NovelSisters

watching, reading, and writing stories

Dec 19

Hope – A Light in the Darkness

by lydiamhill

Well I haven’t written a blog post in years. Honestly I just don’t have the free time that I used to. But I’ve been meditating on hope these past few weeks and I really felt like sharing what I’ve been learning. So for whoever needs a little encouragement, I hope this post blesses you.

It all started with my pastor’s first sermon for Advent. Advent always starts with looking at Hope. But I hadn’t realized why we celebrate Advent when we do. I’d heard rumors of pagan traditions and the winter solstice and that Jesus was actually born sometime in the Spring. But my pastor said celebrating the birth of Christ in December was intentional. It’s the darkest time of the year (for the northern hemisphere at least), and when everything seems dead and gloomy, that’s when Christ enters the picture and brings hope. And then after Christmas it gets brighter and brighter.

And I totally get it, as fall turns to winter and we have less and less daylight, it’s depressing. But then when suddenly all of these Christmas lights get put up, it’s not so gloomy, instead it’s cheerful. I know a lot of people have had a rough year in 2020 and many decided to start celebrating Christmas early. Many of my friends had their Christmas trees up before Thanksgiving, and my neighborhood is lit up with many more lights than in the past. It’s like we all need a reason to have hope. And that’s what Christ is. He knew we couldn’t fix this broken messed up world, that we were dying and lost and hopeless. So He came down, He entered in. God became man. What a miracle!

On top of this new revelation for why we celebrate Jesus’s coming at this time of year, I also found out that two planets, Saturn and Jupiter will be the closest they have been in 800 years, forming a bright “Christmas Star” this Monday December 21st. You can learn more by going here.

When I heard about it, I felt like it was a sign from God that we can still have hope. Even with the world-wide pandemic, and political upheaval in the United States, He is still in control and in Him we can still have hope.

So, wherever you are, I hope you take a minute to look at the “Christmas Star” and remember that Hope in Christ never dies.

Merry Christmas and here’s to a better year in 2021.

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Feb 18

A Great Day

by lydiamhill

Yesterday is one of those days I don’t want to forget, so I thought I’d share about it on my blog. I know I’m not writing as much now, but I’d still like to occasionally share what’s going on in my life. So on to yesterday.

It all started with this really cool dream. Most of my dreams I don’t remember and I don’t remember all of this one either, but I do remember the feeling it gave me of being excited about sharing God’s truth with people and being used by Him even when I didn’t feel adequate. I think it had something to do with giving a sermon (something I’ve never done) and the topic boiled down to sharing our faith. And what kept going through my head, is sharing your faith isn’t something you should be guilted into doing, it’s something that comes naturally when you love God. You can’t share what you don’t have yourself, and if you really do have a faith in God and love for Him, it will spill into your other relationships.

Anyway, it was a cool way to wake up and it reminded me that God is at work and being a part of His plans are exciting. And I think having that dream prepared me for more of what God was going to do that day.

I went to church, and our pastor shared a heartfelt message of honesty and when we were singing I felt like I was joining in praising God with every believer around the world and every generation that had gone before me and followed Him. It was awesome. And in the middle of the service, I got a text from an old friend I hadn’t talked to in months. But more about that later…

As church was letting out, my phone buzzed with the noon text message. (Every day at noon our church sends a text to all our members to pray for someone). I didn’t look at the text but as I was leaving, someone told me, “Lydia we’re praying for you today.” And it was nice to know God was with me and was covering me in prayer for all that was happening to me that day.

I came home and got to meet with several freshman girls for our weekly discipleship group. We read in James together and prayed for each other and my fellow leader stayed late to just talk and share about her life and how God has changed her from who she was to who she is.

The afternoon turned into a nice family time of talking and laughing at a funny movie and just being together. But then I texted my friend who had originally texted during church. We decided that since we were both free for the evening, we would get together to eat dinner and talk. And as we talked I got to invite her to my church and try to encourage her in her faith. It was just so cool to me that we got to actually meet and talk on a day when I’d already been thinking about sharing my faith and being used by God.

I ended up dropping her off in a neighborhood right where my brother and sister-in-law live, with her mother. So I thought I’d stop by and say hello. My brother and his wife weren’t there, but the mother-in-law was and she was going to have surgery the next day. So I got to end my day visiting with her and praying for her about her upcoming surgery.

It was like God had all these things lined up for me to do that day and He had everything prepared in advance for me to do it. And it was just so fun to be a part of. So I don’t know what God has planned for me today, but I’m excited to see how He’ll continue to work in my life and my friend’s lives.

I hope you have a blessed day and I hope this post encouraged you to share your faith and be available to be used by God where you live.

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Oct 13

The Secret of Contentment

by lydiamhill

I was reading one of my favorite books in the Bible this week and had a few conversations with friends about life and work and well I just kept thinking about contentment.

Paul says in Philippians 4:12 “I have learned the secret of being content in every circumstance.” Isn’t that amazing! Just think about it. Any circumstance, whether you’re stuck in a job you hate, have had inadequate sleep, are dealing with emotional traumas, or are depressed or anxious, or bored, or whatever else you can think of. No matter what situation you find yourself in, Paul says there is a secret to being content in it.

Paul goes on to write, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” The secret isn’t spa treatment, or taking deep breaths, or being able to control what happens, it’s Jesus. He can give you His strength in whatever situation you are facing, and as you rely on Him, you find contentment.

I’ve seen this happen over and over in my life. And it’s something I have to be reminded of again and again. When I give my worries, fears, frustrations, concerns, hopes and dreams to Jesus, I find contentment and peace.

Even when the situation doesn’t end, or the problem doesn’t go away, it’s easier to face it with Jesus by my side. And that’s why it’s so important to spend time with Jesus every day. Without His help, my life quickly becomes all about me and what I want. And then I get frustrated and discontent when things don’t go my way.

But when I spend time with Jesus, I get to let go of all those things and trust Him with the circumstances I’m facing. Suddenly it doesn’t matter where I work. or how tired I am, or what I’m dealing with, because I know He is bigger than all those things and able to work in them.

But it’s hard to remember that if I don’t purposefully stop and spend time with Jesus. One of the students I work with shared recently about how he could see such a difference when he spent time with Jesus. It really does change your attitude and perspective.

Another man I spoke with who has been mentoring men in prison told me he tells all the guys he mentors if you have a quiet time (time alone with Jesus to read and pray and be with Him) I guarantee you will never go to prison again. I think what he meant is all the frustrations and temptations and problems lose their power when Jesus is around. They might be too strong for us to handle, but they aren’t too strong for Jesus and He gives us His strength.

So anyway, all that to say, I’ve been reminded this week of how important it is to be with Jesus and rest in His strength and find my contentment in Him. Circumstances may change, but He never will.

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Oct 8

The Value of Relationships

by lydiamhill

This past Friday my Grandmother passed away. She was my Dad’s mom, and like many grandparents in America, she lived in Florida. I hadn’t seen her in awhile, but I have gotten to talk with her on the phone a few times and send her pictures of things I’ve been doing.

She was a very kind, Christ-honoring woman, who loved her family well and served Jesus throughout her life. One of the stories I heard about her in the memorial service was that she and my grandpa decided to go to their church’s new modern service with all of the young 20 and 30 year-olds and pass out the bulletins every Sunday. That just struck me as such a remarkable thing. They weren’t holding onto what was comfortable or what they grew up with. Both of them were so ready to follow Jesus in whatever He asked them to do. I remember after my grandpa died, my grandma still found ways to serve Jesus. She was really excited about a ministry that shipped Christian books to people overseas, and she would spend time collecting books from friends and people around her so she could send several big boxes every year.

One of my favorite things my grandma did was send me a series of Christian books that had impacted her. As I read them and got to see another glimpse of how amazing God is, I could see how valuable my grandmother’s faith was to her, and how she wanted all of her family to know Jesus the way she did.

I’ve been so blessed to grow up in a Christian family and that’s thanks to my parents and grandparents and the legacy and foundation they laid through their actions and decisions.

I no longer have any living grandparents on earth. I had already lost my previous grandparents, one as recently as this past May. But because of their faith that has continued into the next generations, my family is able to say things like, “She’s happy where she is now,” or “Let’s celebrate her life.”

Life and death take on a whole different meaning when they are viewed with eternity in mind. I can still be sad that she isn’t with me on earth anymore. I’ll miss hearing her voice and getting her sweet cards and phone calls. But I know this isn’t the end of our relationship. I will get to see her again and all of my grandparents again and that’s exciting.

All this thinking about eternity is reminding me of how important relationships are compared to everything else. Money, food, entertainment, all the little tasks and projects that seem to fill my time, won’t matter much in eternity, and most of them won’t last to eternity. But relationships do. People are eternal, and our relationships with them can continue past this life.

So while I’m living here on earth God has reminded me to see people the way He sees them. They are eternal beings that have deep value and are much more important than what I want to do or get done.

So anyway I hope you have a blessed day and remember to value the people in your life and remember to thank God for them.

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Sep 3

A Day Off

by lydiamhill

Happy Labor Day! Sorry it’s been over a month since my last blog post. I’ve realized how hard it is to do things when you are working a full time job. For all of my life up to this point I had been working part time, and I could do a lot of extra things with my time because I wasn’t working. And now, even though I’d still like to do some of those things, they just are harder to do with less time to work with. So since it’s a Holiday and I am not working today, I thought I’d write a blog post.

It’s easy to get into the grass is always greener on the other side syndrome. When you work part time, you wish you had a full time job, when you aren’t married, you wish you were, when you’re bored and have nothing to do, you wish something would happen, when you’re running around like crazy, you wish you had a day off and some time to relax.

But it’s important to be thankful. To stop and appreciate what you do have. You may be very busy with lots of work and responsibilities, but it also means you have a job and that what you do matters to a lot of people, and that’s a blessing.

Or maybe you don’t have a job and you really want one, but in that place of not having a job, you have a lot of free time that you can use to invest in people, to volunteer, to help others.

You can always find something to be thankful for, even if life is hard. You just have to look for it. So here are some of the things I am thankful for today.

-Rest. God intended us to have a day of rest once a week and I am so thankful for my days off. They allow me to refocus, refresh and allow me to spend time with the people I love.

-Friends. I am so blessed to have so many close friends, whether they live in other cities, states, or in my own neighborhood, I have so many people that love me, care about me, encourage me and will be with me through all the ups and downs of life.

-A Job. Even though it can be hard sometimes, I am so thankful that my job allows me to bless so many people, to be a part of what God is doing in this city and state and that I can join in His work. I know most people don’t dream of a job of answering phones and emails and organizing supplies and placing orders, but I love it, because it’s needed and a big part of a ministry that changes people’s lives and reveals God’s glory.

-A place to live. It may not be perfect, some things could be fixed up or upgraded, but I have water, food, a bed, and people I live with that I love and care about.

There are so many more things I could write about that I am thankful for, but with the fall upon us, I may want to spread them out for some posts leading up to Thanksgiving. In any case, I hope this post reminds you to be thankful, to enjoy the little things God has blessed you with, like a day off, or a cold drink, or a beautiful sunset.

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Jul 21

A Texas Hoedown in London

by lydiamhill

I’ve been so busy with work that I haven’t had much time to blog or tell stories from my trip to London. But I finally had a free Saturday, so I thought I’d write about one of the cool things our church group got to do.

On our 2nd Friday in London (the first one was when we were still jet-lagged and trying to stay awake) we hosted a Texas Hoedown for the community at the church. It was funny to me that we called it a Hoedown because I can’t say I’ve ever been to a Texas Hoedown myself. I live in the city and although I’ve been to plenty of Barbecues, Rodeos, Concerts, and Dances, I don’t think I can say I’ve been to a Hoedown.

But we gave it our best shot and tried to include anything Texan we could for the community to experience and enjoy. We had BBQ (though it was just burgers and hot dogs not brisket and ribs like I usually think of for BBQ), sweet iced tea, country western line dancing, and a mechanical bull ride. Lots of people came and I enjoyed seeing our students running booths, serving food and interacting with people.

I helped with a yard game called “Hillbilly Golf” or “Ladder Golf.” Several kids came over and wanted to try throwing the golf balls on a rope. I showed them how to swing it and let it go at the right time so it would spin and could wrap around the poles. A few kids got a bit too enthusiastic and threw the balls over the fence or into the tree, but we laughed it off and got some older men to help us figure out a way to get them down.

I especially enjoyed seeing people learn line dances like Boot Scoot Boogie and Copperhead Road. It can be a bit intimidating to try something new, but our team member Joy did a great job of including people and encouraging them to try out the dances.

So many people were laughing and having fun, and some of them had never been to the church before. Relationships were built, and one lady, Eileen, told me how thankful she was for this church and how it’s changed their community. It has provided a place for kids to have fun in a safe place and bring people together.

I learned a lot about how God’s church should be open and welcoming to all kinds of people through this trip. And that He really does want us to connect with our communities, not just become a click that stays separate from everyone else.

Here’s a few pictures from the Hoedown! I hope they inspires you to reach out to people in your community and get to know someone who is different from you.


I hope all y’all have a great weekend!

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Jun 17

The Incredibles 2

by lydiamhill

I’ve been looking forward to this movie for a long time. I just re-watched the first movie and boy is it good. There are so many subtle references to our own culture and the little things families face everyday, and there are so many laugh-out-loud moments and amazing quotes that I still use today like Dash saying “I love our family” or Edna telling Elastigirl to “Pull yourself together!” or Frozen arguing with his wife about his Supersuit.

So boy was I excited to walk into the theater and finally watch the sequel. I love the little shorts they play before every Pixar movie and this one was good too, it made me cry and was so sweet. And then the Incredibles started, picking up right where we’d left off in the first movie with our super family fighting the Underminer. It was full of great action and comedy. I loved seeing the family having to work together and so eager to help each other.

I don’t want to give away the entire plot, but I can say that this movie was very enjoyable to watch. I especially liked seeing how the family had to adjust to Jack Jack’s new powers and Edna Mode’s reappearance. I also really appreciated the struggle the Parr family went through of trying to do what they know is right while still respecting the authorities that deemed their actions illegal. It’s been something that society and the church has had to deal with over and over. How to submit to authority but still influence culture for good? When to obey and when to stand up and say this is wrong? It’s something we’ve been discussing in my church recently and one of the things my pastor said was that Christians should be the best citizens and work with the government and help them with their God-given responsibility, so that if there’s ever a time when Christians have to go against what the government is doing, it’s seen as abnormal.

Anyway, back to the movie. One of the sweetest moments was seeing Bob Parr trying to connect with his daughter and apologize for his mistakes. It was a good reminder that no one is a perfect parent and admitting your faults can go a long way towards forgiveness and closeness in relationships.

It was a little easy to see the plot twist coming in this movie, but it was still a lot of fun to watch and I would gladly see it again.

I probably won’t get to write another blog for awhile. I’m heading to London with my church this week. I’m excited to get to share what God does when I get back but that won’t be till July. So until then, I hope y’all have a good summer and maybe get a chance to see The Incredibles 2.

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Jun 2

Approval

by lydiamhill

As I was spending some time with Jesus this morning, I realized that I have an idol in my heart. And it’s easy to think it’s not a bad idol, everyone needs it. But that’s the thing about idols. Often times they are good things, but we take them too far, we put them up on a pedestal, and think if I only had that, then everything would be great. Or if it gets taken away, we are crushed. I actually read a great book about this years ago, called “Counterfeit Gods” by Timothy Keller. It’s a great way to help recognize the idols in your own life.

Anyway, back to this morning. I was thinking about a time recently when my feelings had gotten hurt. And I was trying to figure out why it hurt so much. I felt like usually things don’t bother me and I wanted to know why this did. The more I thought about it, I realized what I really crave is other’s approval. Whether it was in school and I tried to do everything right to do well in a class, or at work trying to finish all my assignments well, or even with friends trying to be available and ready to meet their needs. In all of these situations I wanted to be liked, to be approved of. I love getting sweet notes of encouragement or thank yous. Though I don’t want it to be in front of a lot of people. I’d rather it be personal than put on display for others.

But at the end of the day, what I really want is people to like me, to approve of me. And this, like many idols, is a good thing. I think wanting other’s approval is pretty normal for most humans. And in some ways it helps us think about others not just ourselves and be aware of how we treat others. But it can be taken too far. You can do too much, just trying to get people to like you, and you can be crushed when someone just doesn’t like you.

So after some prayer with Jesus, I think I have an idol in this area that He needs to help me overcome. Because ultimately, I should not be seeking other’s approval. I should not be ruled by ‘what will they think of me.’ Instead I should seek to live God’s way, and please Him, even if other people don’t approve. I should find that need for approval filled by Jesus, who loved me and gave Himself for me and doesn’t expect me to earn His favor.

So anyway, that’s what I’ve been learning today and thought I’d share.

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May 25

Life Changes

by lydiamhill

So a lot has happened since my last post and I have a feeling I won’t be posting as frequently in the future. On May 10th, I left my house to go to an interview for a new job with a ministry that my dad has been involved with for years. They were wanting to hire a new administrative assistant and it sounded like a good fit for me, so I went to talk with them about working there.

When I drove back to the house, I saw several other cars besides our family’s at the house. I wondered if something had happened. I walked inside and found my parents and sister praying with a family friend and our hospice nurse filling out paperwork at the kitchen table. My mom told me my grandma had passed away around 10:15 am, right as I had gotten to my interview, but she had wanted me to go ahead and do the interview, so she hadn’t called me.

I hadn’t necessarily wanted to be there when my grandma passed away, so I wasn’t upset. And in some ways there was a joyful atmosphere in our home. We were glad that my grandma was home with Jesus. And my mom pointed out that an encouraging song had started playing right as she passed that reminded her that everything would be alright. And she also told me that is was exactly 40 days after Easter, or ‘Ascension Day’ when Jesus returned to heaven after His Resurrection. So it seemed appropriate that my grandma would go home on the same day.

When relatives came later, we cried some. And at her funeral and burial this past weekend there were tears shed. But overall, I’ve felt God’s peace and presence throughout these past couple weeks. And I’ve seen how perfect His timing has been.

I’ve known for awhile that my part time jobs of helping my family would be temporary. My dad is planning on retiring at the end of this year and with my grandma passing, I won’t have my job of taking care of her either. So at just the right time, God opened up this opportunity to serve in a ministry.

I’ve always thought an office job would suit me well and I’m especially excited that it is connected with a ministry that I’ve known about for years and that I know the staff personally. It’ll be good working in that kind of environment, and be a way that I can serve God and His kingdom, but also provide for myself financially.

So last Thursday May 24th I officially said yes to a new full time job as an administrative assistant for the God of Hope Ministries.

I’m just so thankful for God being with me through all these changes and that He has the best plan for my life.

On that note, because this is a full time job, and I have already started training for it, I won’t have as much free time for writing blog posts or novels. So I will still try to write posts occasionally. But I’m not as determined to write a blog post every single week. And my next novel is not as high on my to do list as it once was. I would still like to finish my 3rd novel in the Finding Home Series, but it will probably take longer. I’ll post updates on it as I get closer to publishing.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

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May 9

Granny

by lydiamhill

Today, as my grandma gets closer and closer to passing on, I’ve decided to write about her. Maybe I’ll be able to work out a poem or something in her honor eventually, but for now I’ll share this:

We share a middle name and have a similar height and facial structure. I found an old photo of her when she was young and we look so similar. She liked to garden, go polka dancing, and play Dominoes. In her later years she was quite fond of puzzles and made one with African animals probably a hundred times.

She also had a sweet tooth and would eagerly eat anything with chocolate and peanut butter. We’ve made her chocolate peanut butter shakes for the past few years, and she would almost always ask for more.

She was very supportive, always ready to help when we got in a pickle or needed some cash, or when my parents needed a babysitter or wanted to borrow her big van for family road trips. She loved to give us gifts, and support us on mission trips, or encourage us to travel.

She did a lot of traveling herself. I’m told she went to Alaska twice, Europe, New York City, and Colorado. I remember flying to Hawaii with her. She was so excited to go with us and see the beautiful scenery and wear a lei.

I don’t remember her watching TV very much, if she joined others to watch something, she would often fell asleep. But I do remember going to an actual movie theater with her to watch The Adventures of Tintin and she just loved seeing the little white dog barking and running around.

She owned doxins or dachshunds and cats and I’m pretty sure some other animals at different points in her life.

And she was always very welcoming of new family members. Whenever someone got married, she made the new in-law feel part of the family. I know my dad would call her mom, even though she was my mom’s mom. And I think it’s a trait she’s passed on to the rest of her family. When my younger brother married, his wife was welcomed in as part of the family, free to call my parents mom and dad.

More recently, my grandma told me that her grandma only spoke German, and she had to speak German to talk to her. She would often recite the first 10 numbers in German to herself and tell us ‘good morning’ or ‘tastes good’ in German. I’ve actually started trying to learn some German now, partially because of my Grandma’s heritage and influence.

Even though she wanted to be called Granny, she accepted other names from her grand kids, particularly Nana.

She also had a great sense of humor. When we’d ask her how she was feeling, she’d hold up her hands and say “With my fingers.”

I’m going to miss her when she leaves us. I know it’ll be sad and hard. But I’m also a bit excited for her. Soon she’ll get to be with Jesus, and see all the people who’ve gone before her and are waiting to welcome her to her home in heaven.

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