Praising God Through Trials -Grace

Hey, ya'll...

     Okay, so that's not exactly your Grace-esque greeting, eh?

      I wanted to do a post about praising God in the storms of life...because I'm in one now.  In fact, this year has been a storm.  My family has been dealing with health problems and other issues since literally December 31st, 2014.  While we've come out stronger...it's still hard.

      Right now, as I type, another storm is surrounding us.

     While my parents and I live in the Midwest, my grandpa was born and raised in the cotton-fields of Alabama.  He moved here in the 1960s to be with my grandma, and they raised their family here.  But my grandpa left a brother and two sisters "down home".
     His sister, my Aunt Sara Lynn, was diagnosed with cancer...I think it was 2012.  She was in remission, and then sick, and then in remission, and then sick again.  It was a cruel, ravaging course that we took every few months...being hopeful of her full recovery, and then not knowing if she would ever make it through the night.
     Well, Aunt Sara Lynn has been in the hospital this fall.  She had been in remission, and then they re-diagnosed her.  And then they found cancerous tumors in other places.  Finally they told us that radiation wasn't working, and if they gave her any medicines at all, it would just be to keep her comfortable until the end.
     They got her out of the hospital a few weeks ago and sent her to rehab to regain her strength.  And then...about a week ago, she went back to the hospital.
     Last night my grandpa called.  When my dad answered the phone and we heard his voice, we thought he was calling to tell us Aunt Sara Lynn had died.
      No, she hadn't died.  But she was dying.  She couldn't move, and could barely talk.  They said Friday that she started crying and said she wanted to go see her mother again.  She's ready to go.

     But as the first death of my grandpa's grown siblings, it's hard.  Aunt Sara Lynn used to come up about every summer.  I wish I had held her a little longer, a little tighter, that I had kissed her cheek, and told her how much I loved her.
   
      As if I wasn't grief-stricken enough...I woke up this morning to discover myself lying on something very important.  It's called glasses, and I'm quite literally almost legally blind without them.
    They were smashed.  Flat.

     My first thought was, "Really, God????  First Aunt Sara and now this???  Why?!"
     But slowly He's reminded me that we must praise Him...in all things.

"Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;"

-- Ephesians 5:20

     So...I thanked God for the blessings I did have...a loving family and wonderful friends, a Church family that adores me, Miss Promise, my senses of hearing, tasting, and feeling, a healthy body...

      I was about to write this post when I turned on YouTube so I could listen to music while I write.  The only song I could think of was "Stand Still", sung by a trio from a high school in New England (here is the link).  These are the lyrics, from Elyrics.net:

Verse 1:

The Father has a plan. Though it's hard to

see it now

You feel you're walking all alone.

But He is there no doubt

When the storm around you rages,

And you're tossed to and fro

When you're faced with life's decisions,

Not sure which way to go

Chorus:

Stand still and let God move,

Standing still is hard to do

When you feel you have reached the end,

He'll make a way for you

Stand still and let God move

Verse 2:

When the enemy surrounds you, And the walls

are closing in

When the tide is swiftly rising, And you wonder he's been

Friend, there never was a moment, That His arms

weren't reaching out

You can rest assured and be secure, God is moving

right now

Chorus

When you feel you have reached the end, He'll make a

way for you

Stand still and let God move

The answer will come, But only in His time

Stand still and let God move, Stand still and let God

move.

     It's so hard to praise God in the storm...but so worth it.  Oh, so worth it.  Because I praised Him, repented of asking the "Why?!" question, and asked for a blessing, I am actually able to wear my glasses for reading.  I don't know about my aunt, but I'll call my grandmother and ask if she has passed, and if it was as peaceful as I prayed for.  

      I know Thanskgiving has technically passed, and everyone is now looking forward to the Christmas season, but...really.  Every day should be a thankful day.  <3

~ Grace

Grace's hair post ~Promise

This post is solely for Grace. These are the pros and cons of short hair.
CONS.
-You don't have as many styling options, depending on how short your hair is.
-Hair can get in your face easier, and is harder to pull back.
-It takes quite a while to grow out your hair, if you decide that you dislike the cut.
-If you want to keep your hair short, you need to get it trimmed often, which costs quite a bit.
-Depending on face shape, shorter cuts can be unflattering.
PROS.
-Your hair is now easier to take care of, and you save money on shampoo, because you use less.
-Your hair dries faster.
-Depending on face shape, shorter cuts can be very flattering.
-Short hair can make short people look taller.
-Short hair causes less strain on your head if you have thick, heavy hair.



Hope this helps! ~Promise

A lesson in undertones ~Promise

   Hello everybody! 'Tis I, Promise! I'm here to bring you a G.L.A.M (Godly Ladies Always Modest) beauty segment. Have you ever taken the time to figure out your unique coloring? Let's take a moment, if you please, and talk about this.
  Most people fall under two categories of either warm or cool undertones. People with cool undertones usually have red, blueish, or pinkish looking skin. People with warm undertones  have yellow or greenish  tints in their skin. Looking for an easy way to tell if you're warm or cool? Take a blue shirt (like baby blue or royal blue) then take a orange-y shirt (like the color of a pumpkin or a rusty shade) and hold them up to your face, one at a time in a room with natural sunlight and a good mirror. As you hold up each shirt, take notice of which one makes your skin look healthy and bright. The wrong shade will make your skin look sallow and ashy, and enhance under eye bags and skin imperfections. If you look better with blue, then chances are you have cool undertones, if it's the orange, then you're probably warm. Still unsure? Get out side and look at the veins in your wrist. If they appear green, that means your skin has more yellow pigmentation. If they look more blue, then you have bluer or pinkish undertones to your skin. A quick rule of thumb, the fairer you are, the more likely you are to have cool undertones.
   Knowing what undertones you have can help you choose flattering make up and clothes. Some warm colors include yellow (look for this shade with a greenish tint), orange, orange-y reds and reddish or orange-y browns. Some cool colors include blue, purple, green (without a yellow tint), bubble gum pink and blue based reds. I love talking about color! How droll would our lives be without color? God could have easily made our lives black and white, but he gave us colors to lift our spirits and spark creativity! Imagine staring into the ocean without seeing the rolling waves of blue. Think of trying to enjoy a breath taking sunset without the beautiful hues of orange, pink and red! Thank God for such a blessing as color! I hope you enjoyed this post! God bless! ~Promise

Grace's Top Ten Favorite Books

Hey ya'll!  Grace here.

I thought I'd do a "Top Ten" list for you...and of what else than my favorite books?!
I've compiled a light-hearted suggestion list for you.  Feel free to pick and choose.  You can find most of these books at your local library, Mardel's (the best store on the planet), the great and wonderful Internet, or any bookstore you may choose.  :)

10.  A Lantern In Her Hand

Bess Streeter Aldrich

I read this back in seventh grade, and it quickly became one of my favorite novels.  I love the story of Abbie and how she was so beautiful and young…and she sacrificed everything to go to with her husband.  They faced uncertainty, dangers, and death, and yet Abbie stayed strong.  

9.  Abram’s Daughters, The Covenant

Beverly Lewis

It’s mysterious, dark, and a little terrifying if you’re innocently unexpecting.  But it’s good.  So good.  I must go read the others of this series now…..

8.  Love Comes Softly, Love’s Unending Dream

Janette Oke

Okay, so I’ve only read one of the Love Comes Softly series, but I have seen the movies.  They were incredible, and the book was AMAZING.  Number 129867 of why you should go read it NOW.  ;)

7.  The Life and Ministry of Jesus

F. Henry Edwards

So I haven’t exactly finished this yet, but if you want a study of sound doctrine, this is one.  I knew the main stories of Jesus, His birth and death, but not until this came along did I feel like I really knew Him.  J

6.  A Call At Evening

Jessie Ward

So it’s not a well-known publication.  I love it.  The story of Alfred, this novel had me thinking.  Any novel that makes you think is a good one.

5.  Christy

Catherine Marshall

I’m sorry, I love Catherine Marshall.  But this book really is great!  It inspired me to chase my own writing dreams.  J  Be prepared though, some of it is a bit of a culture shock if you were an unprepared sixth grader like I was.

4.  A Man Called Peter

Catherine Marshall

One can really get to know Peter Marshall in this touching memoir of Peter’s life.  I both laughed and cried, and that makes it a great novel.

3.  A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens

Oh.  My.  Goodness.  If you ever feel like crying, laughing, and feeling horrified, go read this majestic beauty.  From Madame Defarge’s atrocious opinion of nobles to Lucie’s sweet tenderness, from Mr. Lorry’s humble servitude to the family to Sydney’s selfless sacrifice, I fell in love with this book.  I really did.

2.  The Robe

Lloyd C. Douglas

I read this last summer, and all I can say is, be ready to bawl your eyes out as you read the greatest novel ever written.

1.  The Bible

Because who doesn’t wanna read about God and stuff?

Signed,
Grace
Your Favorite Bookworm-Blogger ;)

P.S.  Of course, that's not to forget or leave out Silas Marner, Ella Enchanted, Eight Cousins, Little Women, or any other book I (or you) love!!

So I've Been Knitting -Grace

This is a potholder I'm making for a friend.  Mom gave me this yarn because she said it was ugly, lol.  What do ya'll think?

(I was doing a great job until I ditched the pattern and tried to do it from memory.  Note: Not for the scatterbrained!)

You can find the pattern here.  :) Enjoy! (Mom says to make sure you make it out of 100% cotton yarn.  She ought to know, knitting guru that she is!)

~Grace

P.S. No, Promise isn't dead.  I'm just stuck inside because of super icy weather and uber bored.  ;)

Why I'm Pro-Life -Grace

     Almost everyone knows what it means to be pro-life.    And now I'm proudly proclaiming it to all within earshot.
     Why?  Well, it's a complicated plethora of answers to anyone who asks me that question.

      A few weeks ago, my youth group watched the movie Come What May.  If you haven't seen it, the main gist is that a couple of college students must argue the matter of abortion in a Moot Court.  They choose to argue the pro-life side.  Caleb, the main character, knows that they will inevitably lose, but Rachel, his legal partner, presses on that they must stand up for what they believe in.
    The main theme of the movie is this: Fiat justicia et pereat mundus.  "Do the right thing, come what may."

     Phylicia Delta (see here.) put it this way: "...They say they're for women's rights.  They want little girls to grow up independent and unafraid to be themselves.  Let me ask you: how could my daughter have the chance to be herself if I had denied her the right to exsist?"
       "You'd say I don't believe in a woman's right to choose.  I guess you're right: I don't believe in my right to make another person's choice for them.  In this case, that person is my daughter.  I chose not to kill her so she could have the right to live."   

     I'll never forget that day when I was in middle school.  My brother, twenty-four at the time, was going to be a dad again.  I was eleven, happily -- and impatiently -- awaiting the arrival of my second nephew.  I was chattering about it in the car one day when my mom interjected --

     "They could lose it, you know."
 
      But of course they wouldn't, right?  That's just not the way things work to an eleven-year-old.

      "We lost that one before you were born, you know."

       No, I hadn't known that.  I instantly thought of a conversation my mom and her cousin and had over a year before...Mom had used the words "the One" and "miscarriage"....but my ten-year-old self hadn't let the dots connect.  So I had had a brother, just a year older than me, and he had died.  Not because anyone had wanted him too -- they all had loved him so much -- but because God had seen fit to take him away.  And this...the brother I never met...is the reason I am pro-life.

     Because one day, a conversation happened.  I will never forget that day.  I was fourteen, and we had two close friends in our dining room.  One of them and my mother were talking, and somehow they moved to the subject of the son that we lost.  My mom -- who never let a tear slip down her cheek, unless something incredibly horrible (such as a death or major loss) or something incredible funny (such as that video that circulated last winter of a guy falling down about eight times while trying to shovel snow) happened -- my mom began to burst into tears.  Then, wiping away the tears from underneath her glasses, she announced, "The worst part was going to Planned Parenthood to get it taken care of.  There were all those girls there...and they didn't even want their babies.   And there I had just lost mine."

      Maybe it's not scientifically or psychologically or however-you-want-to-say-it-correct, but it hit home to me.

     I will always be pro-life, because you can't tell me that miscarriage is death and abortion isn't.

     That being said:  If you've had an abortion in the past...do I condemn you?

      No.  Because if you repent of your sins, Jesus Christ does not condemn you.  He still loves you more than you can ever imagine.

       And if Jesus Christ does it, then so do I.  Yes, I am a struggling Christian, still trying to follow His commandments in every area...but loving people is something I feel like I have almost mastered.  And so, as Jesus Christ loves you still, so do I.

     ~ Grace

An Open Letter to Everyone -Grace

November 17th, 2015
From Grace

Dear, well...Everyone,

     I wanted to tell you something.  I wanted to tell you what you are not.

     You are not your worst habit.  You are not your weight, not your height.  Not your grades.  Not your clothes, not your makeup brand, not the quality of your favorite -- or only -- dress.
    You are not your social situation, your financial situation, your class in life.  You are not what the mean girls at school say.  You are not your level of genius or your favorite subject.  You are not your glasses or your braces.
     You are not the guys who fall all over you or the guys who never even saw you.  You are not the fight you just had with your best friend or the number of exes that you've had.
     You are not your mistakes, your sins, or shortfalls.
 
    Now I want to tell you what you are.

    You are a Child of God.  You are a princess who is worth the price that Jesus Christ paid for you.  You are a daughter of the One True King.  You are His love for you.
     You are what the King of Kings says you are...and you are worth more than this world can ever give you.
     Think of this: God formed you with His hands.  Every crease of skin was folded and formed by God.  He painted your eyes and your hair to be the exact color He thought was beautiful.
    Then, when sin became prevalent and it became nearly impossible to not sin, Jesus Christ paid a price so that, through repentance and forgiveness, we could be with Him forever.  Yes, you read that right -- Christ wants you with Him forever.

     He didn't just die.  He bore every single ounce of pain this world would ever know so that you don't have to do it alone.  And when I think of the pain I've seen...that I could never have borne on my own...well, WOW.
      It's been said that if you were the only person left on this entire planet, Jesus Christ still would have died for you.
      That is the God we serve.  <3

      So...if you're struggling, run to Him.  And never forget who and Whose you are.

     Signed,
     Grace