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*Anniversary Song* __________________________ If you enjoy this free 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 a blank e-mail to: HeartTouchers-subscribe@myinjesus.com Visit our inspirational web site and read all the past stories in our archives at: http://www.HeartTouchers.com ____________________________________________ Today I share a very special letter that I wrote to my wife on our 11th anniversary. A lot has changed in our lives (for the better!) since I gave this to her four years ago. I first started dating my wife when I was a freshman in high school twenty years ago and I can't imagine what life would be like without her... Happy 15th anniversary my love! From my family to yours, Michael _________________________________________ Anniversary Song By Michael T. Powers Dear Kristi, As I look back on our eleven years of marriage, I am overwhelmed with thoughts and feelings. Deep feelings. Feelings that wash over me in warm waves. Feelings that leave tiny hills on my skin. I feel gratitude for you sticking with me and for being so eternally patient as you waited for me to grow up for all the nights you cried yourself to sleep, hoping and praying that someday I might put your needs first instead of my selfish wants...for all the times you felt unprotected by me emotionally as we dealt with things early in our marriage for carrying the financial burden for seven years as I tried to figure out what to do with my life...for all the times I have given of myself to other people and then come home and offered you the "leftovers"... for going before our Heavenly Father in prayer, and lifting me up, even when my hurtful words have made deep cuts that took many months to heal. For all that you do and all you have done to keep our marriage working. I am amazed at your unselfishness. Amazed that you have stuck it out with me, and for that I am thankful. Thankful... Thankful for the incredible example you are of Godly love that is based on a decision and not your feelings...love that has looked for the best in me all these years love that is unconditional...love that has seen past the immaturity love that has molded and shaped me into a better person. Love that has sifted through the stress of my working a third shift job and running a video production business. Oh, to have half of your boundless capacity for real love. I stand in awe at your ability to love people... Awe... I don't know of a better word to describe how I feel about you. I stand in awe as I watch you raise our two boys. My mouth drops open as I watch you go through your life as a mother: the energy that is exerted, the compassion and firmness in discipline, the daily and nightly grind you go through pouring your heart and soul into these two little gifts from God. I get a bubbly feeling inside when I hear someone talk about our boys in a positive manner, and I know they are special because of what you have invested in them. You stumble into bed each night, knowing that you are going to be up at least a few times in the night with Connor, yet each morning you dig down into your reserves and pour your energy once again into nurturing and caring for our little ones. Our children are wonderful! I don't care who hears it or what they think about a father bragging about his children. Our children are wonderful because of the hours you have invested in their lives, and the example you set for them every day. My children will know how special their mother is. They will instinctively know it, but, just in case they don't, I will make a point of telling them often. They will look back on their childhood with warm feelings and memories... Memories... Little flashes of "life" come to me as I go about my daily routine. A song might trigger them, or perhaps a fragrant scent. Sometimes it's merely a word or phrase. I go from the mundane task I am doing and am transported to another time. A feeling of contentment and satisfaction comes over me as I relive these moments: spending time in the hospital as you brought our children into this world, the image of you holding Caleb and Connor for the first time. I hear the heavenly sound of your singing and run my fingers through your hair. I see Caleb talk with his many little hand gestures and watch him make everything in his life into an "Oscar winning production." I listen to Connor saying, "Ohhhhhhhh," feel the softness of the back of his hair and smell his baby lotion. I watch him pulling himself along the floor without using his back legs to crawl and picture his lips when he is sleeping. Over all I hear the music in your laugh, and see the love in your liquid eyes... These things pass through my mind on any given day, and I stop and thank the Lord for the life He has given me. I owe so much to you, Kristi, and I love the life we have made with each other. While the memories create such tremendous contentment in my life, I also visualize the little flashes of life that haven't happened yet. The future... I look forward to walking away from the third shift job and being able to hold you in my arms as we lie in bed and fall asleep listening to the crickets. I can't wait to wake up in the morning instead of heading off to bed. I visualize moving from the middle of town and having our kids grow up surrounded by woods and fields and Caleb coming home with a frog in each pocket. I see us taking long walks, enjoying the sounds of the birds, the smell of wildflowers, and looking up at the millions of stars from the deck of our house in the country. I envision holding our daughter "Kelsey" for the first time and crying tears of joy. One day we will watch our last child head off to college, knowing full well that a portion of our lives will never be the same. I will love you more every day and we'll become closer as we intertwine our hopes, thoughts, and feelings. We'll grow old, but I won't care, as long as you are by my side every step of the way as we build our dreams into reality. Reality... My reality right now is a dream for me. I can deal with the long workweeks, the stress, and sometimes the exhaustion. They pale in comparison to what the Lord has blessed me with. I will still dream, but I am content. Everyday problems come, but they soon melt away with the coo of my infant, the hug of my three-year-old, and the tender kiss of my bride. Bring on what troubles you have, World. My Kristi is by my side... Happy Anniversary, my love! Michael Michael T. Powers HeartTouchers@aol.com Email Michael and let him know your thoughts on his story! ___________________________________________ Michael is a proud husband and father, and since he wrote this letter to his wife four years ago many things have changed. He was able to quit his third shift job for the USPS and take a dream job at his church as the youth pastor. And best of all, he is able to work from his home, while Kristi stays home to homeschool their two boys. He says, "There is nothing more precious than laying in the arms of your wife as you drift off to sleep to a chorus of crickets at night." God is good, all the time... _________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened."--Billy Graham Verse for the Day: "Stand firm in the faith: be men of courage; be strong." --1 Corinthians 16:13 Kid's Thought for the day: "Save a place in line for your friends." Parent's Thought For The Day "The young man knows the rules, but the old man knows the exceptions." --Oliver Wendell Holmes Coach's Thought For The Day "As long as you keep a person down, some part of you has to be down there to hold him, so it means you cannot soar as you otherwise might." --Marian Anderson Writer's Thought For the Day: "The columnist has the cat bird's job at the newspaper because he can just cherry pick the best stories and just take off on them. You have the luxury and also the duty of writing what everyone else is thinking but that can't be in the news story because it's not objective. You're getting paid for your opinion. All most good columnists have to do is connect the dots." --Carl Hiaasen Deep Thought For The Day: "Why do you press harder on a remote-control when you know the battery is dead?" _________________________________________ Reading Books, Changing Lives! For those of you who would like to purchase the books from the HeartTouchers.com bookstore via your credit card, you can now do so! You can now order a number of different autographed best-selling inspirational books for the same price you would get them in the store, the shipping to you is paid for, and you are helping change the lives of teenagers and those they come in contact with! And best of all, every penny from the book sales are going to youth ministry to help pay for a life-changing winter retreat and a missions trip to Guatemala this summer! http://www.HeartTouchers.com/books _________________________________________ MICHAEL T. POWERS www.HeartTouchers.com "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 by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20 __________________________________________ Video Imagery --Michael's Video Production Business Dear Michael, I just wanted to take a minute to thank you for the beautiful video you made for me! It was so special to see both of my parents in tears as they watched their children grow up in pictures before their eyes! I loved the way you made Estania's part set aside from the rest--that was the part that really got them! The music was beautiful. My mom kept blubbering, "What song is that?" I don't know how you did such a beautiful job with the video in such a short time. I really appreciate your doing it so quickly. You have a wonderful gift, and I thank God that you are using it to create such sentimental memories. I hope that I can find my niche like that in an area that I love. Your video gave us one of our most lasting Christmas memories! I hope yours was filled with moments to be treasured forever! Love, Trisha Silverhill, AL Let me make you a video from your photos! Check out my video production business by visiting: http://www.hearttouchers.com/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/ __________________________________________ Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you? http://www.greatcom.org/english/four.htm _________________________________________ 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! ___________________________________________ 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 |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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