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*And Then Some* 2/20/02 ____________________________ 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 ____________________________________________ Today is a very, very special day. It is the Golden Birthday of Brittnia Brandl, a young lady who has permanent residence in the heart of my family. (A Golden Birthday is when you turn the age of your birth date, and Brittnia turns 20 today, Feb. 20th) I wrote this story a year ago and then ran it on HeartTouchers for her 19th birthday, but wanted to share it again with all of you for a very special reason. Brittnia wants to be a part of a missions trip to Africa this summer with the Jesus Film Project. The goal of the organization is to reach 50 million people, in fifty days, in 50 major cities abroad. They will be showing the Jesus Film in each region's language, and Brittnia will be a part of it in Malawi Africa. The cost of the trip which will take place July 26 - August 10, is $3500 and Brittnia has to raise all the money herself. She is a college student who is paying every penny of her college education out of her own pocket, and holds down a job besides her classes at the university. On top of that, her older sister is getting married this spring and her parents, who are paying for the wedding, are not going to have much left over to help Brittnia out. Brittnia's home church just raised $600 of the $3500, so she is off to a good start, but I wanted to ask all of our HeartTouchers.com members if we might consider taking Brittnia under our wings to help her raise the money. In the four or so years that I have been sending out e-mails, I can't think of another time when we did something like this, but I would like to appeal especially to those of you who have been on our list for a long period of time -- who have come to know us "personally" -- those of whom we have gained trust and confidence. If there is any way that you can help Brittnia financially, with a gift of even $5, we would never be able to thank you enough. Brittnia has earned the admiration and love of anyone who has come to know her, and her heart and caring for people, is second to none. Trust me when I say that Brittnia's heart is in the right place and that God will use her in a very special way to touch lives in Africa this summer. If you would like to be a part of all this you can send a check or money order made out to: Brittnia Brandl and then send it to: Brittnia Brandl P.O. Box 393 Clinton, WI 53525 I have asked Brittnia to keep us updated on her trip, and then to share with our list when she comes back from Africa. To find out more about the Jesus Film Project that Brittnia will be a part of you can visit the following web sites: http://www.AfricanSunrise.org http://www.JesusFilm.org Please consider helping her out, or passing this along to those people or Internet lists who may be able to help... Thank you so very much! To enable you to get to know this special young lady today, on her Golden Birthday, I wanted to share the following story... From my family to yours, Michael P.S. I will be sharing about Brittnia's trip in another e-mail following this one to give everyone a little more info... Look for it in your email box! _________________________________________ And Then Some By Michael T. Powers "Brittnia's here!!" shouted Caleb and Connor in stereo sound as they saw our baby-sitter get out of her car and walk up the sidewalk to our house. Joyful dancing and a good test of our sofa's warranty followed as my two young boys jumped up and down, acting like Christmas morning was here once again. Caleb then ran to the door to let her in, while Connor continued to act as if he had just won a lifetime supply of candy. Kristi and I smiled as we watched the scene unfold before us--a scene that is repeated no matter how often Brittnia comes to our house. It also made us both realize how incredibly blessed we are to have her in our life. I first met Brittnia Brandl when she walked into basketball practice during her freshman year of high school, and we got to know her a little better as each month went by. She soon took up permanent residency in our family's heart, and Kristi and I began to pray for Brittnia whenever we thought of her -- which was often. I permanently bonded with her one particular afternoon during her sophomore year. Jamie Rusch, another basketball player at the time and I had gone to visit Brittnia in the hospital to cheer her up after her knee surgery. She was fresh out of the operating room and when we walked into the room, we were rewarded with a big smile, followed by a wave of vomiting. Yes, nothing shows your gratitude like stomach bile! She was very embarrassed but I reassured her that once a person throws up in front of another, they become friends for life! As our lives became more entwined, I came to realize the quality that made Brittnia so special. Professor Richard Weaver once stated that what often sets a successful person apart from others are three simple words: "and then some." Brittnia figured this out a long time ago. When she was playing basketball for me, she worked hard, had a great attitude, loved and respected her teammates and then some. When she helps me videotape weddings for my video production business, she puts in a full day's work and then some. She shows up earlier than expected, stays later than she needs to, and complains that we pay her too much money. She is the model employee. However, nothing compares to how she is as a baby-sitter! She is trustworthy, dependable, responsible, goes out of her way to accommodate us and then some! The very first time Brittnia baby-sat for us, we knew we had someone special. From the time she walked in the door until the time she left our house, she gave our boys 100% of her time and attention. While some teenagers might be calling their boyfriends, watching TV, or doing their homework while they baby-sit, Brittnia spends her time playing hide-and-go-seek, tag, and reading countless books to my overactive children. She has role-played "The Lion King" so many times that I think she must secretly shudder at the name "Mufasa," as much as the hyenas do in the Disney movie! ("Mufasa! Mufasa! Mufasa!") Many times as we walk up to our house while Brittnia is baby-sitting, we will pause outside of the window for a minute and watch her as she lovingly plays with, reads to, and cares for our two rambunctious boys. One night, just as we were leaving the house and our children in her capable hands, Caleb jumped on her back for a piggyback ride. Kristi and I went to dinner, then stopped back at the house two hours later for something before we went to a movie. As we walked up to the door, we could see Brittnia walking around the living room with monkey-boy Caleb clinging to her back. I know better than to think that my boy had stayed there for the entire two hours, but I can honestly say that it wouldn't surprise me if it were true. In all things in her life, Brittnia does what is expected of her and then some. In the past four years she has earned our respect, our loyalty, and our love. We are extremely proud of our Brittnia for everything she does in her life, but never were we prouder than when we found out that she had committed her life to Christ toward the end of her freshman year. She shared with us that one night she went into her room, cried, and prayed for Jesus to come into her heart. She asked Him to take over her life because she needed help. She took all of the things she was dealing with at the time, and surrendered everything to Jesus. She became a new creation... This past Sunday, Brittnia was baptized. She stood before family and friends and made a public profession of her faith in Christ. Kristi and I had been looking forward to sharing this important day with her since she first told us when she was getting baptized, a little over two months ago. We could just picture her beaming face as she would stare out over the crowd and make eye contact with those who love her dearly... Caleb, our five-year-old was so excited Sunday morning as we were getting ready to leave our house. "Daddy! We get to go see Brittnia get pushed in the water today, don't we?!" On the ride to Brittnia's church, Kristi and I explained to Caleb all about baptism and what it stands for in a believer's life. All of us were anticipating Brittnia's big day... I dropped Kristi off at the door and then went to find a parking spot. I had Connor with me and when we walked into the sanctuary, I saw that the baptism had already started. A numbness crept into my heart. One of the few times in our life we thought we were early -- twenty minutes early! I looked at Kristi and begged, "Please tell me that Brittnia hasn't been baptized yet?" She didn't answer right away, and my stomach turned to ice, because I knew from her silence that Brittnia had. It turned out that the baptism had started at 12:00 and not 12:30. Both of us had the time wrong and later when we got home, the invitation mocked us with the correct time. There were fifteen to twenty believers being baptized that afternoon, and I sat there totally numb as the pastor finished up with the last seven or eight people. I wanted to cry. I wanted to ask the pastor if he could do it again. I wanted it all to be some kind of a bad dream that I could wake up from... We had let our Brittnia down... We had wanted to make eye contact with her, just before she walked to the baptismal and tell her that we loved her... We had wanted to silently pray for her young life just as the pastor said, "I baptize you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit..." We had wanted our two young sons to see Brittnia as she publicly let everyone know that four years earlier she asked Jesus to forgive her of her sins, come into her life, and had given total control of everything over to God. We had hoped that it might make an impression on them even at their early ages... We had wanted to watch Brittnia's "future husband", Jeff, as he also was baptized, and pray for their young relationship, that it might stay strong... But it wasn't meant to be... Jamie Rusch, who was sitting in front of me leaned back and whispered, "If it is any consolation, Brittnia's face got really red just before she was baptized." That made me smile, as everyone who knows Brittnia knows that she blushes easily... Caleb, who was sitting on my lap, finally realized that it was over and that, as far a he could see, Brittnia hadn't been baptized yet. "Awwwwwwww! Brittnia didn't get dunked!!" he shouted. We gave Brittnia a hug afterwards, wet hair and all, and she asked us if we got to see it. I had to tell her that we were about four minutes too late, and that we had the time mixed up. She reassured us that it was all right, but I felt my stomach tighten again into the kind of knots only an Eagle Scout could tie. All day I asked, "Why God? Why did we have to miss this important day in our Brittnia's life?" Even though we missed that moment, we wanted to share this with you today, on your nineteenth birthday, Brittnia: Jesus will always be there for you. He never makes promises He can't keep and He is never, ever late in His timing. He will be your Friend when your friends fail you. He will be your Parent when your parents fail you. He will be your Husband when your future husband fails you, and he will fill the void that is in all of our lives like nothing else can... Brittnia, Jesus will bless your life and provide for all of your needs, both emotionally and physically and then some. He will comfort you when you are down, make your marriage work when there seems to be no hope, bless you with wonderful children, loving friends and family and then some. You could be our baby-sitter for the next twenty years. You could help me with my video business for the next fifty and be the perfect employee. You could have been born fourteen years later and ended up marrying Caleb and been the perfect daughter-in-law... but there is nothing, absolutely nothing, you could ever do that would top giving your life to Jesus as you have done. That makes us the happiest people on the face of the whole earth! No matter what happens the rest of our lives, no matter how close we may get to you, it all pales before the thought that we will get to spend the rest of eternity with our Brittnia. We love you...and then some! Michael T. Powers HeartTouchers@aol.com If you would like to e-mail Brittnia and let her know your thoughts on this story, or just wish her a happy 20th birthday, you can write to her at: brbrandl@hotmail.com Happy Birthday Brittnia! Check out this web page on our site to learn more about her trip! http://www.HeartTouchers.com/jesus_film OR CLICK HERE! _________________________________________ _ /_/\/\ 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 |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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