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*Nickel Walks* 1/10/02 _________________________ If you enjoy this free daily email service, I encourage you to spread the word to family and friends that we may bring inspiration into the lives of many! If you are not on the list and this has been passed along to you, join the thousands of HeartTouchers.com readers around the world by sending an e-mail with the word "Subscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@aol.com Visit our inspirational web site and read all the past stories in our archives at: http://www.HeartTouchers.com ____________________________________________ Happy New Year from HeartTouchers.com From now on we will be offering our book, Straight From the Heart "A Celebration of Life" for only $13 (instead of the regular price of $14.95), and best of all, we will pay the shipping! So if you have any interest in purchasing an autographed copy of the book for yourself, or as a gift for your loved ones, now is the time to get it! To order your autographed copy send a check or money order for $13 (We pay the shipping!) for each book made out to Michael T. Powers, and then send it to: Michael T. Powers 1918 Liberty Lane Janesville, WI 53545 To preview the book by reading some of the stories visit: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/michael_t__powers/ AOL Users Click below: Straight From the Heart: A Celebration of Life _________________________________________ It is my utmost pleasure to share another touching story from friend and HeartTouchers favorite, Irene Budzynski. I guarantee that you will never look at a pop can the same again! From my family to yours, Michael _________________________________________ NICKEL WALKS By Irene Budzynski You've seen those beer cans and soda cans that are lying pell mell at the side of the road, the metal cylinders that litter every town's highways and byways, having been tossed by drivers who can't be bothered to find a garbage can. Well, next time you see one, say a prayer of thanks for the litterbug because that tossed can may change a life. There was a time when my husband was out of work, a recession was in full swing, and we had two small boys to feed. We exhausted every possibility for job opportunities, cut expenses to the bare bone, and depleted all resources. Every day would dawn with hope that it would be that particular day which would bring a job and income. Day after day--nothing. I knew where all the Goodwill stores were and developed an eagle eye for finding nearly-new jeans, shirts, and jackets for the boys. It was a gala event when Mommy brought home "new" clothes to replace the holey pants which little boys create. I felt like I had struck it rich on the days when the blue tickets were half price and what I had bought sported a blue tag. It was more precious than buying the trendiest, most expensive outfit in a designer showroom. Rummaging through dented cans in the shopping basket in the back of the grocery store became a family sport--a far cry from a quick stop at McDonald's. Had we actually eaten out twice a week once upon a time? Did we waste all that money on greasy food just to get the must-have collectible toys? Canned beans never tasted so good. Chances of finding a job were slim to none in the New England market in the early 1980s. Our high spirits disintegrated and we became panic-stricken. In desperation, I knew I had to keep going for the sake of our children. Despite my own promise that I would never ask for help, I held up my head and walked into a government office and applied for food stamps. Sitting and waiting my turn, I wanted to bolt outside and never stop running. Embarrassment rolled into anger when the apathetic clerk looked over my application, snapped her gum, and stated in a singsong voice, "Oh, sorry. You DO qualify for food stamps, but you have to sell your car before you can receive them." Without missing a beat, she turned away and called on the next hapless applicant. Stunned, I explained that we needed our car to look for work. We didn't live near public transportation and there would be no possibility of obtaining employment without a vehicle. With no visual acknowledgment of any kind, the clerk muttered, "Sorry. Next?" With that, I was dismissed. I stumbled into the bright sunlight and swore that I would never in a million years ever ask anyone for help. Never again would I be humiliated. But, the problem remained. How could I feed my family? Knowing I needed to clear my head, I began to go for long walks. The fresh air felt good and I began to sort things out in my mind, looking at our situation from a different angle. Despair was futile and soon praying was substituted for complaining. I prayed for the blessings of being out of work, for having a husband who was trying to be a good provider, for people who had less than we, for healthy children. Some days I was pretty low and could only thank God for having a pulse, but I made the conscious effort to have gratitude every morning when I walked. Trying to avoid traffic on our country roads, I edged over into the brush and noticed all the cans which were strewn on the ground. Living in a state which recycles meant that I could cash each container in for a nickel apiece. Picking them up in my hands resulted in shiny rolling cylinders spilling over onto the asphalt, so the remainder were hidden behind a bush to be retrieved the next time around. A plastic bag tucked into my pocket became a necessity and then two bags became the norm. Soon there were dozens of sticky, dripping cans rattling around to redeem for enough money to buy a gallon of milk! A few more days of collecting and a loaf of bread was my trophy. My goal each day was to see how many nickels I could find in the guise of discarded cans. Every week there would be enough to buy a staple and eventually the supply dwindled, but, most important, my attitude improved, and being out of work wasn't the major disaster which I had initially perceived. I began to see the beauty around me which money couldn't buy: the Canadian geese honking their way across the sky and the skunk cabbage appearing in late winter -- signs of spring and hope and new beginnings. That was 20 years ago. We've been given so many blessings, but we will never forget. Last week I saw a man rummaging around in the underbrush gathering up cans. He became beet-red when I shouted "Hello", and he began to make excuses as to why he was picking up the dirty containers. I waved away his explanations and said, "A nickel is a nickel," and I bent over to help him fill his bag. Irene Budzynski irene_budd@yahoo.com Write Irene and share your thoughts on her story! _______________________________ Irene Budzynski is a registered nurse on the East Coast and is a regular contributor to HeartTouchers.com. She has written for Heartwarmers and many other websites and, now that winter is settling in, dreams of someday attending the Maui Writer's Conference. Check out the author interview we did with Irene at: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/ht_authors _________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "Until you make peace with who you are, you'll never be content with what you have." --Doris Mortman Verse for the Day: "But godliness with contentment is great gain." -- 1 Timothy 6:6 Kid's Thought For The Day: "Don't pop someone else's bubble." Parent's Thought For The Day: "You know children are growing up when they start asking questions that have answers." -- John J. Plumb Coach's Thought For The Day: "While winning is always a goal, my main goal for any team has always been that the girls can look back on their year and say, 'Those were some good times.' If we should happen to win a lot of games too, then that's just the icing on the cake." --Michael T. Powers Writer's Thought For The Day: Bruce Barton, who made a name for himself years ago as a writer and advertising man, was talking to a class of students about writing one evening. One of them asked him how he got his inspiration for his magazine articles. "Well," Barton replied, "picture me sitting at breakfast in the morning. As I sip my coffee, my wife glances down at the floor and observes, 'Bruce, we really need a new dining room rug. This one is wearing out.' Right there I have the inspiration to write another article." Deep Thought For The Day: "Why do light switches say on/off? When it's on you can see it's on, when it off you can't see to read." ___________________________________________ REQUESTS: Dear Michael and Prayer Partners, I want to thank everyone again for the incredible support during and after my surgeries. I am recovering slowly but surely, and God is with me all the way. I'm unable to go back to work, yet. Though my mind wants to, my body is not cooperating. I am still deaf as a brick in my left ear, and I don't know when it will return. In God's time, it will happen. I have an infection called phlebitis in the veins of my left arm due to the trauma of the nurses injecting pain and nausea medicine directly into my veins, when I should've had a saline I.V. to water it down. Phlebitis is a blood clot attached to the wall of each vein, and causes swelling and tenderness. Please pray that it successfully goes away, and of course that my hearing returns. I have a doctors appt. at UVA in Charlottesville on the 21st, and they should be able to see if the new eardrum is still intact. The fear is that I blew a big tear in it when I sneezed a week after surgery. I will let you all know. This has all been kind of like a dream, but reality hits when I try to lay on my left side and my head and ear hurts, but I'm still being healed. I've been reading the Bible, for it always brings me comfort. Jesus' love and tenderness for us is so precious, and it feels so good inside. I wish and pray that those who fight and resist Jesus could feel, just feel for 5 minutes, the incredible peace, warmth and assurance that He gives to us, then they'd never resist Him again. I pray that all of you truly have Jesus in your heart. Seek Him out by reading the new testament. The book of John shows the passionate side of Jesus, and all of His words in the book of John is like one big love song to your heart and soul. He longs for us, and he waits for us to REALLY accept his blessed gift of salvation, love and everlasting life with Him and The Father in heaven forever. All we have to do is open our hearts and minds to this precious gift, and seek a personal relationship with Jesus by reading the scriptures and talking and praying to Him. He is ultimately our very best friend. Thank you all again for everything. Except for the support and love of my wonderful family, I've never experienced such an overflowing of love and support from so many people. May God bless each and every one of you according to each of your needs. And try to look at every experience in life as a possible blessing. Always be hopeful, prayerful, and trusting in God, and life will be so much easier. Just never lose the close connection to Jesus, for he is the only "way, truth, and light" in life. With much love, prayers, and thanks, Jenny jennyrlh@hotmail.com ________________________________________ _ /_/\/\ MICHAEL T. POWERS \_\ / HeartTouchers@aol.com /_/ \ "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no \_\/\ \ longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I \_\/ live in the body I live for the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20 ___________________________________________ The copyrights to the stories that appear in HeartTouchers.com are owned by the authors and are used with their permission. We refuse to run stories without the author's permission and contact info listed after the story. We also refuse to publish stories listed as "author unknown." (All of which violates Copyright Law and the rights of the authors.) This e-mail may be forwarded in its entirety, but please do not cut and paste the stories to be used elsewhere unless you have contacted and been given permission by the individual writer. Thank you so much for honoring the rights of those writers who graciously share their stories with us! __________________________________________ Video Imagery --Michael's Video Production Business "I thought of you first after my family sat down to watch the video we gave them. They loved it, to say the least! Within thirty seconds my mom was crying and my dad did too. They said it was the best Christmas gift we could have given them!! You did such a beautiful job! They were so surprised and so touched--they really, really, really loved it. Thanks for helping to make it so special to us all. My mom mentioned how the songs were perfect for the video too! Thanks again!" Kelli-- College Station, TX Let me make you a video from your pictures or home movies! Check out the web page for Michael's video production business! Visit: http://www.hearttouchers.com/video_imagery/ AOL Users click here: Video Imagery ___________________________________________ Would you like to see your story in HeartTouchers.com? Writer's guidelines can be found on our Web site here: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/guidelines/ AOL Users click here: Writer's Guidelines ___________________________________________ SUBSCRIBE: "I need a daily source of inspiration and encouragement in my life!" To become a HeartTouchers.com Member send an e-mail with "Subscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@AOL.COM Then get ready to laugh, cry, and be deeply touched by some of the best stories on the Internet! __________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: All you have to do is send an e-mail with the word "Unsubscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@aol.com Give it a day or two to be processed... __________________________________________ Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you? http://www.greatcom.org/english/four.htm AOL Users click here: The Four Spiritual Laws __________________________________________ A number of people have written to us asking what an EBook is, since our book is being offered in both print and EBook versions. An EBook is a book that can be downloaded and read right on your computer. The advantage of ordering the EBook is that is costs less, $8.95 (No other charges), as compared to $14.95 + shipping and handling for the print book. Plus you can download the EBook and begin reading the stories in a few minutes! EBooks are read via Acrobat Reader, which is software that most of you already have on your computer. And if for some reason you don't, it can be downloaded free of charge at the web site. So for those of you who don't want to wait for the print book to be delivered, check out this web site to order the EBook version of Straight From the Heart "A Celebration of Life." http://www.booklocker.com/bookpages/michaeltpowers01.html AOL Users Click here |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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