|
______________________________________
*The Traditional Orange* 12/19/01 ______________________________________ 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 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 ____________________________________________ Happy Holidays from HeartTouchers.com We wanted to let everyone know that for from now on we will be offering our book, Straight From the Heart "A Celebration of Life" for only $13 (instead of the regular price of $14.95), and best of all, we will pay the shipping! So if you have any interest in purchasing an autographed copy of the book for yourself, or as a gift for your loved ones, now is the time to get it! To order your autographed copy send a check or money order for $13 (We pay the shipping!) for each book made out to Michael T. Powers, and then send it to: Michael T. Powers 1918 Liberty Lane Janesville, WI 53545 To preview the book by reading some of the stories visit: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/michael_t__powers/ AOL Users Click below: Straight From the Heart: A Celebration of Life _________________________________________ Before we get to today's story by Joseph Walker I wanted to ask for your prayers for two special people in my life. I will not use their names, as God will know who you are praying for... The first has developed cancer. When I found out, it was like someone shoved my face against a brick wall... I am asking all of you to pray that God will totally heal this special person in our lives and that God will be with their family as they deal with this... The second person is someone that I used to work with at the USPS and he found out this past week that someone murdered his brother. Pray for his family and pray that I will get a chance to visit with him, one on one, before Christmas. From my family to yours, Michael _________________________________________ The Traditional Orange By Joseph Walker It wasn't that I didn't like oranges. I loved them. They were my favorite fruit (not counting the maraschino cherries Mom used to put in our Dr Pepper on festive occasions). I just couldn't figure out what an orange was doing in the toe of my Christmas stocking every year. I mean, we lived in citrus country. I knew a little bit about what it takes to grow oranges -- including a long, warm growing season, which I was pretty sure the North Pole didn't have. Nor could I remember any orange symbolism from the Bethlehem Christmas story, unless somebody slipped an orange in with the gold, frankincense and myrrh when I wasn't looking. But every year, like clockwork, there was an orange in the toe of my stocking. And to tell you the truth, it bugged me a little. I mean, we had oranges all the time. We had orange trees in our backyard, for Pete's sake. What I really wanted in my stocking was candy, and that big old orange took up so much room that it decreased my annual Christmas candy haul by at least two cavities. "It's Mom who puts them in there," my sister Kathy explained. "She wants to make sure we get something healthy along with all of the candy Santa brings." "Besides," my sister Wanda Lynne added, "it looks better -- all nice and smooth and round. If it was just candy in there, it would be all lumpy." For years I accepted their explanation without questioning. Nutrition and aesthetics were the bottom line reasons for a lot of things around our house, from liver and onions for dinner to that yellow naughahyde couch in the front room. Then one day Mom and I were talking about Christmas traditions. I told her how I ... well, there's no kind way to say this ... freaked out the previous Christmas because I had forgotten to buy some oranges. And I told her it was true: the stockings really DID look lumpy without that nice, smooth, round orange in the toe. "Well, there's nothing wrong with a lumpy Christmas stocking," she said, smiling. I was stunned. "But I thought that's why you always put oranges in our stockings?" Mom laughed. "Heavens, no," she said. "Then it was just so we'd have something healthy to eat, right?" I asked. "Well, if it was, it didn't work," she said. "I don't think any of you ever ate your Christmas orange. You were too busy eating candy." She had a point there. And suddenly, I didn't. "So why DID you put the oranges in our stockings?" I asked. "It's really very simple," she said. "When I was a little girl, things were hard. It was during the Depression, and even though my Dad always had a job, and we had food on our table, there wasn't a lot left over for Christmas presents and such. Still, every year we put out our stockings. And every year on Christmas morning, our stockings were filled with little candies and nuts, and some little present -- usually something my mother or father had made for us. And in the toe there was always a sweet, juicy orange. For us, that was a wonderful treat. And so to me, it just isn't Christmas without an orange." And somehow, it's the same for me. I didn't go through the Great Depression with Mom, and yes, I usually threw away my Christmas orange. But when my family comes down the stairs this Christmas morning, there will be an orange in every stocking toe. Like always. Like clockwork. Joseph Walker valuescom@juno.com Write Joseph and let him know what you thought of his story! ___________________________ Joseph Walker has been writing professionally since 1980, when he left college to join the staff of a daily metropolitan newspaper. For 10 years -- including six as the paper's TV columnist and critic -- he was part of the mainstream media, and was painfully aware of the overwhelming negativity of contemporary journalism. Joe says, "Nobody was looking for real solutions to the problems society was facing; they were just looking for someone or something to blame the problems on." So in 1990 Joe began writing ValueSpeak, a weekly syndicated column that attempts to look at contemporary issues from the perspective of traditional values. Joe and his wife, Anita, are parents of five children, and one grandchild. You'll love his new book, "How Can you Mend a Broken Spleen!" Ordering is simple and fast at the following Amazon address: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1573453005/qid=972961681/sr=1-6/straighfromthe0a AOL Users click here: How To Mend A Broken Spleen _________________________________________ Reader Feedback! Michael, Just wanted to express my thanks. I ordered your book Straight From the Heart "A Celebration of Life." I received the autographed copy so promptly through the mail. I quickly opened it and read the page you autographed. (I bought the book for my mother-in-law for Christmas) You didn't just do the generic autograph like most authors do. You really personalized the book for my mother in law, Dora Lee. I was thrilled! I know she will love it. I'm going to tell her that I want to read it when she finishes with it. Thanks for putting your picture on the back of the book. I was glad to see your picture. Now when I see your name or read a story from your e-mail you send out, I can put your face with your name. I prayed for you today that you and your family would have a wonderful Christmas, blessed beyond measure because of your thoughtfulness & encouragement for others. Thank you for your ministry. Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year. Becky Lee blee@MasonCorp.com _________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "No worldly success can compensate for failure in the home." Verse for the Day: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right...And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord." --Ephesians 6:1,4 Toddler's Thought For The Day: "If it doesn't stay on my spoon, it must be dropped on the floor. If it is not food, it must be tasted." Parent's Thought For The Day: "When mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." Coach's Thought For The Day: "It doesn't take much to send a player home each night depressed, frustrated, and with no self-confidence. But to send her home every night believing in herself and with her chin held high; that might take a little coaching." -- Michael T. Powers Writer's Thought For the Day "Success comes to a writer, as a rule, so gradually that it is always something of a shock to him to look back and realize the heights to which he has climbed." --P.G. Wodehouse Deep Thought For The Day: "First lesson in Chemistry: Never lick the spoon!" ___________________________________________ REQUESTS: I am updating on Whitney Holly, the fourteen year old girl in our youth group. They have, up to now, tried three times to bring her out of the drug induced coma, however, her brain begins to spike each time. They will continue to try every two days. We are praying that her body will heal and there will be no lasting effects on her brain. All your prayers are much appreciated! C. Miller tinifer@yahoo.com Sometime ago I saw an address to which greetings & words of encouragement could be sent to the rescue workers in New York city. The grief support group that I belong to would like to forward our wishes to them during this trying time, & I have misplaced the address. Did you by chance send it on to your readers, & if so, could you forward the address to me again, or post it again on your site so others might be encouraged to remember them at this holiday time when their days will bring only sadness rather that joy? Thanks for any help you are able to provide. Happy Holidays to you and yours!! Brenda Lamitina lamitina @tusco.net ___________________________________________ _ /_/\/\ 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 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 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 __________________________________________ A number of people have written to us asking what an EBook is, since our book is being offered in both print and EBook versions. An EBook is a book that can be downloaded and read right on your computer. The advantage of ordering the EBook is that is costs less, $8.95 (No other charges), as compared to $14.95 + shipping and handling for the print book. Plus you can download the EBook and begin reading the stories in a few minutes! EBooks are read via Acrobat Reader, which is software that most of you already have on your computer. And if for some reason you don't, it can be downloaded free of charge at the web site. So for those of you who don't want to wait for the print book to be delivered, check out this web site to order the EBook version of Straight From the Heart "A Celebration of Life." http://www.booklocker.com/bookpages/michaeltpowers01.html AOL Users Click here |
 |
|
Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
|