HILARY HAMBLIN

I slogged to the kitchen five minutes after clicking off my alarm. Anxiousness gnawed my gut like an over achieving woodpecker. My morning routine includes prayer while my coffee brews. I struggled to assign my growing unease a name. Mug in hand I peered out the front door to check for damage from last night's wind and rain. None. Thank goodness. Woodpecker anxiousness built. I settled into my "quiet time" space and began to write out my morning prayer. The name popped into m

We once received a check from God. More than once really, but the once stands out in my mind. In the early years of our marriage, we tried to hide the fact that we were broke. We both worked but Josh was still in school and we were paying college tuition and bills and trying to set up house. I budgeted $25 a week for our grocery shopping which meant coffee creamer was a luxury we could not afford. We could eat for 2 days on $2 thanks to coupons for Tuna Helper. And my mama wo

Psalm 46 For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. A song. 1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.[c] 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not f

Psalm 16:5-6 5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. 6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. When my husband and I first married, he was still in college and we were both working different hours. Looking back, I imagine the first years of our married life were a lot like many others first years. We were growing up, learning to live on our own, making decisions as a couple and paying our o

Yep. That’s what Christian media tells us. Maybe they are right. But I know two things: I am a live-your-faith-everyday-Christian and I really really enjoy Halloween. As a kid my sisters and I dressed up and my mom would drive us around to the houses of people she knew and wait on us in the car as we begged, er, asked for candy. I distinctly remember a dear woman who was my grandmother’s best friend. Ms. Carr didn’t have any grandchildren and even at a young age I knew she lo

Yesterday a big storm passed through our area. The local meteorologist has talked about the coming bad weather for days. Schools who were not already out for Columbus Day let out early. My kids and I took shelter in the basement of my husband’s work. Everyone was watching the line of storms pass through neighboring states waiting for it to hit. Just six months ago a monster storm slammed a tornado into our area damaging homes and businesses and terrifying a whole lot of us. W

I’ve been thinking about this post all week. As we all say, life gets in the way. Now its Friday and I haven’t written a word of it. This week, our community laid to rest a man who supported us, cheered us on and believed in us. My first memories of Jim were probably somewhere around 20 years ago. When I was in high school, whenever my twin sister and I had to sell something for school we always started with Mr. Jim who worked at a local industry. You see, Jim supported the s

Tonight as I was getting supper on plates (tacos, to be exact) my son starts to whine, "Katie called me a baby, but I'm not a baby!" Of course he puckered out his bottom lip so he resembled more of a baby than the 8 year old he is. I responded, "If you know you are not a baby then why do you care what she says? Don't worry so much about what other people say." At that exact moment it happened, WHAM!, hit between the eyes with what a college friend liked to refer to as "God's

I saw this graphic on Pinterest one day: This empowers and motivates me. I’m a “Type A” personality. I need to be busy. I started my own marketing agency at the age of 30 because I was bored. I wrote my first novel because during the early years of my marriage I was home alone on Saturdays. I plan activities for the weekends and even try to keep the weekday evenings filled. If I have an appointment at 10 that should take an hour I’ll plan lunch with a friend at 11:30 and anot

As I read, I feel like I become friends with the characters in a story. So today I’m going to share an interview with one of the main characters of The Arrangement, Evie. Character Profile Description: average height (5’6”), blonde hair, blue eyes Favorite activity: riding with the top down in her red convertible Age: 21--College Junior Biggest struggle: following her own will or following God’s will Family: Parents are physicians in a small town, one brother, Taylor So Evie,