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Dec 24, 2018
3 min

Love is like math

By Hannah Sweet Love is a lot like math. Love, like math is often confusing, and can take hours to figure out one little problem; but like math, love is the same in every language. Not literally of course, as every language has their own word for love, from the French amour, the Swahili upendo, to the Japanese aisuru. All these words mean the same thing, and although there are many cultural differences that set us apart from others in the ways we display love, it is the esse

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Count Your Blessings

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

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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.”

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WHy Peanuts Christmas Says it best

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

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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

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J-O-Y

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

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Monthly Music Monday

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

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Hoper of Hopes

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

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Hope: An Advent Exploration

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

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