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{Heart4Teens.com}  *A Gentle Thunder*

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If you enjoy this free email service, I encourage you to spread the word to family and friends that we may bring inspiration into the lives of teenagers everywhere! If you are not on the list and this has been passed along to you, you can join Heart4Teens.com readers around the world by visiting:

http://www.hundred-acre-woods.com/magic-list/Heart4Teens


Visit our inspirational web site to read all the past articles in our archives and view the tons of resources we have there for teens!

http://www.Heart4Teens.com/Teen_Stories

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Good morning Heart4Teens subscribers!

Thank you for praying for me as I prepared the message: "Breathing Life into Others"  this past weekend at our church.  For those of you who would like to hear me speak you can visit: http://www.HeartTouchers.com and listen to the message as a windows media streaming audio file.  It is the first link on our main page.  I would love to hear from you if you do take the time to listen! 

If you have trouble getting it to play on your computer, our church will be making the message available on cassette tape, CD, VHS, and DVD some time in the next couple of weeks.

And lastly, this is the last week for the sale on our book and our E-book!  From now until April 30, 2005 you can purchase our HeartTouchers book for just $12 (regularly $13.95) and we pay the shipping!  You can also get our E-book for just $3.25! (regularly $6.50) If you have been thinking about getting one for yourself or as a gift for Mother's or Father's Day, now is the time to get it!  Just visit:
http://www.HeartTouchers.com/books

From my family to yours,
Michael


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A Gentle Thunder

by Max Lucado


Once there was a man who dared God to speak.
"Burn the bush like you did for Moses, God. And I will follow."
"Collapse the walls like you did for Joshua, God. And I will fight."
"Still the waves like you did on Galilee, God. And I will listen."

And so the man sat by a bush, near a wall, close to the sea and waited for God to speak.

And God heard the man, so God answered.

He sent fire, not for a bush, but for a church.
He brought down a wall, not of brick, but of sin.
He stilled a storm, not of the sea, but of the soul.
And God waited for the man to respond.

And he waited...

And he waited...

And waited.

But because the man was looking at bushes, not hearts; bricks and not lives; seas and not souls, he decided that God had done nothing. Finally he looked to God and asked, "Have you lost your power?"

And God looked at him and said, "Have you lost your hearing?"


Max Lucado
http://www.maxlucado.com

With more than 28 million books in print, Max Lucado has touched millions with his signature storytelling writing style. Awards and accolades follow Max with each book he writes. Max is the first author to win the Gold Medallion Christian Book of the Year three times -- 1999 for Just Like Jesus, 1997 for In the Grip of Grace and 1995 for When God Whispers Your Name.

Max serves as the pulpit minister of the Oak Hills Church of Christ in San Antonio, Texas. But he says his greatest accomplishment is finding a one-in-a-million wife in Denalyn and having three unbelievable daughters: Jenna, Andrea, and Sara.

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Thought For The Day:

"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing that you will make one." --Elbert G. Hubbard


Verse for the Day:

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." --Dueteronomy 31:6


Teen's Thought For The Day:

"School seeks to get you ready for examination; life gives you the finals."


Parent's Thought For The Day

"A grandmother will put a sweater on you when she is cold, feed you when she is hungry, and put you to bed when she is tired. --Erma Bombeck


Coach's Thought For The Day

"There is something that is more scarce, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability." --Robert Half


Deep Thought For The Day:

"On a clear disk you can seek forever."


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Let's Go Surfing Dude!

~ Billy Graham's Story
Before he became the best-known evangelist of our time, Billy Graham was a skeptical teenager who thought Christianity was "hogwash." But then he encountered Christ for himself.
http://passageway.org/go.asp?initial_page=31


~ Christian Athletes in Baseball
With baseball in full swing, let's shine a spotlight on major league players who are committed followers of Christ.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/sports/features/athletes/baseball-athletes.html


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Author MICHAEL T. POWERS
www.Heart4Teens.com

Contributing Author to Chicken Soup for the Teen's Soul on Love and Friendship and 21 other inspirational books.

"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 by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20

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ALL-STAR Ministry

--The Youth Church of Faith Community Church in Janesville, WI

If you are in 6-12th grade and live in the southern Wisconsin/northern Illinois area and would like to check us out, we meet every Sunday night from 6:30-8:00 PM at Faith Community Church which is located at 2931 Lucerne Dr. in Janesville, WI. (About 3 blocks south-east of The Skating Place.)

Currently we have students from Fort Atkinson, Milton, Janesville Craig, Janesville Parker, Marshall, Orfordville, Clinton, Beloit Memorial, Beloit Turner, South Beloit, and Hononegah. E-mail me back if you have any questions about our weekly meetings or would like to come to any of our events that are listed below... We have way too much fun and then, most importantly, talk about issues that are relevant to you as a teenager.

Sunday April 24 -- Taking the Plunge!



UPCOMING EVENTS


Saturday May 14:  Annual Fireside Theater Trip! (Juniors and Seniors Only)

June 15-18:  Xtreme Teens Camping Trip!

June 26:  Senior Sunday!

July 6:  Great America Trip!

July 22-23:  30-Hour Famine (high school only)

September 16-18:  Annual Fall Retreat!

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Teen Community Groups
6:30 - 8:00 PM Wednesday nights
 
Wednesday night community groups for teens. The groups are limited to no more than ten teens and are split into Jr. High and High School ages. This night is for those teens who want to dig deeper than what we do in All-Stars, but may not be ready to be a part of the Extreme Teens. These cell groups will also be doing special activities with each other as the year goes on to build community.

Join us as we do a Bible Study called "The Discipleship Experiment!"
 
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The Extreme Teens

6:30 - 8:00 PM Wednesday nights  is on Wednesday nights from 6:30 - 8:00 PM

"Extreme Teens" meet Wednesday nights from 6:30 - 8:00 PM (September -May). This group is very extensive with weekly homework, memorization, service projects, etc. Students interested in this group will have to fill out an application, provide references as to why others think they should be involved with this, and sign an agreement as to what is expected of them.

Join us as we study Spiritual Warfare!

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Reading Books, Changing Lives!


For those of you who love to read or love to give out books as gifts...

You can now order a number of different autographed best-selling inspirational books for the same price you would get them in the store, the shipping to you is paid for, and you are helping change the lives of teenagers and those they come in contact with! 

If you love to read inspirational stories, these books are most likely those you will eventually buy anyway. And how cool would it be to be able to buy books like those in the Chicken Soup series for your friends and family with a personalized autographed message by one of the contributing authors! How's that for a unique gift! Check out this link to find out more!

http://www.HeartTouchers.com/books