Favorites

A Favorite Student

who died from cancer

~ Derek DeVon ~

9/4/1997 ~ 9/17/2005

God saw you getting tired
when a cure was not to be.

So He closed His arms around you
and whispered, "Come to Me!"

You didn't deserve what you went
through and so He gave you rest.

God's garden must be beautiful,,
He only takes the best.

And when I saw you sleeping,
so peaceful and free of pain,

I couldn't wish you back to suffer that again.

We miss you baby boy. Love, Daddy, Mommy, Dylan

Derek and Daddy

Mommy and Derek, Mother and Son, Love Eternal

Derek and Dylan, brothers, best friends!

The greatest gift Derek and his family has received has always been your love and prayers.

Donations can be made at any Washington Mutual Bank, the account is under his name, Derek Devon.

Thank you!

A Favorite Story

"Welcome to Holland"

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream is a very, very significant loss. But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Another Favorite Story

God's Telephone Number, author unknown

We have all learned to live with voice mail as a necessary part of modern life. But have you wondered, what if God decided to install voice mail?

Imagine praying and hearing this:

"Thank you for calling my Father's House. Please select one of the following options:

	Press 1 for requests
	Press 2 for thanksgiving
	Press 3 for complaints
	Press 4 for all other inquiries."

What if God used the familiar excuse: "I'm sorry, all of our angels are busy helping other sinners right now. However, your prayer is important to us and will be answered in the order it was received, so please stay on the line."

Can you imagine getting these kinds of responses as you call God in prayer?

If you would like to speak to:

	Gabriel, Press 1
	Michael, Press 2
	For a directory of other angels, Press 3
	If you would like to hear King David sing a psalm while you hold, please Press 4
	To find out if a loved one has been assigned to Heaven, Press 5, enter his or her Social Security number, then press the pound key. If you get a negative response, try area code 666.

For reservations at "My Father's House" please enter J-O-H-N, followed by 3-1-6.

For answers to nagging questions about dinosaurs, the age of earth, and where Noah's Ark is, please wait until you arrive here.

Our computers show that you have already prayed once today. Please hang up and try again tomorrow. This office is closed for the weekend to observe a religious holiday. Please pray again Monday after 9:30 a.m. If you need emergency assistance when this office is closed, contact your local pastor.

A Favorite Song

"Don't Laugh At Me"

Peter, Paul & Mary version

(original version written by Allen Shamblin and Steve Seskin)

I’m a little boy with glasses,

the one they call a geek.

A little girl who never smiles,

‘cause I’ve got braces on my teeth.

And I know how it feels,

to cry myself to sleep.

I’m that kid on every playground,

the one that’s chosen last.

I’m a single teenage mother,

trying to overcome my past.

You don’t have to be my friend,

but is it too much to ask.

Don’t laugh at me.

Don’t call me names.

Don’t get your pleasure from my pain.

In God’s eyes, were all the same.

Some day we’ll all have perfect wings.

Don’t laugh at me.

I’m the beggar on the corner,

you’ve passed me on the street.

And I wouldn’t be out here beggin’,

if I had enough to eat.

And don’t think I don’t notice,

that our eyes never meet.

Don’t laugh at me.

Don’t call me names.

Don’t get your pleasure from my pain.

In God’s eyes, were all the same.

Some day we’ll all have perfect wings.

Don’t laugh at me.

I’m fat, I’m thin, I’m short, I’m tall,

I’m deaf, I’m blind, hey aren’t we all.

Don’t laugh at me.

Don’t call me names.

Don’t get your pleasure from my pain.

In God’s eyes, were all the same.

Some day we’ll all have perfect wings.

Don’t laugh at me.

Don't laugh at me!