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*Art of Encouragement* 3/21/02 ______________________________________ 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 ____________________________________________ 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 _________________________________________ Before we get to today's story I wanted to share a slice of life from the Powers family... I asked my wife Kristi if she would make me a bowl of cereal the other day. She was in a hurry and heading out the door and told me she didn't have time. Caleb, my oldest boy, came into the kitchen, looked at me, rolled his eyes and said: "Daddy, I'm six years old, and I make my own cereal every day. What did we do? Switch brains or something!" Boy did we have a good laugh over that one... and from now on, I will be making my own cereal... From my family to yours, Michael P.S. Today's story is on the art of encouragement, and although I have been incredibly blessed with people in my life who regularly encourage me, this story really made me think of Linda Holcomb and her family. Linda has an incredible gift for encouraging others, and I wanted to publicly thank her and let her and her family know that they are loved and appreciated. They have been a blessing to me the past couple of years and I thank the Lord for their family. _________________________________________ The Art of Encouragement By Bill Denton
When he arrived and saw this proof of God's favor, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. (Acts 11:23 NLT) Is anyone happier because you passed his way? Does anyone remember that you spoke to him today? -- Edythe Draper It's a sobering fact, but everyone with whom we come in contact today will have some impact upon us, and we will have some impact upon them. Sure, in passing, with only brief contact, that impact might be small. However, in many other ways, actions and words have the potential for a great deal of good or ill. There are some people I know who seldom, if ever, encourage me. Yes, I know its probably not always their fault. I would agree that my attitude has a lot to do with it. But, I also know that those people almost always rub me the wrong way, make me more aware of my faults and shortcomings rather than my successes. They end up making me think impossibilities rather than possibilities. Then again, there are others who almost always encourage me. They make me want to do better and to never quit. They want me to think that things are possible. Let me suggest a few things that I believe make the difference between the two kinds of people. * Encouragers manage to communicate real love and care. Discouragers often make you feel like you're an inconvenience or a bother. The power of encouragers is in their ability to let you know that you matter, that you are important and, are valuable. * Encouragers manage to communicate that they think you're capable of something good. They do not whitewash your problems. In fact, they quite often are the ones who point out specific failings. But, they don' leave you hopeless. They leave you thinking that better things are possible. * Encouragers focus on the right things. Discouragers usually camp out on things that condemn and belittle. Encouragers put their energy into moving you forward, not bogging you down in despair. * Encouragers know the right words to say. Perhaps it's because they know you, or because it's just the way they put things, but what they say builds you up instead of tearing you down. * Encouragers make you believe they are on your side. Discouragers make you think they'd prefer that you failed, or just went away. Encouragers accept you and make you feel wanted. I'm sure there is more to it than these few things, but as I think of the people in my life who consistently encourage me, these few elements are crucial. Over the years, I've watched folks respond to those who tried to help. Some soared to new heights while others were crushed. The difference has often been a small deed or a brief word of encouragement from someone who cares. There is a powerful difference between an encourager and a discourager. Which kind of impact will you have on people today? Dr. Bill Denton, (c) Copyright 2002, All Rights Reserved BillDenton@crossties.org Write Bill and let him know your thoughts on his story! --------- Bill Denton grew up in a small town in north Mississippi. After serving 7 ½ year in the U.S. Air Force, Bill completed his biblical education at the Whites Ferry Road School of Biblical Studies in West Monroe, Louisiana. Over the next several years, Bill completed his BA in Biblical Studies, a Master's Degree in Bible Theology, and a Doctor of Ministry degree with an emphasis in Counseling and Family Studies. He is also licensed as a Clinical Pastoral Counselor, Advanced Certification. He has served as a preaching minister for over 30 years, serving churches in Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia and Kansas. He served as adjunct professor of Bible and Counseling with the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver (CO.), teaching in the extension program in Monroe, LA., and currently serves as adjunct professor of Bible with the Sunset International Bible Institute's foreign Development Team teaching Bible in the Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University, Zhleznogorsk, Siberia. He is a preacher, teacher, writer, radio speaker, and trainer. Visit his web site at: http://www.crossties.org _________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "He who provides for this life, but takes no care for eternity, is wise for a moment, but a fool forever." --Tillotson Verse for the Day: "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Matthew 16:26 Kid's Thought For The Day: "It's a lot harder to laugh when you're by yourself." Parent's Thought For The Day "When I was a girl I only had two friends, and they were imaginary. And they would only play with each other." (Rita Rudner) Coach's Thought For The Day "It is far more important that a man shall play something himself, even if he plays it badly, that that he shall go with hundreds of companions to see someone else play well." --Theodore Roosevelt Writer's Thought for The Day: "The final lesson a writer learns is that everything can nourish the writer. The dictionary, a new word, a voyage, an encounter, a talk on the street, a book, a phrase learned." --Anais Nin Deep Thought For The Day: Sometimes when I'm at a baseball game and people start singing ?Take Me Out To The Ballgame? I feel like yelling "Hey you big old ball of goof, you're already here!" (I ran that one again especially for you Brittnia!) __________________________________________ _ /_/\/\ 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 photos! Check out my video production business by visiting: 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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