_________________________________________ 

{Straight From the Heart}   *The Brown Badge of Courage*  5/24/00
__________________________________________   

Welcome to "Straight From the Heart!"

If you enjoy this free daily email service, I encourage you to 
forward it on to family and friends. If this has been passed along 
to you and you want to join the list, just send a blank email to:  Thunder27@aol.com
I appreciate any feedback or constructive criticism, so feel free 
to write me (Michael T. Powers) and let me know what you think!

__________________________________________ 

The Brown Badge of Courage

By:  Nancy Jo Eckerson


    Well, this is a fine spot I'm in now. Here I am taking care of a 
four bedroom, 100-year-old house with an acre of land! This wasn't 
part of my life's plan. Hopefully, things will be changing soon and 
I will have a cozy, little apartment somewhere or a cottage with a 
roommate to share the upkeep and lawn care.

    In the meantime.where do I begin? How do I keep myself from 
crumbling? All the gardens are a mess! The winter has taken its toll 
on them and the weeds and leaves are abundant! Already the grass is a
mile high from a solid week of spring rain. On top of all this, the 
window frames and eaves on the house are peeling and in dire need of 
painting!

    Oh, this is all too overwhelming and depressing! I just don't know 
how or where to start. Sure wish my kids would pitch in. I mean I know 
they have their own apartments now but gosh, they sure could come and 
help their "old" Mom. 

    There is no point in worrying about those things right now. If 
I'm going to beat the rain in the forecast I have to get moving! With 
tools, buckets and the wheelbarrow ahead of me I scan the garden and 
feeling overwhelmed; I can't help, but cry. This is going to take 
forever. I'll never get it all done before my friends arrive on Saturday.

    I begin to rake and pull weeds, tears streaming down my cheeks. 
Now, sobbing softly I say a prayer to God. "Please help me, Heavenly 
Father. I sure do need you now." Just then a lively tune comes on the 
radio. My spirit is lifted a little. While trimming the shrubs and 
cleaning under, around and all over the garden I find one thing after 
another to be thankful for. I have been blessed with eyes that can 
actually SEE the weeds! My brain deciphers which ones are weeds and 
which are shrubs or flowers (At least I tell myself that!). I can 
push the big, ugly wheelbarrow to the backyard and dump it. I am also 
thrilled that my ears are in good working order, because the time sure 
goes by quicker when I can hear songs on the radio or the birds singing
in the trees.

    I am thrilled at my progress. I just might beat the rain. The gray 
sky hasn't gotten any grayer and actually, the cool breeze has kind of 
slowed down. I am now a full-fledged gardening machine. Tools and 
leaves are flying in every direction. And the wheelbarrow has been 
dumped at least five times already! I am woman, hear me roar! 

    Now, each sweep of the broom carries with it a soft, "Thank you, 
Lord." And the time is passing quickly. I look up and realize that not 
only are the gray skies clearing, but, also, there is a hint of 
sunshine coming through.

    In the space of an hour, I am singing, the sky is blue and all is 
well with my world! I am so full of gratitude and joy, because I 
tackled part of the lawn care project today! Although I have just 
scratched the surface, (shamelessly admitting.pun intended) I am happy 
to have begun. I love this day and my heavenly Father who has given me 
so many blessings. I stand there covered with dirt and mud from head 
to toe but, oh so proud to wear this brown badge of courage.



Nancy Jo Eckerson
nancyq2@net.bluemoon.net

Send Nancy an email and let her know what you thought of her story!

****************************************
A little bit about Nancy:

Nancy is a former teacher, restaurant owner and now a freelance 
writer. She is the mother of two wonderful children (20 and 23 years
 old...who hopefully will NOT read that I called them children!)  Her 
favorite subjects are everyday life experiences...told with an eye on 
inspiration ...or a leaning toward laughter! 

___________________________________________________

For those of you who know our friend Tina Napper, we wanted to let 
everyone know that she and her mom Connie will be on the Donnie and 
Marie show tomorrow morning, Wednesday May 23 from 9-10 am Central 
time on CBS.

Tina sent a letter to the show about how she thought her mom, Connie
Shear, was a hero.  She raised five kids after a not so nice divorce, 
then married her soul mate, Joe. She helped Joe when he struggled with 
his cancer and then helped the entire family deal with his passing.  
A producer from the Donny and Marie Show called and said they were doing 
a show on "Dreams Come True" and wanted to make a dream come true for 
Tina's mom.  So they flew both of them out to LA and gave them the 
royal treatment.  On the show, Donny read part of of Tina's letter 
then asked both of them to join him on stage.  Tina's mom said how 
surprised she was and Tina was able to tell her how much all her 
children love her.  Then they gave mother and daughter a wonderful 
surprise.  Dinner that night and a day at a spa.  Tina's mom cried and 
Marie even had a tear in her eye.  It was wonderful....
So if you want to watch it, tune in tomorrow morning between 9-10 am 
Central time on CBS affilliates nationwide!
Tina has always been the little red-headed girl to Kristi and me, and 
we couldn't be happier for her or her mom...
Michael & Kristi
___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

Thought For The Day:

"Swallowing angry words before you say them is better than having to 
eat them afterwards."

Verse for the Day:

"From the fruit of his mouth a man's stomach is filled; with the 
harvest of his lips he is satisfied.  The tongue has the power of 
life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."
Proverbs 18:20,21

Kid's Thought For The day:

"Before you trade sandwiches, check between the bread."

Parent's Thought For The Day

"Dear Mother -- You know that nothing can ever change what we have 
always been and will always be to each other."
(Franklin Roosevelt)

Coach's Thought For The Day

"There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have 
grown hopless about them."
(Clare Booth Luce)

Deep Thought For The Day:

"If swimming is good for your shape, then why do whales look the
way they do?"


  _
/_/\/\    MICHAEL T. POWERS
\_\  /    THUNDER27@aol.com   http://members.aol.com/Thunder27/index.html
/_/  \    "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	


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 suprised 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  (RKaGe@aol.com)    College Station, TX 

Let me make you a video from your pictures or home movies!
Check out the web page for Michael's video production business!
 Video Imagery 
http://members.aol.com/Videoimg/index.html