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Check out our Creation News Section!
Weekly articles, daily Q & A, and a Creation Comic!

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If you enjoy this email service, I encourage you to spread the word to family and friends that we may bring inspiration to the lives of many! If you are not on the list and this has been passed along to you, join the thousands of world-wide readers by visiting: http://www.HeartTouchers.com

Be sure to check out our inspirational list just for teenagers!

http://www.Heart4Teens.com/Heart4Teens

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Looking for a great gift?

Michael's book Heart Touchers "Life-Changing Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter," is available BarnesandNoble.com or at Amazon.com at this link: HeartTouchers Book on Amazon

 

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I wnted to share a very special May Day story with all of you. Do any of you still have a May Day tradition or is it just like any other day in the spring?

From my family to yours,
Author Michael T. Powers

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Growing Up Blessed


By Kristi Powers

The red dawn peeks through the dense morning fog as Irene makes her way slowly down the stairs. She has been a farmer girl from the day she was born and has lived on this farm all 85 years of her life. As she shuffles over to the coffee pot, her thoughts turn to one particular day thirty-seven years ago. Her eyes twinkle at the memory still so fresh in her mind. Could it be that Kim was only three years old the day her and her family moved in to the small house on the farm next door to them? She remembers how polite the shy, blonde beauty was from the moment she met her and in her most respectful tone called out, "Hi Mrs. Sommers." However, all the adults were soon laughing as Kim turned to Eddie, Irene's husband, and called him "Mrs. Sommers" also. Even though she was promptly set straight that a man was a Mr. and a woman a Mrs., her three-year-old mind could not quite grasp that fact and she often mixed up their titles.

That is how Eddie and Irene received their nicknames from the Conway Family who moved in next to them. From that moment on they were always affectionately referred to as "Mr." and "Mrs." by the four neighbor children.

"Mrs." remembers her initial apprehension to having a young family move in next door to their very busy farm. She can't suppress the smile that spreads across her face as she reminisces...it worked out pretty well after all. All but one of her own kids moved far away upon graduation from high school. That is why the Conway kids became more than neighbors... more than friends... they were like grandchildren to "Mr." and "Mrs."

She pours the hot black coffee in her cup and smiles some more...

She can still hear the giggles that always followed the loud knocking on her door every 1st of May. As she opened the door she could see the shadows of the children hiding behind the bushes waiting in grand anticipation for her to bend down and pick up the May Day baskets that were proudly sitting on her front porch. They were always made out of paper and most years were bursting with dandelions. She would always make a big show of how much she loved the hastily made baskets and would "ooooooh" and "aaahhhhhh" over the loving creations. She didn't even mind that some years the paper baskets were chock full of flowers from her own magnificently tended flower garden!

Irene's thoughts are interrupted as the door slowly opens and Gary, her youngest son steps in to check on her. Gary has taken over the operation of the farm since her beloved Eddie died nine years ago. She hands him his customary morning cup of coffee and they laugh as they reminisce about the Conway kids growing up next door to them. They remembered the many crayon-scrawled, hand-delivered invitations that were placed in their hands inviting them to attend the plays put on in the Conway basement. They never missed a production and would patiently and lovingly, applauded every song, play and dance routine.

As the last drop of coffee is slowly sipped from Gary's mug, their thoughts turn somber. They know that today, of all days, is a hard one for the now grown neighbor kids.

Gary excuses himself to check on the crops on this muggy day in July. As he makes his way down the path leading to his fields, he looks at the neighboring house and can just make out the large moving truck through the light fog that is still lingering in the air. The truck is almost packed and ready for the long drive. The silhouettes formed by the fog make the memories appear in his mind even stronger as they play out like slow moving pictures. He passes Kim's Tree.... the tree where the oldest Conway child was most often found. The tree was Kim's refuge, whether she was just out exploring or getting away from the duties that are always attributed to the oldest child of any family.

In his minds eye he can see April, the creative, sensitive second child, singing or playing an instrument.

He smiles as he remembers little Rickie, who's face was always pressed up against the kitchen window as Gary would pass by in his tractor. Rickie loved everything about the farm and would spend countless hours asking questions and learning from "Mr." and Gary about what it took to be a farmer. He learned that farming was, at times, a hard life, but that nothing could compare to the simple satisfaction of working in the fields and growing something that you yourself have planted. It is in these fields that Rick, as an adult, would learn the value of farming in a small rural community. A place where a farmer is still taken at his word and will drop everything, even during harvest time, to help out a fellow farmer in need. Help, which is never officially "asked for" but is always freely given.

As Gary makes his way down the path he comes to the stretch affectionately called "The Lane" by Kristi, the youngest of the Conway kids. Being the youngest and not having as many responsibilities as the older children, "The Lane" is where Kristi spent most of her time. Gary would often see her walking barefoot down this stretch with a line of cats trailing her. Gary nicknamed her the "Cat Girl", a name which stuck with her all through childhood.

If she was not in the lane, she was with Rickie, sitting on the steps in the barn fascinatingly watching the new birth coming alive before her eyes...

As Gary gets to the end of the lane, the sun is slowly burning the last of the fog away and he can clearly see the Conway house now. It has been four and half years since the Conway kids' father has passed away and their mom has sold the house, leaving and following her new love to Florida. With the selling of the house comes the end of an era, but not the end of the memories. The memories are one of the few things that can not be taken away, nor can the love that was sown into four kids' lives.

As the Conway kids think back on their childhood years they realize how incredibly fortunate they were to grow up in this setting. A place where not only their parents loved them but that next door there lived Mr. and Mrs. and Gary, who, together with their parents, gave them more happy memories than most people get in a lifetime.

They will always know that they grew up blessed.

Kristi Powers
NoodlesP29@aol.com

Copyright © 2010 by Kristi Powers

Write Kristi and let her know your thoughts on her story!

Writers note: While the memories I have of growing up on the farm with my siblings are true in this story, I do not know the thoughts of Mrs. or Gary on the last day of having our family own the house next door. I remember this day so vividly, as it was very foggy that morning, which just added to my mind's thoughts of the last morning on the beloved place of my childhood. I still walk the lane, at times. Whenever there is something really pressing on my heart, or a burden that I can not seem to bear, I walk up that lane and sit at the feet of Christ, and I watch the sun set in the stillness and quietness of the one place, besides heaven, I still consider home. I hope you enjoyed this story! From my heart to yours!

About the Author:

Kristi is happily married to Michael and they have three boys. Her writing appears in ten inspirational books, including many in the Chicken Soup series, and their own book entitled: Heart Touchers. Kristi works part time caring for the elderly and is also a homeschool mom.  She and her husband have beein involved in youth ministry for 34 years.

To read more of Kristi's writing visit: http://www.hearttouchers.com/

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Creation Q & A

Q: Does the big bang fit with the Bible?

A: The "big bang" is a story about how the universe came into existence. It proposes that billions of years ago the universe began in a tiny, infinitely hot and dense point called a singularity. This singularity supposedly contained not only all the mass and energy that would become everything we see today, but also "space" itself. According to the story, the singularity rapidly expanded, spreading out the energy and space.

It is supposed that over vast periods of time, the energy from the big bang cooled down as the universe expanded. Some of it turned into matter?hydrogen and helium gas. These gases collapsed to form stars and galaxies of stars. Some of the stars created the heavier elements in their core and then exploded, distributing these elements into space. Some of the heavier elements allegedly began to stick together and formed the earth and other planets.

This story of origins is entirely fiction. But sadly, many people claim to believe the big-bang model. It is particularly distressing that many professing Christians have been taken in by the big bang, perhaps without realizing its atheistic underpinnings. They have chosen to reinterpret the plain teachings of Scripture in an attempt to make it mesh with secular beliefs about origins.

Continue reading to examine some of the profound differences between the Bible and the secular big-bang view of origins by visiting here: http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab2/does-big-bang-fit-with-bible

Source: AnswersinGenesis.org

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Creation News

Click on the Bible above or visit the web site listed below!

http://www.HeartTouchers.com/Creation_News

This new addition to our web site will give you an article on the leading news in the
Creation/Evolution controversy each day. This section also includes a rotating
Question and Answer feature and a weekly Creation Comic strip from the people
at AnswersInGenesis.org. Be sure to come back and visit each day for an informative
article that will help you keep up to date on the latest news in this controversial area!
 

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Thought For The Day

"Only when we have knelt before God, can we stand before men."


Verse for the Day

"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time." 1 Peter 5:6


Kid's Thought For The Day


"Maybe the best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had."


Parent's Thought For The Day

"I always wondered why babies spend so much time sucking their thumbs.Then I tasted baby food." --Robert Orben


Coach's Thought For The Day

"Perform the best you can for when you find that you perform your best, there is still so much more in volleyball to do better, harder, faster, and smarter. It is just like when you go for a long journey. You go as far as you can see, and when you get there, you can see farther." --John Kessel


Creation/Evolution Thought For The Day

"Considering the way the prebiotic soup is referred to in so many discussions of the origin of life as an already established reality, it comes as something of a shock to realize that there is absolutely no positive evidence for its existence."-- Michael Denton,Molecular Biologist. Evolution: A Theory in Crisis. Adler and Adler.


Writer's Quote For The Day

"When I couldn't find the poems to express the things I was feeling, I started writing poetry." --Audre Lorde


Deep Thought For The Day

"Some people have a way with words, others not have way. "

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Inspired Audio -- Inspirational Audio Message of the Week!

Inspired Audio is a brand new offshoot of HeartTouchers.com. Every week we will offer a different audio message that you can listen to right on your computer as you are surfing the net or just getting things done around the house. Be sure to come back and visit each week!

This Week: "How to Train Your Parents" by Michael T. Powers (A youth related message)
http://faithcommunity.sermon.net/Soul_Fuel/soulfuel/20682972

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Over 600,000 people have listened to popular Chicken Soup Author Michael T. Powers' free inspirational message entitled: "Breathing Life into Others". If you aren't one of them just visit: http://www.HeartTouchers.com and click on the link to listen to the free streaming audio message.



http://srv.ezinedirector.net/?n=5714181&s=98471192


Video Imagery --Michael's Video Production Business

http:www.VideoImagery.net

Dear Michael,

"I just wanted to take a minute to thank you for the beautiful video you made for me! It was so special to see both of my parents in tears as they watched their children grow up in pictures before their eyes! I loved the way you made Estania's part set aside from the rest--that was the part that really got them! The music was beautiful. My mom kept blubbering, "What song is that?" I don't know how you did such a beautiful job with the video in such a short time. I really appreciate your doing it so quickly. You have a wonderful gift, and I thank God that you are using it to create such sentimental memories. I hope that I can find my niche like that in an area that I love. Your video gave us one of our most lasting Christmas memories! I hope yours was filled with moments to be treasured forever!"

Love,
Trisha
Silverhill, AL

Let me make you a video from your photos! Check out my video production business by visiting:

http://www.VideoImagery.net

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Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you?

http://www.HeartTouchers.com/Life_Purpose

Transfer your photographs or old home videos over to DVD or MP4 files! Give the gift that will touch your family's heart and soul.

You can join the 15,000 followers on his Facebook Nature Photography by clicking on the link above!

Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time!
Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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