Hi there! I'm Hillary...

Welcome to Joyful + Rising!

It's an honor to have you here. My name is Hillary, and I'm a woman who wears many hats!

Wife to my husband, Josh, of 8 years.
Mom to our son, Liam, our daughter, Marsaili, and our fur babies
Joy advocate: I always joke that my parents named me well. My first name means happy/joyful, and my maiden name means warrior. “Joyful Warrior.” So incredibly fitting, because I strive to choose joy in every aspect of life and help others do the same.

I call Georgia home as I have my entire life. I love being active and creative, and I love to serve others. Joyful + Rising initially began as a passion project for me, but in early 2022, it became an ordained, faith driven purpose.

In February of 2022, we discovered at my anatomy scan with our daughter that she had "multisystem abnormalities." We endured a high risk pregnancy and life threatening complications before welcoming our little warrior into the world. Not long after Marsaili was born, we were informed that she has a rare, terminal neurological condition known as Lissencephaly. Over the past year, we have endured more trials than we ever could have imagined, we have grieved the loss of things we had hoped for, we anticipate the grief that will come when this condition one day calls our daughter to her heavenly home...and through it all the call to find joy in the midst of our most uncertain circumstances is one we have embraced with gratitude and humility.

It is fascinating to see this brand and "passion project" evolve just as we are evolving. When this page initially launched, I made a commitment to receive the joy only the Lord could bring in spite of pain, circumstances, fear, self-doubt, and uncertainty. I made a commitment to share that here openly and honestly. Praise be to God for the way He has sustained us through these trials and demonstrated to us the ways in which His joy and peace do, indeed, surpass all understanding. We are grateful for the opportunity to be parents to two magnificent children. We are grateful to share this journey with you and have the opportunity to bring hope and help others feel seen, heard, and understood. Though this season is challenging, we see the goodness of God every single day. It comes with many moments of tears and suffering...but it comes with joys as well. Now more than ever, we see the way the light rises and the darkness cowers.

Joyful and Rising at its core is a ministry dedicated to spreading the light and joy of Jesus Christ. As such, it is important that I clearly define the doctrinal beliefs I uphold.

On God and Humanity

There is one God in trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and we worship the Trinity in unity. God, the Creator of all things, created humanity for His great purpose and glory alone. He created mankind in His own image. In rebellion, mankind sinned against God, and it is this sinful nature which has separated man from eternal fellowship with God. God is omniscient, omnipresent, sovereign, gracious, just, merciful, and holy. He is most deserving of our worship and our praise.

From the Athanasian Creed on the Trinity

"That we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity,
neither blending their persons
nor dividing their essence.
For the person of the Father is a distinct person,
the person of the Son is another,
and that of the Holy Spirit still another.
But the divinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one,
their glory equal, their majesty coeternal."

Jesus Christ and The Gospel

God in His perfectly gracious, just, and merciful nature made a way for us in eternity past to receive the gift of forgiveness we did not deserve in the midst of the brokenness and imperfection of our humanity. We could never flee or redeem ourselves, and so Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, eternally begotten by God and born of a virgin came to this world as fully God and fully man. He lived a perfect, sinless life and bore the punishment for our sin on the cross. He defeated death three days later when He rose from the grave. He is our interceder, extending in grace the opportunity to dress in His righteousness, walk in the peace salvation offers, and receive the gift of eternal life, not because we have earned it, but by of grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit, our promised Helper and Advocate, graciously convicts and inspires us to open our eyes and our hearts to Christ. He lives within the hearts of those who confess and repent of their sins and profess Jesus Christ as Lord. The Holy Spirit continually sanctifies and seals our inheritance of victory through Christ. By the help of the Holy Spirit, we as believers are empowered to live as obedient servants of God and witnesses of the Gospel, equipped to go out and make disciples.

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,
      the Father almighty,
      maker of heaven and earth,
      of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
      the only Son of God,
      begotten from the Father before all ages,
           God from God,
           Light from Light,
           true God from true God,
      begotten, not made;
      of the same essence as the Father.
      Through him all things were made.
      For us and for our salvation
           he came down from heaven;
           he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary,
           and was made human.
           He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate;
           he suffered and was buried.
           The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures.
           He ascended to heaven
           and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
           He will come again with glory
           to judge the living and the dead.
           His kingdom will never end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit,
      the Lord, the giver of life.
      He proceeds from the Father and the Son,
      and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified.
      He spoke through the prophets.
      We believe in one holy catholic* and apostolic church.
      We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
      We look forward to the resurrection of the dead,
      and to life in the world to come. AMEN.

*catholic: universal; all inclusive