Search
Hilltop UMC
- Dec 24, 2018
- 2 min
Amazement
By Hannah Sweet I am the sort of person who is constantly and consistently amazed. Whether that stems from my own obliviousness or the fact that there are truly innumerable things to be amazed at in this world I cannot say, although I like to believe it’s a mixture of both. There are more things in this world to marvel at than stars in the heavens, and God is always working on new things. Isn’t that wonderful news?! Yes, I think so too! Ponder the words of Habakkuk 1:5 if you
3 views0 comments
Hilltop UMC
- Dec 17, 2018
- 2 min
Love Came Down At Christmas
Love. When you think about love you are most likely drawn to romantic love, but there are so many other types of love that are integral to being a well rounded person. There’s parental and familial love, there’s friend love, there’s self love and then there’s neighborly love. There is love all around us if only we slow down to absorb it. Consider John 15:12 “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” What kind of place would our world be if we
6 views0 comments
Hilltop UMC
- Dec 17, 2018
- 3 min
Joyful Receiver
By Hannah Sweet It’s no secret that my husband and I do not live near any of his family, but instead live near mine. At Christmas time his family will send us gifts; and now, we are kind of little kids when we get these gifts and instead of waiting for Christmas to open them, we tear into them as soon as we receive them. Sorry guys! I am of the firm notion that there are two types of present openers. The first will tear into everything as quickly as they can and then take inv
6 views0 comments
Hilltop UMC
- Dec 12, 2018
- 1 min
The legend of the Poinsettia
A charming story is told of Pepita, a poor Mexican girl, who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin Pedro, her heart was filled with sadness rather than joy. “I’m sure, Pepita, that even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes,” said Pedro consolingly. Not knowing what to do, Pepita knelt by the roadside and gathered a handful of common weeds, fashioning them into
3 views0 comments

Hilltop UMC
- Dec 12, 2018
- 3 min
Count Your Blessings
By Hannah Sweet I love Christmas. I always have. The lights, the music, the decorations, the behavior of everyone in the days leading up to Christmas. I just love it all. One of my favorite holiday traditions is watching that old classic, White Christmas. To me watching Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Vera Ellen, and Danny Kaye sing, dance and fall in love during their countdown to Christmas is unparalleled. I know all the songs by heart and have no shame in singing along. Whe
6 views0 comments
Hilltop UMC
- Dec 12, 2018
- 2 min
Be an angel
There were sheepherders camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified! The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for: a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”
2 views0 comments

Hilltop UMC
- Dec 12, 2018
- 2 min
WHy Peanuts Christmas Says it best
By Hannah Sweet With readers in more than 70 countries, numbering in the 300 millions and translating in over a dozen languages it is no wonder Charlie Brown remains a staple for many come holiday time. What is it that keeps people coming back? Is it the nostalgia, that sense of childhood - the repetition of what is always done and so it must always be? No I don’t think that is the case here. People like the Peanuts because they remind us of the true reason for the season in
12 views0 comments
Hilltop UMC
- Dec 12, 2018
- 4 min
Preparing for Peace
By Hannah Sweet In life we prepare for all sorts of things. We prepare dinner; we prepare our children for school; we prepare ourselves for our work days; we prepare our homes for company; we prepare for weather; we prepare for the holidays. Humans spend a large portion of their lives preparing for things, and some of the things we prepare for never come. As we’ve settled into the rhythm of the Advent season I’ve seen lots of people continuing their holiday preparations. Putt
3 views0 comments

Hilltop UMC
- Dec 12, 2018
- 2 min
J-O-Y
By Hannah Sweet Joy. Joseph Marimon said “Joy is the echo of God’s life within us.” I couldn’t have phrased it better. Think about the things that make you joyful. I’ll bet that most of them weren’t material at all, were they? Most likely they were family, friends, and maybe a slice of really yummy cake. (I can’t fault you there.) Seriously though, did God’s love enter your mind when you thought of what makes you joyful? It’s easy to forget about God’s love in terms of bringi
4 views0 comments

Hilltop UMC
- Dec 3, 2018
- 1 min
Monthly Music Monday
Here in the Hilltop office we love music! If’ you’ve ever been to see us, there is no doubt you were greeted with music. One of our favorites is the up-and-coming Laruen Daigle. You’ve no doubt seen her featured on our various Social Media platforms for our monthly Music Monday review. Well if there is anything we love more than music, it’s Christmas Music! Imagine our delight when we learned that our girl Lauren had previously released a CD full of our Christmas favorites. E
2 views0 comments

Hilltop UMC
- Dec 3, 2018
- 4 min
Hoper of Hopes
By Hannah Sweet On this the first week of Advent we light the first candle. We think on the words of the Old Testament Prophets. We sing songs of hope. We truly settle into the speed and fanfare of the holiday. We engage in traditions both new and old, and everyone’s traditions are similar and different all at once. For instance, one of my traditions is to watch every Doctor Who Christmas special. At times silly, nonsensical and 100% nonhuman, The Doctor, is, in my opinion, a
1 view0 comments

Hilltop UMC
- Nov 28, 2018
- 2 min
Hope: An Advent Exploration
By Hannah Sweet Hope. It is one little word that can mean so many things to so many people. It’s the thing we cling to that will lift one out of the darkest of times. Hope can come in all forms. Yet as far back as anyone can remember there has always been hope in its most basic and abstract of forms. It is defined as a feeling of trust. As Christians, this definition of hope is the birth place of our faith. We all share this innate feeling of trust in the Lord. It may just be
6 views0 comments
{"items":["5c20f4d69b284f001a080282","5c20f428f4687a00191826ba","5c17c3b73641c6001af3e7cd","5c17c350c5541e001a4d1df0","5c115b005eaaee001a6d403d","5c1159459dba5e001a4a3812","5c1158901ecaca002a16de96","5c114a5ea7fc21001a2630d9","5c11491e0b51e4001aa47f07","5c114735f04043001a263f06","5c058f38d7a0e9001a6a80cb","5c058a306878b6001a94a899","5bff084beede8f001a7a58e5"],"styles":{"galleryType":"Columns","groupSize":1,"showArrows":true,"cubeImages":true,"cubeType":"fill","cubeRatio":1.3333333333333333,"isVertical":true,"gallerySize":30,"collageAmount":0,"collageDensity":0,"groupTypes":"1","oneRow":false,"imageMargin":32,"galleryMargin":0,"scatter":0,"rotatingScatter":"","chooseBestGroup":true,"smartCrop":false,"hasThumbnails":false,"enableScroll":true,"isGrid":true,"isSlider":false,"isColumns":false,"isSlideshow":false,"cropOnlyFill":false,"fixedColumns":1,"enableInfiniteScroll":true,"isRTL":false,"minItemSize":50,"rotatingGroupTypes":"","rotatingCropRatios":"","columnWidths":"","gallerySliderImageRatio":1.7777777777777777,"numberOfImagesPerRow":1,"numberOfImagesPerCol":1,"groupsPerStrip":0,"borderRadius":0,"boxShadow":0,"gridStyle":1,"mobilePanorama":false,"placeGroupsLtr":true,"viewMode":"preview","thumbnailSpacings":4,"galleryThumbnailsAlignment":"bottom","isMasonry":false,"isAutoSlideshow":false,"slideshowLoop":false,"autoSlideshowInterval":4,"bottomInfoHeight":0,"titlePlacement":"SHOW_ON_THE_RIGHT","galleryTextAlign":"center","scrollSnap":false,"itemClick":"nothing","fullscreen":true,"videoPlay":"hover","scrollAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","slideAnimation":"SCROLL","scrollDirection":0,"scrollDuration":400,"overlayAnimation":"FADE_IN","arrowsPosition":0,"arrowsSize":23,"watermarkOpacity":40,"watermarkSize":40,"useWatermark":true,"watermarkDock":{"top":"auto","left":"auto","right":0,"bottom":0,"transform":"translate3d(0,0,0)"},"loadMoreAmount":"all","defaultShowInfoExpand":1,"allowLinkExpand":true,"expandInfoPosition":0,"allowFullscreenExpand":true,"fullscreenLoop":false,"galleryAlignExpand":"left","addToCartBorderWidth":1,"addToCartButtonText":"","slideshowInfoSize":200,"playButtonForAutoSlideShow":false,"allowSlideshowCounter":false,"hoveringBehaviour":"NEVER_SHOW","thumbnailSize":120,"magicLayoutSeed":1,"imageHoverAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","imagePlacementAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","calculateTextBoxWidthMode":"PERCENT","textBoxHeight":0,"textBoxWidth":200,"textBoxWidthPercent":50,"textImageSpace":10,"textBoxBorderRadius":0,"textBoxBorderWidth":0,"loadMoreButtonText":"","loadMoreButtonBorderWidth":1,"loadMoreButtonBorderRadius":0,"imageInfoType":"ATTACHED_BACKGROUND","itemBorderWidth":1,"itemBorderRadius":0,"itemEnableShadow":false,"itemShadowBlur":20,"itemShadowDirection":135,"itemShadowSize":10,"imageLoadingMode":"BLUR","expandAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","imageQuality":90,"usmToggle":false,"usm_a":0,"usm_r":0,"usm_t":0,"videoSound":false,"videoSpeed":"1","videoLoop":true,"jsonStyleParams":"","gallerySizeType":"px","gallerySizePx":940,"allowTitle":true,"allowContextMenu":true,"textsHorizontalPadding":-30,"itemBorderColor":{"value":"rgba(169, 158, 152, 0.75)"},"showVideoPlayButton":true,"galleryLayout":2,"targetItemSize":940,"selectedLayout":"2|bottom|1|fill|true|0|true","layoutsVersion":2,"selectedLayoutV2":2,"isSlideshowFont":false,"externalInfoHeight":0,"externalInfoWidth":0.5},"container":{"width":940,"galleryWidth":972,"galleryHeight":0,"scrollBase":0,"height":null}}