As a Rabbi I can relate to this to some degree.. it seams grace is a technical definition for 'the blessings that come from above that are not in response to good deeds'
its a necessary distinction being that, theologically blessings come for good acts whereas, these blessings stem from G-d's pure kindness. In kabbalah this distinction is common because its understood that blessings have different sources.  blessings that come from good deeds come from the level of Gevurah or Judgement which is lower than the level of Chessed or Kindness which here is called G-ds Grace.