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{Heart Touchers} *Day of Terror* ______________________________________ 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 us 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 ____________________________________________ In light of today's events I felt the need to send out the email a bit earlier than usual... Can you donate? Red Cross: 1-800-GIVE LIFE (1-800-448-3543) http://www.redcross.org (experiencing heavy server traffic) http://www.unitedbloodservices.org/donate.html _________________________________________ 911 Is it a coincidence that the tragedy that occurred today happened on September 11 or 9-11 of 2001? Words cannot express the emotions that I felt as I sat transfixed to my TV this morning. Connor, my three-year-old sat on my lap as we watched America change before our very eyes. To Connor, the scenes on the TV were no different from the black and white Godzilla movies he and his six-year-old brother, Caleb, have been watching lately. Buildings collapsing, people running from the carnage, explosions, and billowing smoke. To him it was just pretend -- a movie that he could stop with the remote at anytime. It was unreal to me also as I tried to deny what was actually happening. But reality sunk in as I saw people jumping to their deaths to escape the fires, people running for their lives as thick billowing smoke and debris chased them down from behind. Palestinians celebrating that the U.S. had been attacked by dancing in the streets and handing out candy to their children. As the minutes dragged into hours, my mind and body went from the numbness of denial to the deep ache that I continue to feel now. Not only has my life changed, but the lives of my children have changed forever. I don't have any pat answers nor words of wisdom for all of you today. I wish I did... If anything I realize that I am powerless to affect the world -- to change it in any way. However, the Lord did give me the power to affect my children. To influence them on a daily basis. To make "their world" a safer to place to live. To live my life in such a way that they will see the Lord in my life and want Him in their lives also. And when that occurs, I will know without a doubt that no matter what happens here on earth, I will get to spend eternity with them in a place that is free from the terrible things I saw on TV today. How about you? Are you placing your trust and faith in a world that seems caught in a downward spiral, or have you placed your faith and trust in the One who has prepared a safe haven for you beyond the clouds if you only accept the free gift He has offered? Time is running out for those of us here on earth, and I believe that the scenes that filled every TV across the world today will become more and more commonplace as we approach the end times... Today, Phil Ware shares some insight on this Day of Terror. May his words touch your heart and start the healing process in all of our lives... From my family to yours, Michael _________________________________________ Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you? http://www.greatcom.org/english/four.htm _________________________________________ Woe to Me! By Phil Ware "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." ... Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" (Isaiah 6:5, 8) Tragedy that has ripped through the hearts of so many across the world has hit very close to home for many of us in the USA. During this time of horror, shock, injury, and death, how are we to react? While many thoughts come to mind, a few seem clear to us. We must pray. We must pray for the President and for other world leaders as they deal with these series of attacks and the horrible toll on lives of so many people. We must pray for the families of those directly impacted so tragically by the hijacked planes and their targets. We must pray for those who are involved in the rescue efforts and who try to deal with the horrific carnage and destruction to human beings. Pray! Pray in your office. Pray in your home. Pray in your church. We must take a firm stand against prejudice and improper "hurry to judgment" against people simply because of their national descent or race. It is so easy to for us to lump together people of race, geographical, or national origin because of the actions of a vicious few who do not represent them. The Kingdom of God is made up of all peoples and races, and we must be a haven of protection and grace for those who might be treated unfairly because of prejudice and reactive hate. Let's also hear this as a vivid reminder of Isaiah's poignant and sobering words. We live in a fallen world with a dark evil prince who seeks to destroy people and ruin lives with hate and death. In the midst of such a world, let's also live under the strong conviction that the only hope for our world is redemption and unification in the grace of God. After the horrors of World War II, many of those who had been involved in these horrors and brutalized in concentration camps led the Church of Jesus into unprecedented outreach through world missions to the very people who had mistreated, tortured, and imprisoned them. Our call is to redeem a fallen world. This is a sad and sobering remind of just how fallen it truly is. Those of us who still have grave concerns for friends and loved ones who were working at the World Trade Center, The Pentagon, or in the air as passengers, flight attendants, and flight crews request your prayers for their families and us. We are citizens in the world and called by Jesus to redeem the world. Our ultimate citizenship is in heaven, but our heart breaks, along with God's heart, for the destructive hate that still permeates our world and is the tool of the evil one to wound, maim, and kill people who are precious to God. As long as the memory of this horrifying day lingers in our hearts, let's also commit to make a difference in our world by sharing the grace of Jesus. This is a horrible, tragic, and terrifying time. It is also a time for God's people to show who we are with courage, empathy, compassion, grace, and faith as we seek to serve and to be a blessing in such shocking and painful times. Phil Ware phil@heartlight.org Write Phil and let him know how his words affected you today... (c) 2001 Heartlight, Inc. ________________________ Phil Ware is minister of the Word at Westover Hills Church of Christ in Austin, Texas. For the past five years, he has also been coeditor of HEARTLIGHT Magazine. Check out Heartlight Magazine at the following link: http://www.heartlight.org RELATED LINK: * Woe to Me! Thought Journal http://www.heartlight.org/woetome _________________________________________ REQUEST: I have been transfixed to my television all morning, the news of the senseless attack on America more horrifying than I can grasp. My heart has been racing and I have felt numb with the enormity of the declaration of war on the country of which I am proud to be a citizen. I solemnly and with reverence hung our country's flag in front of our house and stood back to salute it. It is a day of deep sadness for Old Glory. I ask you to join with me in fervent prayer for the thousands of people injured and killed in this morning's attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Pray that the emergency crews will be guided to places they can be of help and comfort. Pray that the medical personnel will also be guided to repair and comfort and save lives. And pray for the families who are missing loved ones that they will know God is with them and be comforted. This is a time for us to band together, a time to reach out, and a time to manifest God's love to others through our words and actions. To everyone affected by this atrocity, turn to God for comfort. He is there and always will be. My love and heart is with you. God bless this great nation of ours. God bless America. Louise Ficklin tamidon@hotmail.com ___________________________________________ _ /_/\/\ 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 Heart Touchers 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://wwwhearttouchers.com/video_imagery/ AOL Users click here: Video Imagery ___________________________________________ Would you like to see your story in Heart Touchers? Writer's guidelines can be found on our Web site here: http://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 Heart Touchers 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 __________________________________________ 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 the print version! You can also read some sample stories from the book here! http://HeartTouchers.com/michael_t__powers/ |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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