Pencil in His Hand: A Mother's Journal of Stories, Thoughts, and Poems.

  Carried He has carried me Home, He has kept me from harm; For knowing my weakness, and seeing the storm; He has carried me Home, and has kept my heart warm *** Copyright: pencil in His Hand *** Psalm 23:1-6 ESV [1] The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. [2] He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. [3] He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. [4] Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. [5] You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. [6] Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.23.1-6.ESV

  Johannes Plenio. Unsplash Remembering I remembered today to look Your way, to pray. In the middle of everything. I remembered today  in the midst of chaos, pain, despair You do care and You are in my heart. I remembered today  here where it hurts, that Lord, You promised to fetch us and to take us away... *** pencil in His Hand

  Photo: Aaron Burden. Unsplash How Can I Become A Christian? Dearest Reader, I am very glad that you are asking this question. And If you are not, I pray that you will. I will, with God's help do my best to answer it. Becoming a Christian, or as I like to say, a Jesus' follower, is not about joining a religion, or becoming a religious person. No, it is all about relationship, about becoming a member of God's family. No one can force their way into God's family or into Heaven. Many have tried to do this by observing the Law or by doing good works. But as Romans 3:23 tells us, we have all sinned. No one is good. We are all sinners in need of a Saviour. Now for the Good News!  Jesus is God. And He is good. He offers us the free gift of salvation. He achieved this by taking on human flesh, and dying on the cross. It was there, during that agonizing death that He took all of our sin on Himself. His blood was shed at the cross as a payment for our sin. Basically, Jesus took ...

  Pray! So many people need our prayers: They need to feel that someone cares They need to know Lord Jesus too, be healed and drawn, be made brand new I think of all the suffering ones, held hostage, hurt by men with guns Some are being unfairly kept, marched away whilst mothers wept all while hungry children groan: we see their tears, we hear their moans our hearts sink low with their despair, we trust that Jesus truly cares and though we live so far away, He calls us daily, come now, pray! Listen, for He calls soon, go! Share the Gospel, ease their woe! Never ceasing in our prayers, take all to Him, the One who cares. *** Copyright: pencil in  His Hand. *** 🙏🙏🙏🙏

  Poems from my Heart Putting on the Brakes I'm slowing down breathing, stopping, Long enough to say Thank You I'm putting on the brakes: walking  not jogging resting not scrolling Long enough to  say Here I am: send me *** Happy Happy day! Oh Happy day! I go along, I sing, I pray Working, working, all day long It's He who makes me joyful, strong *** Message Here's a little song Just a few lines long It's only purpose is to say: My Jesus lives, He is the Way! *** Copyright: pencil in His Hand Ps: I will post episode two of The Waiting Room tomorrow, God willing. I'm aiming to post an episode on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. See you soon! :)

  Waiting: A Free Pdf Waiting. A Free PDF Our church is hosting a series of teaching on Jesus' return this month, so it seems fitting that "Waiting" should be made available for free. I wrote this short story quite some time ago, but it is still one of my favourites. In it , you will be taken to Bible times, and to a Jewish style betrothal. Beulah is the radiant bride, and she is a picture of the church. Her bridegroom reminds us of Jesus who is our Heavenly Bridegroom. I wrote this sweet romantic story to remind Christians of our Blessed Hope and to encourage them. The same is true for the story today. May you be encouraged and filled with hope as you read it. You may download "Waiting"  here . While visiting my Weebly Bookshelf blog, you may like to check out the other pdf's which I have made available there.  Link: If you enjoy "Waiting," please share the link with friends and family. With love and prayers, Alison 💖🙏🤗

Breathe Dying to self   Blue Berg river Slower Slow, slower, slower to a place where  thoughts can meet Slow, slower, slower 'til I'm sitting at Your feet *** Awhile back, I wrote a post about poetry writing which I never posted. I thought it would be good to re-visit that topic. When you write your own poems, you quickly become aware that poetry is not the favourite reading material of most people. Neither is it what most people write. I guess that's because there remain many misconceptions about poetry. Some people believe that poetry is too hard to read or understand, let alone write. I sympathize. Much poetry is pretty high-brow; the subject of university English lectures and dreaded by many students. Poetry however, cannot be put into a box. Yes, it can be written in a vague, mysterious, or unfathomable way. But it can also be simple, honest, and even plain and easy to relate to. Poetry can follow a certain form, style, or rhyme scheme. It can have perfect rhythm and c...

  Photo: charlesdeluvio. Unsplash Rosie's Story. Episode Ten Tears blurred the laptop screen as Rosie thought about her growing up years. It wasn't easy to look back; to remember just how dumb she'd been. But she kept writing, kept remembering. Maybe someone could be helped; would find Jesus through her testimony. Even just one person would make it all worth it. Now in her twenties, with a graveyard of failed relationships behind her, Rosie's eyes had finally opened, and her heart had found hope and healing. She was forgiven, clean, and whole because of Jesus. Jake had only been the first in a string of bad choices. Rosie remembered clearly how it had ended. They'd gone on a date to a local carnival. It was in the afternoon, and she'd been completely sober. They'd walked around for a while, taking in the sights and snacking on donuts. Then,  Jake had made a bee-line for the beer tent, pulling her along as though he were dying of thirst. "You're more...

  Photo: Matt Seymour. Unsplash Death's Plea. A Poem How many pause the roundabout to think about death; their own; the finality, the unexpectedness of death: one minute you're here, the next, gone Not even your shadow remains as they search and mourn surviving on memories Gone. Just gone. Will you pause to think about death, your own, its inevitability? Will you pause the roundabout? Death can be your  doorway to an eternity in Heaven if only you'll trust in Jesus, God's Son whose own death saves you too. *** Copyright: Alison Lawrence 🙏🙏🙏🩷🩷🩷  

 Poems and a Mini Story Pretty posy Jungle Gym Life comes to meet us at the bars which seem to reach up to the stars And like a child, we look up high; count metal bars and strips of sky Anxiety holds us in its grip: we're scared to fall, to stumble, slip Then father points to lowest bar; says, don't look up; start where you are And  so in life, it is the best to trust in God, to take one step Pomegranate in our garden A new name Slowing Down We're slowing down enough today to come to the  park so the girls can play: up and down, and round and round; speeding up, yet slowing down A Short, yet Powerful Story This is a very short story. A story of countless lives cut short: Sudden. Tragic. Violent. And, it is a story about the God-Man who allowed His own life to be cut short; so that even in our most desperate times there may be hope. And life eternal. ******* Yet... Evil threatens to overwhelm: It threatens to  overwhelm It troubles our vision, and  invites doubt...

How are you Doing Today? Cloudy  How are you doing today? If someone asks you this oft asked question, what do you answer? "OK." "Fine, thank you." Or perhaps, "I'm doing alright." Your answer may be perfectly true, or perhaps not. In all honesty, and I realize that this may sound a bit dramatic, most of us are not actually doing that well. Life for most of us consists of a rather complicated arrangement of circumstances. Of course, we do grow accustomed to them, and may not even think about them overly much as we go about our busy days, but our background problems do not just go away. Many of us end up living  with less than ideal circumstances for much of our lives, or even until our passing. Pretty negative and gloomy sounding isn't it? I'm thinking now of the failed marriage that never comes right. The adult child who never seems to flourish and move on. The health problem that has no cure, and poisonous people who steal your peace and rema...

  Two Free Short Stories & Poems From My Heart *** Coffee break reads * In this post: one sanctification, and one salvation story, as well as a few poems to inpire you.* Sanctification Story: Alissa There was one thing that Alissa knew with intense certainty: she couldn't go on this way any longer. Everything was falling apart and she had no idea how to fix it. The weird thing was, her days started out fine. She'd wake early, make herself a cup of coffee, and enjoy a good, long, quiet time, complete with Bible reading and prayer journalling. She'd sit in the soft, gentle stillness and just savour the peace. The problem was, it didn't last. As soon as she stood up, the demands of her day would assail her, and she never slowed down again until she fell exhausted into bed.  The quiet peacefulness of the morning always disapeared the way mist vanishes as the sun makes its appearance. Alissa sighed and raised the volume on her phone so she could hear her podcast better. ...

  Rosie's Prayer. Inspirational Flash Fiction. Free Christian Story. There was definitely no money for shoes: Rosie knew that with an absolute certainty. But as she glanced down at the two little pairs of worn out sandals, she was also certain of something else: the shoes wouldn't last much longer. Benny's toes were already creeping over the front of his, and Jacob's were nearly worn out. Rosie sighed as she glanced around the simple room. Fortunately, the boys school shoes were still holding out, but they couldn't wear those all the time. No. They must make their school shoes last. As she sat on the battered sofa, she could almost hear the happy sounds the apartment often rang with. Her sweet boys. There was only one thing to do. Rosie closed her eyes. "Dear Lord, You said that we do not get because we do not ask. Well, I'm asking now." *** On Sunday morning, Benny and Jacob dressed in their neatest clothes and put their old sandals on. "Do I hav...

  Salvation Stories: Leo The atmosphere in the city was growing steadily more unsettled; uneasy. People walked where they needed to go with nervous energy, eyes on their screens. Leo had always been sensitive. Perhaps he felt more; thought more. Perhaps that was a good thing, but he often doubted it. He couldn't just bury his head in cloud cuckoo land like most people did. He was like a dog with a bone: he'd lay his questions aside, only to pick them up again. Someone, he thought, must surely have the answers. "Where are you headed?" His friend Zane lifted his eyes from his screen for a moment. "It must be important for you to walk so fast." "The bookshop. I need a Bible." Zane stopped abruptly. "You need a Bible?" "I've been doing some research. The Bible may have some answers to my questions about where the world is headed." Leo began walking again, and Zane kept pace. He shook his head. "Don't go down that route,...