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{Heart4Teens.com} *Saving the Flag* ______________________________________ 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 Heart4Teen.com readers around the world by sending a blank e-mail to: Heart4Teens-subscribe@myinjesus.com or visit: http://www.heart4teens.com/ Visit our inspirational web site and 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 ____________________________________________ Be sure to check out our other inspirational email list and web site! http://www.hearttouchers.com/ To subscribe send a blank email to: HeartTouchers-subscribe@myinjesus.com __________________________________________ One of Heart4Teens.com's favorite writers, Jaye Lewis, shares an incredibly touching story with us today... This story was too good to just share on our HeartTouchers list so we are sending it out for Heart4teens also! Be sure to write to her and let her know your thoughts on her story! From my family to yours, Michael _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________ Saving The Flag by Jaye Lewis She was not the popular girl in high school. She was in advanced studies, in a school system that idolized their honors program. My daughters thought the world of her, and with good reason. Aimee was a patriot. No apologies nor excuses. She was an officer in her high school JROTC program. She was disciplined. Courageous. And she loved her country. You could always pick Aimee out in a field filled with young, military hopefuls marching in formation. She was sharp. She was proud. And, in spite of her petite form, she always looked tall. But Aimee did not have it easy. She was the butt of jokes and ridicule. Aimee worked her heart out in her classes, and she was about to graduate with a better than 5.0 average, which she had maintained for four straight years. In a school system where the grade point average of the ?honors? classes went up to 6.0, Aimee didn?t stand a chance for Valedictorian. Some unseen experts decided that Aimee would not become Valedictorian, because it would be unfair to the honors students. Although she had never made less than an ?A? in her entire high school career, some ?A-B? student in the honors program outranked Aimee. The high school Principal fought his way up through the School Board on Aimee?s behalf, to give her the honor she deserved. It was an outrage that such excellence would be ignored. It didn?t make the papers, but on graduation day, Aimee received her victory, and she became Co-Valedictorian of her high school class, although many of us thought she had earned the honor to stand alone. Aimee did not sit with the other graduates. She stood, proudly, with her JROTC unit, as the assembly turned towards them to salute the flag. Aimee did not hold the flag, because she was graduating, but she was there, as always, proud to serve. Graduation was held in the football field. It was sunny and windy, and it was wet, as it had rained torrents the night before. Suddenly, the wind kicked up, and the beautiful colors of the red, white, and blue tottered in the air, as the flag holder lost his footing, and the flag careened toward the ground. Without hesitation, breaking formation, Aimee launched herself through the air, catching the flag and landing in the mud, on her face. Many in the crowd roared their laughter, but not all of us. Some of us were in tears, as Aimee, carefully steadied her country?s flag, and came back into formation, her JROTC uniform covered in mud. But not the flag. It never touched the ground. Aimee had saved the flag. Aimee graduated with honors, and she went on to college with an ROTC Scholarship, and on into a military career. My daughters still speak of her as a hero, which she was, and in our hearts still is. Aimee's story is what legends are made of. I have no doubt that Aimee is somewhere on the front lines, today, still defending the American flag. Jaye Lewis jlewis@smyth.net Write Jaye and let her know your thoughts on her story! Jaye Lewis is a Christian writer who lives and writes in the beautiful southern highlands of southwestern Virgina. Jaye is a U.S. Navy veteran, the wife of a retired Navy veteran, and the daughter of a World War II veteran. Jaye says: "this is a true story about one of the bravest young woman I have ever known." You can write to Jaye by clicking here: mailto:jlewis@smyth.net _________________________________________ 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! And best of all, every penny from the book sales are going to youth ministry to help pay for a life-changing missions trip to Guatemala this summer! 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! Not only are you changing lives through supporting a youth ministry, but every book included on our website has the power to make a difference in the lives of those you give the books to. Check out this link to find out more! http://www.HeartTouchers.com/books _________________________________________________ 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 Lucerene Dr. in Janesville, WI. (About 4-5 blocks south-east of The Skating Place.) Currently we have students from Fort Atkinson, Milton, Janesville Craig, Janesville Parker, 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. THIS WEEK: All-Stars: We will continue with our True Love Video series with Joshua Harris! The Outlet: We continue with our Prayer of Jabez for Teens series! _______________________________________________ Change Is Here! All-Stars will be extending its time to 6:00 - 8:30 PM on Sunday nights. 6:00 - 6:30 will be time for the youth to chat and discuss anything they want with the youth leaders or each other. 6:30 - 7:00 PM will be for games or fun activities and then 7:00 - 8:30 PM will be for the lesson and discussion time. Students are still welcome to "hang out" after 8:30 PM if they want, as the leaders are usually at the church until at least 10:00 PM, and some nights even later. (For the past couple of months the students have continually complained that we are running out of time before we get to really discuss the topics in full and asked if we could have longer teaching times... I know, most of you are probably now getting back up off the floor from the shock. We have been most encouraged that the teens have been wanting to stay longer to be able to discuss the lessons more fully.) The Outlet: "Get plugged into Jesus Christ!" (Teen Cell Groups) Wednesday night community groups for teens. The groups are limited to no more than ten teens and will be originally 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. "The Extreme Teens" (formerly the Core Group) meets from 5:00 - 6:00 PM at the church. 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. (If your teen will also be attending All-Stars that night, they are encouraged to bring a sack lunch or snack to tide them over until 8:30.) We are very excited at what God will be doing with our youth! ______________________________________ UPCOMING EVENTS Embers of Hope Don't Miss this Powerful Drama Coming to Faith Community Church 2931 Lucerne Dr. Janesville, Wisconsin Saturday April 5th -- 6:30 PM Sunday April 6th -- 6:30 PM -- Full length drama set in Munich and Amsterdam during the Second World War. Brought to life by a cast and crew of twenty six actors, musicians, and technicians. -- A German Captain, a refugee who lives only for revenge, and two Jewish children complicate the lives of the Boomstras and the musical group which meets in their home. -- A story of moral courage and our hope in Christ! Suspenseful and heart-warming. Generation Now Youth Service! Sunday April 6 at Faith Community Church ********** Also Coming to Faith Community Church: Saturday, May 3 at 8:00 p.m. New Rocketown Recording Artist "Alathea" Tickets: $3 Advance $5 Door Tickets Available at Lighthouse Books & Gifts, Janesville WI, Bible Book Center, Beloit WI and Lemstone Books, Cherryvale Mall, Rockford IL "Alathea exhibits strong talent" if you're ready for something fresh and invigorating instead of today's all-too-usual pop fare, then Alathea is definitely a group to check out. Gospelsite.net "Indian Creek. It's got a cool Americana vibe with its acoustic instruments and her plaintive delivery. This trio sounds like a star-in-the-making to me." "Music Row magazine (Robert K. Oermann review) "The sound could probably best be described as folk pop, very earthy with touches of country and bluegrass. While there is a very folksy country sound to the instrumentation of this album, it is tempered with a healthy dose of pop songwriting. The results are delightful." ChristianityToday.com _________________________________________ Author MICHAEL T. POWERS http://www.heart4teens.com/ "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 ___________________________________________ Would you like to see your story in Heart4Teens.com? Writer's guidelines can be found on our Web site here: http://www.Heart4Teens.com/guidelines/ ___________________________________________ "I need a daily source of inspiration and encouragement in my life!" SUBSCRIBE: To become a Heart4Teens.com Member send a blank e-mail to: Heart4Teens-subscribe@myinjesus.com Then get ready to laugh, cry, and be deeply touched by some of the best stories on the Internet! __________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: Send a blank e-mail to: Heart4Teens-unsubscribe@myinjesus.com __________________________________________ Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you? http://www.greatcom.org/english/four.htm __________________________________________ |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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