Graced with Grace

    I think I would sometimes like to blame my lack of writing on a big boisterous city that casts a shadow over my creative writing skills. I am convinced that it is the fresh country air that gives breath to beautiful writing. But there is always excuses of one kind or another to ignore the pen and paper.   And then again, maybe I never had that skill of writing and only dreamed I did. Or maybe I did, but it is all over and gone to the wind. Or maybe still it is yet there and you have yet to see what I can produce.   I still have a tiny bit of a dream that I will some day write a book and then again I really don't know that I want to.   Its kind of the same as I feel about farming. I have always had this romanticized view of authors and farmers and thought to myself that someday I should be one. Well, I will probably never be a farmer; I gave up that dream long ago.   But there still flickers a flame o...

Short moments away I will no longer be single....     ...at last joining hands and becoming one with this man. On May 25, 2018 I married my best friend and only a week before that, I graduated from Bethlehem College and Seminary. A lot of people warn the bride and groom that their wedding day will be a fog, a whirlwind. But although the day was full, from getting ready in the morning, pictures, the ceremony itself, greeting all the guests, and at last leaving, yet my husband and I look back on that day with pure delight. Everything was beautiful and in my eyes it was perfect. I will love looking back for years to come on that beautiful hot yet happy spring day. I will want to tell my children all the little details of that wedding, from the sunflowers and daisies, to the food and the root beer floats, the family and friends that surrounded us. Now here I am a couple weeks later, sitting quietly in my first little apartment with my husband, satisfied tha...

What better day to write a love story than today. We met about three years ago. The exact details of our very first meeting I don't remember very well because it wasn't exactly love at first sight for either one of us. He was a young happy freshman while I was a sad despondent old junior. It wasn't too long before we became friends though. He started serving in the kitchen with me, and became a sweet fragrance of joy and youth in my weary sad drained life. It seems that the kitchen is a fitting place for two people to fall in love. I am sure he will never forget the many gifts of "love" I gave him as a dishwasher. Yes, I brought him so many dishes which I pointedly told him was "from the bottom of my heart...... where all the dirt lies." What could get more romantic than that? Right?!?!?! So we became friends. We played pranks. We did parties. We ate food. And we started sharing each others coffee drinks. (gross!) And I became madly in lo...

  I wouldn't change anything From the laughter to the tears. Every little memory counts, Every little memory makes A year to remember.   Sledding with my sisters, Baking sweet aroma and enjoying every bite. Drawing with children Or snuggling a sleeping little one On my shoulder. Fellowship with friends around A crowded table. Learning, and reading, And drinking coffee to stay awake. Flowers of sunshine on sick days. A brothers wedding. More sunshine for a weary heart. The skies that radiate the glory of God And proclaim his promises and love From day to day. Friends to hold me tight when tears fall fast. Waiting on God's will. Learning to trust him more. Friends getting married. A sister's wedding too. Working hard out doors And getting dirty. Working along side my best friend. Courting the man of my dreams. Learning to be loved And to love and to live in grace.  A sweet friend and a waffle date. ...

  This summer was full of new adventures, new beginnings, joyous celebrations, dreams coming true, hard work, and long quiet days learning to rest in Jesus more. My sweet friend from North Carolina, whom I have known since infanthood, got married in May. I myself, started courting a kind, godly, tenderhearted, young gentleman at the end of May. I worked landscaping during the month of June. Then went home for the month of July to spend time with my family before my sister, Priscilla, married the man of her dreams at the beginning of August. I started my senior year of college, while my middle sister started her freshman year. I turned 24 at the end of last week, which was actually quite exciting, but only because my sweet beau made it a very special day to be remembered forever, otherwise, 24 isn’t too remarkable. ;) Busy as this summer has been, it has also been a very special season to me. Starting a courtship relationship with one of my best friends of the last two...

    Its not every day That I get to drive On a meandering country road On a dark starry night. No sirens, no buildings Except calm quaint houses With a flickering light. Not too many cars Whizzing by, Just a truck here and there. Grandpa rocking on his front porch, Grandma pulling the weeds From the garden She has faithfully nourished For the past 78 years. It’s just that. You get into the country And everything slows down And it’s not every day that we can. Children raking leaves, Farms standing among rolling hills, These are the pictures That make my heart still For just a moment. Awe! It’s not every day That I drive on long meandering roads, Along gurgling creeks, And down old faithful gravel roads. Passing by horses and cattle And that one lone Bison. It’s not every day That these are the sights I see, So I drink it all in And I s...

Oh, to be a dandelion And bask in the sun! To be picked by a child And be smiled upon. To be a wreath on the head Or picked for mother, dear, Or to have soft little lips Blow you in the wind, Seeds planted again, And little ripples of laughter From a child’s carefree joy, Loved for your beauty, Even though you be but a weed. Oh, to be a dandelion, Dancing in the fields, Laughing in the summer time, Flying in the fall, Buried for the winter, But ready to bloom again in spring. Oh, to be a dandelion,   Wild and free!

    “What do you plan to do when you graduate?” As a senior in college, I get this question asked of me a lot. Honestly, I have gotten similar questions since my high school days. And guess what? I still don’t. At least that is what I say. I have come up with various responses because it gets tiring saying that I don’t know. And my answer changes from week to week depending on what is my most recent idea or dream. I have come up with all kinds of answers for this question, but honestly the answer is never really my true dream. It’s just a career because everyone has to have a dream career right? No! I am done with this myth that we have to have some career to pursue after graduation. Don’t get me wrong. I think it’s important to spend my life wisely and purposely. I don’t wish to sit around doing nothing, but I don’t think I have to have some passionate career that I plan to fall into after graduation. I believe God will show me the next step and show me h...

  The summer is quickly coming to an end. Surprisingly I am actually more excited than nervous or panicked. Often I find the close of a summer somewhat scary for me. I don’t usually look forward to starting up school again. It means moving again, meeting new freshmen and making new friends, and more papers to write before long and all these things tend to sometimes freak me out. Then winter comes and I’ve never been a fan of winter. But this year I am kind of excited. Not exactly sure why. Maybe it’s the fact that I have a friend getting married at the end of this school year and it gives me something to look forward to at the end. Or maybe it’s the fact I can call myself a senior this year. Or maybe it’s simply because I am starting off part-time instead of full time and so I am not scared to death that I will fail every single one of my classes and have no life at all. Maybe simply knowing that my homework load will be doable makes me eager or at least ready to start a...

As snow blows gently down to the earth And blankets the ground and still higher, She dreams of the summer flower.   White and grey, the colors of the earth convey, But total bliss in the heart of the girl who dreams Of the blue skies, green fields, or dancing streams.   The deadness of winter, but hopes of spring, Make cold winter nights just a bit warmer. As the young girl dreams still more of summer.   Sipping on hot cocoa or tea in a cup Or cuddling under blankets with a journal in hand Makes the girl dream of the sunny southern land.   But while the snow lasts, the girl still laughs, Because she is never too old to have snowball fights,   Whilst dreaming of the summer starry nights.

And it seems that today's word is.......                                                             Dance And so I write. "Let them Praise his name with dancing..." Psalm 149:3   This is the picture that use to be on the wall of my parents home and it always made me smile. There is nothing to special about it, but it brings back memories, memories of joy and laughter and dance. And now it hangs on my own wall above my bed, so when I wake up I remember to praise his name with dancing.   I don't dance that much any more, but let me tell you a secret. As a little girl, I loved to dance.   I used to dance around and around in our family living room, the music ...

She was feeling useless and down one day, Not sure of her worth or purpose on earth. Life was looking and feeling pretty grey. But God saw her in her despair And opened her eyes wide He saw fit that her life be spared. She lives this day because of the breath he provides That he breathes into her feeble lungs Its not yet time that she meet death, not time to die. Life is hers to live in him, until he takes it away But while she live, he still has a purpose, A perfect plan for each passing day. So she face another day with a smile on her face Knowing God can use a simple smile That tells of his unfailing grace. Troubles will come and troubles go, Confusion still stands. But Christ is her anchor, this she does know. The winds may blow Or the sun hide its face, But rain is needed to make flowers grow. And she, too, will grow when it rains But when the rainbow appears She remembers that God’s promise remains.

Some people may choose to forget Because memory causes pain. But I chose to remember, Even though I cry like the rain. I choose to remember that smile of yours Even though it makes me cry. I remember your laugh But it makes me ache inside. I remember the way you strummed your guitar And how it made me dance with joy. But I don’t dance when I remember. Instead my body shakes with sobs untold.   Why do I choose this road of memory, When memory is suffering And forgetfulness is bliss? I can’t explain a pain worth enduring Yet  I chose to remember and not forget. Days come and days go by. People ask how the brother did die And I tell them the how, but not the why? I remember. I did not forget. His story lives on. I choose to share. I will not forget. But lest you think it easy For me to tell his story once more. Remember, I chose to remember And not forget. And memory hurts.  

  Sometimes I realize I have been in search of something I didn’t even realize I was in search of. I was in need of answers, comfort, hope through a dream, yet little did I know I was in need of any of these things. Walking along the shores of Long Beach Island I noticed a couple ladies and girls picking up sea shells as if there was no tomorrow. Knowing that the shells on this particular beach has been picked clean of its beauteous shells, I was only slightly confused about the excitement these ladies showed, until I looked down at my own feet. Then everything came to light. There at my feet lay dozens of Sand Dollars scattered across the shore to my extreme amazement and complete confusion. I wasn’t even sure that I should trust the realness of the occasion, but gently bent down and picked up one, tenderly holding it in my hands and then knew it had to be real. Now to some, a Sand Dollar may seem of little significance, but to me it was a childhood dream come to fruition...