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{Heart4Teens.com} *Man You Gotta Love That* ______________________________________ 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 teenagers everywhere! If you are not on the list and this has been passed along to you, you can join Heart4Teens.com readers around the world by visiting: http://www.hundred-acre-woods.com/magic-list/Heart4Teens Visit our inspirational web site to read all the past articles in our archives and view the tons of resources we have there for teens! http://www.Heart4Teens.com/Teen_Stories _________________________________________ Man, You Gotta Love That! by Bob Welch Last summer, my son Jason was a seventh-grader playing in a seventh/eighth-grade league. A fire-armed pitcher -- more than a foot taller than my 4-foot-9 son -- blazed a fastball right down the pike. Strike one. The second pitch scorched across the plate for a called strike two. The third pitch, unintentionally I'm sure, came right at Jason. He turned to avoid being hit and fell to the ground. His bat went flying. His helmet bounced off. The ball seemed to have skimmed his shoulder. "Take your base," said the umpire. Standing in the third-base coach's box, I was happy just seeing Jason alive, much less getting a free base. Our fans were most likely thinking the same thing I was thinking: Take your base, son. You've been wounded, soldier; your war's over. You're going home... "But honest, it didn't hit me," Jason pleaded. The umpire looked at Jason and out to the infield ump, who just shrugged. "Okay," said the ump, "the count is one-and-two." Should I intervene? Make him take his base? Jason was already digging in his cleats in the batter's box. I mentally shrugged and headed back to the coach's box. The towering pitcher rocked and fired. A bullet right down the middle -- the kind of pitch that would send the kid to the dugout. Instead, Jason ripped the ball into left-center for a stand-up double. Our crowd roared. The manager of the team in the field was standing a few feet behind me. He had no idea that the kid on second base was my son. He spit out his sunflower seeds and slowly shook his head. "Man," he said, "you gotta love that." For the Christian, integrity is something to be cherished and displayed on an everyday basis, whether it works out in the short run or not. Bob Welch bwelch1@concentric.net Send Bob an e-mail and let him know your thoughts on his story! ____________________ Bob is the features editor of the Register-Guard Newspaper in Eugene, OR and the author of many books, including Father For All Seasons (Harvest House Publishers). Bob's wonderful stories have also been published in Sports Illustrated, Readers Digest, and Focus on the Family. You can order his latest book: The Things That Matter Most: Choosing Family, Faith and the Simple Life by visiting: http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=03763&netp_id=253744&event=AFF&item_code=WW _________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "Patience is the companion of wisdom."--St. Augustine Verse for the Day: "Let us run with patience the race that is set before us."--Hebrews 12:1 KJV Teen's Thought For The Day: Triumph is just "umph" aded to "try". Parent's Thought For The Day I don't know why they say "you have a baby." The baby has you." --Gallagher Coach's Thought For The Day "The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary."--Vidal Sassoon Deep Thought For The Day: "Who invented the brush they put next to the toilet? That thing hurts!" _________________________________ LET'S GO SURFING DUDE! ~ The Christian Music Diet Do you think you could give up--for thirty days--all music, TV, movies, and video games that don't honor God? That's the challenge in this unique program designed by popular author and speaker Al Menconi. http://www.almenconi.com/CMD/index.html _________________________________________ Author MICHAEL T. POWERS www.Heart4Teens.com Contributing Author to Chicken Soup for the Teen's Soul on Love and Friendship and 21 other inspirational books. "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 _________________________________________ ALL-STAR Ministry --The Youth Church of Faith Community Church in Janesville, WI If you are in 6-12th grade and live in the southern Wisconsin/northern Illinois area and would like to check us out, we meet every Sunday night from 6:30-8:00 PM at Faith Community Church which is located at 2931 Lucerne Dr. in Janesville, WI. (About 3 blocks south-east of The Skating Place.) Currently we have students from Fort Atkinson, Milton, Janesville Craig, Janesville Parker, Marshall, Orfordville, Clinton, Beloit Memorial, Beloit Turner, South Beloit, and Hononegah. E-mail me back if you have any questions about our weekly meetings or would like to come to any of our events that are listed below... We have way too much fun and then, most importantly, talk about issues that are relevant to you as a teenager. This Week: Sunday July 17 -- "There Are Names That Hurt Worse Than Sticks and Stones" Upcoming Events July 8-16: Guatemala Missions Trip! July 24-25: 30-Hour Famine (high school only) September 16-18: Annual Fall Retreat! _______________________________________________ Teen Community Groups 6:30 - 8:00 PM Wednesday nights (September though May) Wednesday night community groups for teens. The groups are limited to no more than ten teens and are split into Jr. High and High School ages. This night is for those teens who want to dig deeper than what we do in All-Stars, but may not be ready to be a part of the Extreme Teens. These cell groups will also be doing special activities with each other as the year goes on to build community. _______________________________________________________ The Extreme Teens "Extreme Teens" meet Wednesday nights from 6:30 - 8:00 PM (All Year Round) This group is very extensive with weekly homework, memorization, service projects, etc. Students interested in this group will have to fill out an application, provide references as to why others think they should be involved with this, and sign an agreement as to what is expected of them. Join us this summer as we develop a Christian World View! |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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