GAF Star Shares Faith Journey: ‘I Just Really Love Jesus’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Great American Family star Jen Lilley says she could talk about her faith “all day long.”
“I could talk about Jesus all day long,” the actress told Crosswalk Headlines. “I read the whole Bible at a young age, and then I just was pretty on fire ever since.”
Lilley shared that her relationship with her faith grew when she and her family started attending a new church when she was nine years old. At Sunday School, she was taught the Old Testament story of Elijah.
“I just remember being so awestruck that Elijah in the Old Testament had the Holy Spirit,” she explained. “Because I never realized as a young child that outside of Moses and Jesus and the 12 disciples, I didn’t know that people had the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, and how much more so can you have the Holy Spirit in the New Testament?”
Lilley said she was “so jazzed” by what she learned that she went home and read the story for herself in her Bible.
“And so then I was like, ‘What else does this book say?’ And so I spent the entire summer of turning nine to 10, I read my whole Bible cover to cover,” she said.
Lilley continued, “I just really love Jesus. I love the Holy Spirit. I know that He is still active today. You know, I’ve seen God heal, I’ve seen miracles. I’ve seen cancer disappear; I’ve seen people get out of wheelchairs.”
READ MORE: JEN LILLEY SHARES HOW GOD BROUGHT HER TO DAYS OF OUR LIVES ROLE
Most fans of Lilley know her from her appearances in Christmas movies. This year, she stars in A LITTLE WOMEN’S CHRISTMAS.
The movie is “a contemporary retelling of the beloved classic novel, following the lives and loves of the March sisters in a small Tennessee town at Christmas,” according to the Great American Family website.
READ MORE: A LITTLE WOMEN’S CHRISTMAS REVIEW
“Holiday movies are so fun,” she told Northern Virginia Magazine. “My favorite part about them is the profound impact they have on viewers. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve met a fan at Christmas Con who has told me one of my Christmas movies was the only 90 minutes they didn’t cry all season because they’ve experienced a recent death in their family. I cry tears of awe and gratitude every time I hear someone say that.”
Lilley added, “So, while these movies might not garner an Academy Award nomination, they’re a genre I’m extremely grateful to be part of because they’re impacting lives and bringing people peace and joy!”
