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{Heart4Teens.com} *If You Can Dream It* ______________________________________ 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 _________________________________________ Author MICHAEL T. POWERS www.Heart4Teens.com Contributing Author to Chicken Soup for the Teen's Soul on Love and Friendship and 18 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 _________________________________________ If You Can Dream It... © Jaye Lewis, 2003 To look at her, one would never know. With her red-gold hair and her sea-green eyes, one might never guess. With a smile so bright, she could shame the sun, and a laugh that rolls out like the breaking dawn, and a caring spirit that warms all who know her, one might miss her struggle. She is beautiful, brilliant, and funny. Her small, perfect hands are lovely, and to see them folded in her lap, or softly touching a child's cheek, one might never comprehend her great effort, just to sign her name. Her name is Helen. The Greek name, meaning "light," is a perfect reflection of her personality and character. Her name could also be "courage," for courageous she is. We first knew that something was happening, as Helen entered puberty, and her voice began to change. A slight quaver at first, in time became a tremor. A gifted singer at four years of age, her beautiful Irish soprano began to disappear by the time she was ten. By fifteen, she was unable to "speak-up" in her classes, and her voice would often disappear as she struggled just to make herself understood, word by word. I had been a trained singer, and I remembered a similar struggle as I entered puberty, so I began to work with Helen, especially with her singing, training her to depend upon her diaphragm, rather than her vocal chords. However, the tremor in her speaking voice never completely recovered, and it would be aggravated under extreme stress. We noticed that Helen held her pen with extreme tightness, when she wrote, and we tried to encourage her to keep a light touch, so that she would not tire her hand. All this was to no avail. We took her from specialist to specialist, and there seemed no answer to her ever increasing struggle. By the time Helen was twenty, it was obvious that something was terribly wrong. She could not write, yet she kept going. She would contort her hand, just to sign her name. Her voice became faint, and she could not pronounce certain letters, but nothing could stop her sense of humor, or her courageous journey towards excellence. She excelled in every job she ever had. She taught herself to write with her other hand. She finally found a doctor who was able to give a name to her condition, "dystonia." Although there seemed no reasonable course of treatment, she absolutely refused to give up on her life! She went back to college, at twenty-five, and she was just amazing in her engineering classes, making 4.0s in subjects that I could neither pronounce nor spell. Throughout these incredible achievements, Helen was the first to laugh at herself, and to make light of her struggles, as she both worked and went to school. During all this time, Helen's faith in God, and in herself, seldom wavered. She knew that she was in the hands of a loving God, and with the love and support of her family, Helen continued to succeed in every endeavor. However, time and the course of her disease, finally made it impossible for Helen to continue without assistance. We are fortunate to live in a country where no one need be left behind, unless one chooses to give up. Assistance in funding for school, and the tools to succeed were more than available, and now Helen is part of a research program through the National Institute of Health (NIH). There is, now, hope for treatment. Helen is disabled, but she is not handicapped. Being "handicapped" is an indictment one gives to oneself. When one is DISabled, one can still be ENabled. The only thing holding a person back is oneself. Helen is proving that one can achieve under extreme difficulty. As Helen's mother, I will soon be involved in the NIH Dystonia Research Program, along with her, to see if I am a carrier of the gene which causes dystonia. Helen will soon be 29, and, of course, 30 years ago, there was no such thing as genetic testing. I'm glad it did not exist. If I knew that I carried a genetic defect, perhaps I would have made the "proper" decision to not pass on my defective genes. We didn't know in those days. We didn't have those choices. Would I have chosen not to have this child, had I been given that choice, knowing her as I do now? I think I would have chosen to give her life. For I would not have missed a moment of this precious life. I would not have missed a single breath, nor a smile, nor a laugh. For a life without Helen would be a poor life indeed. She is my precious, beautiful daughter, a bright, shooting star, who has enriched my husband's and my life, beyond our wildest dreams. It is true that Helen has a disability, hidden from view, at first glance. But don't we all have hidden disabilities? Don't we all have that "cannot achieve" disability that we nurture deep inside the dark reaches of ourselves, because of the unkind judgments we collect through life, from teachers, peers, or even, sadly, sometimes our parents? When life seems impossible to me. When dreams seem unachievable to me. I like to look at Helen, and I think, my-my, how pale my life would have been without her. How inspiring is her courage and strength. Helen is my youngest child, and as her name means "light," perhaps her story will light up your life. Helen is a shining example of what one can achieve, in the face of adversity. Helen is proof that IF YOU CAN DREAM IT, YOU CAN ACHIEVE IT. So, strive for excellence. Reach beyond your grasp. Who knows what dreams will become reality, if you only reach for them? © Jaye Lewis, 2003 jlewis@smyth.net Write Jaye and let her know your thoughts on her story! ******* Jaye Lewis is a Christian writer and poet, who lives with her family in the Appalachian Mountains of southwestern Virginia. This story will be included in Jaye's forthcoming book, entitled Entertaining Angels. Jaye can be emailed at jlewis@smyth.net _________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "A skeptic is a person who, when he sees the handwriting on the wall, claims it is forgery."--Morris Bender Verse for the Day: "The fool has said in his heart, there is no God."--Psalms 14:1 Teen's Thought For The Day: "Politeness goes far yet costs nothing." Parent's Thought For The Day "The decision to have a child is to accept that your heart will forever walk outside of your body." Coach's Thought For The Day No one ever says, "It's only a game," when their team is winning. Deep Thought For The Day: "How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? Answer: Only one, but the light bulb has to WANT to change." __________________________________________ Let's Go Surfing Dude! Dealing with Peer Pressure -- Your peers are a powerful force in molding and shaping who you are. Are they pressuring you into situations that you would really rather avoid? Then click on the link below for help! http://www.heart4teens.com/peer_pressure _________________________________________ 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! 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 6:00-8:30 PM at Faith Community Church which is located at 2931 Lucerene 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. THIS WEEK: All-Stars: 11/23 -- OK Johnny, What Do You Say? _______________________________________________ UPCOMING EVENTS: November 29th -- Salvation Army Bell ringing in front of Sears Dept. store in the Janesville Mall ****** Team I-Themba Where: Faith Community Church When: Sunday November 30th at 7 PM. (Free admission!) "Ithemba" is a Zulu word which means "Hope". They bring a message of hope and reconciliation through music, dance and drama. Appearing in many schools, colleges, and chruches across the United States the Team seeks to inspire audience members to raise money for a program in South Africa, which works with street children. Many of those children are living on the street because of the recent fall of the apartheid system in South Africa, and the HIV/ Aids epidemic, which currently affects all of southern Africa. ___________________________________________ Upcoming Topics: 11/30 -- Team Ithemba will be performing at 7 PM. 12/7 -- "Never Fails" ______________________ All-Stars has extended 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. 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. 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 is doing with our youth! _________________________________________ |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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