The Lavender Dawn

“The trees will be a rainbow of red, brown, and gold,
For the year was once young and now it is old.
Soon the poor trees will be empty and bare,
The teens will gather round fires with memories to share.

Of cheery spring days, full of Easter and flowers
Then of summer, when play lasted hours and hours,
And of fall, the year’s almost end,
Though years will pass, the teens will still be friends.”
-Fall, by Ella Quill

(You can read the whole poem by Ella Quill HERE!)

The year is old now…can you believe it? 2024 has flown by and it’s crazy. Here soon we will be staying up late on December 31st, wondering where the time went and making unrealistic goals for the New Year.

For this post (you can read the whole thing or skip to the part that interests you most!) I’m doing some reflections on different aspects of my life.

Faith- A Walk with My Best Friend

I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on how God is referred to sometimes as The Author. He has a plan for his characters, and he loves them deeply, despite their flaws. God doesn’t “pants” or come up with things on the fly, he has lovingly and carefully crafted an outline for every chapter of our lives. He knows what will happen now, tomorrow, and forever. (Aren’t we glad we have a Hebrews 13:8 and Isaiah 46:4 God?) He has our story written in the palm of His hands (Isaiah 49:16) and knows us (2 Timothy 2:19) so we shouldn’t fear tomorrow (Matthew 6:34 ). Amen to that!

This year I completed reading the whole Bible and it was very impactful to my faith walk. I have also spent time in His Word and in prayer every day since March and it has changed how I face my day. In celebration of this accomplishment, I got myself a pretty new Bible and began a deeper study of His Word. I also read some amazing faith books, some of them being Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver and Anxious for Nothing by Max Lucado. Both of these books really strengthened my relationship with God and I would recommend both of them.

So friend, I pray that whatever you are going through, that you give it to God and that your faith will become stronger in the next year. “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” -Ephesians 1:17

Personal- Hobbies, Events, Accomplishments

I have several hobbies (other than writing) that deserve a little shout-out!

• I graduated high school! I am thankful to have been homeschooled by my loving parents for my whole education.
• I adore theatre and acting, so it was a thrill not only to act in but also to direct several performances. I also got to visit the place of my dreams, Sight and Sound Theatres!
• Last year in October I discovered my newfound passion for knitting and this year, I took on several large projects, such as stuffed animals, sweaters, and some pretty cable-knit gloves.
• I have reached 20 piano students in total! I have loved teaching this year and it has grown me as a teacher. I am so proud of all of my students and am blessed to know them. <3

Books- Writing, Reading, and all things Bookish!

Wow! This was a big year for both of these things!

-Thanks to recommendations from family members, I read two new series for the first time: The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson and Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling. Both were so good and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed them!

-I am thrilled to announce that I will be co-hosting Epic Patriot Camp in 2025! (You can read all about what Epic Patriot Camp is on my blog post HERE!)

-As you may very well know, I published my first novel this year! This was such a huge accomplishment for me! After 5 long years of work, The Hidden Haven is now published on Amazon! If you have bought or read the book, thank you so much for your support!

Writing has been big for me this year, and I wanted to share a few resources that have helped me! You can go to find them HERE.

Well, there you go, reflections of the year 2024 by Ella Quill. See you on the next page!