Hi there! I've moved websites. My new website is elizanoel.com . I'd love for you to join me in this new part of my journey :)
-Eliza Noel
Eliza Noel Author
This blog has moved to elizanoel.com .
“Eliza, if you join the internship I’ll be so happy that I'll cry.” Those were the words from a girl named Emilie I’d barely met two months before. I already felt like I’d known her forever. I just knew we were kindred spirits.
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| repping my church while camping |
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| my housemates & I dressed up for our Friday Night Luau |
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| my littlest brother and I on one of my visits home |
Living away from my family made me appreciate them more. I called my mom often (sometimes three times in one day), would meet my dad for coffee, and often stopped by my family’s house before work because it was fun to see how surprised my littlest siblings would be. I’m happy to be back home with my family again, but I thought it’d be fun to share some highlights from my seven months in the internship.
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| a 'family' photo- The Well college ministry interns 2020-2021 |
Awesome:
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| I'm awful at Risk, Clue is more my game. |
-Game nights! They were super fun, but often left me barely sleeping because of a 6 a.m. Biblical studies class the next day.
-Conversations with other young adults from church about honoring God in seasons of singleness and also about what God-honoring relationships look like. It was neat to have mature and open conversations as well as compare personal opinions and values.
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| this was taken at another one of our stargazing spots |
-Late-night spontaneous road trips! Kate was usually the instigator. Those adventures happened on several occasions and were always fun. During the winter we’d go to the lake to stargaze, and more recently we swam in it at midnight.
-A formal dinner for the interns, a few leaders, and the events team. It was so fun to have a reason to dress up!
-Sister sleepovers! One night we watched The Princess Diaries.
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| a few interns and a sister |
-Making dinner for friends. It always felt weird cooking for just me so I enjoyed the times I got to cook for others too.
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| a friend caught this sweet moment at my family's house on camera |
-Dinner with friends at my family's house. I loved introducing them to all my siblings and showing them how cute my small town is. There was one night several of us crammed into the treehouse to play games and sing camp songs.
-At the end of an emotional day three guys from our church showing up at our door and asking if we wanted to take a walk to get ice cream. That was so kind of them and such a fun memory. Us girls love our big brothers-in-Christ so much!
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| Cayucos |
-Getting baptized at the beach and a handful of my friends coming to it.
-Bringing friends to my gym. We made several videos of all of us going up the warped wall.
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| somebody creatively crossed the slackline |
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| my siblings came to one of the park days |
-PARK DAYS. Oh my goodness, these were so incredibly fun. Back in February Emilie had the idea to take her slackline to the park and invite friends to join us there. This became something we did semi consistently until it got too hot. It’d be a group of about fifteen young adults riding longboards, falling off the slackline and throwing a frisbee at the park.
-Walks to the nearby university campus. They happened fairly often. My favorite one included climbing a tree, playing follow the leader, re-enacting a scene from Sound of Music, and sitting in a garden discussing our life plans and dreams.
-Hanging out on Tuesday nights with my teenage sister. One night we bought an ice cream to share and sat in the back of our brother’s truck.
-A spring break trip to Zion National Park. One of my favorite parts was laying on the ground, looking at the stars, and singing worship songs.
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| 80's hangs |
-Friday Night Hangs with costume themes.
-Having the boys over to watch Sound of Music. They loved it!
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| isn't this wall cute? |
-My roommate, Claire, taking a group of us to the Swedish Festival in Kingsburg. That was such a fun experience! I loved the small-town feeling as well as seeing where she grew up.
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| his sash says, "half-birthday queen" |
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| this was taken at our final Friday Night Hangs |
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| Tabletop Mountain |
-Hikes. It was so natural to look at everything around us and discuss how neat it was that God created it all! I loved that.
-A little walk that turned into swimming in a river, climbing a giant tree, and getting a yummy lunch.
-Inviting myself over to a family’s house for an afternoon and them inviting me to stay for dinner. It felt so good to be around children and be 'part of a family’ once again.
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| Pismo |
-One of the boys getting a new car. He took Emilie and me for a drive and was playing a country radio station. That’s when I decided I wanted to ride in his car on our beach trip.
-A bunch of my church friends coming up to where I work for a movie night. That was so fun!
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| Sedona |
-Getting a tour of Bass Lake and Oakhurst. We met up with some other people from church for lunch.
-Staying up late, chatting, and all sleeping in the living room the final night all of us girls were together. We went through some conversation starter questions together. One was, "What song makes you think of me?" Lorah and I responded with the exact same song for each other!
-Cleaning house together and taking goofy polaroids.
-Surprise visitors at the house. One ended up staying and chatting for almost an hour. I loved the environment of living in a house where people could just do that.
-Baking a cake and Claire decorating it for Emilie's birthday.
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| I may have forced them to listen to VeggieTales |
- A full car.
-Coming home from work to a full house.
-Late nights at In-n-out. It's open until 2 a.m so it was our go-to hangout.
-Afterhours. That's what we call it when we all go get dinner together after church.
-My Foundations group. I went through a ten-week study on the foundations of Christianity with these sweet girls.
-Mornings with Emilie. I especially enjoyed starting the day riding to our Biblical Studies class together.
Awkward:
-Having a rough day and dealing with it by blasting a VeggieTales soundtrack and driving around a roundabout several times. 10/10 recommend.
-Kate and I smashing grapefruits with a baseball bat while blasting happy music because we were frustrated. It was a very bonding experience.
-A coworker sending me home with hand-me-downs and all six of us girls promptly putting on a fashion show.
- ‘squatching’ on a camping trip. You also believe Sasquatch is real, right?
-“You better get used to this because someday your husband’s gonna watch you make dinner. Wow, you’re a messy eater.” Thanks, friend.
-"Hey Mom, can I invite a few friends over for dinner?" "Oops, there's 32 of us coming..." My mom is literally the best! She made iced tea, dinner and dessert for all of them.
-Bringing my stuffed animal seal to an intern meeting. Everyone took turns holding him then my friend asked if he could take him with him to go get burritos. I responded, “David doesn’t go anywhere without Mommy.”
-Playing hide and go seek in a giant house on our retreat. Even our college pastor was playing and sneaking around in the dark trying to scare us.
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| this costume was the most popular thing we found in the bag |
-"I tried to go straight to Fresno, but my car wanted to go see my family.” -an entry in my journal
-Emilie and I dancing goofily on the beach and eventually getting an older lady to join us.
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| it was pretty even with all the fire damage |
I hope this was somewhat entertaining. I enjoyed organizing all the pictures and memories. What are some awesome and awkward moments from your life lately?
Sunday, August 08, 2021
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I've been thinking about this story I wrote five years ago so I thought I'd share it again. It was inspired by the imagery in Sara Groves' song "Fireflies and Songs". I hope your summer is lovely so far 💛
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| Photo by Tengyart on Unsplash |
Every summer I used to spend a week or two out at my Grandmother and Grandfather’s farm. My Grandfather would always tell my parents that since I was the youngest of ten children I deserved at least a week, each year, without older siblings to boss me around.
One day, Grandmother and I were in the attic looking at things. This was one way we passed many summer days when it was too hot to be outside.
“Grandmother.”
She smiled down at me and I gazed at her a moment before finally speaking. I loved the way she brushed her long white hair every morning and twisted it into a perfect bun on the back of her head. Seven year old me knew that when I was older I wanted to be just like her.
I pointed to a heart shaped box on a top shelf. “What is that?” I asked.
Grandmother smiled. She had a special look on her face. It was a look I saw only in older peoples faces, the look they get when they are about to tell a story.
Grandmother whispered something softly. I hadn’t understood a word she said. It almost sounded like the noises my little nephew used to make.
Since it looked as if Grandmother wasn’t going to explain, I repeated my question. It was louder this time, “Grandmother! What is that? The thing up on the shelf?”
She turned towards me once again and made a sound that was somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. “Ma petite boite a musique.”
I huffed. There were those words again, the ones I didn’t understand. Before I had a chance to complain, Grandmother lifted it gently off the shelf as if it might shatter at one touch. “Do you know who gave it to me?”
I shook my head.
She smiled again. Not just with her mouth, but with her eyes. That was one of my favorite things about Grandmother. She almost always had a joyful light in her eyes. Once when I asked her about it she mentioned something about how she supposed it was because she knew her maker. I didn’t understand then but she said I would when I was older.
“Your grandfather gave it to me.” She reached down and tucked a stray strand of my hair behind my ear. “A long time ago.”
I plopped down on a rug and smoothed out the old fashioned dress that Grandmother and I had sewn together. “Tell me the story.”
She eagerly pulled a rocking chair close to me and sat down.
“Well, your grandfather and I had always been wonderful friends. We’d known each other since he was ten and I was seven...”
“Like me!” I interrupted.
“Yes, Samantha. Like you.” She always called me by my full name even though all of my older siblings called me Sam. “Anyways, I knew we were practically best friends, but I would have never guessed that all these years later we’d still be best friends and have six beautiful children and more wonderful grandchildren than I can count.”
I laughed, “Silly Grandmother. There are ten children in my family and a total of twenty in the other five families.”
“Oh, that’s right isn’t it?”
I nodded, “And you didn’t mention Theodore, your first great-grandchild.”
“Of course! Theodore, how could I have forgotten him?”
“You didn’t really. Go on with the story.”
“Ah, yes. The year I graduated from high school your grandfather went on a business trip in Europe. I had no idea how much I would miss him. By the time he came back it was quite obvious to each of us that not only were we best friends, but we were in love. Tom, your grandfather, talked to my father almost the moment he was back from Europe. He told my father that, if it was okay with him, he wanted permission to spend more time with me so he could get to know me better.”
“But why? You already knew each other,” I interrupted.
Grandmother smiled down at me, “Yes, we knew each other as friends but not as sweethearts who hoped to marry each other.”
“What does this have to do with the little box?” I was growing impatient. I could tell this was a story my older sisters would love to hear but not I. I wanted to know about the mysterious little box.
“I’m getting there. On our first date, we went on a picnic. We called it a date, but it wasn’t just the two of us, it was my whole family.”
“Why did your whole family go?”
“They all wanted to get to know Tom better and my father wasn’t ready to let the two of us out of his sight.”
“Kinda like before Margaret married Chris whenever they went to eat food together Percy had to go with them.” Percy and Margaret were two of my older siblings. “Percy liked doing that because Chris always bought super yummy food and Percy would get to eat some too.”
“Yes, it was like that. Once Tom and I got to know each other better Father would often send just my older brother with us.”
“What type of food did you eat?”
“Well, I remember exactly what we ate on our first ‘date’. Mother wanted me to get more experience cooking, so I was the one who filled the picnic basket. I brought,” she began to count the things off using her fingers, “Fried chicken sandwiches on homemade bread, coleslaw, strawberries, lemonade and apple pie.”
I licked my lips, “Yummy. Can we eat all of that for dinner tonight?”
Grandmother seemed to like that idea. “We can if you want to go to the country store with me to pick up ingredients and if you promise to help me with the homemade bread and pie.”
“Oh goodie. I’m really good at making apple pie.”
“Your grandfather will like this.”
“Let’s surprise him!”
“Good idea.”
“Please continue your story. You were at the picnic part. And I still don’t know what that little box is.”
“It’s getting hot and stuffy up here. Let’s go down to the living room.” I followed Grandmother down the stairs and into the old fashioned living room. Once we were both sitting down she continued her story.
“During our picnic dinner Tom taught me some French. He had spent the majority of his work trip in France. After the apple pie, he handed me a little wrapped gift,” At this point, Grandmother picked the little box up off of her lap, “It was this little music box.”
I was excited. I’d seen music boxes before and I thought they were the most darling things on earth, besides babies of course. As Grandmother opened it up and twisted the key, I held my breath. What tune would it play? Grandmother let go of the key and the song began.
“What song is that, Grandmother?”
“It’s a French love song. The music box came from France. Your grandfather taught me how to say, ‘My little music box’ in French.”
“Oh!” I exclaimed, “Is that what you were saying earlier?”
Grandmother handed me the music box so I could look at it closer. “Yes. Ma petite boite a musique.”
Now that I knew what they meant, the words sounded beautiful instead of like baby blabbers. I felt every little intricate detail in the beautiful French music box, “It’s so pretty.”
“Yes,” Grandmother leaned back in her chair, “Once it was dark we all began to walk back from the picnic. I played the little tune on the music box the whole way home. Some fireflies came out. It almost looked like they were dancing to the tune of my music box. The whole scene was beautiful.”
“I like fireflies.” I said.
That evening, we had a picnic dinner just like Grandmother and Grandfather had had on their first date. Once it was dark, some fireflies came out.
“What do you think, Tom?” Grandmother reached over and held Grandfather’s hand. They were sitting next to each other on the porch while I was running around trying to catch a firefly.
Grandfather smiled and replied, “I think everything’s perfect. Just like that one Summer evening years ago.”
“Wait!” I exclaimed, “It’s not perfect yet!”
I ran inside and came back with the music box. I wound the key up and it began playing the French love song. Grandmother, Grandfather and I smiled at each other.
Wednesday, June 09, 2021
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This doesn't even feel real. I'm officially the published author of two books. Like, what on earth?! I think this calls for a 'virtual speech' of sorts.
The Dawn Chandler Series began in a purple composition notebook twelve-year-old Eliza bought in a drugstore. I don't think that girl had any idea it would go this far. Or that the story would change as much as it did. Dawn's name was originally "Deedee", Uncle Wesley was originally dead, and the story wasn't even set in Lone Pine. Oh ya! And Caroline's name was Paris for far too long. You get the picture...
Dawn and the Letters more specifically began in Fall 2016. Sixteen-year-old Eliza started plotting in her free time between school, her bread baking business, and theater rehearsals. She wasn't done editing Dawn Chandler, but wanted to get a first draft done of the sequel so she had a better idea of where the story was going. A lover of Nancy Drew mysteries, and recently inspired by Hallmark's Signed, Sealed, Delivered she set out to write a story revolving around the characters she already knew so well with a touch of mystery and an important message. On April 18th, 2017 she completed the first draft.
Let's fast forward to now. Now I've sold over 250 copies of Dawn Chandler and received countless sweet messages from readers both over the internet and in person. I've had young girls tell me they didn't like reading until they read Dawn Chandler. I've had adults tell me themes in Dawn Chandler convicted them. I'm amazed by how much this dream of writing a series has grown. I'm amazed by how God's used me and the passion He gave me to impact people in even just a small way.
Dawn and the Letters deals with the theme of learning to love your enemies (or just people who seem unlovable). This is something I've dealt with over the years as I'm sure many of you have. My prayer is that through reading Dawn and the Letters you won't only be entertained by the character's playful banter, but also inspired to love people more and ultimately to love our amazing God.
Looking forward, I don't have concrete plans for future Dawn Chandler books, although I believe they will happen at some point. I can see the story picking up when Dawn's a young teenager, but I'm not sure yet. My plan is to take a break from the Chandlers and Jennings, as much as I dearly love them, and pour my efforts into a different story that God put on my heart several years ago. I'm super excited and a little bit nervous about it. Starting something new can be intimidating.
I want to end this by encouraging each of you to take time to develop the gifts and passions that God gave you. It can be hard work, but in the end, it's so rewarding.
A few advanced reviews of Dawn and the Letters...
"This is a sweet, fun, story perfect for any middle-grade reader. Dawn is a charming heroine, and I really enjoyed the large Jennings family (I adore sibling stories and this book certainly has enough siblings to go around)!
While the story itself is fun and the adventure is satisfying, Noel has also woven in valuable Biblical lessons and principles. Readers of all ages will be able to relate to Dawn's struggle to forgive and love her enemies."
-Olivia Smit, author
"I loved this book just as much as I did the last one! And before I dive right in, let me just say that while I think that you should read the first one before reading this one, you wouldn't necessarily have to. So don't wait to read this great middle-grade read.
While it is a middle-grade novel, I think anyone and everyone should read Dawn and the Letters! It's a nice light read with some Biblical lessons to be learned and sarcasm. Can we talk about Kenneth's sarcasm! Just like every other boy on the planet, he's always thinking about food and making jokes at every turn. In fact, the whole book is realistically sarcastic! If you don't think so too, I think you skipped childhood sitting in a castle and being very proper. You might start reminiscing your own childhood/tween years while reading Dawn and the Letters!"
-Rachael, reviewer
"Perfect for elementary-school girls, Dawn and the Letters teaches in an engaging way that loving your enemies is the best way to go. The book is short and uncomplicated for young readers, with a simple and sweet plot.
Character-wise, Dawn is a good portrayal of an average Christian girl who's definitely not perfect and has typical, twelve-year-old struggles. I enjoyed her interactions with her siblings and friends, and all the different personalities Eliza created. Coming from a big, country family, I can definitely relate to the Jennings!
I give the design an A+. The cover is so cute, and the inside has some awesome extras, my favorite being a clean-cut, artistic map of Lone Pine. Book extras amp up any book for me, and I loved what these added to the story!
Eliza Noel has penned a fresh, appealing story that will take young readers to the beautiful mountains of Lone Pine. I can't wait to see what she'll do next!"
-Korin, reviewer
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Saturday, November 21, 2020
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| photo credit//picture his glory |
Saturday, November 21st!
Once again, I had Liza Proch design the cover and I'm so so happy with it :)))
Here
it
is
Dawn Chandler is newly settled in Lone Pine, and she can’t wait for the family wedding. When she and her friend Moriah discover an old letter written during the Vietnam War, they hatch a plan for a grand wedding surprise. Forming the “Smokey’s Sleuths” group with their siblings, they intend to track down the letter’s author.
As plans move forward with festivities, Dawn tries to ignore Rochelle, the one girl determined to make her life miserable and ruin her friendships. But Smokey’s Sleuths soon discover that Rochelle is the one person who holds the clue they desperately need.
Will Smokey’s Sleuths be able to track down the letter’s author in time to pull off a wedding surprise, or will Dawn’s struggle to love her enemy keep them from their goal?
~~~
I'm trying something new with this book release...a photo challenge! I'll be giving a fun prize (yet to be announced) to one person who joins in the challenge on Instagram. Feel free to join in on Facebook or your blog simply for the fun of it, if you wish.
So what do you think? How do you like the cover and will you be joining the challenge?
Friendly reminder...if you haven't read Dawn Chandler yet you can snag a copy here ;)
Thursday, October 29, 2020
8
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Well, hello there, friends! 2020 is halfway over and while I've been quite active on social media this is my first 2020 blog post. Here are just a few highlights & updates.
{dyed my hair with Kool-aid cuz I needed something fun & new}
Life...
Back in January, God provided me a job in a cute little town, we'll call it Mayberry. This job is absolutely perfect! I'd been frustrated before as I was submitting job applications and nothing was working out, but I know now that was because God knew the job I needed and it wasn't any of those other ones. So in "Mayberry" I'm the baker at a little restaurant and gas station. I also wait on tables, wash dishes, and restock shelves. My boss even lets me sell copies of my book there. So basically I have this perfect little job at a Hallmark location that involves my passions for baking, writing, and people. Ok, it's not quite as perfect as a Hallmark movie, but almost.
{peach & berry cobblers are the main things I bake}
In February, three of my siblings, my dad, and I went on a trip to Mexico to build a house for a family. We went along with a church group from the "Mayberry" area. It was a wonderful trip. The worship and devotional times were SO good, and we got to know a bunch of the "Mayberry" people quite well.
{the house in Mexico}
My family had known for several months that we had to move, but we weren't sure where we were going. In April I think (I don't know, that's when quarantine happened and all the months blended together) we finally moved to a house in "Mayberry". So not only did God provide us with a home, but he provided us with a home in an area where he'd already set my brother and I up with jobs, and where we already had good friends. Like what? God is so good, my friends!!! Gotta say as much as I had adjusted to city life, and it does have it's pros, I'm so happy to be back in a small-town community.
Since moving closer to the mountains, and since so many things have been shut down, I've been spent a lot more of my free time outdoors. That's included hiking, kayaking, off-roading, swimming in the lake, and just basically ADVENTURE-ing.
{this hike felt like I'd discovered another world like Narnia or something when I reached the top of the mountain}
I spend several hours a week taking care of my two youngest siblings so my mom can homeschool the rest of them. I'm constantly trying to find new fun things to do with them. Often we'll go on park playdates and our most recent field trip was going to a friend's property to see alpacas, tropical birds, and other animals.
{aren't they so precious???}
A small group of friends and I are halfway through the Old Testament Survey course offered on biblicaltraining.org . It's been so eye-opening! I've loved learning more of the historical and cultural context of the laws God gave the Israelites and just seeing through the Old Testament how incredibly important Jesus is! The New Testament makes so much more sense on the foundation of the Old Testament.
Writing...
Somehow in all of this, I've still found time to pursue what I'm passionate about- writing and publishing positive fiction. I'm definitely not consistent and sometimes I beat myself up over that, but I have to remember I'm working almost full-time and that spending time with loved ones is important too.
{my room doesn't look anything like this anymore, but I thought it was a fun 'writing' picture}
As embarrassing as it is, I have to admit that Dawn Chandler had typos in it. I finally updated the document to fix *hopefully* all of those the other day. Why did I put off those three hours of work for over a year? Ya, I have no answer... Anyways, it's great to be done with that now.
{pictures I found on Pinterest for each of my characters
Walter, Caroline, Moriah, Dawn, Kenneth, Uncle Wesley, Miss Sandy, and Rochelle}
I'm also in the late editing stages of the sequel. This week I got a copy of it in the mail for my mom to read through. When she's done I'll be sending it off to my editor! I don't have a release date, but if you wanna join my street team now is the time to start doing that :)))
Here's the unofficial blurb for book two:
Dawn Chandler has learned to love Lone Pine and feels perfectly happy there, well, almost. She spends her days with the Jenning girls chatting about an upcoming wedding and helping plan a Valentine's tea party. When Rochelle holds the only clue to a mystery Dawn and her friends are trying to solve, will Dawn learn to love her enemy?
As much as I love the Chandlers and Jennings, I'm looking forward to plotting and hopefully writing a totally new story during NaNoWriMo!
Reading...You can click on each of the book titles to read my Goodreads reviews. These have been my favorites so far this year.
Health...My motivation comes and goes quite often sadly, but I'm back to eating on the Trim Healthy Mama plan the majority of the time and doing home workouts. I'm choosing to eat healthily because I know when I do I have so much more energy and I'm a lot happier. I also wanna live a healthy life so I can serve Jesus the best I can and be the happiest most energetic human I can be for my future family, and for myself. I'm also possibly working towards becoming a licensed Trim Healthy Mama coach. It's something I'm passionate about, a way I'd love to help other people, and a job I can have even as a stay-at-home mom someday. If you wanna see what recipes and workouts I've been trying you can follow my health instagram.
ANYWAYS, update me on your life! I'd love to hear all the things. What have you been reading? Have you been doing any adventuring? Has God been teaching you anything new?
p.s. If you're not already following my author instagram go do that. I'm in the middle of one book giveaway and I have several more planned ;)))
Saturday, August 01, 2020
9
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About Me
- Eliza Noel
- believer | oldest of 9 children | 22 | author of the dawn chandler series | cali girl
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