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

    A World Beyond. A Free Inspirational Short Story By Alison Lawrence Copyright: Alison Lawrence 2023 All rights reserved "I just can't do it anymore, Hope. This thing is bigger than either of us can handle." Dylan turned away from his wife and looked out of the window. "It's destroyed us, and what we had together." "So, you just want to give up? Walk out on us; leave me to deal with everything?" Hope's anger grew as the terrible reality gripped her heart. Dylan was giving up. "You'll be OK, Hope. I'm just an outsider. You're always busy with Jace. You lost interest in me a long time ago." Hope forced herself to stay calm. She'd dealt with a lot of melt downs over the years. Dylan would come to his senses if she said the right things. "I know it's been hard on both of us. But I am still interested in you Dylan. I love you. Please don't leave." She crossed over to the window and placed a hand on his ...

    Lily's Journey. A Free Inspirational Short Story LILY'S JOURNEY By Alison Lawrence Copyright: Alison Lawrence. 2023.All rights reserved The sun glimmered gold in the eucalyptus trees surrounding the old farmhouse. A gentle breeze made the shimmering leaves sparkle against the evening sky. Lily was on her way to feed her chickens and close them up for the night, but she paused for a moment, grateful for the feel of the cool breeze on her face. What was it about eucalyptus trees? They seemed to stir a certain nostalgia in her soul: a longing perhaps. Telling herself off for daydreaming, she returned to the task at hand. Her chickens were healthy and laying well. They brought in a side income, but Lily would have kept them even if they hadn't. The farm wasn't the largest on the West Coast, but it was perfect for them. Caleb's parents had retired from farming leaving the family farm to Caleb and his young bride. They now lived happily in a small coastal town. Lily s...

    Haiku of Hope and Heaven. A Free Encouraging Poetry Book Copyright Copyright: Alison Lawrence 2023. "Haiku of Hope and Heaven" is the intellectual property of Alison Lawrence. Cover photo credit: Thomas Despeyroux. Unsplash Dedication To my sister, Venetia Sweatman. Thanks for always being there for me. "Though wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy;  At Thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16: 11 (KJV) Contents Haiku of Hope and Heaven Copyright Dedication Contents Leaning Gardening Late Lambs Simple Looking Forward All Refuge Love Land Jesus Joy True Wealth Sparrow Building Up Lighthouse Call On Him All I Need Leaning When my heart is full of troubles, aches and trials I lean more on You Gardening I didn't know then: when I put the seeds to bed birds would flit and feast Late Lambs I had two late lambs doctor gave solemn warning but God knit them well Simple My life is simple no awards hang on the wall but I am ...

    Deeply Loved. A Free Inspirational Poetry Collection Copyright: Alison Lawrence.All rights reserved.  Deeply Loved I am Jonah in the belly of deep,deep pain I try to see, but all is black. Maybe I am dying. Perhaps just now I will see the light hidden and surrounded with no way out all I feel is this pain hurting, hurting, hurting with every slow beat. Dear Lord, where are You? Could You come near this dark dank despair? Curled up tight, I cry "Father" just once but it is enough: He holds me now and we weep together. Earthquakes. Lord, we are shaken, even here we are shaken as we pray for poor souls trapped - Oh, Lord - the words won't come. We don't need pictures  to imagine the horror and many say: why, why, why? I don't know, I don't know. I just know that they, that we, are badly shaken. Here in 2023, nothing is sure anymore shifting, shifting is the landscape how can we endure? How can they endure? For nothing is stable anymore. This I know; I know th...

  "The Shepherd's Love" New! "The Shepherd's Love" is a brand new inspirational short story. It is based on Jesus' parable of the lost sheep. Alef is a dedicated shepherd. Although he loves his young wife and each of the sheep in his care, he embarks on a potentially dangerous journey to rescue his missing ewe. If you would like a brand new story and a chance to support the blog, you can buy it  Here  for just $0.99, or you can read it on Kindle. Two E-Books Cynthia's Confessions A story of young love and lessons learned. Set in South Africa. Available as a profesional looking e-book once more. (No longer on the blog.) Cynthia's Confessions Whispers of Wales An historical romance with a touch of mystery. Set in Cape Town and Wales, it is loosely based on the author's own family research. Also available once more as an e- book, and no longer on the blog. Whispers of Wales About the Blog Although I do have some books for sale, including poetry,...

  Some of the children's art Laying Our Lives Down We've been busy this week with a holiday Bible school. For five days, the Gospel was shared, songs were sung, great fun was had, and hands were kept busy with crafts. My craft group consisted of grade two and three girls. A very sweet bunch! Our Pastor shared the Word around the theme of God's love, and the children were also fed with teatime sandwiches, cool drink, and lunch. It is lot's of fun, but also tiring and very hard work. Not to mention noisy and challenging at times. You can't have 130 children in one place without some nonsense! I have to admit, that I did grumble a little. The washing was mounting at home and my feet were getting sore. Yet, we all soldiered on with a smile. This was not our work. No, it is all done for the Lord. The children must have a chance to hear that God loves them and wants to forgive and save them. This morning, Matthew 16:24 came up on my phone. I include the verses which follo...

  The Mansion: A Short Story In our time, and in our world, there lived a man in a palatial and ostentatious home. He had inherited a vast estate, and lived off of its benefits as well as the investments he had made.  The mansion  was so large, that one could easily lose count of its bedrooms when walking through its hallways. Each bedroom was luxuriously and vibrantly furnished with welcoming beds of various sizes, cozy seating, lush plants, and entertainments. The over-sized home also boasted large living areas, as well as a library and study which were any bookworm's dream. As for the grounds, they were a fantasy land, which beckoned one to stroll, play, and swim. An elite army of servants saw to it that efficiency and near perfection were maintained. But their job was made more challenging by a strange oddity of the man of the mansion. You see, he had no wife or children. Instead, he had collected many, many pets. And these pampered and spoiled pets filled the luxurio...

  Splashes of Spring Some garden joy. 😊🌼🌸🌻💕🙏   If I were to choose captions for these photos, I would probably write "joy" beneath each one. You probably recognize these rather common garden plants. None of them are perfect: no doubt, some may have holes in their leaves, and a hungry caterpillar lurking upon them. But none of that matters. The bugs have their part to play too.  What really strikes me as I walk around my Spring garden, is the exuberance; the abundance; the joy. Yes, God is most certainly in the garden. We see Him in the intricate, delicate designs of the flowers and in the industrious creatures. And yes, God is with each believer as we go about our work, or simply sit on a bench to enjoy His company and His Creation. *** Garlands of bright sunshine decorate my gate: Gentle, happy faces, His love now radiate *** Copyright: pencil in His Hand 🌼🌸🌻

  Richelle Brunstetter. Unsplash Hope Blooms His peace and love will reign  where missiles brutal fell As Zion blooms again  and Jesus makes all well *** 🙏🙏🙏 Copyright: pencil in His Hand ***

  Photo: Amir Afrefi. Unsplash Hiding Place As troubles now surround us, the way before is clear: I know that You will hide us; there is no need to fear. For when the skies grow darker still: You'll draw us to Your side; Through the clouds we'll fly away: to Your sweet love we'll ride *** Copyright: pencil in His Hand 💕🙏🇮🇱 Dear Readers, I hope that you are well. Just a note to say that God willing, going forward, posting will be as led by the Spirit. We are living in exciting times. The Lord's return is surely very close. There is no time to waste when it comes to sharing the Gospel and encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ. With this in mind, posting may seem a bit random, so please subscribe if you like. This will also be true for my Afrikaans blog. Love and prayers,  Alison 

  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. *** 🙏🙏🙏🙏