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______________________________________ If you enjoy this email service, I encourage Be sure to check out our inspirational list just for teenagers!
Visit the link below to preview the book! Personalized autographed copies are available at no extra charge and we pay the shipping for you! An E-book version is also available for just $3.25! http://www.hearttouchers.com/books Be sure to let us know who you would like it autographed for and then allow about two weeks for us to sign it and send it on its way to you.Credit card, PayPal, Checks, and Money orders accepted! The book is also available through Amazon.com, Borders.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Booklocker.com _________________________________________
by Rubel Shelly
From this point forward, consider yourself commissioned to do something in these and similar situations. There aren't store managers enough for all the frightened little children or bewildered elderly people who get into distress in a mall or shopping center. There aren't enough counselors to match with people who are in pain over bad news or strained relationships. And there aren't enough ordained clergy to go around for all the people who need to find meaning in their spiritual lives. But where did we get the idea that it takes a professional to help someone? Professionals built the Titanic, while the ark was built by amateurs! I know, for example, what the term "ordained clergy" means. But I'm not so sure you can find either the term or the concept in your Bible. Yes, Scripture talks about people with special gifts and ministries. But one of the texts that refers to such persons says their job is to use their abilities to equip the rest of us to be helpers -- the biblical term is "work of ministry" -- to one another (Ephesians 4:12). The idea of leaving God's work in the hands of a few professionals just isn't biblical or practical. It turns faith into Sunday performances done by a few for the critique of the many. What became of the idea that every believer is a priest? That all of us are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God? God surely needs more evangelists and musicians, pastors and deacons. But he needs more people who can make frustrated customers feel valued for their business or frightened patients feel cared for as persons. He longs for more school teachers and bank presidents, janitors and celebrities, teens and senior citizens who take the charge to love their neighbors as themselves seriously. God's "call" is seldom to a new role in a new place. It is more often for each of us to find Christ-focused significance for our old tasks in the same old places for the sake of people we already know. Until you are sure he has told you otherwise, consider yourself called and commissioned for the sake of the people and places you will encounter today. Rubel Shelly Write Rubel and let him know what you thought of his story! (c) 2004 Rubel Shelly. Used by permission. Visit: http://www.faithmatters.com to read more of Rubel's writing or to sign up for his weekly column: FAX of Life.
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"If thou thinkest twice, before thou speakest once, thou wilt speak twice the better for it." - William Penn
"He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity."
"Just keep banging until someone opens the door."
"Invest in the future; have a child and teach him or her well."
"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not: Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
"Don't let editors edit the life out of your sentences!" --Isaac Asimov
"People say that hard work never killed anybody, but on the other hand, did
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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! Let me make you a video from your photos! __________________________________________
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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