wsharing Home Page

My name is william. The name a touch of william originally encompassed all of the central "five heartbeats" on this site. It still refers to my photography & poetry, and combined personal missions. Today, the other pieces are:

Cherokee Bill's Trade Center (Cherokee/Native American focus) still a sole-proprietorship		Teaching & Sharing Centers (Nature-Spirit-Expression) Michigan non-profit 501c3 corporation

christian life programs (traditional Christian focus) now a part of the T&SC		the poet's circle (connection & membership possibilities) with the T&SC

For ten years (1994-2004) I was the sole-proprietor owner/operator of the T&SC and each of the associated dynamics. But in truth, I am just the servant through whom God set it up. In 2005 we (T&SC) incorporated as a public charity. So, those five original heartbeats (as I called them) are arranged a little differently now, but the circle is still complete, and even expanding to include the visions and gifts of others. I hope you experience it as such, and can in some way personally connect within the circle.

I truly believe the quote with which I opened this page, and pray that this site reflects that belief. I was not personally connected to the Internet when I started this website. I try to keep my life as simple as I can. So when I became convinced the Holy Spirit was moving me in this direction, I sought advice from friends who were. Some of them were concerned about the "pirating" which they say is so common. But, you cannot steal what I have already freely given. The william sharing site is all about sharing myself and my work.

		I encourage you to download, print, and share with your family, friends, and others, anything which has touched your heart here. Then you have a choice. You can stand on the sidelines, or you can choose to be a partner in this process (see the tpcM page for information), providing help in accordance with your means.

Marketing my photography and poetry is not a primary goal of mine and I no longer offer it for sale on this site. If you have a desire to commercially use my work, or have a (personal use) need for a format you cannot simply copy from the site, email or call me.

		People sometimes ask me how do I make a living with all the stuff I do or provide for free? The honest answer is, that from a worldly perspective, I don't "make a living," I simply "live a life," faithfully doing that which I believe God has asked of me. I think Peace Pilgrim put it best when asked that same question. She said:

"I work for my living in an unusual way. I give what I can through thoughts and words and deeds to those whose lives I touch and to humanity. In return I accept what people want to give, but I do not ask. They are blessed by their giving and I am blessed by my giving." I once read, and believe, that true security lies not in what you have, but in what you can do without.

		I realize that, in our society, by most people's standards this is a most peculiar or unusual way to function. I do not work an extra job, nor am I independently wealthy. I do believe in and practice debt-free living. If my wife and I do not have the resources for something, we simply find a way to function otherwise. My security and my peace rest in my relationship with my Creator.

By the way, throughout this site you may see me use the words Creator, God, Spirit, Holy Spirit, Great Spirit, Father, Grandfather, Christ and a few others interchangeably or similarly to reference the Hebrew Yahweh (or Jehovah). For me, while stemming from different traditions, all of these refer to the Creator "of all that is seen and unseen, Maker of heaven and earth."

Since Jesus is an historical person, using His name refers, of course, to Him personally. The capitalized pronouns acknowledge my belief in Him as the Christ (or Messiah), the incarnation of God.

I truly hope you enjoy visiting the "wsharing" website often.
May God bless your generosity and journey, as He has mine.

I have some recollections of occasionally visiting a church as a youngster. In high school, Mr. Jolly, my foreign language teacher, taught our entire class the Lord's Prayer in German. Later, facing life's struggles, I sought out and learned the prayer's English words. But nature provided most of my early exposure to God.

In early 1985, at age 34, I began an earnest search to bring some spiritual meaning into my life. Though I had not been brought up religiously, I had been exposed to the person Jesus, primarily through movies, and other media sources. The Christian religion held little attraction for me however, since I saw it as a place filled with hypocrisy. Yet this Jesus was incredibly different from any other historical persons with whom I was familiar.

In November 1985, at age 35, I placed my life into God's hands, and committed myself to a path of trying to emulate this "brother" Jesus. But, I still wanted little to do with his "Christian" religion or its churches. Though my petitions always went to God (the Father), I began suspecting I was somehow developing a relationship with the Son, Jesus. After battling it for three years, I was baptized in 1988. Today I refer to Jesus as the Christ. And it is because of Him that I share with you.

Billy Graham, a man I greatly respected, would have told you to turn from your sins and come by faith to Jesus Christ; saying, "Lord, I receive You into my heart." My poetry illustrates that turning from sin is not so easy. But, I too believe, you can make no better choice than a personal relationship with Jesus, the Christ.

Below you will find the original graphic and text from this "home" page when wsharing was first set up in October 2002. The links take you to the current pages, not historical ones. When the Teaching & Sharing Center(s) was incorporated on January 1, 2005, I redid each of the primary pages in this site. The old was blended into the new. Just as all of my experiences and choices combine to make me who I am right now (and yours who you are), so too does the accumulated past reflect and find its home in what is "now" here.

The photo of william (below) was taken by library director Suzanne Bowles
at the Grand Ledge Area District Library upon his retirement from the board in June 2002.