NovelSisters

watching, reading, and writing stories

May 11

My Favorite Character in LOTR

by lydiamhill

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Well, I was thinking recently over one of my favorite movie/book series: Lord of the Rings. I admit I’ve watched the movies more times than I’ve read the books, so my opinions are mostly based on the film version. But I’ve been a fan for sometime now, and I’ve noticed that over the years my favorite character or the one I connect to most has changed.

When I first heard of Lord of the Rings I was in 5th grade and a teacher tried splitting us into teams based on if we liked Frodo or Sam better. I barely knew anything about the story, but I knew Frodo was the main character. And in almost anything I read or watched, the main character was my favorite. This seemed to hold true as my classmates began choosing Frodo. So I jumped on the bandwagon and said Frodo was my favorite.

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Well, when I finally got to read and watch the movies for myself, I was offered so many more options for a favorite character. There was Gandalf the wise and powerful wizard, Gimli, the grumpy yet loveable dwarf, Legolas the attractive and agile elf, Merry and Pippin the mischievous and hilarious hobbits, Sam, the best friend of Frodo, Arogorn the mysterious and humble ranger, and a host of other side characters. Faramir and Eowyn also come to mind. In any case, picking a favorite character just got a lot harder. There were so many great characters, how could I choose? After watching the movies, and the extended editions, and the behind the scenes features, I finally settled on Aragorn. For one he was good with horses, not only as a character, but the actor too. And he was the good king that came from humble beginnings. So he was wise, yet fierce, loyal and brave. He led his friends, and he was good looking too. Plus I felt as if he was genuine because the actor wasn’t completely acting; he would fight for real with the stuntmen. And so the character of Aragorn was more and more attractive.

Viggo as Aragorn

Aragorn remained my favorite character for sometime. How could anyone compete with him? But what do you know, as I got older, the one character I rejected even from the beginning when I was choosing between Sam and Frodo has made a comeback. When I rewatched the LOTRs recently, I found myself more and more impressed and attracted to Sam. He may not have a lot going for him on the surface, he doesn’t go on all the crazy adventures that most of the characters do, he isn’t even the one carrying the ring. He’s short, a bit plump, and not as funny as Merry or Pippin. But Sam has something that I’ve come to value. He is honest, he is faithful despite the circumstances, he is protective and hopeful and looks for the bright side. He encourages Frodo and just as Frodo said, “Frodo wouldn’t have gotten far without Sam.”

Without Sam, the quest would have failed, yet he stays back in the shadows, he doesn’t look for glory or respect. He’s just doing his job, looking out for his friends and putting other’s needs before his own. In my eyes, he’s doing what God has called each Christian to do: to serve, to love, to point the people around us to the truth and hope we have in God and to keep going, even when it’s hard. Sam’s speeches are the most memorable part of LOTRs for me. So I’ll end with my favorite.

Image 3 Source

Frodo: I can’t do this, Sam.

Sam: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?

Sam: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo… and it’s worth fighting for.

Books Christian Life Movies

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Apr 20

Christian Movies and TV Shows

by lydiamhill

Person, Men, Theater, Curtain, Stage, Human, Silhouette

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There seem to be more and more movies and TV shows about Christian topics these days. Recreating Bible stories has become especially popular in the entertainment industry.  For example, “A. D. The Bible Continues” is a new TV show that has started quite recently. But recreating Bible stories is not the only Christian themed entertainment out there. There have also been a slew of Christian films coming out in theaters. One such film that I got to see recently was “Do You Believe?” As a Christian, or Christ follower, I thought I’d give my opinion on these most recent Christian entertainment pieces, and how we as Christians should react to them.

 

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I’ll start with A.D. Since Easter this new drama has been playing on NBC. It follows the stories of Christ’s disciples and what they had to face in the early days of the Church. The network picked the right time to start the series, launching the show on Easter Sunday, with the Resurrection of Jesus being the main focus of the first episodes. The 3rd episode showed last night. As a Christian, I was naturally interested in this show. I’ve read about the history of the early church in the gospel accounts and in the book of Acts several times, and I was excited to see how this TV show would portray it.

But just as a movie can take liberties with it’s source material, (It seems like fans of books that were made into movies are never satisfied with the outcome), so this show can take liberties with the Biblical accounts. And I admit, there were a few instances when something was left out of the story. For example, in this most recent episode I was looking forward to seeing Peter give his sermon that brought thousands of people to believe in Jesus. In the Bible, this happened right after the Holy Spirit came, as a result of people asking questions about the disciples strange behavior. But this part of the story was skipped over in the episode, and instead the focus was put on Peter and John getting arrested in the temple.

From what I’ve seen of this series so far, the focus is on how hard it was for early believers, and the trials they had to overcome. It also gives us a look into the Roman ruler’s life and how they viewed what was going on. And although it is enjoyable to watch, and much of the story is consistent with the Biblical account, you can tell that this is meant to be a drama. And just like any cop drama on TV, there are good guys, bad guys and action and adventure with the audience always left hanging, so they’ll want to watch more. I will probably keep watching this show with interest, and I think the quality of the plot line and acting is all nice and good. But in the end, this is a TV show, not God’s Word. So keep that in mind, and remember that the screenwriters have taken a creative license with their source material.

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Next, I’d like to talk about “Do You Believe?” Like so many other Christian films, this movie attempts to give a Christian message through the telling of a compelling story. It ties together the lives of several characters all with the focus of if they will choose to believe in Jesus and act on their faith. The movie was well made, the story compelling, and I liked the character development. I think the film had a good message; that Christian’s can’t just say they believe and then go on living however they want to, that it takes commitment to follow Christ. It can be an encouraging story to see played out. But in the end, it is just a story. The events did not really happen, and even though God is at work in our lives for real, we often don’t see things work out as nicely as it does in a movie script.

So in conclusion, here’s a few things I think we should remember when watching Christian entertainment, whether it be a movie made by Christians, or by Hollywood, or even a TV show.

1. Always Come Back to God’s Word. 

Don’t base your faith on a movie or TV show. Base your faith on Jesus Christ and no other. He didn’t leave us a movie when he went back to heaven, but He did give us His Word, the Bible. Don’t take his gift lightly. Use it, and get to know Him for yourself. And make sure your view of God is shaped more by His Word, and a pastor’s teaching, than by the entertainment you watch.

2. Don’t let watching something become a substitute for doing it yourself.

If can be easy to watch some compelling movie or show, get caught up in all of the emotions, and enjoy the thrill of it. But don’t confuse it, with real life. God didn’t just use the disciples in His work, He wants to use you too. It’s not enough for us to watch and clap when someone else does the right thing, we need to do the right thing in our life. And we need to keep doing it, even if things don’t work out the way we want, or we don’t get the happy ending that we expect. God’s plan is so much bigger than our own, so much bigger than a human writer’s script. We won’t get to see the Big Picture in our lifetime. Maybe we’ll get hints at it, little previews of how God is working things together for good. But even if we don’t see it all, we can still have faith that it will because God is Faithful, and He is Good.

Christian Life Movies TV

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Apr 14

A Family’s Impact

by lydiamhill

 

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This past weekend I got to spend time with my family in Florida and remember and honor my grandfather who passed away earlier this year. As people retold stories and memories that they had shared with my grandfather, I realized what an impact one life can have. My grandpa lived a little over 80 years on this earth, but he touched so many lives. He had an impact on relatives separated by generations and hundreds of miles, and even those outside his family were impacted by his quiet and faithful life. He was dedicated to God and his family, he provided for a wife and 5 children, he stayed married to the same woman for 60 years and he served wherever he went. On the plane ride home, I overheard a conversation some high schoolers where having about their own parents, about how many divorces and marriages and kids they had. One girl claimed that everyone in her family except her parents had been remarried at some point. It made me sad that this is considered normal now days, but it also made me thankful for my grandpa. He led by example, he lived faithfully each day and that had an impact on his children, and grandchildren and it will continue to impact his great grandkids and the generations in the future. Because he was faithful, it was easier for the next generation in my family to also stay faithful. I’m so glad to see so many of my uncles, aunts, and cousins following Jesus and still living faithfully to one husband or wife.

So thanks for running your race well grandpa! I hope I can do the same.

Christian Life

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Apr 6

Illustrations from an Easter Sermon

by lydiamhill

So, yesterday was Easter, and it was a memorable one for me. Not only did I enjoy seeing lots of kids hunt Easter eggs, and get my own Easter basket stuffed with goodies, but I also really learned a lot from my pastor’s Easter Sermon. He used 3 illustrations that I’d never heard before and really stuck out to me. So I thought I’d go ahead and share them here. I hope you enjoy and Happy Easter!

Milky Way, Andromeda, Stars, Galaxy, Cosmos, Space

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1. The Astronomer and the Pastor
The first illustration was about how Big God is and was a story about an Astronomer and a Pastor sitting at a bar. As they’re sitting drinking a beer, the Astronomer says something like, “You know when I think about God, all that comes to mind is ‘Jesus Loves the Little Children.’ And that was okay as a child, but I’ve outgrown it. I don’t need it anymore.” And the pastor listens, takes another drink of beer and finally says, “Well when I think of Astronomy, all I think of is ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.'” The point was, just as our universe with all it’s galaxies, black holes, and things we don’t even understand can’t be contained in a kid’s song, neither can God, who made the universe and everything in it. There’s nothing wrong with little kid’s songs, but they can’t describe the complexity and hugeness of our universe, or our God. And we’re foolish to think of either as so small.

Waterfalls, River, Stream, Water

Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/waterfalls-river-stream-water-691917/

2. The River Boat and the Waterfall
This second illustration is about the reality of our situation as humans. It’s like we’re on a riverboat cruising down the river with the current, enjoying good food and music and for the most part enjoying ourselves. But the boat is heading for a waterfall, and no matter what we believe about the waterfall’s existence, eventually the boat will get to the waterfall and go over the edge, and anyone on the boat will die. So Jesus, is like someone warning us, “Get off the boat and follow me or you’ll die.” And we can choose to trust Him and leave, or say “No I’m good, I don’t need help. I’m fine here.” Without Jesus, we stand condemned before God, that is our situation, and the only thing that can save us is Jesus. He is the only rescuer, the only one who could take our place and receive God’s just punishment for sin. Without Him, we are dead.

Easter Egg, Grass, Spring, Holiday, Easter

Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/easter-egg-grass-spring-holiday-619867/

3. The Easter Egg Hunt
The last illustration my pastor gave was about what it’s like to follow Jesus now. He said it’s almost like a continual Easter Egg Hunt, where God has hidden these treasures of grace and joy in the most unlikely places. And just as a parent will give hints to their kids of where to look for an egg they’ve hidden, he will nudge at our hearts, telling us to go somewhere, or do something, or talk to someone. And it might seem like the strangest or most awkward situation to us, but if we say yes and follow Him, we’ll see Him show up in that place. And it’s more exciting than a kid finding an Easter Egg.

Well I hope you enjoyed those illustrations as much as I did and I hope you had a great Easter!

Christian Life Stories

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Mar 25

Why Fast?

by lydiamhill

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted. I used my free time during Spring Break to catch up on some things and get some writing in, but it’s been hard for me to think of a good topic to blog about. But during Spring Break, my church decided to take a day to fast and pray for persecuted Christians around the world. Through the process, I’ve found that several people didn’t know what the point of fasting was, or had never done it before. So I thought I’d share my experience with fasting.

Bananas, Fruits, Food, Grocery Store, Supermarket

Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/bananas-fruits-food-grocery-store-698608/

When I was younger, I didn’t really fast either. Sometimes my parents did, but I didn’t think it was necessary to being a Christian, and sometimes it even felt like only the ‘really good’ Christian’s fasted. It wasn’t for everyone. Anyway, this changed when I went to college. I attended a Lutheran University and fasting was more of a normal thing in that environment. They practiced Lent, the giving up of something specific for 40 days (From Ash Wednesday to Easter) and I decided to join in and give up something too. Once I think I gave up french fries, another time I gave up Hulu. Anyway I got more used to the idea and practice of fasting. We also had something called Thirty Hour Famine, where we would not eat food for about 30 hours. It was supposed to help us be aware of others around the world who were hungry.

So as I got out of the college life and moved on to young adulthood, I still would fast occasionally. Sometimes it was because I was trying to make a big decision and wanted to be focused on God as I made it. Other times it was because I really cared about someone who was struggling, so I would fast and pray for them. I also fasted several times in order to break a bad habit or cycle. I’d notice that some activity or thing (like dessert) I enjoyed was becoming an obsession, so I would fast from it for a day to break the craving.

Well when my church fasted this past week, they gave everyone a good description for why we should fast. “The primary purpose of fasting is to express a deep longing of our soul for the presence of Jesus in a particular aspect of life. Jesus taught this in Matthew 9:15 where he answered a question about why his disciples were not fasting in his presence. Jesus said ‘Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is take away from them, and then they will fast.’ His point was that when he was with them they did not need to fast but when he was gone they would fast as an expression of their longing for his presence.”

I think it’s important to remember why we do something like fasting. It can be easy to do any of the Christian Disciplines with the wrong motive. Fasting is not about proving you’re a good Christian, or better than those who don’t fast. It’s not about giving up something, just for the sake of giving it up. It shouldn’t be done just because it’s a tradition, or because it’s what everyone else is doing. We should fast, because we long for Jesus’s presence. And as we fast, our hunger should point us back to Him.

I’ve found that when I fast, hunger pains can be a good reminder for me to pray. In addition, because I don’t have to cook, clean dishes, or spend time eating, I have a lot more time during the day to do things like pray or read the Bible. Fasting can be very beneficial to our walk with Jesus, and it’s helped me personally.

Even though fasting may seem hard to you, I’d like to encourage you to give it a try. It really isn’t that bad. True you’ll feel hungry, but that goes away eventually. And even if you can’t give up food for health reasons, you could try fasting from something else that takes up your time, like watching TV or playing video games.

But if you do fast from food, take it slow. Maybe try a 12 hour fast or 24 hour fast to start out with and drink plenty of water. But most of all, remember that why you fast is most important. Spend time with Jesus during your fast and let Him fill you up.

Christian Life

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Mar 12

Planned Quality Time

by lydiamhill

Clock, Time, Stopwatch, Wrist Watch, Time Indicating

Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/clock-time-stopwatch-wrist-watch-95330/

What does it mean to have quality time with someone else? I don’t know if you’ve heard of the 5 Love Languages or not, but one of my Love Languages is Quality Time. That’s a big way of how I connect with people and show them I care about them. And I feel loved when someone spends uninterrupted time with me.

I just got to spend the last few days with family from out of town and it got me thinking about how I spend time with the people around me. When I plan a time to get together with someone, my brain switches to Quality Time mode. I am more purposeful, I try not to be late to the scheduled time together, and I strive to enjoy it all, because it is limited. Oftentimes I ignore texts or calls, because I’m spending quality time with this person. I’ve dedicated this time to being with this person, and not to answer messages on my phone.

But sometimes, my plan doesn’t work. We schedule time together, but the expectation and reality don’t mesh. Maybe something comes up, or we don’t do the thing we had planned on doing, or there was no plan at all, other than just meeting up, so at the end I’m not sure how to feel.

So after this past week of a lot of unplanned time with family, I’ve realized that it’s good to plan and schedule times to be with a person. It can help me personally to step away from distractions and enjoy time with someone I care about. But there’s another side to this. What if I don’t have anything planned? What if I’m just with someone to be with them? This is the norm in my family on a given day. We all have work, chores, commitments, things to do, and if we were trying to have uninterrupted quality time, those things wouldn’t get done. So sometimes we have to have our quality family time while doing other things. Like talking while doing dishes, or hearing about each other’s day while eating dinner, or pausing the movie so someone can answer a phone call. Sometimes life isn’t perfect and the quality time I long for, just doesn’t happen the way I planned. And that’s okay.

What I have to remember most, is not to make it about me. If I’m focused on how I feel, if I’m having fun with the person, if we’re getting to do everything I was planning to do, then I can miss out on the best part, just being with my friend. If I focus on them instead of myself and my plan, then I enjoy our time together so much more, no matter if it was interrupted, cut short, or we did the thing we had planned to do.

So in conclusion, plans are useful, but it’s not what quality time is about. Quality Time is best when it’s focused on the person you’re spending time with, and not on what you’re doing with them.

Christian Life

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Mar 4

Beauty and Looking in the Mirror

by lydiamhill

Image Source: http://www.vcpost.com/articles/68112/20150519/beauty-beast-remake-official-cast-revealed-hp-star-emma-watson.htm

One of my favorite movies when I was younger was Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. I loved Bell, her enthusiastic reading matched my own, and her kind spirit that looked beyond the outward appearance struck a chord in my own heart. I wanted to be just like her. Plus her yellow ball gown was gorgeous and yellow is my favorite color. So a couple weeks ago, a friend let me borrow a book called Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty & the Beast by Robin McKinley that uses the basic plot from Beauty and the Beast as a starting point. I’d never read a book about Beauty and the Beast before, and I found this one very engaging. The characters were much deeper than what can be shown in a short animated film and the descriptions were detailed. I particularly liked how Beauty came by her name.

Image Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41424.Beauty

In the book, her real name is Honour, but as a child she prefers the name Beauty, and so everyone comes to call her by this nickname. But as she ages, the “Beauty” title becomes ironic. She looks nothing like her gorgeous sisters, but everyone is used to calling her Beauty, so she keeps the name. However she develops a strong sense that she is not beautiful and will never be so. She accepts the fact and dresses more commonly, even being mistaken for a boy on occasion. This perception of herself continues when she winds up living with the Beast. There are no mirrors in his mansion, so she never sees herself and continues to believe that she is ugly. She even refuses to wear the most fancy dresses offered to her, because she cannot see herself wearing them, they are too extravagant in her eyes and she is not worthy of them. But after the climax, when the spell is broken, she finally sees herself in a mirror, and realizes how she has changed since she came to live with the Beast. She is taller, and elegant, and Beauty is an appropriate title after all.

As I was thinking about what to post about today, I started to think about the passage in James where he compares looking in a mirror to reading God’s Word and then doing what it says, or acting on what you see. James 1:23-25 “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.”

It was easy for Beauty to remain ignorant, because there were no mirrors around to tell her differently. And even if people around her, like the Beast, or her family when she visited, told her she had changed, she couldn’t believe them. She had to see it for herself. I think the same can be true for us. We need to read the Bible for ourselves to be able to see ourselves the way God sees us. We can listen to what pastor’s say, or our friends, or our family. But in the end, we also need to look for ourselves. And after looking, as James says, we need to do something about it.

I don’t leave the mirror in the bathroom till I’m satisfied with how I look, I work till what I see in the mirror is what I want to see. I want to do the same with God’s Word. In it, I see where God wants me to be, and I don’t want to just close the Bible and say, “Oh well, I’ll never be like that.” No I want to cry out for God to help me, and then step into living His way. Then one day, like Beauty, I can look in ‘the mirror’ and see all the change that He has worked in my life to make me truly Beautiful.

Books Christian Life

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Feb 23

A Few Short Stories about Faith

by lydiamhill

Woman, Praying, Illustration, Shadow, Silhouette

Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/woman-praying-illustration-shadow-825154/

I know I’ve posted on this blog about many Christian topics in the past. But there is something else I would like to share that is a bit more personal. It’s my story of how God saved me. Often called a Testimony, I’ve written it in the form of three short stories. Perhaps it can be encouraging to someone out there. I do want to mention, before you read this, that all of the details in these stories might not be correct. They happened so long ago, I had to improvise on what was actually said and I could be remembering things incorrectly. But the essence of the story is true, and it is my own.

I grew up in a Christian home and from a young age I was introduced to Jesus and chose to believe in Him. As any person can attest, following Jesus is a lifelong journey; starting with life on this planet and then continuing into eternity. So although I chose to follow God at a young age, there were definitely times that I had to grow. My understanding of grace especially took a long time to develop. But God has had a hold on my heart from the beginning.

I remember once when I was very young closing my eyes as tight as I could till I thought I could see stars and thinking what if this was all fake… what if I wasn’t real? What if God didn’t exist? It scared me so bad that I opened my eyes and mentally stepped away from that void. It couldn’t be true. How dark and scary the world would be without a God.

These stories I’d like to share, come from three critical points in my childhood, the first was when I discovered the truth of God’s gospel, and the second was realizing the freedom that God’s grace gave me. And the last one was realizing what my faith was based on. I hope you enjoy.

The Simple Prayer

The old blue minivan with the wood-paneled sides was purring in the driveway. I sat in my booster seat staring out at the front windshield. Mom had run inside to grab her purse and a few other items, now that she had the kids settled in the car. But she had made sure to leave the air conditioning on for us. Even in springtime the heat in Texas could creep up, especially inside a darkly painted car.

Brian was sitting next to me, calmly sitting in the chair, without a booster seat. He turned to me, his eyes full of concern. “Lydia?”

I focused on his face, “Yeah?”

“Do you want to go to Heaven?”

“What’s that?” I tilted my head to the side.

“It’s the place people go when they die, but if you’re bad, you go to Hell instead.”

I thought a moment. “Where are Mommy and Daddy going? I want to go with them.”

“They’re going to Heaven, and so am I.”

“I want to go!” Being separated from my family was the scariest thing imaginable to me; I knew I wanted to be wherever they were.”

“Alright, but the only way to go to Heaven is to believe in Jesus.”

“Okay. How do I do that?”

“Just repeat after me.” Brian closed his eyes and clasped his hands together. “Dear Jesus….” Brain paused and peeked at me, waiting for me to repeat what he was saying.

I tried to mimic his hands then said, “Dear Jesus.”

“I believe in you and what you did for me.”

“I believe in you… and….”

“What you did for me,” Brian whispered.

“Thanks,” I said then closed my eyes again. “And what you did for me.”

“Please come into my heart.”

“Please come into my heart.”

“Amen,” Brian said with a sigh then opened his eyes.

“So I’m going to Heaven now?” I asked.

“Yep,” Brain confirmed.

Just then Mom came back to the car, purse in hand. She pulled the door shut and settled into the seat.

“Guess what Mommy!” I said excitedly.

“What is it sweetie?” Mom asked as she turned back to look at me.

“I’m going to Heaven now! Brian told me how.”

Mom smiled, “Oh that’s great news!”

The Meaning of Grace

Several years had passed and I had gone through the stage that many young converts experience of being unsure of the sincerity of the first prayer. I had often repeated the prayer to God that He would forgive me, and reassuring Him, or really myself, that I truly believed in Him and wanted to go to Heaven. Unfortunately, these prayers were not solving my problem. I was stuck because I couldn’t comprehend God’s love and my mistakes. I knew that if I prayed, God would forgive me and save me. But I wasn’t sure how sincere I had to be, or if I had to pray again if I messed up and sinned. This led to me being very aware of all that I did, or could do wrong. I developed the annoying habit of asking Mom about every possible action I could take and if it was right or wrong. It got so bad, that I was worrying myself into a wreck. Especially on a vacation we took to visit some friends in Colorado.

I bounded down the stairs into the dimly lit basement. The rooms looked cozy with carpeted stairs and floors, and rows of bunk beds lined against the wall. Part of me wanted to explore, but the other part of me was scared to touch anything… what if it was wrong? It was much easier at home. I knew what Mom wanted for us there, I could obey my parents for the most part and ask God for forgiveness if I messed up. But here, the rules were unclear. Were we allowed to jump on the beds? Were we allowed to even run down the stairs? I didn’t want to get in trouble. For some reason the idea of sinning as little as possible seemed like the best goal in life and I was always striving towards that. I waited as the rest of the family came down the staircase.

The kids were soon all downstairs, but Mom and Dad were not too far behind.

“Hey Mom, look!” I said as I jumped onto one of the bunk beds.

“Uh huh,” Mom said.

She hadn’t told me to get off, or to stop, so I judged this action as appropriate. Then I pulled myself up so that I was standing on the lower bunk but holding onto the top bunk, I began bouncing up and down, like I was on the trampoline back home. “Look Mom, look!”

Mom nodded, and then walked past me towards another bigger bed in the corner, it was a full sized bed and would serve as Mom and Dad’s sleeping area.

I thought of one more thing to test with the beds. I jumped to the floor and scurried to the side of the bed, where a ladder led to the top bunk. I climbed up and sat at the top. “Mom! Mom! Mommy!” I called.

Mom was busy unpacking her suitcase, and was ignoring my calls.

“Would you cut it out?” Brian said annoyed. “You don’t need to show Mom everything you’re doing. It’s so annoying.”

I stopped. Was I being annoying? Was I doing something wrong? “I just want to make sure I don’t sin…” I said with a whimper.

“Well that’s not the point,” Brian said. “Jesus died on the cross to forgive us from all of our sins. We don’t have to worry anymore, He took care of it.”

I sat back on the little bunk bed trying to process what my brother had just told me. I didn’t have to follow all the rules? God forgave me even if I forgot to ask Him to? He loved me even if I did something wrong. I was coming face to face with the grace of God and it was beautiful. I didn’t have to earn God’s favor, or keep track of hundreds of rules so I wouldn’t get in trouble. Jesus had forgiven me completely for all I had done and all I would do. I was overwhelmed. I was free.

It took some getting used to, to not stress about all of the rules, but that conversation with my brother began to open my eyes to the beauty of God’s grace. I began to understand that I couldn’t please God with my good works but I didn’t have to, God loved me even when I messed up.

Is My Faith Real?

Alright, one last story about my growing relationship with God. When I was in middle school, I was in a Bible study with several other girls, and I finally made a confession one night at our group.

“My fear is that I don’t believe in Jesus. I’m afraid that it’s not real. How do I know if I really believe?” Tears began streaking down my face as I got the last words out. This had bothered me for months. I wanted to know that I was saved, and I didn’t know how I could be sure.

My youth leader looked at me compassionately and offered me a hug, “Aww Lydia, it’s alright.” She held me for a minute. “You know I asked myself the same thing when I was younger, and the very question itself shows that you are genuine about your faith.”

I nodded.

“One thing that helped me was a verse in Matthew. It said that God’s followers will be known by their fruit. If you can see the fruit of following God in your life, then you know you really believe it and it’s real. And Lydia, I can see the fruit in your life.”

I wiped the tears out of my eyes, “Thanks Stevi. I guess sometimes I just doubt.”

“And that’s normal,” Stevie continued. “We all have doubts sometimes, but we keep coming back to what we know is true.”

That conversation really helped to solidify my faith, I knew it was more than an imaginary belief, but that it was real to me, affected my life, and produced fruit. As I continued to grow, I realized how much faith is really dependent on God and not on me. He is the one who helps me believe, and it is He who I’m believing in. It is not my belief, some kind of feeling of trust that I can muster and strengthen, it’s a willingness to let go and say God I can’t do it, I can’t even believe hard enough. I’m just coming to you to save me. It’s nothing that I do, it’s all You.

Christian Life Stories Writing

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Feb 17

Need a Recharge?

by lydiamhill

Angel Fire

This past weekend, I got to join my church’s youth group on a ski trip to New Mexico. It was a long 12 hour drive to the ski resort, and I noticed something new on this trip, that I hadn’t experienced before. Throughout the drive, someone’s phone was always plugged into the car charger. Students took turns with the charger, but someone always needed it. In the past I’ve limited my phone use to texts and calls, which doesn’t use data and also saves my battery power, so I only needed to charge my phone at night. But that isn’t the norm anymore. Although I didn’t need to use the car charger on this trip, I can see how it’s becoming a necessity to always have a charger on hand.

And this observation brings me to my real revelation from the trip. Our phones need to be recharged, but what about us? I found myself reading in Exodus during our trip, and was reminded of when God first instructed the Israelites to take a Sabbath rest. Now this doesn’t seem like a hard rule to follow, I mean God is telling us to take a break from work. I love that idea! But actually doing it, well that’s gotten tricky. It seems like more and more, our vacations, our breaks, our time off, is not refreshing, it’s work too. Planning and organizing, traveling and catching up. It’s really hard to just stop. But just like the phone, there are consequences for us if we don’t take time to recharge. A phone will ‘die’ or shut off, and a person can burn out, get sick, or hit a wall.

God gave us the command to rest for a reason. He knows we need it, and it’s not just so we don’t get overwhelmed and crash, but so we stop and remember what’s important. In the busyness of the work week, it’s easy for me to think that emails, calls, and projects, are really important. But getting things checked off my “to do” list is not what life is all about. And taking a break from that routine and spending some time with God, helps me remember that life is all about Him. This weekend, God helped me do that.

Maybe even if you got President’s Day off you still don’t feel rested. I want to encourage you to take some time to recharge and be with God. To let Him refresh you and remind you of what’s important. After all Jesus says, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”-Matthew 11:28-30

I think we can all benefit from a recharge with God.

Christian Life

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Feb 2

Knowing God’s Will

by lydiamhill

Picture of Thy will be done - Free Pictures - FreeFoto.com

Image Source: http://www.freefoto.com/preview/05-12-1/Thy-will-be-done

 

I’ve been thinking a lot about God’s will recently and how a person knows what God wants them to do, or what His will is. I’ve had a few conversations about it recently and this past weekend seemed to give me a perfect illustration, so I thought I’d write about it. I know there are a lot of Christians that struggle with this and I admit, I have too. And I’m still not great at it, but I think I can give a few helpful suggestions to those who are struggling with how to hear from God. And maybe through my experience, you can get a better idea of what listening to God and doing His will can look like.

So here it goes. This past weekend I came upon one of those decisions. I’m sure we’ve all been there. An opportunity presented itself and I had to choose to say yes, or no. Which was the right answer? What did God want me to do? What was His will? It might help, if you knew what the actual decision was about, so I’ll tell you. I was invited to go to the Passion Conference in Houston. I have heard about the young adult conference, with all it’s big name pastors and worship leaders gathering to encourage 18-25 year-olds. And honestly, I had always wanted to go. I’ve loved many of the books these pastors have written and sung along to the radio with a lot of the bands that would be performing. And the conference was all about God and Jesus and being passionate about your faith. So God would obviously want me to go… right?

Well it wasn’t that simple. I thought about it, prayed about it, and talked to other Christians I trusted about it. (Hint, this is a good way to determine what God’s will is.) And I came to a realization.

Here are the reasons I had for why I should go:

-I’ve always wanted to go to Passion.

-I’m 24, this may be my last chance.

-I really like Francis Chan.

-I could really grow in my faith.

-Maybe this will help prepare me to be used by God.

Now these aren’t bad things, but can you spot the pattern? I, me, my, the language is all self centered. Now compare this list of why I wanted to go, to why I wanted to stay.

Why I should stay:

-My small group needs me to help set up the church on Friday and if I go to the conference, I couldn’t help them.

-I’ve made a commitment to be at church on Sunday, and help lead the Jr High girls group. There’s only one girl leader, and if I’m not there, there won’t be any.

-I promised to help plan a Superbowl Party for the youth group, and if I’m gone all weekend, even if I make it to the party, I won’t be much help and will really put the other person planning it in a bind.

I knew that I could ask all of these people to let me off the hook. After all, an opportunity like this doesn’t come up very often. They’d understand. But what would God think? What is following Jesus really about anyway? Is it about learning more about Him? Is it about praising Him with lots of other believers? Is it about getting spiritual highs? Or is it about being faithful in the tasks He’s given you to do, not matter how mundane, or unexciting they are?

The more I thought about it, the more I felt like going to the Passion Conference would be all about me, doing what I wanted no matter how it affected others. And me staying, and fulfilling my promises was really what would honor God. And I told myself, “I don’t need to go to a conference to follow Jesus. I can follow Him and glorify Him right here, where He’s put me.”

Now I don’t want you to get the impression that the Passion Conference is wrong or not needed. Lots of people go and it has changed their lives and helped them grow. But in this situation, it wasn’t God’s will for me. So I stayed, and I helped at my home church and, I’m glad I did. In the sermon on Sunday, my pastor said that it’s hard to be certain about God’s will. The whole point of following God is being close to Him, not knowing what to do. But he did say there was one thing you can be certain about when it comes to God’s will. God’s will is always for you to die… to self. And looking back on my decision, I can say that is what I did. And my decision led to some really great things happening. I was able to connect with two friends about service opportunities in the future, I was able to disciple young middle schoolers and spend quality time with them. And thankfully, I was able to be with my family when we heard the news that my grandpa had passed away.

So, I hope this story helped with learning how to listen to God and do His will. If you’ve been struggling with a decision, my suggestions would be:

-Do what you know is right.

-Do what is unselfish.

-Pray.

-And ask friends and family for their perspective.

Christian Life Stories

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