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{HeartTouchers.com}   *Brains and Braun* 

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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:

http://www.HeartTouchers.com

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 $6.95!

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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Good afternoon HeartTouchers.com readers!

Before we get to today's story by Roger Dean Kiser, Sr. I wanted to take the time to congratulate our niece, Jennifer Pozzani on her recent accomplishments.  Kristi and I had a chance to watch her play college basketball this past weekend and it was a joy to see her do what she loves to do.  She scored 33 points on 13-16 shooting and she recently broke Concordia--St. Paul's all time scoring record with 1544 points for her career. Her shooting percentage of .576 is in the top twelve in the nation for all three NCAA divisions and is also a school record.  She not only leads her team in scoring, but also assists and steals, and she is second on her team in rebounding.  Not bad for a five foot seven inch guard!

Jen, we are so proud of you for your sports accomplishments, but even more so because of the way you handle yourself with grace, class, and dignity.  You are the most unselfish athlete we have ever seen and we love you dearly.

Your proud aunt and uncle,

Michael and Kristi

 

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BRAINS AND BRAWN

by Roger Dean Kiser

It seemed strange that those of us from the orphanage were always the
last to be picked when it came to any type of a game at school.

Baseball, football and even dodge-ball.  It didn't seem to make a
difference if we were tall or short, thin or fat or fast or slow.  The fact
that we came from the orphanage appeared to be all that mattered to those
who did the choosing.

I am not sure what came over me the day that the teacher picked me to
be one of the captains of the dodge-ball team.  I was rather shocked as
even the teacher treated us as though we were different from the other
kids.

This time my team was going to win.  I knew who was the fastest and I
knew who had the best aim.  This was the day that I was going to become the
winner.

As we gathered in a group on the school ground, the teacher flipped a
coin to see who would be the first to pick.

"Heads!" yelled out Mrs. Cherry, my fourth grade teacher.

I smiled as I was the one who had picked heads.  I am not sure what
came over me at that moment.  Winning the game did not seem to be so
important to me now.  I looked around the large group of boys and my eyes
stopped at Jeffrey.  He was slow and he weighed a whopping 98 pounds.

"JEFFREY," I yelled out, as I pointed at him.

He looked up in total shock as he began to move his massive body toward me.

"You picked me?" he asked.

I reached over and I patted him on the back.

My next pick was Leonard.  He was a small boy who wore black, thick
rimmed glasses and he never combed his hair.  He was the quiet type and he
was not liked by very many of the popular kids.  He was without a doubt the
brain of the class.

The remainder of my picks were kids that I knew from the orphanage.
Or, kids who were always the last to be picked.  Kids that never got to
play because of the teams being uneven.

"He picked a bunch of losers.  We're gonna win without even trying,"
said the captain of the other team.

"We're gonna lose," said Jeffrey, as our team huddled in a tight circle.

"Of course were gonna lose," I told them.

"Then why did you pick me?" asked Jeffrey.

"And why did you pick me?  I can't see without my glasses," said Leonard.

As the game started, I made sure that Jeffrey stood behind those of us
who were faster.  That way he could get out of the way of the ball before
it reached him.  I made sure that my team did not stay in the center of the
circle.  We moved around the circle, rather than across the circle.  That
seemed to give us a big advantage.

The ball was thrown five or six times before Robert was hit.  Another
five or six times before the ball hit Wayne.  One at a time my team members
were hit and fell out.  They hit us with the ball as hard as they could,
slamming the ball against our backs when we could not get out of the way.
Their team was laughing and mocking at us the entire time.  Soon, it was
down to just Jeffrey and me.

"I can't believe it is just you and me," said Jeffrey, panting as hard
as he could.

"Just stay behind me," I told him.

"Get that fat Jeffrey kid," yelled out one of their team members.

They threw the ball ten or more times without hitting either one of
us.  The harder they threw, the more they missed and the madder they seemed
to get.

"OK, that's enough.  You're getting too rough," yelled out Mrs. Cherry.

I will never forget the look on Jeffrey's face when the game ended.
He could hardly believe that he had made it that far.  When Jeffrey and I
went to the bathroom to wash up he had tears in his eyes.

"You made me feel good by picking me first," he told me, as he stood
there crying over the sink.

I learned a very good lesson that day.  We were just a bunch of kids
who were not popular at all.  Earlier that morning, Mrs. Cherry had talked
to us about "brains" and "brawn".  She told us that if we were to succeed
in life that we had to learn to use all of our skills, and that we had to
work together as a team.

I just wanted to see if the teacher knew what she was talking about.

Roger Dean Kiser, Sr.
trampolineone@webtv.net

Write Roger and let him know your thoughts on his story!

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Visit Roger's Web site to read more of his stories at:

http://www.RogerDeanKiser.com

Roger and his wife, Judy, also a writer, live in Brunswick, Georgia. As a child Roger was raised in a very abusive orphanage located in Jacksonville Florida. He has written many stories which tell of the horrors that he and other children suffered daily, for more than ten years.

His new book of uplifting stories titled "American Orphan" can be purchased at: http://www.tajmahalreview.com  or http://www.cyberwit.net/

He now writes and speaks to children in the Georgia School system about child
abuse and its effects.

If you missed the interview we did with Roger, you can check it out at:

http://www.HeartTouchers.com/roger_dean_kiser_sr_

 

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Thought For The Day:

"Chance favors prepared minds." --Louis Pasteur

Verse for the Day:

"The wise man stores up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin." --Proverbs 10:14

Kid's Thought For The Day:

"Don't worry about crossing the street until you get to the curb."

Parent's Thought For The Day

"Your kids will feed their new puppy the day you buy it and the days you threaten to take it back to the pet store." --Bruce Lansky

Coach's Thought For The Day:

"The reason for practicing and playing has nothing to do with winning."

Writer's Thought For The Day:

"I've always written very tightly, and there's a good reason for that. There's no point in using words that you're not going to apply. You don't use words that are not going to be employed in the narrative or context. It should consist of short, sharply focused sentences, each of which is a whole scene in itself. By that, you put the reader right in there where the story is." --Theodore Sturgeon

Deep Thought For The Day:

"I think that someone must have surveillance equipment set up in my living room, because every once in a while, someone on the TV will tell me what channel I'm watching. That really freaks me out, you know?"

 

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UPDATE:

For those of you who have been praying for Marianne Perks, here is a quick update on how she is doing...

After having the bilateral mastectomy, they determined that there was no cancer spread into the lymph nodes.  That in itself is a great miracle.  Then after a few weeks we met with the oncologist.  He said chemo therapy would not be necessary.  She has begun a five year program that has been successful in Europe.  It involves a hormone therapy specifically designed to fight that type of cancer.  Although it too has cancer concerns, it is far better than the chemo.
 
Her energy is low at times but will return to work half days by the end of the month.

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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

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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!

http://www.HeartTouchers.com/books

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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, $6.95 (No other charges), as compared to $13.95 for the print book. Plus your EBook will arrive the same day you order it and you can begin reading the stories right away!

EBooks are read via Acrobat Reader, which is software that is already on your computer. So for those of you who don't want to wait for the print book to be delivered, check out this link to order the EBook version of Heart Touchers "Life-Changing Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter."

http://www.hearttouchers.com/books

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