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*On Top of the Ferris Wheel* 5/3/02 ______________________________________ 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 ____________________________________________ Are you looking for the perfect gift to give for Mother's Day, Father's Day, or Graduation? Then check out Michael's Video Production business: Video Imagery! You can transfer your photos over to videotape, or even DVD, all set to music that will make your images come alive! The cost is only $1 per photo, which means no matter what your budget is, you can give the most meaningful gift you have ever given because you determine how many photos you transfer, and therefore, how much you spend! Want to make Mom, Dad, or your favorite graduating senior cry happy tears? Then check out all Michael has to offer at the following web site: http://www.hearttouchers.com/video_imagery/ AOL Users click here: Video Imagery "My whole family wants to thank you for the wonderful job you did on the video. Time went by so fast we never got a chance to call and let you know how happy we were. We had wrapped one and put the other in the VCR. We started it and they were so surprised. My dad was speechless, which is a rare thing, and it brought tears to my mom's eyes. They loved it!! We know it was really time consuming, and we wanted to thank you and your wife also. She was always so nice whenever we called with any questions. Thanks again and have a wonderful holiday season." The Creighton Family..........Janesville, WI _________________________________________ It is always a pleasure to introduce a new writer to HeartTouchers.com. Be sure to write to April Burk and give her a warm HeartTouchers welcome! As a father who sometimes struggles with getting caught up in all the things I am involved in, it is good to be reminded that the Ferris Wheel of life keeps on spinning and it is up to us as parents to try and not only make it stop when we can, but to enjoy every precious second of the ride... Thank you for the wonderful reminder, April. From my family to yours, Michael _________________________________________ ON TOP OF THE FERRIS WHEEL by April Burk, © 2002 AprilBurk@aol.com I was one of those kids who loved it when the Ferris Wheel stopped while I was on top. I never rocked the seat or spat over the edge like some of the boys. While my sister clung to the safety bar and prayed with newfound religious fervor to be delivered to the grounded safety of earth, I savored the moment. Soon enough we'd come back around to the gritty realities of life: elephant dung and stale popcorn, harsh voices of shifty-eyed barkers, ride attendants hunching their shoulders grimly against the chill. I preferred sitting on top of the world in the clean autumn air, teeth chatting through my grin at the winking lights below. I feel I'm on top of a Ferris Wheel now in my life, enchanted by my new daughter. Three months old, Kayla is full of personality, quite capable of making her pleasures known. She likes standing on my stomach, her stout legs wobbling under her own butterball body. Her mouth forms into Cheerio shapes to coo and blow drool bubbles. I prop a full-length mirror sideways on the floor with a baby blanket next to it. Kayla studies her reflection then pumps her legs and waves her arms with excitement. Suddenly she stops, takes another peek at herself, then she's off again, kicking and waving until she works herself into a loud case of the hiccups. She loves to sit on my arm with her back against my chest, both of us dancing with her daddy to country music on the kitchen radio. She grunts and squeals with laughter at Sam, who rocks his head and swings his arms to the beat. This is my family. There are mellow times. Outdoors, Kayla scans the world. She rears her head back to take in the sky. In the car seat, Kayla gazes dreamily out the window at the blurred treetops, then smiles broadly when we make eye contact as though we are sharing a special, secret time together. Her face is decidedly impish. When she's happy, her mouth opens wide in a toothless grin and her dimpled cheeks push up her pointy ears. Her eyes tighten into a squint, but the sparkle shines through. Even in the mornings, she takes the time to grant us a smile before fussing for breakfast. Sitting in her bouncy chair, she furrows her faint brows in concentration and bats clumsily at the plastic yellow butterfly dangling from the activity bar. But she has mastered enough control of her hands to manage most of a fist into her mouth to suck. At times like these, I can feel the creak of the Ferris Wheel moving us all forward. She learns so quickly. I am excited about her getting older so I can take her to the library, on bicycle rides, for walks in the woods. And yet, it nearly breaks my heart to see her outgrowing her bassinet. It won't be long before I'll have a little girl to play with. But I'll be losing my baby. I take pictures and write stories, trying to protect these precious moments and hold them safe from the passing of time. Somebody stop the wheel for a while. This is where I want to be. April Burk AprilBurk@aol.com April Burk's stories are included in A 5th Portion of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Mother Voices, Pandemonium Or Life With Kids (re-released as I Killed June Cleaver), and are scheduled for publication in Chocolate for A Teen's Spirit (July 2002), a Chocolate for Teens sequel (June 2003), and a Don't Sweat the Small Stuff collection. As an editor, she is collecting heartwarming stories for an anthology that celebrates movies (working title: For the Love of Movies). For complete guidelines, e-mail AprilBurk@aol.com with "Movie Anthology Guidelines" in the subject line. 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 it is expressly prohibited to cut and paste the stories from here 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! _________________________________________ 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, Chicken Soup for the Romantic Soul, 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.) ____________________________________________ Reader Feedback! Dear Michael, I just wanted to let you know that I've been subscribed to Heart Touchers for quite a while now. I thank you for all the love behind it and all the work on your part it represents. I know that I am drawing closer to the Lord again, thanks to Him first of all, but also, besides my own desire to do so, the different ways He speaks to me and reaches out to me, your newsletter being one of them. I thank you. Kim -- Paris, France Kimluret@aol.com _________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "Pennies do not come from heaven - they have to be earned here on earth." --Margaret Thatcher Verse for the Day: "From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him." Proverbs 12:14 Kid's Thought For The Day: "If it's in your way, climb over it." Parent's Thought For The Day "Family planning: The art of spacing your children the proper distance apart to keep you on the edge of financial disaster." Coach's Thought For The Day "I knew we were in for a long season when we lined up for the national anthem on opening day and one of my players said, 'Every time I hear that song I have a bad game.'" -- Jim Leyland (Major League Baseball Manager) Writer's Thought For the Day: "The author does not only when he's at his desk, he writes all day long, when he is thinking, when he is reading, when he is experiencing." --Somerset Maugham Deep Thought For The Day: "No one can ever know for sure what a deserted area looks like." ___________________________________________ _ /_/\/\ 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! ___________________________________________ 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 __________________________________________ |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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