Heart Touchers

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{HeartTouchers.com} *Christmas Smackdown*

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If you enjoy this email service, I encourage
you to spread the word to family and friends that we
may bring inspiration the lives of many! If you
are not on the list and this has been passed along
to you, join us by visiting:

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Be sure to check out our inspirational list just for teenagers!

http://www.Heart4Teens.com

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Michael's updated book Heart Touchers "Life-Changing Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter," is finally here! ($13.95)

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

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Christmas Smack Down
Is Your Child Ashamed of His Faith?

by Chuck Colson

In a Texas classroom, children were told to draw a tracing of their foot, and then put a message on the drawing. One little girl wrote "Jesus Loves Me" on hers. What happened next shows the abysmal state of religious tolerance in America.

As Fox news anchor John Gibson relates in his new book, The War on Christmas, the child's teacher ripped the tracing off the board. "Don't you ever do this again," she said. The little girl burst into tears.

When her outraged father called the school, nervous officials told the child to make another tracing. She did sobut this time, instead of scrawling "Jesus Loves Me," she drew a tiny cross that was so small it was almost invisible.

This little girl had learned her lesson well. Her Christian faith was something shamefuland she should keep it to herself.

And this little girl is not the only child learning this ugly lesson. In a Plano, Texas, classroom, a teacher told students not to write "Merry Christmas" on greeting cards for soldiers in Iraq because it might offend someone. They were even forbidden to say "Merry Christmas" to their classmates. And this, in Plano, Texas?

In a New York school, the halls were decked with menorahs and Kwanzaa candles. When a father asked why there was no Christmas tree, the principal said, "Oh, we're trying to make sure we don't offend people."

In Maplewood, New Jersey, fifth-graders were asked to make posters demonstrating diversity. A boy named Anton pasted on the Star of David and a Muslim symbol. When his mother suggested he add a Christian symbol, he said, "No, I don't want to offend anyone." These kids are being brain-washed.

Every December, symbols of Christmas are treated like pornography, sex, or second-hand smokethings that ought to be enjoyed in private, lest others be offended.

According to Gibson, people who treat Christian symbols this way are acting out of a deep-seated hostility toward all things Christian. They're often offended by Christianity on an intellectual level. They think it's a crutch used by the less intelligent.

And since they have begun losing battles in the courts, they've opened up a new front called "inclusiveness." Yes, they admit, the Supreme Court says it's okay to have Christmas trees on public propertybut do we really want to offend neighbors who don't celebrate Christmas? The same goes for Christmas music and candy canes in schools; somewhere, someone might be offended. But isn't it strange that, in case after case, only Christian symbols seem to have the power to offend?

Well, many Christians have had enough, and they're fighting back. For help, they're turning to religious liberties groups that have sprung up to defend our First Amendment rights. Among these are the ACLJ, the Thomas More Law Center, the Alliance Defense Fund, and the Beckett Fund. Visit our website (www.breakpoint.org) for more information.

Parents are right to resist efforts to try to teach their kids that Christian symbolsand the faith they representare inherently offensive. In a country that honors religious freedom, the real offense is not saying "Merry Christmas" to a friend, but in teaching kids that expressing their faith is something to be ashamed of.

Chuck Colson

Chuck Colson is a syndicated columnist, international speaker, radio commentator, and the founder of Prison Fellowship and Breakpoint. He has visited prisons throughout the U.S. and the world and has built a movement working with more than 40,000 prison ministry volunteers, with ministries in 100 countries. He has written 22 books, which have collectively sold more than five million copies. His autobiographical book Born Again was one of the nation's best-selling books of all genres in 1976 and was made into a feature-length film. In 1991 Colson launched a daily radio feature called "BreakPoint," a unique and well-received attempt to provide a distinct Christian worldview on everyday issues and conflicts. The program is aired daily on over 1,000 radio outlets nationwide. Visit his website at: www.BreakPoint.org

You may send correspondence to Mr. Colson at: c/o Prison Fellowship, 1856 Old Reston Avenue, Reston, VA 20190-3321.

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Thought For The Day:

"A person may sometimes have a clear conscience simply because his head
is empty." - Ralph Sockman

Verse for the Day:

"In the last times some in the church will turn away from Christ...their
consciences won't even bother them." - 1 Timothy 4:2 TLB

Kid's Thought For The Day:

"Mommy and Daddy's bed is always warmer than yours is."

Parent's Thought For The Day:

A MOTHER'S PRAYER
"Oh Lord, give me the patience when tiny hands tug at me with their small demands.
And give me gentle and smiling eyes; Keep my lips from sharp replies.
And let not fatigue, confusion or noise keep me from sharing my child's
new found joys.
And most of all, help me to look above when at times I think I have no love.
For you have promised to bear my load as these precious lives unfold."

Coach's Thought For The Day:

"I always felt that my greatest asset was not my physical ability, it was my
mental ability." - Bruce Jenner

Writer's Thought For The Day:

"I wish that, somehow, I could write books that would take at least as long to read as they take to conceive and write and rewrite and proofread and un-copyedit." --Caitlyn R. Kiernan

Deep Thought For The Day:

"Smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics."

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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

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Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you?
http://www.greatcom.org/english/four.htm