the cold pizza under the seat of the van. :O)
All of us look so fondly on those times we spent together as a family. It drew us closer together then most families. I love my family so much, and the exciting part is our family just keeps growing. For instance, a couple years ago, my sister Jessie met the man of her dreams. Tall dark and handsome, and a Florida boy at that. DW brought the first major changes to the Hilton Family. He added his talents to our group for several years, and our family band just kept on making more and more memories. We had to up-grade to a bus, due to the fact that DW is 6'4'' and couldn't get very comfortable in a mini van. About 3 years later, I started taking interest in a certain talented young man from the Johnson Quartet. He traveled with us, adding his talents to our quickly growing family. In 2008 Ray and I were married, and Ray officially joined the Hilton Family. Brad (Ray's younger brother), also exremely talented, began coming with Ray as we traveled, and Dad quickly put him to work as part of the band...he didn't have a choice!! LOL! In 2008 Jessie and DW had their first baby...Christy May Crutchfield. By this time you can imagine our bus is getting smaller and smaller, but things just became funner and more exciting. Just this year Jess and DW have stopped singing with the Hilton Family. We miss them terribly, but are happy for them starting their own duet ministry.
Since the beginningof this year, we've added a new drummer...Brandon Bouwma. He's added his amazing talents to the family group, and he just feels like another brother. We're having a blast traveling with him, and we each are inspired by his heart for people, and passion for music.
This year we've also had the privledge to record our brand new CD, "READY TO SERVE". We are so excited about this CD. We had so much fun recording it. We wrote and arranged 8 of the 12 songs, and we feel that this CD has become more "personal" because the stories in these songs are "our" stories...It's just us!! Down to earth farm raised family, with a passion to get out in the world and serve the people that need to hear about Christ.
Our Ready to Serve Album is being released on May 8th at Emmanuel Bible Church in Simcoe and also May 10th at Hagersville Penetcostal Church. There is no admission for the concert. We would love to see you there. For more information contact us at 519-587-4717 or check our our site or fan page on facebook.

As you can see God has been so good to Hilton Family Music, we stand back in awe at all he's done....

Julia's Journal

2009-04-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!!

Well, I no longer can do my Julia's Journal over the email like before, so we've opened up this blog, for those hard core Hilton Family fans. :)
We hope to keep you up-dated on funny and crazy stories of our travels, and also let you know where we will be and when.
We can also keep you better up-dated on video's and photo's.
So enjoy......you'll be hearing from Hilton Family Music SOON....

-Julia