Hope Victorious

Grace      Is strength infusing me in places of weakness, enabling me to do what I knew I could not Grace      Is divine wisdom, like a light leading the way through the dark and tangled web Grace      Is asking, waiting and believing that my plea for help is heard and lovingly answered by a good and           faithful Father Grace      Is lavish, better than I dream of or can ask for, surely far exceeding what I deserve, even on my best           of days Grace      Comes towards me. It does not rise up from within, for the origin of grace is God I may mine the depths of my courage, my resolve I may rely on my understanding, pull on all I have learned and gained But grace?      Grace exceeds all I have within me      All that is offered in support by others Grace is super-natural      Raw power unleashed in love The grace I receive does not start with me But Grace is MINE I have received it!           Strength           Wisdom           Love and help It is not merely an idea, something

  Refreshing - Reviving Water carries Life Sprinkling Rain – Pounding Rain A Rushing River – The Calm Lake Surface Carving a Canyon – Flooding a Valley One tiny drop upon my face The ocean I wade into Water – Force of Life The clouds are heavy – My arms are open Rain down on Me Refresh the dry and cracking places Fill the void   - cause me to overflow again Rain down on Me Rain is pretty amazing when you stop to think of it. The collection of tiny water droplets collecting and getting heavy in the clouds until they begin to fall. I remember as a kid realizing that the sound of rain was actually the sound of rain drops hitting something… the sound of rain in my house sounded different than the sound of rain at my grandparent’s house, because the roof was different. My grandparents house also had an attic, and that space muffled the sound I could hear in my bedroom. The sound of the rain while in the attic was loud, but not nearly as loud as the pounding rain hitting the metal roof of

Socrates wrote “wonder is the beginning of wisdom” . Rene Descartes once said “wonder is the first of all the passions.”      I have noticed that the word “wonder” is said much more often by children than by anyone else.   “I wonder why….” is a phrase common to children.   “I wonder if …..” is another.      Wonder is a quality of excited, amazed admiration or rapt attention to something astonishing or admirable. Wonder can also be a feeling of doubt or uncertainty; an expression of curiosity and intrigue. To wonder or ponder about something is to leave it open-ended, to consider many options and not be determined to settle on one as “correct”.      I appreciate this quote very much:  “To wonder about life in not something we learn; it is something we forget.”   Jostein Gaarder       Sadly, I find this is often true. Wonder, curiosity and amazement comes more naturally to children and yet seems to decrease rather than increase with age. As we mature, I think we are taught and conditione

  As I remember it, the story was told like this:   My family was camping in a remote wilderness area a couple hours from the small town in Northern California where I grew up. My dad left before sunrise to hunt for deer. My mom, brother and I left camp after breakfast to meet up with my dad, bring him some food and a fresh thermos of coffee. After a short time together, we continued on: my dad hunting and us hiking.   Instead of retracing our steps to the campground, my mom led us in a different direction to a waterfall that she had heard about from a ranger a few days previous. We ate lunch there and then looped around to the other side of the campground by afternoon. My dad wasn’t there when we arrived, which was concerning to my mom. Later, when he finally showed up, we were surprised to hear him giving my brother and I credit for leading him to camp. After tracking and following a deer, but not being able to harvest it, my dad began to hike back to camp. Returning proved more ch