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Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. She didn't move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands. When I sat down beside her she didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if she was OK. Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the same time, I asked her if she was OK.

She raised her head and looked at me and smiled. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking," she said in a clear strong voice.

"I didn't mean to disturb you, Grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK," I explained to her.

"Have you ever looked at your hands?" she  asked. "I mean really looked at your hands?" I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making.

Grandma smiled and related the following story:

"Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years.

"These hands, though wrinkled, shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life. They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor. They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots.

"They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off to war. They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent.!

"They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special.

"They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse. They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand. They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body.

"They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.

"These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life. But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of Christ."

I will never look at my hands the same again. God reached out and took my grandma's hands and led her home. When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and husband I think of Grandma. I know she has been held by the hands of God. And I, too, want to touch the face of God and feel His hands upon my face.

When you receive this, say a prayer for the person who sent it to you and watch God's answer to prayer work in your life. Let's continue praying for one another. Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend will bless you both. Passing this on to one not yet considered a friend is something Jesus Christ would do.

Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at
the opening session of their Senate. It seems prayer still upsets some
people. When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:
  "Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness
  and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe
  to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done.
  We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess
  that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it
  Pluralism.
  We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
  We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
  We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
  We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
  We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building
  self-esteem.
  We have abused power and called it politics.
  We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
  We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called
  it freedom of expression.
  We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it
  enlightenment.
   Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from
  every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of Your will and to openly ask these things in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ.
   Amen!"
 
  The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out
  during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church,
  where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with    only 47 of those calls responding negatively.
  The church is now receiving international requests for copies of his
   prayer from India, Africa, and Korea.
 
  Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program,
  "The Rest of the Story," and received a larger response to this program
   than any other he has ever aired.
 

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING
(Written by a former child)

A message every adult should read, because children
are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you hang my
first painting on the refrigerator, and I
immediately wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you feed a
stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind
to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make my
favorite cake for me and I learned that the little
things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I heard you say a
prayer, and I knew there is a God I could always
talk to and I learned to trust in God.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you make a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help
take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you give of
your time and money to help people who had nothing
and I learned that those who have something should
give to those who don't.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw you take
care of our house and everyone in it and I learned
we have to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't
feel good and I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw tears come
from your eyes and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I saw that you
cared and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking, I learned most of
life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and productive person
when I grow up.
 

When you thought I wasn't looking, I looked at you
and wanted to say, "Thanks for all the things I saw
when you thought I wasn't looking."

LITTLE EYES SEE A LOT.

Each of us (parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle,
teacher or friend) influence the life of a child.

How will you touch the life of someone today?

A little something to put things in perspective... An article in National Geographic several years ago provided  an interesting picture of God's Wings. After a forest fire in Yellowstone  National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the  inferno's damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in  ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the  bird with a stick.  When he gently struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from  under their dead mother's wings.  The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them  under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She  could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. When the  blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast. Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover  of her wings would live.  "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings  you will find refuge" (Psalm 91:4) Being loved this much should make a difference in your life.  Remember the One who loves you, and then be different because of it. There's an angel in my inbox And she came here from a friend Who typed in my e-mail address Then clicked on the button 'Send' There's an angel in your inbox And you got her straight from me; I knew when I finished reading this, It was something you should see. This little angel in your inbox Does contain a nice surprise; For when you send her on to friends, Her message multiplies. She brings you a note of Happiness, health and song; And the nicest thing you can do Today is to forward her along. By simply sending her on Can make you happy as can be; She should be sent to everyone Her message is for all to see. Please send this little angel on, And have a great day, too; Just smile and be happy because This angel was sent to you! Could You Pass a 8th grade Test? -Zig Ziglar The Salina Journal published the 1895 eighth-grade final exam given in Salina, Kan., taken from the original document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas. Grammar Exam (time, one hour): Give nine rules for the use of capital letters. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications. Define verse, stanza and paragraph. What are the principal parts of a, verb? Give principal parts of do, lie, lay and run. Write a composition of about 150 words, and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar. There are lots more on that part of the exam, but I wonder how many of our high school graduates or, for that Matter, college grads could successfully answer just those five questions? Arithmetic Test (time, 1.25 hours): Name and define the fundamental rules of arithmetic. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 pounds what is it worth at 50 cents per bushel, deducting 1050 pounds for tare? Find cost of 6,720 pounds of coal at $6 per ton. Find the interest on $512.60 for eight months and 18 days at 7 percent. What is the cost of 40 boards - 12 inches wide and 16 feet long - at $20 per meter? What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance around which is 640 rods? There are more, but this would keep most of us busy for quite a spell, wouldn't it? Now let's look at some of the history that was studied in "those days": Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War. Show the territorial growth of the United States. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion. Give the epochs into which U.S. history is divided. How about the test on orthography? (Time, one hour): What is meant by the following - alphabet, phonetic orthography, etymology, and syllabication? What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals? Let's look at the geography test: Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean? Describe the mountains of North America. Name and describe the following: Monrovia, Odessa, Denver, Manitoba, Hecla, Yukon, St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco. Name all the republics of Europe, and give the capital of each. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude? I don't know how you feel after looking at some of those questions, if you even bothered to read them after the first two or three, but personally it made me feel a little uneducated. Especially when you combine the fact that the first 200 years in our country's history we primarily taught the New England Primer and first-graders were learning five- and six-syllable words. This certainly gives us pause to think and consider that maybe we are not really that much better educated than we were 100 years ago. It also makes you wonder if Part of this could help explain why in 1776 America had produced Franklin Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, etc., and then compare our top leaders of today. I wonder if character-based education has anything to do with the differences? As you can see, this is a very difficult exam. Some of it, of course, is dated, but it requires considerable knowledge, the use of imagination, and forces the students to think. It certainly gives new meaning to "eighth grade dropout," doesn't it?   How to find how old you are mathematically  It takes less than a minute....... Work this out as you read. Don't cheat and read the bottom until you've worked through it! This is fun! 1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to have dinner out.  (try for more than once but less than 10) 2. Multiply this number by 2 (Just to be bold) 3. Add 5. 4. Multiply it by 50 - I'll wait while you get the calculator................ 5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1753.... If you haven't, add 1752.......... 6.. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born. You should have a three digit number . The first digit of this was your original number (I.e., how many times you want to have eat out each week.) The next two numbers are... YOUR AGE!  (Oh YES, it IS!!!!!)     In light of the many perversions and jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke, it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.   Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding the attacks on Sept. 11). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone? In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.   Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school ... the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK. Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW." Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

 

What if God decided to stop leading us tomorrow because we didn't follow Him today?

What if God couldn't take the time to bless us today because we couldn't take the time to thank Him yesterday?

What if we never saw another flower bloom because we grumbled when God sent the Rain?

What if God didn't walk with us today because we failed to recognize it as His day?

What if, God took away the Bible tomorrow because we would not read it today?

What if, God took away His message because we failed to listen to the messenger? <==THINK ABOUT THIS ONE.........

What if, God didn't send His only begotten Son because He wanted us to be prepared to pay the price for sin?

What if, the door of the church was closed because we did not open the door of our heart?

What if, God stopped loving and caring for us because we failed to love and care for others?

What if, God would not hear us today because we would not listen to Him?

What if, God answered our prayers the way we answer His call to service?

What if, God met our needs the way we give Him our lives???

 

---

God and the gallon of milk

Just remember, "Our God is an Awesome God!"

A young man had been to Wed. night Bible study. The pastor had shared about listening to God and obeying The Lord's voice.  The young man couldn't help but wonder, "Does God still speak to people?"  After service, he went out with some friends for coffee and pie and they discussed the message. Several different ones talked about how God had led them in different ways. It was about ten o'clock when the young man started driving home.  Sitting in his car, he just began to pray, "God...If you still speak

to people speak to me. I will listen. I will do my best to obey."  As he drove down the main street of his town, he had the strangest thought to stop and buy a Gallon of milk. He shook his head and said out loud, "God is that you?" He didn't get a reply and started on toward home.  Again, the thought, buy a gallon of milk. The young man thought about Samuel and how he didn't recognize the voice of God, and how little Samuel ran to Eli. "Okay, God, in case that is you, I will buy the milk." It didn't seem like too hard a test of obedience. He could always use the milk. He stopped and purchased the gallon of milk and started off toward home. As he passed Seventh Street, he again felt the urge, "Turn down that street." This is crazy he thought and drove on past the intersection."

Again, he felt that he should turn down Seventh Street. At the next intersection, he turned back and headed down Seventh, half jokingly, he said out loud, "Okay, God I will." He drove several blocks, when suddenly, he felt like he should stop.. He pulled over to the curb and looked around. He was in a semi-commercial area of town. It wasn't the best but it wasn't the worst of neighborhoods either. The businesses were closed and most of the houses looked dark like the people were already in bed. Again, he sensed something, "Go and give the milk to the people in the house across the street." The young man looked at the house. It was dark and it looked like the people were either gone or they were already asleep. He started to open the door and then sat back in the car seat. "Lord, this is insane. Those people are asleep and if I wake them up, they are going to be mad and I will look stupid." Again, he felt like he should go

and give them the milk.

Finally, he opened the door. "Okay God, if this is you, I will go to the door and I will give them the milk. If you want me to look like a crazy person, okay. I want to be obedient. I guess that will count for something but if they don't answer right away, I am out of here. He walked across the street and rang the bell. He could hear some noise inside. A

man's voice yelled out, "Who is it? What do you want?" Then the door opened before the young man could get away. The man was standing there in his jeans and a t-shirt. He looked like he just got out of bed. He had a strange look on his face and he didn't seem too happy to have a stranger standing on his doorstep. "What is it?" The young man thrust out the gallon of milk.

"Here I brought this to you." The man took the milk and rushed down the hallway, speaking loudly in Spanish. Then from down the hall came a woman carrying the milk toward the kitchen. The man was following her holding a baby. The baby was crying. The man had tears streaming down his face. The man began speaking and half-crying, "We were just praying. We had some big bills this month and we ran out of money.. We didn't have any milk for our baby. I was just praying and asking God to show me how to get some milk."

His wife in the kitchen yelled out, "I asked him to send an Angel with some milk. Are you an Angel?" The young man reached into his wallet and pulled out all the money he had on him and put it in the man's hand. He turned and walked back toward his car and the tears were streaming down his face. He knew that God still answers prayers.

"Stop telling God how big your storm is. Instead, tell the storm how big your God is!"

---

Subject: Catholic Horses

Subject: Kids-Bible stories
       
This comes from a Catholic Kids elementary school. Kids were asked questions about the Old and New Testaments.

 They have not been retouched or corrected  (i.e., incorrect spelling has been left in.)... Enjoy!
        
In the first book of the bible, Guinessis, God got tired of creating the world, so he took the Sabbath off.
        
Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree.

Noah's wife was called Joan of Ark. Noah built an ark, which the animals  come on to in pears.
Lot's wife was a pillar of salt by day, but a ball of fire by night.
Samson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a Jezebel like Delilah.
Moses led the hebrews to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread which is bread without any ingredients.
The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert. Afterwards, Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the ten ammendments.

 The seventh commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.
 Moses died before he ever reached Canada. Then Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of Geritol.
The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand still and he obeyed him. David was a hebrew king skilled at playing the liar. He fought with the Finklesteins, a race of  people who lived in Biblical times.
Solomon, one of David's sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.
When Mary heard that she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the Magna Carta.
When the three wise guys from the east side arrived, they found Jesus in the manager.
 Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption.
 Jesus enunciated the Golden Rule, which says to do one to others before they do one to you. He also explained, "a man doth not live by sweat alone."
It was a miracle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the tombstone off the entrance.
The people who followed the lord were called the 12 decibels.
The epistles were the wives of the apostles.
One of the oppossums was St. Matthew who was also a taximan.       
St. Paul cavorted to Christianity. He  preached holy acrimony, which is another name for marriage.
Christians have only one spouse. This is called monotony.

 Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

 This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

 One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get
back to the group at their next Bible study.

 That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

 As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and
let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the
silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn
away all the impurities.

 The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot and then she
thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier
of silver."

 She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front
of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

 The man answered that, yes, he not only had to sit there holding the
silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in
the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would
be destroyed.

 The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver! is fully refined?"

 He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy - when I see my image in
it." If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has
His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

One day I happened to call a man on business whom I didn't know, have not nor will probably ever talk to again. But this day, he felt like talking.
He was head of security at a company that invited the remaining members of a company who had been decimated by the attack on the Twin Towers to share their office space.

With his voice full of awe, he told me stories of why these people were
alive and their counterparts were dead.  All the stories were just little
things. You might already know about the head of the company who got in late that day because his son started kindergarten. Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts.
There were other stories that I hope and pray will someday be gathered and put in a book. The one that struck me was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning. He took the various means to get to work, but before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid. That is why he is alive.
Now when I am stuck in traffic, miss an elevator, turn back to answer a
ringing telephone ... all the little things that annoy me I think to myself,
this is exactly where God wants me to be at this very moment.
May God continue to bless you with all those annoying little things.
THAT STILL SMALL VOICE ...
Have you ever been just sitting there and all of a sudden you feel like
doing something nice for someone you care for...THAT'S GOD.
Have you ever been down and out and nobody seems to be around for you to talk to...THAT'S GOD...He wants you to talk to Him.
Have you ever been thinking about somebody that you haven't seen in a long time and then next thing you know you see them or receive a phone call from them...THAT'S GOD...there is no such thing as coincidence."

Have you ever received something wonderful that you didn't even ask for,
like money in the mail, a debt that had mysteriously been cleared, or a
coupon to a department store where you had just seen  something you wanted, but couldn't afford ...THAT'S GOD...He knows the  desires of your heart...

Have you ever been in a situation and you had no clue how it is going to get better, but now you look back on it...THAT'S GOD...He passes us through tribulation to see a brighter day..
 

Subject: Trouble Tree


A good idea

I hired a plumber to help me restore an old farmhouse, and after he had just finished a rough first day on the job: a flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric drill quit and his ancient one-ton truck refused to start.

While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward  the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands.
When opening the door he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.
"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, those troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home and ask God to take care of them. Then in the morning I pick them up again. Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."