Graced with Grace

"Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God'? Have you not known? Have you not heard? ... The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. HE does NOT faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:27-31 My soul is weary, faint, and exhausted, yet I remembered these verse and they have been a source of great comfort and joy to my heart. These verses reminded me that no matter how weary I be and how weak and incompetent I feel, God, who is my creator, never grows weary or faint. He is the everlasting God and has crea...

When alone I imagine. Starry skies at night, Grassy meadows, Birds dancing in the air, Bare feet, Hair blown in the wind, Sunshine. When alone I remember still There are Mountains to climb, Valleys to survive, Storms will rage, Laughter at times, Yet still more tears to cry. When alone I feel. I feel a love From deep inside . A gentle love That never lets me go. God’s love That gives me life. When alone I Smile vaguely, Laugh quietly, Cry brokenly, Watch expectantly, and Wait eagerly. ~Hannah Grace~

I am sitting here at my kitchen table with the sunshine streaming through the window and surrounded by some of my favorite things. For the past couple hours I have been writing to friends from far away, friends who I have neglected, I must confess. School should not be an excuse for forsaking and neglecting good friends, so, my dear friends, I must apologize for neglecting you for so long. I am much grateful for lovely fall breaks that provide a time for recovering and an opportunity to remember once again my awesome friends and write numerous letters to dear ones around the world. So with colorful pens and paper I begin to write, a candle flickering and my tea cup of coffee (yes, I drink coffee from a tea cup and this is NOT the oddest thing I do.) within reach. I feel that the only thing I am missing is Peter Rabbit sitting on the table to cause a little mischief ( Beatrix Potter reference) and a quill pen with a bottle of ink to dip it in, but I...

Tears! Tears! Stop your flow! Stop soaking up my homework page. Please leave me alone and let me go. Tears! Tears! Stop your rage. I am not hurting, like at the loss of a lover, But hurting at the loss of my dear brother. Maybe it was 9 years ago. But years won’t let this hurt go. Tis’ a wound that cuts to the heart. I think of you, and it wrenches me apart. Twas’ like yesterday that I saw your smiling face, Yet its been too long since the last embrace. Day by day goes slowly by, I forget about your life that you once lived. But then I remember and I cry. Tears! Tears! Why be so sensitive? I have no time for crying any more. No time for wounds that cut to the core. My purpose in life is not yet complete. Oh tears, so bitter sweet! Tis’ a wound that can never be healed, Till I join you at the feet of the King of kings. Until then, I will learn to dance in the field. I will learn to laugh during the rain life brings. ...

    Cars speeding by, Honking horns, Screeching brakes. People hurrying here, And there; People everywhere; Yelling, screaming, Impatient to arrive. Always going, Never pausing. That’s how life In the city Goes. Time to pause; Time to think; See the beauty. Smile at the lonely. Watch the clouds Drifting across the sky. See the flowers In your neighbors garden. Feel the gentle breeze And breathe in the fresh air.   Take time to pause In life. Take time. See beauty there. Slow down and watch. See Beauty all around.

I lived in Minnesota for a whole winter and didn't go ice skating once, even though it is the perfect place to go ice skating being the land of a thousand lakes. Then I come back to North Carolina and go ice skating in an ice house during the summer. That sounds kind of backwards doesn't? :) Now ice skating is one, among a million, skills that I do not have. I simply was not born with the gift of moving on ice. So as you can imagine I move at a very slow tedious pace and even then I fall quite often. That is when I discovered that I ought to be very thankful God made me short. He certainly had a reason for it. He knew that some day I would be on ice and that the shorter I am the safer it would be. Small children on ice can be absolutely adorable, if they know what their doing, but I must admit they freak me out at times. For, although some of them are very good at skating, they don't always look where they are going or else don't take into account that there will b...

Ever since I can remember being able to write, I have loved sending letters to friends from far and near. As a young girl, I always looked forward to and excitedly anticipated a letter in return which was part of my motivation for writing in the first place. But as I got older and those I wrote to got older, I knew that they may not have time to respond, but some how I knew that they would be blessed if I sent a letter anyway.  Writing handwritten letters through snail-mail may seem like an old fashioned, slow, and rather quaint past time communication. But I have been discovering, to my pure delight, that I am not the only one who wants to keep this old fashioned communication going.  There is true beauty, delight, warmth, joy, strength, and encouragement that can be found through simply writing a handwritten letter and sending it through the mail. There is beauty in the note card that was picked out for someone special. There is pure joy and del...