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*Mary's Prayer* 12/24/02 ______________________________________ If you enjoy this free weekly e-mail 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 ____________________________________________ Be sure to check out our brand new inspirational list just for teenagers! Heart4Teens.com To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: Heart4Teens-subscribe@myinjesus.com or visit: http://www.Heart4Teens.com This weekly list contains Heart-touching stories, quotes, links to uplifting web sites, and humor geared towards the teenage crowd. However, parents of teens, grandparents, college students, youth pastors, teachers, coaches, and anyone who just can't read enough inspirational stories will also benefit! What are you waiting for?! Subscribe today to receive your weekly encouragement! _________________________________________ Can't get enough inspirational stories in your life? Would you like to send a unique gift to your friends and family? Then order a copy of the inspirational book: Straight From the Heart "A Celebration of Life" by Michael T. Powers for only $13.95. http://www.booklocker.com/bookpages/michaeltpowers01.html You can preview this book by visiting: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/michael_powers __________________________________________ We continue with our Christmas Series by Max Lucado! Today we get to read Mary's Prayer and 25 Questions for Mary... From my family to yours, Michael __________________________________________ Mary's Prayer By Max Lucado GOD. O infant-God. Heaven's fairest child. Conceived by the union of divine grace with our disgrace. Sleep well. Sleep well. Bask in the coolness of this night bright with diamonds. Sleep well, for the heat of anger simmers nearby. Enjoy the silence of the crib, for the noise of confusion rumbles in your future. Savor the sweet safety of my arms, for a day is soon coming when I cannot protect you. Rest well, tiny hands. For though you belong to a king, you will touch no satin, own no gold. You will grasp no pen, guide no brush. No, your tiny hands are reserved for works more precious: to touch a leper's open wound, to wipe a widow's weary tear, to claw the ground of Gethsemane. Your hands, so tiny, so white--clutched tonight in an infant's fist. They aren't destined to hold a scepter nor wave from a palace balcony. They are reserved instead for a Roman spike that will staple them to a Roman cross. Sleep deeply, tiny eyes. Sleep while you can. For soon the blurriness will clear and you will see the mess we have made of your world. You will see our nakedness, for we cannot hide. You will see our selfishness, for we cannot give. You will see our pain, for we cannot heal. O eyes that will see hell's darkest pit and witness her ugly prince... sleep, please sleep; sleep while you can. Lie still, tiny mouth. Lie still, mouth from which eternity will speak. Tiny tongue that will soon summon the dead, that will define grace, that will silence our foolishness. Rosebud lips--upon which ride a starborn kiss of forgiveness to those who believe you, and of death to those who deny you--lie still. And tiny feet cupped in the palm of my hand, rest. For many difficult steps lie ahead for you. Do you taste the dust of the trails you will travel? Do you feel the cold seawater upon which you will walk? Do you wrench at the invasion of the nail you will bear? Do you fear the steep descent down the spiral staircase into Satan's domain? Rest, tiny feet. Rest today so that tomorrow you might walk with power. Rest. For millions will follow in your steps. And little heart ... holy heart ... pumping the blood of life through the universe: How many times will we break you? You'll be torn by the thorns of our accusations. You'll be ravaged by the cancer of our sin. You'll be crushed under the weight of your own sorrow. And you'll be pierced by the spear of our rejection. Yet in that piercing, in that ultimate ripping of muscle and membrane, in that final rush of blood and water, you will find rest. Your hands will be freed, your eyes will see justice, your lips will smile, and your feet will carry you home. And there you'll rest again this time in the embrace of your Father. *********** 25 Questions for Mary By Max Lucado What was it like watching him pray? How did he respond when he saw other kids giggling during the service at the synagogue? When he saw a rainbow, did he ever mention a flood? Did you ever feel awkward teaching him how he created the world? When he saw a lamb being led to the slaughter, did he act differently? Did you ever see him with a distant look on his face as if he were listening to someone you couldn't hear? How did he act at funerals? Did the thought ever occur to you that the God to whom you were praying was asleep under your own roof? Did you ever try to count the stars with him ... and succeed? Did he ever come home with a black eye? How did he act when he got his first haircut? Did he have any friends by the name of Judas? Did he do well in school? Did you ever scold him? Did he ever have to ask a question about Scripture? What do you think he thought when he saw a prostitute offering to the highest bidder the body he made? Did he ever get angry when someone was dishonest with him? Did you ever catch him pensively looking at the flesh on his own arm while holding a clod of dirt? Did he ever wake up afraid? Who was his best friend? When someone referred to Satan, how did he act? Did you ever accidentally call him Father? What did he and his cousin John talk about as kids? Did his other brothers and sisters understand what was happening? Did you ever think, That's God eating my soup? Max Lucado ministry@maxlucado.com Send Max an e-mail and let him know what you thought of his story! "The Arrival" is from Max's book: God Came Near © 1987 by Max Lucado ISBNO8499-5255-7 (Used by Permission) _________________________________ With more than 28 million books in print, Max Lucado has touched millions with his signature storytelling writing style. Awards and accolades follow Max with each book he writes. Max is the first author to win the Gold Medallion Christian Book of the Year three times--1999 for Just Like Jesus, 1997 for In theGrip of Grace and 1995 for When God Whispers Your Name. In 1994, he became the only author to have 11 of his twelve books in printsimultaneously appear on paperback, hardcover and children's CBA bestseller lists. Lucado set a new industry record by concurrently placing seven different Word titles on the CBA Hardcover Bestseller List in both March and April 1997. A Max Lucado title has appeared on the CBA hardcover bestseller list every month for the past seven years. His newest book, A Love Worth Giving, was released in September 2002 and You Are Special recently won a Gold Medallion award in theInspirational categoy. In addition to his nonfiction books, Lucado has authored several award-winning children's titles including , Just In Case You Ever Wonder, The Crippled Lamb and Alabaster's Song. Max's newest book is a follow-up to the award-winning You Are Special entitled You Are Mine. He served as the general editor for the best-selling Inspirational Bible and God's Inspirational PromiseBook. Max serves as the pulpit minister of the Oak Hills Church of Christ in San Antonio, Texas. But he says his greatest accomplishment is finding a one-in-a-million wife in Denalyn and having three unbelievable daughters: Jenna,Andrea, and Sara. You can visit his web site at: http://www.maxlucado.com __________________________________________ 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 _________________________________________ 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! The 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 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 __________________________________________ |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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