Graced with Grace

It wasn’t a terrible storm, but it was note worthy. You see this storm had some powerful wind. Seriously! It made the night almost eerie with the way the wind was wooing and groaning and moaning and whistling. There were also some amazingly bright flashes of lightening and loud crashes of thunder. As I lay in bed listening I began to think about how powerful and amazing God is. At the same time I was also reminded of a poem that I had read in my literature written by Stephen Crane, a non-Christian. This is what he wrote, A man said to the universe: “Sir, I exist!” “However,” replied the universe, “The fact has not created in me A sense of obligation.” Basically what the poem is saying is that the universe or nature is in control and it does not care that man exists or not. It will do what ever it wants to man. It will treat man however harshly it wants to. Therefore, there is no hope for man because he is totally at the mercy of the universe and the universe doesn’t care. ...

People! I just love people. People are so unique. Everyone is different. Everyone has a different personality, a different voice, a different look, etc. No two people are exactly alike. Every single person was uniquely fashioned by God and each person has their own special uniqueness. (I love that word unique.;) ) Wouldn’t it be so boring if everyone was the same? Wouldn’t it be disastrous if everyone was just like me or you? I am glad God made variety. I love it that everyone is different even the most identical twins there has ever been. I just love it! It makes life so much more exciting and colorful and unique and special and just simply wonderful. Isn’t God so creative? We have a great and awesome Creator. Psalm 139:13-16 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret,...

1. I am the only left-hander in a family of eleven. It makes life so much more exciting and adventurous for everyone ☺. Anyone else in similar circumstances I’m sure will understand. ☺ 2. I hate pretzels. (Unless they are covered in chocolate) 3. I am counter-cultural when culture is counter-God. 4. I was seventeen before I skied for my first time. I was scared to death and almost backed out, but I ended up really enjoying it. (My mom grew up skiing, but my Dad has still never skied himself.) 5. I am the first girl of the family (after four boys) and I am the first in my family that was born at home. 6. I love to do puzzles. (Jigsaw and manipulative) 7. My brother was on TV in China. Well, that is just a tidbit about myself. What about you? What are some miscellaneous facts about you? I would love to hear. Have a happy day and God bless you! Live for Jesus! Love one another! Laugh a lot! and smile Big! ☺

Dear Teens, It is very sad to think how so few Christian teens, even those that have grown up in a Christian home, have read their whole Bible. Not only have many teens never read the whole Bible, but many teens don’t even read their Bible every day. To me that is very sad because if you really love Jesus you would want to be in His word every day and want to get to know Him better through His Word. The Bible is so important for us Christians. It tells us how we as Christians should live. It nurtures us. It is God speaking to us. It is God’s Holy Word to us. If we are not reading God’s Word every single day and not just certain parts, but the whole Bible then we can be easily deceived by other things that we read or hear because we don’t know the truth. The Bible is the most trusted book ever written. You can be certain that every thing the Bible says is true, because it is God’s Word and God is Truth, (John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one...

In an earlier post I stressed the importance of men learning to cook, especially those who are not married yet. Not only is it important to learn to cook (both men and women) before you get married but it is important to learn other practical life skills as well. In Joshua Harris’s book I Kissed Dating Goodbye he says the following (on page 175) about preparing for marriage some day. “ Practice practical life skills . What are practical life skills? Just ask your parents to let you take over the maintenance of your house- including shopping, planning menus, and cooking meals for a couple of month- you’ll soon find out. While these sorts of skills aren’t glamorous, they are an important part of managing a household. We have no excuse for not preparing ourselves in this area. And the best preparation is actually doing it. A few years ago, my mom had me start doing all the grocery shopping for the family. I also had to cook one dinner each week. At first, I didn’t always cook the m...

The other day my sisters and I had gone out into a large logged area, which we call a desert. Well, as you can imagine it is quite messy, full of logs, mud, and ditches full of water, but it is fun to wander through any way. Some time after we got back home from the desert I realized that one of my bracelets was missing. It isn’t a really nice or fancy bracelet just a simple green one that came with a cd, but I loved the bracelet just the same. So I prayed that God would bless that I could find it, although it seemed very unlikely as it was probably in that deserted mess. Not only that, but a couple days passed before I was able to go back to look. Today we were finally able to go back, so of course, I had my eyes on the look out and I told everyone else to look too. After wandering through and searching and looking, I still had not found it and was giving up hope of ever seeing it again. Yet, Praise the Lord, we decided to go back to a place that we had already been that day, to show ...

Do All to the Glory of God   As you wipe the toilet seat As you drink or as you eat Or scrub the children’s dirty feet Do all to the glory of God As you scrub the kitchen floor Or vacuum the carpet more and more Or repair that squeaky door Do all to the glory of God As you talk to your dear friend Or an eloquent letter you send Or the pants, you try to mend Do all to the glory of God As you cook the midday meal A bunch o’ taters you got to peel Or for bed time prayer you kneel Do all to the glory of God As you comfort a crying baby Or help a sweet older lady Or fall and scrape your knee Do all to the glory of God As you study your Grammar To be an expert diagrammer Though these things lack glamour Do all to the glory of God Written by- Hannah March 23, 2011 Special Thanks to my Dad who critiqued my poem and gave me good suggestions for improving it. Also to my Mom who unknowingly inspired me to write it. Have a happy day and God bless you! ☺ Live for Jesus...