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*Easter Pines* 3/29/02 ___________________________ 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 ____________________________________________ Can't get enough inspirational stories in your life? Would you like to send a unique gift to your friends and family? Then order a personalized autographed copy of the inspirational book: Straight From the Heart "A Celebration of Life" by Michael T. Powers for only $13.95. And best of all, we'll pay the shipping! Michael is an award winning writer whose stories have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines around the world and in the following books: Chicken Soup for the Sports Fan's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul, Stories For the Extreme Teen's Heart, Stories For the Extreme Teen's Heart 2, Stories for the Teen's Heart 2, Heartwarmers, God Allows U-Turns Volumes 1, 3, and 4, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, and Creating Emotionally Safe Schools. He has signed several contracts for future Chicken Soup and other inspirational books. Still not convinced? You can preview his book by visiting: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/michael_powers AOL Users click here! To order your autographed copy have a check or money order for $13.95 for each book made out to Michael T. Powers, and then send it to: Michael T. Powers 1918 Liberty Lane Janesville, WI 53545 (Please allow about 2 weeks for delivery.) _________________________________________ We welcome another new writer to HeartTouchers.com! Michelle Barg shares a great story with us today about Easter Pines. And you thought Pine trees were only good for Christmas symbolism! Be sure to check our web site at: http://www.HeartTouchers.com to find a recipe for Easter Cookies that not only taste great and are a lot of fun to make, but also teach a wonderful lesson about the true meaning of Easter! From my family to yours, Michael P.S. For those of you in the Southern Wisconsin/Northern Illinois area I would like to invite you to our Good Friday service at Faith Community Church, here in Janesville, WI. The service is from 6-7 PM and the address is 2931 Lucerne Drive. A map is available on our church web site at: http://www.faithcommunitychurch.net Be sure to introduce yourself to me... I'll be the goofy lookin' dude in the tech booth at the back of the church! _________________________________________ EASTER PINES By Michelle Barg In honor of Roy Yarbrough (1914-2001) Papa was a quiet man when I finally met him in 1987. He was 73 years old, and I was lucky to add him to my family. He stepped right into my heart, filling the space left behind by my grandfathers. Papa had grown up in a little town in northeast Florida, eldest of 10 children. He could do it all and probably had done it all at some point in his life. Papa didn't talk a lot, but when he did speak, it usually was a story with some weight to it. It wasn't just an old man rambling on -- there was a lesson to be learned. I would delight in listening to him tell me stories about my new husband -- stories of George growing up under his wing. I loved to hear the stories about George as a young boy spending his weekends in the north Florida woods hunting with his Papa, or at Papa's gas station, or helping in the garden behind Papa's house. Papa was a quiet, religious man. He never was one to preach to others. Two of his brothers were Pastors at local churches -- he left the preaching to them. The little comments he made and the stories he told shed some light into his beliefs and his love of God. On April 8th, we made a trip to my parents' house for my father's birthday celebration. My husband was quietly driving the family up the Turnpike. I was occupied in the front passenger seat by a book, while the kids were being much too quiet in the back seat engrossed with a Gameboy and a coloring book. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that my husband was straining to look out my window. This startled me, since his eyes should be on the long road in front of him. I asked him what he was looking at out the windows, and he quietly replied, "Nothing." His eyes went back to the road in front of him. After a few minutes, I looked over at my husband and noticed a tear running down his cheek. I asked him what was wrong. This time he told me, "I was just thinking about Papa and a story he used to tell me." Of course, if it had to do with Papa I needed to know the story, so I asked him to share it with me. He said, "When I was about 3 years old, Papa took me out in the backyard and told me that the Pine trees know when it is Easter." I had no idea what he meant by that, so I pressed him for more information. He continued on... "The Pine trees start their new growth in the weeks before Easter -- if you look at the tops of the Pine trees two weeks before, you will see the yellow shoots. As the days get closer to Easter Sunday, the tallest shoot will branch off and form a cross. By the time Easter Sunday comes around, you will see that most of the Pine trees will have small yellow crosses on the tallest shoots." I turned to look out the window and I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a week before Easter, and you could see all the trees with the tall yellow shoots stretching to Heaven. The tallest ones shone in the sunlight like rows of tiny golden crosses. Michelle Barg wall_flower67@yahoo.com Write Michelle and let her know what you thought of her story! Copyright © 2001 - Michelle Barg. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reprinting of this article is prohibited without the prior consent of the author. ______________________________________ Michelle Barg is a secretive writer, recently venturing out to offer her short stories to the public. She lives with her husband, two young daughters, and Doxie in Central FL. She lives at the Little League softball fields and enjoys Girl Scouts with her daughters. _________________________________________ Reader Feedback! Dear Eunice, What a wonderful gift you have given to me this day, with your beautiful story and the reminder of how easily we slip into our wants and needs, forgetting the greatest gift of all, the gift of eternal life. Your story is a precious Easter gift to all of us at HeartTouchers. Thank you! Blessings. Jaye Lewis jlewis@smyth.net _________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "Great thoughts reduced to practice become great acts." (William Hazlitt) Verse for the Day: "Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?" James 2:21,22 Kid's Thought For The Day: "Let the frog go where you found it." Parent's Thought For The Day "The secret to feeding your child is learning how to disguise a vegetable as a french fry." --Jan Blaustone Coach's Thought For The Day "Don't knock your competitors. By boosting others you will boost yourself. A little competition is a good thing and severe competition is a blessing." --Kindleberger Writer's Thought For The Day: "I always wanted to write a book that ended with the word mayonnaise." --Richard Brautigan Deep Thought For The Day: "The other day I went to the bookstore to buy a dictionary. The clerk showed me a really cheap one. I couldn't find the words to thank him." ___________________________________________ _ /_/\/\ 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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