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*Words of Wisdom* 11/15/01 _________________________ 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 Heart Touchers 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 ____________________________________________ Michael's long awaited book Straight From the Heart: "A Celebration of Life," is finally here! Close to 200 pages of true short stories filled with love and laughter await you! Visit our web site to order the EBook, or to order by credit card! You can also read some sample stories from the book here! http://HeartTouchers.com/michael_t__powers/ AOL Users Click below: Straight From the Heart: A Celebration of Life _________________________________________ Today I am sharing something a little different from what all of you are used to seeing on the list, but it was something that touched my life so profoundly, that I had to share it... share it in the hopes that there is another "Michael" out there who needs to hear these words too... About a year and a half ago I was very, very frustrated. I wanted to write stories but everything else in my life kept getting in the way. At the time I was thinking about putting my stories together in a book, but there were also many stories in my head that I could not find the time to sit down and write. I was working a third shift job (with a 40 minute commute each way) and running my video production company out of my house so that Kristi could stay home with our boys, all the while trying to balance family time along with a passion for writing... As my frustration grew, I wrote a letter to my friend, author Joan Wester Anderson, and explained how frustrated I was and how I wished and hoped that God would just let me drop everything and become a full time writer... I told her about how guilty I felt about wanting to spend more time with my wife and children and kept thinking that if God would just make me a full time writer I could find the time to do so... Here was an author with millions of books in print -- she would understand my frustration and tell me to go ahead and quit my jobs, pursue my writing career, and let God worry about how the bills would be paid... Boy, did I need to hear the pearls of wisdom she sent back my way... and I share them with all of you with her permission. May you be touched by her words and may we all be challenged to take a long hard look at our priorities in life. I love you Joan and I thank you for always being there for me. From my family to yours, Michael P.S. I share a little more about how things have worked out after her story... _________________________________________ Words of Wisdom By Joan Wester Anderson Dear Michael, Please take it from a person who has been there--you can do anything in life again, or later, anything but raise your children. When our five were small, we had periods of debt that I thought were so huge, they would squeeze me to death. I thought we would never get out from under, much less take a decent vacation, etc. But we both stuck to our beliefs that our children needed to be raised by both of us. I started a little writing business on the side (how well God provides--little did I know how big it would grow someday) and my husband's up-and-down commission work continued to flounder. But we knew where our kids were, who their friends were, when they appeared a bit "strange" (a situation to investigate), who was teaching them, what was being taught, you name it, we knew it. Our house was always open to their friends, and I actually learned a lot from those kids too. What was the upshot? I hate to brag but I will--five absolutely wonderful adults, all spiritual, all moral, all loving us their parents intensely, and planning to leave the world a better place than they found it. Lots of family get-togethers with lots of laughter and reminiscing (next weekend we'll all travel to Washington DC to surprise one of our sons for his birthday--last month we met here for my mother's 90th birthday. No one would have dreamed of missing it.) My cup runs over, due to the seeds we planted during those early and very crucial days. And I'm still not on Medicare! You see, the point being missed by today's society is this: quality time is defined by a child as when he needs his mom or dad, not when his parent can schedule the time for him. A child's quality time doesn't and can't occur on a schedule. What about the times when you have to drop everything and walk a child back to return a candy bar he just stole from the supermarket? What about the time a child seems just a little too excited, and you sense--without knowing exactly why--that he's involved in something questionable. Parenting by Proxy (as Dr. Laura so beautifully points out) just doesn't work. And all those little teaching moments are gone forever. We opted to raise our kids ourselves, and a funny thing happened. All the dreams I deferred, eventually got satisfied--when the time was better and I had more energy to devote to them. All the debts got paid, too, and if my husband and I keep our health, we will be able to afford some really wonderful trips and adventures. I have a spirit of complete comfort, no regrets at all, because I did what needed to be done at the right time. Best of all, my married son and his wife, primarily due to the example both families set, have opted to live the same way with their daughter. They are both self-employed by choice, and they work around her, so that one of them is always taking care of her. She is seven now and, according to her teacher, the best-adjusted child in her class. (Is this a coincidence?) And the seeds of the next generation are sown. So Michael, I think your intuition (or maybe it's the Holy Spirit?) may be prompting you to defer your book for a while, along with those other things that aren't mandatory, and spend more precious hours with your family. The book will be there later (or, if it really nags, you can set up a few hours each week to work on your own projects, but NO MORE THAN THAT for now). If you put first things first, and by the way, that begins with a short period of prayer first thing every morning, God will find you all the time you need to do the things He wants you to do. Sorry about ranting this way--but I just had to do it!! Joan Wester Anderson angelwak@earthlink.net Write Joan and let her know what you thought about her letter! End Note from Michael: Joan's words hit me like a Mack truck, but I knew that God was speaking through her to send me a message... And so I slowly but surely starting putting her words of wisdom into practice. I would love to be able to tell you that God worked out all my hopes and dreams the very next week... but He didn't. But as the months went by I found bits and pieces of time to write my stories without compromising time with my family. Slowly but surely I learned to say "No" to people when I knew I wouldn't have time to do what they were asking of me. I even began to say "No" to those video jobs that I knew would demand a great amount of time and stress both myself and my family to a breaking point... Slowly but surely my dream of having my own book came into focus; and then became a reality. Then, six weeks ago, I was able to walk away from my third shift job and accept a full time job with our church. Not only does this job enable me to put all my time and energy into something that will make a difference for eternity, I get to work out of my home and spend more time with my family. Now instead of rushing out of the house at my children's bed time, to make my 40 minute drive to work, I get to snuggle with them on the couch and read them bedtime stories. Something I haven't been able to do since they were born... Oh yeah... I forgot to mention that I haven't written a new story in seven months... and it doesn't bother me in the least bit. Michael T. Powers Founder, Heart Touchers _________________________________________ Joan's 14 books include WHERE ANGELS WALK, TRUE STORIES OF HEAVENLY VISITORS, which was on the New York Times best-seller list for over a year, has sold almost two million copies and been translated into fourteen languages. Anderson is a graduate of Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and a former adjunct professor at Harper Junior College in Palatine, Illinois. She and her husband live in suburban Chicago, and have five grown children and two grandchildren. Be sure to visit Joan's brand new web site and e-mail list about Angels and sign up to receive a new angel story each week! Visit http://www.JoanWAnderson.com AOL Users Click Here> http://www.joanwanderson.com/ ___________________________________________ _ /_/\/\ 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 Heart Touchers 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 pictures or home movies! Check out the web page for Michael's video production business! Visit: http://www.hearttouchers.com/video_imagery/ AOL Users click here: Video Imagery ___________________________________________ Would you like to see your story in Heart Touchers? 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 Heart Touchers 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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