Welcome to "Straight From the Heart!"

If you enjoy this free daily email service, I encourage you to forward it on to family and friends. If this has been passed along to you and you want to join the list, just send a blank email to: 
Thunder27@aol.com
I appreciate any feedback or constructive criticism, so feel free to write me (Michael T. Powers) and let me know what you think!

Straight From the Heart
http://www.storiesfrommyheart.com
___________________________________________________

WORLDWIDE SENIORS
        Free Membership and E-Newsletter
Seniors are one of the fastest growing age groups on the Internet! This site offers
interesting articles about RVs, computers, gardening, finance, health, travel,
work, plus classifieds and friendship ads, online shopping, cool senior site
links, community calendars, message boards, and weekly newsletters.
      Sign on and click the JOIN button today!
         http://www.WorldwideSeniors.com
___________________________________________________

 

I have been waiting a long time to share the following author and story with everyone. 
Joan Wester Anderson, the author of the story below has been an inspiration to me.  She may never know how much her friendship, encouragement, and mentorship has meant to this fledgling writer.  There are few people I have met in my life that rival her character, her graciousness, or her class.  May all of you be touched by her story, and may God continue to bless her and her writing as she touches millions of people.

Be sure to write to her after you read her story!
Michael
P.S.  Tomorrow I get to share a story written by my role-model, the world famous Mr. Greer!  Stay tuned!
___________________________________________________

 

 

By Joan Wester Anderson

 

 

Shortly after our family bought a house in Chicago's northwest suburbs in
September 1971, I met Lynne Gould.  She appeared at the door one morning,
accompanied by several small sons, to welcome us to the neighborhood. 
I invited her in, but she took one look at the boxes marked Fragile--China
still stacked on my floors, and declined (which endeared her to me right away).

The Goulds lived directly behind us, our deep yards separated by a tall
hedge with an opening in it, which we used as a gate.  I loved all our
neighbors, but Lynne was special.  Immediately we sensed a bond and
found ourselves cutting past surface chatter and delving more deeply into
each other's feelings and beliefs.

 

Few topics were out of bounds for us, but spirituality was a particular favorite. 
We discovered that, although we were both Catholic, our faith attitudes
differed.  Lynne seemed relaxed, confident in God's tender care, His
willingness to get personally in her daily life.  Me?  As one philosopher
said, the longest distance anyone travels is the twelve inches from the head
to the heart.  I tended to be dutiful, a bit scrupulous, and hard on myself. 
Although I had never thought of God as harsh or frightening, it was difficult
to believe that His love for me was truly unconditional.  As for miracles, they
happened to saints, not ordinary people like me.

 

We had lived in our house for just a few weeks when autumn leaves began
falling.  Actually, they rained down, thickly covering our quarter acre.  I
collected lawn bags, and one afternoon when the children were in school,
I went into the yard to rake.

 

The warm, sunlit day was delightful, but I made little headway.  At the end of
an hour, I had stuffed six bags, but there were several huge piles of leaves
waiting, and half the yard remained untouched.  Home ownership was losing
its charm.  I leaned on the rake a moment, pushed the hair back from my
eyes--and the world seemed to stop.  There were no rings on my left hand. 
My diamond engagement ring and wedding band--not removed since our
marriage--were gone.

 

Just then Lynne stepped through the hole in the hedge. Although she was at
least fifty feet from me, she must have seen the shock on my face.  "What's
the matter?" she called.
"My rings--they're missing!"  I could barely speak.  I had lost a little weight
during our move, and they must have slipped off somehow.  But when?  Where?

Lynne waded across the lawn to me.  "When was the last time you saw them?"
she asked.

 

Frantically I searched my memory, examining all the small, ordinary things
I'd done that day.  Making breakfast for the children, loading the washing
machine--how often we glance at our hands without really seeing them. 
But I was sure I would have noticed missing rings during earlier tasks.
"They must have fallen off out here," I told Lynne, surveying the landscape
with a sinking heart.  How could we find anything in all that debris?  I would
never see the rings again.  And not only were the uninsured, they were loved,
irreplaceable…Tears filled my eyes.

 

Lynne was more practical.  "Let's pray about it," she said, and she knelt
right down in the middle of the leaves.  And, because she had hold of my
hand, so did I.

"God," Lynne began with preamble, "we've got a problem here…" Briefly she
outlined the situation.

Despite my agitation, I felt a little embarrassed.  What if a neighbor looked out
and saw us praying--in public!  Yet I was fascinated too.  Lynne was talking to
God with easy familiarity, as if He was her real Father, someone who cared so
much about her that He would be interested in anything she told Him.  Well,
why not?  I thought suddenly.  I'm a parent, and there's nothing my children
could need that I wouldn't provide.  If I was truly His child, wouldn't it work the
same way?

 

Lynne was finishing her discussion.  "We need a miracle, God," I heard her
say.  "Please let us find the rings."  She sat back on her heels, wordlessly
surveying the yard.  Not for a moment did I assume God would actually do
anything about her request.  But Lynne had been dear to stand by.

As I watched, however, her eyes traveled across the orange and yellow pile. 
Slowly she stood up and walked past several deep mounds.  When she
reached one on the other side of the yard, she stopped, bent over, plunged
her hand into it, and then straightened.  "Here they are," she said, looking
into her palm.  "Here are your rings."

 

I probably screamed before I went running across to her.  But there both rings
were, unmistakably mine.  We looked at each other, our faces wreathed in
grins.  "How did you--?  I hardly knew what to ask.

She laughed.  "I didn't. God did it.  I just kind of knew where to look."
"But that's impossible…."
"Not really," she pointed out simply.  "We asked for a miracle, didn't we?"

Something great seemed to tremble in the air, something awesome and
wondrous.  Was this what it meant to trust?  Like two little girls, we had
approached our Father, placed a broken toy in His lap, and asked with
complete assurance (at least on Lynne's part), "Daddy, fix it."

Why should I have been surprised when He did?

 

Joan Wester Anderson
angelwak@mcs.net

 

Send Joan an email and let her know what you thought of her story!

 

(This story was the prologue for the book  "Where Miracles Happen" Copyright by Joan Wester Anderson, 1994, Ballantine Publishing.)
Check it out at Amazon.com:
Where Miracles Happen, by Joan Wester Anderson

 

**************

The following bio was gleaned by me from Joan's website.  It is longer than usual, but I wanted to share as much about this wonderful author as I could!Author and lecturer Joan Wester Anderson was born in Evanston, Illinois. She began her writing career in 1973 with a series of family humor articles for local newspapers and parenting magazines. She was a monthly columnist for two parenting publications during the 1980's, and has published more than one thousand articles and short stories in a variety of national publications, including Woman's Day, Modern Bride, Virtue, Modern Maturity, Chicago Parent, and The New York Times Syndicate. Her 12 books include Where Angels Walk, True Stories of Heavenly Visitors, which was on the New York Times best-seller list for over a year, has sold almost two million copies and has been translated into fourteen languages. Joan has appeared on national television programs including "Good Morning America," "Oprah," "Mother Angelica Live," "NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw" and "Sally Jessy Raphael," and has taken part in such documentaries as "Angels--Beyond the Light" (NBC), "Angel Stories" and "Stories of Miracles" (The Learning Channel). She has been a story consultant and occasional guest expert for the PaxNet TV show, It's a Miracle. She has lectured in cities across the country, and has been interviewed on hundreds of national, local and international radio shows. Joan is a graduate of Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and a former adjunct professor at Harper Community College in Palatine, Illinois. She and her husband live in suburban Chicago, and are the parents of five grown children, and grandparents of one.Joan's newest project is the authorized biography of Loretta Young which is due out this October.  Check it out at the following site:

Loretta Young Biography
http://www.apostles.com/foreveryoung.html

or order it from Amazon.com at:

 

Forever Young, The Loretta Young Biography
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0883474670/qid=970538404/sr=1-1/102-1577653-2672164

 

I also encourage you to check out Joan's home page!

Joan Wester Anderson
http://www.mcs.net/~angelwak/home.html
___________________________________________________

 

Thought For The Day:

"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."
(Walter Bagehot)

 

Verse for the Day:

"For with God nothing is ever impossible."
Luke 1:37 AMP

 

Kid's Thought For The Day:

"Don't pop someone else's bubble."

 

Parent's Thought For The Day

"I have found the best to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it."
(Harry S. Truman)

 

Coach's Thought For The Day

"One of the hardest parts of practice is the criticism a player takes from his coaches.  Some players think a coach has it in for them when a flaw in style is pointed out...I know that when things start going wrong, for one, I get the coach to keep his eye on me to see what I am suddenly doing wrong.  I can't see it or I wouldn't be doing it in the first place."
(Willie Mays)

 

Deep Thought For The Day:

"Sometimes I wonder why there are so many computers in the world today,
but then I remember that there are also a lot of camels too, so everything
just sort of works out."

 

  _
/_/\/\    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 

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  (RKaGe@aol.com)    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!
 Video Imagery
http://members.aol.com/Videoimg/index.html

Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you?
 The Four Spiritual Laws
http://www.ccci.org/laws/index.html

Writer's guidelines for Straight From the Heart can be found here:

Writer's Guidelines
http://storiesfrommyheart.com/writer_s_guidelines/

The copyrights to the stories that appear here are owned by the authors and are used with their permission.  This email 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. 
Thanks!

UNSUBSCRIBE:
If you are receiving this e-mail and would like to be taken off the
list please send a blank email with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line.
You will be taken off as soon as possible.