|
____________________________
*Same Agenda* 4/3/02 ____________________________ If you enjoy this free daily email service, I encourage you to spread the word to family and friends that we may bring inspiration into the lives of many! If you are not on the list and this has been passed along to you, join the thousands of HeartTouchers.com readers around the world by sending an e-mail with the word "Subscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@aol.com Visit our inspirational web site and read all the past stories in our archives at: http://www.HeartTouchers.com ____________________________________________ Can't get enough inspirational stories in your life? Would you like to send a unique gift to your friends and family? Then order a personalized autographed copy of the inspirational book: Straight From the Heart "A Celebration of Life" by Michael T. Powers for only $13.95. And best of all, we'll pay the shipping! Michael is an award winning writer whose stories have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines around the world and in the following books: Chicken Soup for the Sports Fan's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul, Stories For the Extreme Teen's Heart, Stories For the Extreme Teen's Heart 2, Stories for the Teen's Heart 2, Heartwarmers, God Allows U-Turns Volumes 1, 3, and 4, Creating Emotionally Safe Schools, and in the upcoming books: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff Story Collection and The Miracle of Boys. He has signed several contracts for future Chicken Soup and other inspirational books. Still not convinced? You can preview his book by visiting: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/michael_powers AOL Users click here! To order your autographed copy have a check or money order for $13.95 for each book made out to Michael T. Powers, and then send it to: Michael T. Powers 1918 Liberty Lane Janesville, WI 53545 (Please allow about 2 weeks for delivery.) _________________________________________ Same Agenda By Patricia Pinney We were sitting in the crowded auditorium waiting for the program to view the performance of our seven-year old grandson, Tanner, in his school's annual Christmas pageant. It was difficult to say who was more excited -- the children or the audience. I looked around and spotted my son and his wife, with their four-month old baby boy, and Tanner's maternal grandparents seated several rows behind us. We acknowledged each other with a smile and a wave. Then I saw them - Tanner's "biological" paternal grandparents. My son and Tanner's mother had dated briefly as sixteen-year-olds, split up, then became reacquainted shortly after their high school graduation when Tanner was just six months old. Even though my daughter-in-law had never married Tanner's father, his parents had fought for grandparents' rights and won. Tanner may call my son "Daddy", but Tanner is bound by court order to go every other weekend for visitation with the parents of his "biological" father. We had taken Tanner into our hearts as our own, and we weren't very willing to share him. This had always been a particular sore spot for me. We did not know them well, and I feared the worst when he went with them on their weekend. In retrospect, we should have viewed it as commendable that they were interested enough in Tanner to pay a lawyer and go through the complicated legal system. So there we were, separated by a few rows of folding chairs. There were only a few instances where we had been thrown together, and each of these meeting had been uncomfortable. I saw the woman look at us, nudge her husband, and whisper in his ear. He immediately looked back at us as well. My ears were burning as if on fire. I attempted to remember why we were here -- our common bond, a child that meant so much to us. Shortly thereafter the program started, and for the next hour we were enthralled. Before we knew it, the lights were on, and we were gathering our things to leave. We followed the crowd into the hall and searched for our grandson. We soon found him, and suddenly three sets of grandparents were thrown together, each waiting for our turn in congratulating Tanner on a fine performance. We eyed each other and spoke a brief "hello". Finally, it was our turn to hug Tanner and discuss his job well done. His eyes were shining brightly, and he was obviously proud to be the object of so much adoration. I leaned down to hear what he was saying. "Grandma, I'm so lucky!" Tanner exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Because you did such a fine job?" I innocently asked. "No, because all my favorite people are here! My Mom, Dad, little brother, and all my grandmas and grandpas are here together, just to see me!" I looked up, stunned at his remark. My eyes met those of the "other" grandma, and I could see she was feeling the same shame as I was. I was horrified at my thoughts and feeling over all these years. What had given only me the right to love this little boy? They obviously loved him as much as we did, and he obviously loved each of us. They had no doubt had their own fears about us. How could we have been so blind? As I looked around, I could see we were all ashamed of our previous feelings on this subject. We visited briefly and said our good-byes and went our separate ways. I've thought a lot about our encounter that night, and I admit that I feel that a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I don't fear Tanner's weekend visits like I used to. I discovered that we all had the same agenda -- to love a little boy who truly belongs to all of us. Patricia Pinney ppinney@neb.rr.com Write Patricia and let her know your thoughts on her story! ________________________________________________ Patricia Pinney is a 43 year nurse who is the proud grandmother of 4 beautiful grandsons, with another brother or sister for Tanner due in April. She continues to learn important life lessons from all her grandchildren. She hopes to continue to write in her "spare" time. This story appears in the new book Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul and is her first to be published. You can purchase Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul at any local bookstore or by ordering it online at: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/books _________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "A poor man is not the one without a cent. A poor man is the one without a dream." --Henry Ford Verse for the Day: "The intelligent man is always open to new ideas. In fact, he looks for them."-- Proverbs 18:15 TLB Kid's Thought For The Day: "Children's tea parties are more fun then grown-ups' tea parties." Parent's Thought For The Day "Labor Day is a glorious holiday because your child will be going back to school the next day. It would have been called Independence Day, but that name was already taken." --Bill Dodds Coach's Thought For The Day "Give them the benefit of your convictions but keep your doubts to yourself for they already have enough of their own." --John Kessel Writer's Thought For The Day: "Never lend books -- nobody ever returns them; the only books I have in my library are those which people have lent me." --Anatole France Deep Thought For The Day: "I gaze at the brilliant full moon. The same one, I think to myself, at which Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato gazed. Suddenly, I imagine they appear beside me. I tell Socrates about the national debate over one's right to die and wonder at the constancy of the human condition. I tell Plato that I live in the country that has come the closest to Utopia, and I show him a copy of the Constitution. I tell Aristotle that we have found many more than four basic elements and I show him a periodic table. I get a box of kitchen matches and strike one. They gasp with wonder. We spend the rest of the night burping." ___________________________________________ _ /_/\/\ MICHAEL T. POWERS \_\ / HeartTouchers@aol.com /_/ \ "For 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 for the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20 ___________________________________________ The copyrights to the stories that appear in HeartTouchers.com are owned by the authors and are used with their permission. We refuse to run stories without the author's permission and contact info listed after the story. We also refuse to publish stories listed as "author unknown." (All of which violates Copyright Law and the rights of the authors.) This e-mail may be forwarded in its entirety, but please do not cut and paste the stories to be used elsewhere unless you have contacted and been given permission by the individual writer. Thank you so much for honoring the rights of those writers who graciously share their stories with us! __________________________________________ Video Imagery --Michael's Video Production Business "I thought of you first after my family sat down to watch the video we gave them. They loved it, to say the least! Within thirty seconds my mom was crying and my dad did too. They said it was the best Christmas gift we could have given them!! You did such a beautiful job! They were so surprised and so touched--they really, really, really loved it. Thanks for helping to make it so special to us all. My mom mentioned how the songs were perfect for the video too! Thanks again!" Kelli-- College Station, TX Let me make you a video from your photos! Check out my video production business by visiting: http://www.hearttouchers.com/video_imagery/ AOL Users click here: Video Imagery ___________________________________________ Would you like to see your story in HeartTouchers.com? Writer's guidelines can be found on our Web site here: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/guidelines/ AOL Users click here: Writer's Guidelines ___________________________________________ SUBSCRIBE: "I need a daily source of inspiration and encouragement in my life!" To become a HeartTouchers.com Member send an e-mail with "Subscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@AOL.COM Then get ready to laugh, cry, and be deeply touched by some of the best stories on the Internet! __________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: All you have to do is send an e-mail with the word "Unsubscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@aol.com Give it a day or two to be processed... __________________________________________ Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you? http://www.greatcom.org/english/four.htm AOL Users click here: The Four Spiritual Laws __________________________________________ |
 |
|
Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
|