Storytime with Hallie

A Journey of Life, Church & More

Welcome to the Storytime with Hallie Blog

Welcome to my blog where you will find stories about my life.

These two photos are a good reflection of where I am right now. The first is during a ministry event when I was working as a Pastor. The second shows me right after I let the leadership at my church of 27 years know I was resigning.

I wanted you to see the raw emotion in each photo. The top one, I am full of joy and laughing. The bottom photo I am full of sadness, pain, and mourning.

I will explore many different ranges of emotion through this blog as I share. I will speak transparently and honestly. I invite you to join me.

Recent posts

  • “Striving to put right what once went wrong”

    By Hallie J Carl “Do you have tickets?” The question seemed reasonable, yet at the same time, unbelievable. Who knew tickets were necessary? I have a tendency to go all in. If I like something, I really like it. As a teenager, this was an even stronger instinct. I would feel like I was the…

    Storytime With Hallie

  • The Fifth Web

    By Hallie J Carl In this moment it didn’t seem the least bit strange to me that Jesus was taking on Spiderman’s superpowers. Being the mom to two Marvel loving sons, this imagery was perfect for me. I was rooted in my chair during the worship time of the Sunday service. I felt heavy, as…

    Storytime With Hallie

  • Fire, Fire Burning Bright

    By Hallie J Carl I gulped and stared at the buttons on the phone. I knew I should call 911. The reminders of adults rang in my ears: 911 was only for emergencies. It made me hesitate. Is this an emergency? My eyes looked out the kitchen window to those flames, that were getting bigger…

    Storytime With Hallie
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  • Bonus Post: Hallie’s Book Recommendations

    I knew something shifted in me. I fell in love for the first time. The suitor was books. Suddenly, my young self couldn’t read enough. Some of the books I still own, dusty and sitting behind other novels on my book cases. The View from the Cherry Tree, Are you there God, It’s Me Margaret?,…

    Storytime With Hallie

  • A Burden Shared

    By Hallie J Carl I sat reading, enraptured. I couldn’t stop turning the pages to see what came next. The book I was fixated on was assigned reading. I was moved into the advanced reading group in fifth grade which meant I got to head over to Mrs. Kubaska’s class once a day for reading.…

    Storytime With Hallie

About Me

My name is Hallie. Formerly a pastor, I now devote my time to writing. The two most important blog entries (if you want to understand who I am today) are “A Family Exiled: Parts One and Two.”

When I began this blog, I knew I would be telling stories of my life. Once I wrote The Family Exiled posts, I knew I would need to set the blog aside for awhile. More time to heal. More time to process.

Since then, life carried on with the pace of a freight train. There have been surgeries, pit bull attacks, a life saved, lives lost and a near miss. My shoulders live in a perpetual and special state of “tight” that in all actuality means “What is the fork is wrong with this woman?”

I have been working on a historical fiction novel and it is a project I am both proud of and encouraged by. I learned that research is an untapped well of joy and skill I was previously ignorant to.

My friend circle is much smaller but much deeper than before.

I’m going to keep telling you stories. Hopefully, you will be entertained and maybe even laugh occasionally. Enjoy!

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