Today we have a guest post by Stacy:
Grace Livingston Hill was a prolific writer. She wrote over a hundred novels that read like a living history. Along with other Godly influences, Ms. Hill’s books made an impact on me at a young age. I was a prolific reader, sometimes reading through a whole novel in a day. In the course of all that reading, I learned some valuable homemaking lessons!
Each Grace Livingston Hill book focuses on a different aspect of spiritual growth. I am convicted to grow spiritually and emotionally from what she wrote many years ago. First and foremost, good homemaking comes from having a right relationship with the Lord. While there are perfectly decorated and spotless houses, a home is not built on appearances. It is built on the solid foundation of God.
Frequently in her novels, Grace Livingston Hill wrote home maintenance instructions. While her leading ladies were facing some difficulty, she gently taught that meals must be made and eaten, clothing must be cared for, and a home must be set to right. In one particular novel, she wrote that a young woman came and restored the functionality of a home by starting a meal, washing the dishes, sorting the laundry, and tidying up.
In life, no matter what crisis we face, the basics must be done. We must eat and sleep, tidy up, and have clean clothing. With creativity and joy, her heroines take up a task and complete it. Many times in my own life, when I am out of sorts or in survival mode, I do those basic home maintenance chores and my mind is set at ease. If nothing else, doing simple tasks and having them out of the way means you can focus on people instead of chores.
Many heroines in Ms. Hill’s novels are ladies who speak in kindness. Even without formal education, they are kind and polite and speak the truth in love. In our modern age, it’s very easy to say mean but honest things. Grace Livingston Hill’s parents must have taught her the old adage, “If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing.” There isn’t any “just sayin’” in the vocabulary used by Ms. Hill’s characters! Her starring women are kind, to the point, and are positive unless pointedness is absolutely necessary. Often, the negative examples of women in her novels are the ones who are careless with their words.
I enjoy reading Grace Livingston Hill’s writings and learning more about her life. Her novels are especially good for young ladies. If the young ladies in your life are like the ones in mine, they are avid readers and would enjoy history rich fiction. I hope you’ll seek out her books for your own or your daughters’ reading!
Stacy is saved by grace, wife to Mr. Wonderful, and momma to four sweet children. With joy, creativity, and a great deal of coffee, she homeschools her three younger children. She also keeps her home, runs a quilting business, sews, takes pictures, and writes in her spare time. You can find her quilting work and many other topics at her blog, quiltiferous.wordpress.com , and on all the social sites (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Etsy) as Quiltiferous.
