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{Heart4Teens.com} *A Kid Like You* ______________________________________ 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.Heart4Teens.com/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 _________________________________________ Finally there is a great filter to block Internet pornography and other objectionable content! Kristi and I have used this filter for 5 years now and want to recommend the Bsafe Online filter to you. We absolutely love it. To find out more and get your own FREE 10-Day Trial, just visit: http://www.Heart4Teens.com/filter _________________________________________ Before we get to today's story I wanted to let you know about a new addition to our web site! I just added a new page called "Creation News" that will give you an article on the leading news in the Creation/Evolution controversy each day. http://www.Heart4Teens.com/Creation_News This section also includes a rotating Question and Answer feature and a weekly Creation Comic strip from the people at AnswersInGenesis.org Be sure to come back and visit each day for an informative article that will help you keep up to date on the latest news in this controversial area! From my family to yours, Michael _________________________________________ A KID LIKE YOU Zach Hunter is a fifteen-year-old abolitionist and activist, spending much of his time working to end slavery around the world. He's the student spokesperson for The Amazing Change Campaign, which is inspired by the film "Amazing Grace". Last year he spoke to almost a half a million people and is educating and inspiring students everywhere to make a change in the world. He also founded Loose Change to Loosen Chains, a student run effort to help raise money to free slaves. Other than that, he's just your average, typical teenage guy. His new book, "Be the Change," will be the focus of the next few weeks of devotionals. He is doing amazing things to help change the world, and you can do amazing things in our world, too. ** LIVING OUT INFLUENCE TODAY Another way to look at influence is to consider what marketers call "branding." You're familiar with the brands you buy and can recognize them easily by their logos. When you see the "swoosh" you think Nike, just as when you see the little white apple you think Mac. Millions of dollars are spent to get you to remember these brands and their slogans. And, as we've mentioned, connecting celebrity to brands makes them even more powerful and memorable. But have you ever considered your brand? Well, each one of us has his or her own brand--even if we're still in school. Whether you're geek, jock, or emo (or, to be more politically correct, academic, athlete, artistic), everyone has a brand. Your brand is who people know you to be. It's your reputation. Now these brands aren't always a good thing. It's true they can lead to prejudice or a cliquish environment in which we hang out only with people who have the same brand as us. This is wrong. Instead of using our brands to exclude others, why don't we use them to help others? Whatever our brands give us access to, let's utilize it. Just because we're young doesn't mean our voices don't matter and our brands don't carry power and influence. The Bible says, "even a child is known by his actions" (Proverbs 20:11). This means we can't be let off the hook just because we are young. We can't just sit back and expect our elders to do all the work. I'm hopeful because I really believe our generation has the power and passion to change things. This past summer I met a group of really great guys in a new band called Leeland from a small town in Texas. They started out leading worship in their church, but they've come a long way since then. Lately they have been touring with Third Day, and playing at some of the Christian music festivals I have been going to. These young guys are men of God, and are way more mature than many people older than them. They are some of the most talented, godliest guys I know. Last summer, I was speaking at a music festival, leading seminars on justice and abolition. The lead singer of the band, Leeland Mooring, was listening. He and the other guys in the group (Jack, Jake, Mike, and Jeremiah) had never heard about modern-day slavery. It blew them away that something as heinous as slavery is still going on today, especially when they found out many of the slaves are children and teens like us! That day, I told the story of a teenager who worked as a slave in a rock quarry and ended up having her finger amputated. (She and her family were later rescued, along with many other slaves, through the efforts of an organization I support through Loose Change to Loosen Chains. I also talked about some of the many passages like Isaiah 1:17 that speak of how God calls us to seek justice and rescue the oppressed. The guys from Leeland began exploring further what God says about justice in Scripture and got involved. They didn't second-guess their convictions; they stepped up and began using their influence to help kids held in slavery, speaking from the stage to urge people to get involved. I think that's what our generation should be about. We can be what so many generations before us were too scared to be. Lots of people have tried to label our generation. Well, I'd like to see us known as the "Justice Generation" or JGEN. If we can harness the power of our individual brands, strengths, and passions, and use them for good, just imagine what we could get done working together with God. Let's get busy! ** Taken from "Be the Change," by Zach Hunter, copyright 2007, Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here: http://www.youthspecialties.com/product/277566 _________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great people make you feel that you too, can become great." --Mark Twain Verse for the Day: "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful." Psalm 1:1 Teen's Thought For The Day: "Keep your mouth closed as often as you can. Sometimes the squeaky wheel gets kicked." Parent's Thought For The Day "My father used to tell me, 'When Abraham Lincoln was your age, Abraham Lincoln had a job. When Abraham Lincoln was your age, he walked twelve miles to get to school.' I said, 'Dad, when Lincoln was your age, he was President, okay?'"-- Andy Andrews Coach's Thought For The Day "Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation and in cold wither becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind." --Leonardo da Vinci Deep Thought For The Day: "When my grandparents arrived in this country from Germany, they were dirty, frightened, and penniless. I swear, that's the last time we let them vacation by themselves." _________________________________________ Let's Go Surfing Dude! ~ The Amazing Change: There are more slaves today than at any other time in history. Learn more about the facts, William Wilberforce--an abolitionist, and how you can help rescue these people. http://www.theamazingchange.com/index.html __________________________________________ Over 100,000 people have listened to popular Chicken Soup Author Michael T. Powers' free inspirational message entitled: "Breathing Life into Others". If you aren't one of them just visit: http://www.HeartTouchers.com and click on the link to listen to the free streaming audio message! __________________________________________ Author MICHAEL T. POWERS www.Heart4Teens.com Contributing Author to Chicken Soup for the Teen's Soul on Love and Friendship and 26 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.) All-Stars: 6:30 - 8:00 PM Sunday nights! Open to all youth grades 9-12. The Outlet: 6:30 - 8:00 PM Sunday nights in the Multi-Purpose Room! Open to all youth grades 6-8. Currently we have students from Edgerton, Fort Atkinson, Milton, Janesville Craig, Janesville Parker, Marshall, Franklin, 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. Upcoming Topics: New Series on Creation and the Authority of the Bible! February 18: Dinosaurs Part 2 February 25: Noah's Ark March 4: Noah's Ark Part 2 Visit our youth website to see our topics for all of 2007! http://www.faithcommunitychurch.net/youth _______________________________________________ Teen Community Groups 6:30 - 8:00 PM Wednesday nights (September though May) These 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 Xtreme Teens. These cell groups will also be doing special activities with each other as the year goes on to build community. Jr. High age meets at the church and are led by Kent and Rachel Martin High School age are led by Tedi Knox: 2816 Blackbridge (Call 305-0318 if you have any questions!) Xtreme Teens Xtreme Teens meet on Wednesday nights from 6:30 - 8:00 PM all year round at the Powers' house. 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. Admission into Xtreme Teens is on a case by case basis. Contact Pastor Michael for more details! _______________________________ To unsubscribe visit: http://www.hundred-acre-woods.com/magic-list/Heart4Teens _______________________________ YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THE WORLD! Many people think teenagers aren't capable of much. But Zach Hunter is proving those people wrong. He's only fifteen, but he's working to end slavery in the world--and he's making changes that affect millions of people. Find out how Zach is making a difference and how you can make changes in the things that you see wrong with our world. Check out "Be the Change" here: http://www.youthspecialties.com/product/277566 Also available in your local Christian bookstore |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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