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{SFTH} *Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter* 8/15/01
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Michael's long awaited book Straight From the Heart: "A
Celebration of Life," is finally here! Close to 200 pages
of true short stories filled with love and laughter await
you! Visit our web site to order the EBook, or to order
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Straight From the Heart: A Celebration of Life
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1918 Liberty Lane
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It is with great pride and pleasure that I get to introduce
a special lady to all of you today. One person can make
a difference. If you are skeptical at all, just wait until you
read what Marsha Jordan shares with us today. Let's all
do our part to help after you read this touching story...
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Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter
By Marsha Jordan
I had always cared about sick children and tried to help them;
but when my little grandson received third degree burns, I
learned firsthand how helpless a loving adult feels when your
little one is suffering and you can't take the pain away. This
experience helps me to empathize with parents who write to
me about their sick children. One mom told me that she felt
like running out into the street and screaming, "My child is
sick. Won't somebody please help us?" It breaks my heart
that these parents are so desperately searching for SOMEONE
to care and to help them through the ordeal of watching their
helpless child suffer. So I decided to BE THAT SOMEONE
and do as much as I could. I've found it amazing how MUCH
I CAN do, even though I'm disabled. Maybe the very fact that
I AM disabled is what has allowed me to do so much. I have
the time that most people can't spare. And I have the ability
to understand what it's like to be sick, frustrated, afraid, or
lonely. So actually, my misfortune has become an asset in
this situation.
Two years ago, due to complications of an autoimmune
disease, I lost my eyesight. Fortunately, I regained some
vision, but I was no longer able to work. Suddenly I had a
lot of time on my hands. At first, I went through a depression
feeling that my life was empty and meaningless. Because I
could not do any of the things I used to do, I believed that
my life had no purpose and I wasn't much good to anybody
anymore. God had other ideas!
Because I belonged to several online prayer chains, I
received daily emails requesting prayer for sick children.
I decided to post their stories and pictures on a web page
in order to network with others who wanted to help these
kids too. In August of 2000, the Hugs and Hope Club for
sick children was born.
What began as a hobby has mushroomed into a full-time
ministry. Since my website went up in October of 2000,
I've received dozens of emails each week from distraught
parents begging me to put their child's story on my site.
And over 225 volunteers have signed up to receive updates
on the children and to send them "happy mail."
The website features children from all over the world and
receives hundreds of hits each day. It also features a
message board so that families of the sick children may
communicate with each other, sharing ideas and encouragement.
Before I began this project, the long, lonely days dragged
by for me. Now there doesn't seem to be enough hours in
the day to do all that I want to do for these families; and I
spend many hours each day on the Internet sending
encouraging emails to parents, creating webpages for the
children's stories, updating the volunteer letter writers, or
emailing organizations to ask them to help families of children
like Nathan. He and his little brother both have the fatal
Batten's Disease. Their parents are desperately trying
to raise the $100,000 they need each month for medical
treatment to save their boys.
It really is true that when God closes a door, He opens a
window. That's what happened for me. I thought when I
became disabled that I was no longer able to accomplish
anything worthwhile, but I believe that I am now doing the
MOST worthwhile work of my entire life. Instead of feeling
bad about what I can no longer do, I concentrate on helping
others and glorifying God in each little thing that I CAN do.
I do the best I can and leave the rest to God. You may have
a lot of problems of your own. If so, the best thing you can
do is forget about them and focus on someone else's
problems. As I read somewhere once, "pain is inevitable,
but misery is optional." Sure you will have pain, but you
don't need to wallow in it. You don't have to be miserable,
no matter what your situation. When you take your mind
off of it, and concentrate on bringing joy to others, you will
feel great! When your focus is on bringing happiness to
others, without even realizing it, you bring happiness to
yourself.
I've found that I can spend most of my monthly disability
check on gifts and the postage to mail them to sick
children, but I don't mind because I enjoy it! Really,
though, these kids need so much more than the small
gifts I can send. They need the prayers and help of people
around the globe, so my mission has become to spread
the word of their plight to anyone who will listen. I pray
that people will open their hearts to these suffering,
innocent little ones.
The response to my meager effort has been phenomenal.
Musicians from around the country have contributed
tapes and CD's of children's music and organized
benefit concerts, publishers and authors donate
children's books, quilters and sewers make hand
made quilts, angels, and teddy bears, and youth
groups work together and send out hundreds of
hand made cards.
Anyone can help a sick child in some way. Whatever
your talent, you can use it to benefit suffering children
or their families. Whether it's creating graphics for a
website, organizing benefits to raise medical funds,
or just sending an encouraging note to a discouraged
parent or a Barney video to a child undergoing
chemotherapy. It all helps, and it all makes a difference
in the lives of these children. And the joy of giving to
these helpless little ones is more rewarding than anything
else I've ever done. One of my favorite quotations is from
Bernie Siegel, "Love is deep involvement with another. If
you say that you don't get back as much as you're given,
then you are not really loving. Love doesn't measure. It
just gives." Love and happiness remind me of sticky
peanut butter. When you spread them around, you
always end up getting some on yourself. If you want
to spread a little love and joy, log on to our site. I guarantee
you can't help getting some on yourself too!
Marsha Jordan
mmellow@newnorth.net
Write to Marsha and let her know what you thought of her story!
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Marsha Jordan, a grandma disabled by an auto-immune
connective tissue disease, lives in northern Wisconsin
with her husband of 26 years and her toy poodle, King
Louie. She enjoys entertaining, decorating with antiques,
and rubber stamping. Her HUGS AND HOPE CLUB has
won several awards for exceptional achievement in
helping children and Marsha was named "Angel of the
month" by Her Planet.com. The Hugs and Hope club
will be featured in the book "GOD ALLOWS U-TURNS",
volume two, due out in October 2001. The program relies
upon the support of individuals and organizations: the
people who write to the children as well as those who
donate to the cause in other ways. Interested sponsors
or those wanting to learn more about the program are
encouraged to visit the website at http://www.hugsandhope.com
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Thought For The Day:
"It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link of the
chain of destiny can be handled at a time."
--Sir Winston Churchill
Verse for the Day:
"You do not know what will happen tomorrow. What
is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little
while and then vanishes." --James 4:14
Kid's Thought For The Day:
"If you are going to draw on the wall do it behind the sofa."
Parent's Thought For The Day
"Children behave best when their stomachs are full and
their bladders are empty." --Vicki Lansky
Coach's Thought For The Day
"Please leave your egos in the locker room."
Deep Thought For The Day:
"My friend has a baby. I'm recording all the noises he
makes so later I can ask him what he meant."
--Steven Wright
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REQUESTS:
Please keep my wife Mira in your prayers. She had to go to EM room today. Her blood pressure shot up & they ran some test on her & she has bone spurs touching her vertebras. She is having numbness in her left arm & leg plus her left side of her face. DR told her to stay in bed for 3 days & she needs an operation to fix the problem. Just keep her in your prayers. Thank you & may God Bless.
Jim
jimmira@earthlink.net
***********
I am in need of prayer and acceptance of the inevitable. My husband wants a divorce. We were making an effort to work things out. It is difficult since his job takes him away from home for months at a time. I do not think we will get back together, so I must accept this as a lesson from God and to seek his will.
Sincerely, Jo Ann
Jootero@aol.com
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_
/_/\/\ MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\ / THUNDER27@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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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 this site for Michael's video production business!
http://members.aol.com/Videoimg/index.html
AOL Users click here: Video Imagery
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Straight From the Heart: A Celebration of Life
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Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you?
http://www.greatcom.org/english/four.htm
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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
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