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{Heart4Teens.com} *The Arrival* ______________________________________ 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 visiting: http://www.Heart4Teens.com 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 ____________________________________________ Be sure to check out our other inspirational email list and web site! http://www.HeartTouchers.com _________________________________________ Good morning Heart4Teens subscribers! We are going to start a series of stories from now until Christmas that will touch your heart in a powerful way! Max Lucado, one of my favorite authors, is going to share with us about the events surrounding Christ's birth. But before you dismiss this as the "same old Christmas story" I think you will be amazed at how Max delves into what it was really like for Mary and Joseph during this historic time! I guarantee you will not be able to go through these next four stories without being touched in a life-changing way! As Christmas draws closer remember the "Reason for the Season!" From my family to yours, Michael P.S. For those of you teenagers who live in the Wisconsin/Illinois area... Superchic(k), one of the most popular Christian groups in the nation will be doing a concert at our church (Faith Community Church -- Janesville, Wisconsin) on January 9th. Details are in the upcoming events section below! _________________________________________ The Arrival By Max Lucado The noise and the bustle began earlier than usual in the village. As night gave way to dawn, people were already on the streets. Vendors were positioning themselves on the corners of the most heavily traveled avenues. Store owners were unlocking the doors to their shops. Children were awakened by the excited barking of the street dogs and the complaints of donkeys pulling carts. The owner of the inn had awakened earlier than most in the town. After all, the inn was full, all the beds taken. Every available mat or blanket had been put to use. Soon all the customers would be stirring and there would be a lot of work to do. One's imagination is kindled thinking about the conversation of the innkeeper and his family at the breakfast table. Did anyone mention the arrival of the young couple the night before? Did anyone comment on the pregnancy of the girl on the donkey? Perhaps. Perhaps someone raised the subject. But, at best, it was raised, not discussed. There was nothing that novel about them. They were, possibly, one of several families turned away that night. Besides, who had time to talk about them when there was so much excitement in the air? Augustus did the economy of Bethlehem a favor when he decreed that a census should be taken. Who could remember when such commerce had hit the village? No, it is doubtful that anyone mentioned the couple's arrival or wondered about the condition of the girl. They were too busy. The day was upon them. The day's bread had to be made. The morning's chores had to be done. There was too much to do to imagine that the impossible had occurred. God had entered the world as a baby. Yet, were someone to chance upon the sheep stable on the outskirts of Bethlehem that morning, what a peculiar scene they would behold. The stable stinks like all stables do. The stench of urine, dung, and sheep reeks pungently in the air. The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling and a mouse scurries across the dirt floor. A more lowly place of birth could not exist. Off to one side sit a group of shepherds. They sit silently on the floor, perhaps perplexed, perhaps in awe, no doubt in amazement. Their night watch had been interrupted by an explosion of light from heaven and a symphony of angels. God goes to those who have time to hear him -- so on this cloudless night he went to simple shepherds. Near the young mother sits the weary father. If anyone is dozing, he is. He can't remember the last time he sat down. And now that the excitement has subsided a bit, now that Mary and the baby are comfortable, he leans against the wall of the stable and feels his eyes grow heavy. He still hasn't figured it all out. The mystery of the event still puzzles him. But he hasn't the energy to wrestle with the questions. What's important is that the baby is fine and that Mary is safe. As sleep comes, he remembers the name the angel told him to use ... Jesus. "We will call him Jesus." Wide awake is Mary. My, how young she looks! Her head rests on the soft leather of Joseph's saddle. The pain has been eclipsed by wonder. She looks into the face of the baby. Her son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point in history, the human being who best understands who God is and what he is doing is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. She can't take her eyes off him. Somehow Mary knows she is holding God. So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel, "His kingdom will never end." He looks anything but a king. His face is prunish and red. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. And he is absolutely dependent upon Mary for his well-being. Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager and in the presence of a carpenter. She touches the face of the infant-God. How long was your journey! This baby had overlooked the universe. These rags keeping him warm were the robes of eternity. His golden throne room had been abandoned in favor of a dirty sheep pen. And worshiping angels had been replaced with kind but bewildered shepherds. Meanwhile, the city hums. The merchants are unaware that God has visited their planet. The innkeeper would never believe that he had just sent God into the cold. And the people would scoff at anyone who told them the Messiah lay in the arms of a teenager on the outskirts of their village. They were all too busy to consider the possibility. Those who missed His Majesty's arrival that night missed it not because of evil acts or malice; no, they missed it because they simply weren't looking. Little has changed in the last two thousand years, has it? Max Lucado ministry@maxlucado.com Send Max an e-mail and let him know what you thought of his story! "The Arrival" is from Max's book: God Came Near © 1987 by Max Lucado ISBN O8499-5255-7 (Used by Permission) _________________________________ 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. In 1994, he became the only author to have 11 of his twelve books in print simultaneously appear on paperback, hardcover and children's CBA bestseller lists. Lucado set a new industry record by concurrently placing seven different Word titles on the CBA Hardcover Bestseller List in both March and April 1997. A Max Lucado title has appeared on the CBA hardcover bestseller list every month for the past seven years. His newest book, A Love Worth Giving, was released in September 2002 and You Are Special recently won a Gold Medallion award in the Inspirational category. Max serves as the pulpit minister of the Oak Hills Church 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. You can visit his web site at: http://www.maxlucado.com _________________________________________ Let's Go Surfing Dude! What's the Big Deal About Premarital Sex? Click on the link below to find answers to many of your questions about love and sex! http://www.heart4teens.com/love_and_sex _________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "The man who pays an ounce of principle for a pound of popularity gets badly cheated." Verse for the Day: "For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." --John 12:43 Teen's Thought For The Day: "Picking your nose when no one is looking is still picking your nose." Parent's Thought For The Day "Love at first sight is easy to understand; it's when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle." Sam Levenson Coach's Thought For The Day "Sports is life with the volume up. The friendships in sports are fused more tightly than in most places. The laughter is louder, the jokes funnier, the pain sharper, the nights later, the lows lower. Athletics teach us that life, although unpredictable, is something we can deal with. A team nods when it wins and shrugs when it loses and wakes up to a new and different game each day." --Mark Whicker, sports columnist Deep Thought For The Day: "I had the worst study habits in the history of high school, until I found out what I was doing wrong -- highlighting with black magic marker." __________________________________________ 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 _________________________________________ 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 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. THIS WEEK: All-Stars: 12/14 -- You've Got God-Mail? _______________________________________________ UPCOMING EVENTS: December 17th -- Christmas Caroling and Hot Cocoa! (Does it get any better than that!?) Friday January 9 at 7:30 PM -- CONCERT Superchic[k] and Special Guest: The Vintage Burning Tickets: $12 Advance $15 Door On Sale at Lighthouse Books & Gifts, Woodman's Plaza, Janesville, WI (608-754-2665), Bible Book Center, Rockford, IL and Lemstone Christian Books, Rockford, IL (815-332-5505). ************ Sunday, January 18, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. CONCERT -- Seven Places and Special Guest: Angel Fury Tickets: $7.00 Advance $12.00 Door On Sale at Lighthouse Books & Gifts, Woodman's Plaza, Janesville, WI (608-754-2665), Bible Book Center, Rockford, IL and Lemstone Christian Books, Rockford, IL (815-332-5505). ___________________________________________ Upcoming Topics: 12/21 -- I Don't Want to Be the Mother of Mankind 12/28 -- All-Star Christmas Party ______________________ 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! _______________________________________________ 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 |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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