Peace of God: Finding and Preserving that Precious Factor in our Lives

By Jim Rannells

We are all seeking Peace in our lives, whether we realize it or not. We so often get caught up in the anxieties and fears of society that really rob us of any semblance of true Peace. We then sometimes accept what is called “worldly solutions” that tend to take our eyes of what we really should be seeking.

The Peace of God is f

• Language: English
• Publisher: GoldTouch Press, LLC
• Release date: Aug 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9781733439602

Jim Rannells

The author lives in Basin, Wy and has realized through many Lessons from Christ in his life, he has hopefully gained a lot of Wisdom [James 1:5].

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PEACE OF God

Finding and preserving that precious factor in our lives.

—Jim Rannells

Jim Rannells

Copyright © 2019 by Jim Rannells.

Library of Congress Control Number:      2019910496

Paperback:    978-1-7334028-9-7

eBook:            978-1-7334396-0-2

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

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The Legend of the Praying Hands Painting

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 the elder children, Albrecht and Albert, 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, water colors, 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. The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, take a second look. Let it be your reminder, that no one - no one - ever makes it alone!

From: truthbook.com

I want to add that no one ever makes it alone, because it is the added Grace of God that works in you to develop the talents that He has given an individual.

In my life I have realized that I have been Blessed with several talents and interests----Singing, Painting and more recently, Writing. I try to give God the Glory or try to express His Glory in each of my pursuits---or I am always striving to learn to do such more.

I endeavored to express my version of the painting Albrecht Durer expressed some 450 years before on the cover of this book --- with my interpretation of his painting or a picture of my painting. And, to express that praying to God is the very first step in Seeking Peace, as well as a continued need for that aspect

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations in this book are from the New King James Version (NKJV), copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

Acknowledgments

First and certainly foremost, I want to acknowledge Christ Who has been with me every step of the way in my life, even the times when I was an unbeliever, as I have realized since. He is the Finisher of my Faith [Hebrews 12:2]; and those I have listed here have planted many seeds in my life.

I want to thank the members of the Worland Methodist Church, the pastor, and the members of the Basin Methodist Church. It was them who at the very first, brought out a partial Faith in my deceased wife that eventually developed further in me and through my life.

To Carrol Brown who established in me a feeling of need to use my talent of singing; I sang in his choir for about twenty years.

To Mary Evelyn Bower for the encouragement she provided in the love of music that has developed in me for fifty-some years; I am now singing in another choir with her and have been able to thank her personally for what she instilled in me.

My sister Lori and her husband Ken, who through the years have provided me so much encouragement as they live Blessedly close by; to their daughter Teri, who’s such a wonderful example of living in faith as she has been in a wheelchair for some twenty-two years.

To my parents [who are now deceased], for the many wonderful aspects and strengths to my life in which I can now build upon; my mother who essentially taught me to examine things, not unlike what is said in the verse of I Thess. 5:21---test all things, hold fast to what is good. I solidly believe I will meet her in heaven along with my dad.

My two other sisters, I wish to acknowledge, particularly, Debi and her husband Whiz who provided me with much encouragement through the years, despite our differences in our Faiths.

My daughter, Dawn who through the years has loved me back as her imperfect, perfect father; she and her husband Cory did a lot of editing on this book. I am going to sing that song to you, Dawn, [Butterfly Kisses] someday, as it is the perfect tribute to you as my daughter, who has been with me through thick and thin as you were growing up.

My oldest daughter, Amber, who I still pray that God will allow a perfect relationship with us; I pray