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*What Little Boys Do* 1/31/02 ______________________________________ 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 _________________________________________ My wife Kristi and my two young boys, Caleb and Connor just got back from a two week vacation down in Florida!! It is so good to see them again! Of course, as soon as they left the warm weather and came back to Wisconsin the weather turned cold and we got about 5 inches of snow! Well, today's story by Pamela Jenkins reminded me so much of Caleb and Connor that I had to share it today... From my family to yours, Michael _________________________________________ What Little Boys Do by Pamela Jenkins "Austin! Did you leave the water running outside?" My oldest daughter stood near the barn, surveying the large area of mud around one of the outdoor faucets. In the middle of the waterlogged mess could be seen, very clearly, the stamps of small shoe prints. Seven-year-old Austin stood beside her, also looking over the mud puddle and incriminating evidence. His eyebrows puckered in a frown. Well, he started to explain, there was some mud here and he just wanted to play in it a little. He didn't think he'd left any water running, though. It's long been a joke in our family that my son must have been patterned after the little boy in the Family Circle cartoon. He can cover miles and miles of interesting terrain in the time it takes to travel between points A and B. If you send him on a simple trek to the backyard to retrieve a basketball, he will take all sorts of fascinating side trips and get lost in the wonder of the moment. It's a big world out there, full of things that little boys need to investigate. One day last week, I watched my son walking through the yard with his school backpack. Something must have captured his attention, because he set the bag on the ground and hustled away. Well, that's sure to get damp overnight, I thought to myself. I went over to pick it up and put it away. Then I noticed it moving. Very slowly, one of my speckled Dominique hens poked her head out and looked around as if checking to see if the coast was clear. Then she came out of the backpack, gave her feathers a good ruffling, and calmly walked away clucking to herself. "Austin! Why is there a chicken in your backpack?" Austin came back and told me that he had found the hen sitting on a hidden nest. He was just putting her back in the chicken pen. We had a talk about leaving the laying hens alone. They're doing just what I want them to do, eating bugs and crickets and cleaning up the yard in general. It's not a good idea to rough up a hen full of eggs, anyway. Yesterday, I was trying to take a nap before the evening church services. Austin knocked on the bedroom door and came in. He handed me part of his tooth. "Austin! How did you break off a tooth?" He explained that he was just taking our dog, Carly, out for a walk. They got their legs tangled in the leash, and he fell down and chipped his front tooth. Both he and the dog got in trouble with my husband. I took Austin to the dentist this morning, who did a patch job on the front tooth. We talked about crowns and caps later on. When we got home, I did a patching job of my own with Spouse. In all fairness, the dog wasn't totally to blame. And besides, it could just as easily been a baseball, roller skates or martial arts class that caused the chipped tooth. A short while ago, I stood in the kitchen washing the supper dishes. I looked out the window. My son was heading to the barn with his skateboard under one arm and a cat under the other. "Austin...!" It's hard to keep up with all the things that little boys do. Pamela Jenkins ramblinrabbit@juno.com Write Pamela and let her know your thoughts on her story! ____________________________________ Pamela Jenkins lives on a farm in Oklahoma with Stanley, her veterinarian husband of twenty-one years, and their four children. They are avid supporters of 4-H and FFA youth activities. Pamela enjoys reading, crocheting and raising Satin rabbits. _________________________________________ Reader Feedback! Hello, Michael! The longer I wait...the more difficult it becomes to pull those words from my heart to express my gratitude. You're confidence in my story...the heartfelt introduction...and the incredible responses I am still getting from your subscribers is the most humbling experience imaginable. It does "do the heart good" to know there ARE such marvelous human beings in this world...eager, appreciative, and willing to share. My husband is in a state of shock! He is beside himself with disbelief...Australia, Africa, Florida, California, Texas...and some unknown places! I'm trying to respond to the most poignant replies...at least a word of "thanks" to others. I promised my church to help out with a bit of correspondence that I still have to finish...and it's so hard, because all I want to do now is write...stories are popping up and I need to get them down! I have a new 'Dragon' voice command system that I am training with, because it is tough for me to type or write, physically. Last night I got another "news flash" from the ENT that another surgery is expected (or in my case, unexpected) quickly! It'll be a good thing...since breathing is a real issue with me, and weighing in aspects of asthma and sleep apnea...it would be an energizing thing to have resolved! Enough of that stuff....I have stories to write!!! You, your Faith, the writers, and subscribers have been the best medicine anyone could ever dream of....I won't let you down. God bless you all, and your wonderful, supportive Family. It is so good to feel part of something like this in a small way. I have one person in particular that needs a little bit of encouragement from me...a subscriber...and I bet you'll have another writer in no time! What a feeling...sharing and encouraging! Again...thank you and please know my prayers are with you. With my deepest regard. Chris Hayde, author of Monday's story, "Scooter Nights" PrettyGBC@cs.com _________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "I have held many things in my hands and lost them all; but the things I have placed in God's hands, those I always possess." --Earline Steelburg Verse for the Day: "...for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." 2 Timothy 1:12 Kid's Thought For The Day: "Don't pick on your little brother when he's holding a baseball bat." Parent's Thought For The Day: "A Suburban mother's role is to deliver children obstetrically once, and by car forever after."--Peter DeVries Coach's Thought For The Day: "Don't count the days -- make the days count." Writer's Thought For the Day: "Forget all the rules. Forget about being published. Write for yourself and celebrate writing." --Melinda Haynes Deep Thought For The Day: "A rumor without a leg to stand on will get around some other way." ___________________________________________ REQUESTS: Please pray for a young lady who is dealing with thoughts of suicide... Thanks. Michael ___________________________________________ _ /_/\/\ 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 __________________________________________ |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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