The Story of the Praying Hands

Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children. Eighteen! In order merely to keep food on the table for this mob, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood.

Despite their seemingly hopeless condition, two of Albrecht Durer the Elder's children had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they knew full well that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to study at the Academy.

After many long discussions at night in their crowded bed, the two boys finally worked out a pact. They would toss a coin. The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother while he attended the academy. Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy, either with sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by laboring in the mines.

They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church. Albrecht Durer won the toss and went off to Nuremberg. Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, financed his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation. Albrecht's etchings, his woodcuts, and his oils were far better than those of most of his professors, and by the time he graduated, he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his commissioned works.

When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrecht's triumphant homecoming.

After a long and memorable meal, punctuated with music and laughter, Albrecht rose from his honored position at the head of the table to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled Albrecht to fulfill his ambition. His closing words were, "And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn. Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will take care of you."

All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table where Albert sat, tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered head from side to side while he sobbed and repeated, over and over, "No ...no ...no ...no."

Finally, Albert rose and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He glanced down the

long table at the faces he loved, and then, holding his hands close to his right

cheek, he said softly, "No, brother. I cannot go to Nuremberg. It is too late

for me. Look ... look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The

bones in every finger have been smashed at least once, and lately I have been

suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a

glass to return your toast, much less make delicate lines on parchment or

canvas with a pen or a brush. No, brother ... for me it is too late."

More than 450 years have passed. By now, Albrecht Durer's hundreds of masterful

portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, watercolors, charcoals, woodcuts, and

copper engravings hang in every great museum in the world, but the odds are

great that you, like most people, are familiar with only one of Albrecht

Durer's works. More than merely being familiar with it, you very well may

have a reproduction hanging in your home or office.

One day, to pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer

painstakingly drew his brother's abused hands with palms together and thin

fingers stretched skyward. He called his powerful drawing simply "Hands," but

the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece

and renamed his tribute of love "The Praying Hands."

Author Unknown

Chicken Noodle Soup

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence                    Prep Time:2 hr

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 celery ribs, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 quarts chicken stock, recipe follows
8 ounces dried wide egg noodles
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Directions:
Place a soup pot over medium heat and coat with the oil. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, thyme and bay leaf. Cook and stir for about 6 minutes, until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Pour in the chicken stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Add the noodles and simmer for 5 minutes until tender. Fold in the chicken, and continue to simmer for another couple of minutes to heat through; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

Chicken Stock:
1 whole free-range chicken (about 3 1/2 pounds), rinsed, giblets discarded
2 carrots, cut in large chunks
3 celery stalks, cut in large chunks
2 large white onions, quartered
1 head of garlic, halved
1 turnip, halved
1/4 bunch fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

Place the chicken and vegetables in a large stockpot over medium heat. Pour in only enough cold water to cover (about 3 quarts); too much will make the broth taste weak. Toss in the thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns, and allow it to slowly come to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and gently simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, partially covered, until the chicken is done. As it cooks, skim any impurities that rise to the surface; add a little more water if necessary to keep the chicken covered while simmering.

Carefully remove the chicken to a cutting board. When its cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones; hand-shred the meat into a storage container.

Carefully strain the stock through a fine sieve into another pot to remove the vegetable solids. Use the stock immediately or if you plan on storing it, place the pot in a sink full of ice water and stir to cool down the stock. Cover and refrigerate for up to one week or freeze.

Yield: 2 quarts

Good-bye to Margie

Our beautiful sister passed away on Sunday, February 12, 2012. We were so blessed to have her in our lives for all of these years.

Sisters are Forever Friends

Each morning when the day begins 

When other friendships fade or end 

Seasons come and seasons go 

Summer rains turn into snow 

But no matter where you live or how far you go 

Sisters are forever 

 -Ashley Rice

Black Bottom Cheesecake

Courtesy of: Mennonite Girls Can Cook  

 

Cake Base: 

One double chocolate cake mix (makes two flans). Mix as directed on package. Pour into well greased and floured flan pans. Bake at 350 for 15-20 or until top springs back and a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes and invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.  

 

Cream Cheese Filling: 

1-8oz pkg of cream cheese 

3/4 cup icing sugar 

4 cups of whipped cream or whipped topping 

 

Directions: Mix the cream cheese with the icing sugar and beat together til light and fluffy. Mix in 3 cups of whipped cream or whipped topping Use the one cup of reserved cream to decorate top with crushed toffee candy bar, like sk*r bar.

Alone in the Gap

by Charles R. Swindoll Read 1 Kings 16:29--17:1

 

We're first introduced to him as "Elijah the Tishbite" (1 Kings 17:1). 

 

Talk about stepping out of nowhere! Elijah came out of this insignificant place---out of nowhere---to make such a significant contribution to God's plan for His people that he became one of Israel's most famous heroes. He became what we often call today a legend. 

 

The first thing that commands our attention is Elijah's name. The Hebrew word for "God" in the Old Testament is Elohim, which is occasionally abbreviated El. The word jah is the word for "Jehovah." Thus, in Elijah's name we find the word for "God" and the word for "Jehovah." 

 

Between them is the small letter I, which in Hebrew has reference to the personal pronoun "my" or "mine." Putting the three together, then, we find that Elijah's name means "My God is Jehovah" or "The Lord is my God." 

 

No one had a reason to doubt that! Ahab and Jezebel were in control of the northern kingdom of Israel, and Baal was the god they worshiped. But when Elijah burst on the scene, his very name proclaimed, "I have one God. His name is Jehovah. He is the One I serve, before whom I stand."

 

By now, the spiritual chasm between God and His people had reached its widest breadth. Elijah stood alone in that gap. Today there are still those who stand alone in the gap, those who still strive to shake us awake. A handful of brave students at Columbine High School come immediately to mind. Loaded guns and the threat of death couldn't silence them. I think of them as modern-day Elijahs, whom God uses to deliver a life-changing message. Men and women of courage, ready to stand and deliver. Authentic heroes. 

 

Our Lord is still searching for people who will make a difference. Christians dare not be mediocre. We dare not dissolve into the background or blend into the neutral scenery of this world. Sometimes you have to look awfully close and talk awfully long before an individual will declare his allegiance to God . . . someone with the courage to stand alone for God. Is that what we have created today in this age of tolerance and compromise? Elijah's life teaches us what the Lord requires.

Giving is Godlike

By Charles R. Swindoll John 3:16 

Shortly after World War II, the saddest sight for American soldiers who were picking up the pieces in ravaged Europe, was that of little orphaned children starving in the streets of those war-torn cities. 

One soldier driving along in his jeep spotted a little lad with his nose pressed to the window of a pastry shop. Inside the cook was kneading dough for a fresh batch of doughnuts. The hungry boy stared in silence, watching every move. The soldier pulled his jeep to the curb and got out to slip over to the boy's side. Through the steamed-up window he could see the mouth-watering morsels as they were being pulled from the oven, piping hot. The boy salivated and released a slight groan. 

The soldier's heart went out to the orphan. "Son . . . would you like some of those?" The boy was startled. "Oh, yes, would I!" The American stepped into the shop, bought a dozen, put them in a bag and walked back to where the lad was standing in the foggy cold of the London morning. He smiled, held out the bag, and said simply: "Here you are." 

As he turned to walk away, he felt a tug on his coat. The soldier looked back and heard the child ask quietly: "Mister . . . are you God?" We are never more like God than when we give.

 Excerpted from Day by Day with Charles Swindoll, Copyright © 2000 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. (Thomas Nelson Publishers). All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

The Anchor Holds

By Ray Boltz

I have journeyed through the long, dark night 

Out on the open sea,

By faith alone, sight unknown, 

And yet His eyes were watching me.
 

Chorus:

The Anchor holds, though the ship is battered.

The Anchor holds, though the sails are torn.

Well I have fallen on my knees, as I faced the raging sea,

But the Anchor holds, in spite of the storm.

I've had visions and I've had dreams; 

Well I've even held them in my hands,

But I never knew those dreams could slip right through 

Like they were only grains of sand.



Now I have been young, but I am older now.

O and there has been beauty these eyes have seen;

But it was in the night, when I faced the storms of my life.

Oh, that's where God proved His love to me.

The Haven of Rest

By Henry L. Gilmour  

My soul in sad exile was out on life’s sea, 

So burdened with sin and distressed, 

Till I heard a sweet voice, saying,

 “Make Me your choice”;

 And I entered the “Haven of Rest”! 

 

 I’ve anchored my soul in the “Haven of Rest,” 

I’ll sail the wide seas no more; 

The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep, 

In Jesus I’m safe evermore. 

 

I yielded myself to His tender embrace, 

In faith taking hold of the Word, 

My fetters fell off, and I anchored my soul; 

The “Haven of Rest” is my Lord. 

 

 The song of my soul, since the Lord made me whole, 

Has been the old story so blest, 

Of Jesus, who’ll save whosoever will have 

A home in the “Haven of Rest.” 

 

How precious the thought that we all may recline, 

Like John, the beloved so blest, 

On Jesus’ strong arm, where no tempest can harm, 

Secure in the “Haven of Rest.” 

 

Oh, come to the Savior, He patiently waits 

To save by His power divine; 

Come, anchor your soul in the “Haven of Rest,” 

And say, “My Beloved is mine."

We Have An Anchor

by Charles R. Swindoll Hebrews 6:19

The word picture of an anchor is used often in ancient literature, but it's used only once in the New Testament in picturing hope as an anchor for our soul. Lots of hymns and gospel songs make use of this anchor metaphor. Every one of them comes back to Hebrews 6:19: "This hope we have as an anchor of the soul . . ." 

 

There's something beautiful in this word picture that I would have missed without the insight of one very capable scholar: 

 

The picture is that of an ancient sailing vessel finding its way through the narrow entrance to a harbor. This was one of the trickiest maneuvers the captain of a ship had to make. As his ship moved through the opening, he had to guard against a gust of wind running it onto a reef or a sandbar. The skeleton of many a ship could be seen on the rocks, giving testimony to the fact that its captain had failed his navigation test. 

 

To minimize the risk, the olden-day skipper would lower the ship's anchor into a smaller boat, which would then be rowed through the narrow entrance of the harbor. The anchor would then be dropped and this ship, with sails down, would be pulled past the obstacles, through the narrow opening and into the safety of the harbor.¹ 

 

The point of all of this, of course, is not anchors and skippers, ships and harbors. The point is this: That is exactly what Jesus Christ does when the bottom of life drops out. Look closely at the verse:

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil. (v. 19) 

 

The imagery of that verse may not be clear at first glance. Let me put it in today's terms. In the days of the Tabernacle, the Hebrews gathered around it and within it as a place of worship. Within the Tabernacle were veils; behind the innermost veil was the holiest place on earth, the place we might call the "God-room." In this God-room, the light (it was actually called the shekinah) of God resided. It's my understanding that the light of God was a brilliant, blazing radiance that shone down into the God-room. Within that room was an ark, or a small chest, much lower and smaller than most pulpits. On top of that chest was a grail, with golden cherubim on either end (angel-like creatures with their wings folded in front of them). That entire piece of unique furniture was too holy for words. 

 

Once a year, the high priest of the Israelites would enter that God-room with a small pan of blood which, precisely as God required it in the Law, he poured out on the grail (which was called the "mercy seat") there between the golden cherubim. God, witnessing the spilling of the blood and pleased with the sacrifice that had been made correctly by the priest, graciously forgave the Hebrew people for their sin. It was an annual event, the most sacred of all events. The Hebrews must have held their breath as the high priest went in with the pan, poured the blood, and came out of this room where God dwelled. The first-century Jews who read this word veil in Hebrews 6 understood all that. Look closely:

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. (vv. 19-20) 

 

In other words, our Savior has gone through life, has taken all of life's beatings and buffetings, and has gone before us. And now? Now He pulls us toward Himself! He invites His followers within the veil. He says, "Come in. Find healing for your stress fractures. Find here the rest that you need, the relief from the burdens and buffetings of doubt." 

 

Doubt, you see, will always try to convince you, You are all alone. No one else knows. Or cares. No one else really can enter in and help you with this. In Hebrews, however, the writer says that Christ is a constant priest---not once a year, but forever. He lives in the God-room. He is there, sitting alongside the Father, representing your needs to Him. And, child of God, there is nothing so great for you to endure that He does not feel touched by it and stay by you through it. 

 

 1. Walter A. Henrichsen, After the Sacrifice (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979), 83.

Excerpted from Stress Fractures, copyright © 1990 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide