Welcome to the Hillam Blog and Newsletter!
We are Sharon and David Hillam, and we met online in 2006. Sharon was in Virginia writing blog posts; David was in England reading them. It’s quite a story, which is why we recorded a video. (See the More About Us section below.)
What we write about
We (Sharon mostly) write Hillam Happenings newsletters, inspiring stories, and blog posts about the Bible, faith, healthy living, note-taking, technology, writing, and more. Sharon is quite active on Notes here and occasionally publishes articles on Medium. For more, check out her About Me story there.
Unlike many on Substack, we’re not here to make money. That means all of our content will always be free to everyone. With that said, Substack only exists because it takes 10% of whatever Substack writers make. Therefore, at some point in the future, we will likely turn on paid subscriptions so that anyone who wants to contribute to our work (and help the platform) can, but there will never be any obligation to do so or exclusion from our content if you don’t.
Featured content
Navigating Substack and managing your subscription
Our publication has two sections: Blog and Newsletters. If you’re reading this from a browser, you’ll see them at the top of our Home Page.
If you’re reading this from the Substack reading app (what we recommend), you won’t see these two buttons. But internally, they exist.
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More About Us
In 2007, a few weeks before our first anniversary, we shared our story at a small church. David recorded it and then turned it into a video. It’s an hour long. To shorten it, start at 9:00 to skip past the introductions. But you don’t want to skip the last 7 minutes because, at around the 52:50 mark, there’s a slide show of photos from our first year with Sharon singing and playing her song, Oh Lord, You’re Faithful, written and recorded in her music studio.
A lot has happened since 2007. Here’s an ever-so-brief rundown:
We moved to West Texas in early 2008 to help Sharon’s parents with their very old apartments. We bought them out six months later and ran the business until God mercifully bought us a buyer in early 2016, and we sold it. (Whew! Never again!)
We retired in 2021 and now live in a small (but growing) community outside Fort Worth, Texas.
David spends his time reading, playing his harmonicas and ukuleles, and doodling (sometimes in Canva) with various artistic creations when he’s not staying on top of the yard work, cleaning the house, or doing the weekly shopping.
Sharon spends her time reading, researching, writing, learning, and staying on top of all her digital tools. She also cooks most of our meals, manages the household, and does her best to keep David sorted, which is a full-time job by itself!
Our ONE Thing!
Our meeting each other online was a God set-up. How He brought us together and has continued working in our lives right up to the present moment is nothing short of an ongoing amazing story, and one we simply can’t keep to ourselves.
What is our ONE thing? It’s knowing and walking with Him daily. This isn’t just a statement of our faith; it’s our reality. It isn’t just what we believe; it’s an ongoing experience. Our faith affects our lives in tangible, sometimes miraculous ways.
And everything we write and share here flows out of that reality.
Jesus said it this way:
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 The Message Bible
We’ve taken Him up on His offer — and we pray you do, too!
Sharon & David 😊
