CHILDREN ONES
(LAST UPDATED - OCTOBER 23, 2006)
AM I A FIREMAN YET?
In Phoenix, Arizona, a 26-year-old mother stared down at her 6 year old son, who
was dying of terminal leukaemia. Although her heart was filled with sadness, she
also had a strong feeling of determination. Like any parent, she wanted her son
to grow up & fulfil all his dreams. Now that was no longer possible. The
leukaemia would see to that. But she still wanted her son's dream to come true.
She took her son's hand and asked, "Billy, did you ever think about
what you wanted to be once you grew up? Did you ever dream and wish what you
would do with your life?"
Mommy, "I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up." Mom smiled
back and said, "Let's see if we can make your wish come true."
Later that day she went to her local fire department in Phoenix, Arizona, where
she met Fireman Bob, who had a heart as big as Phoenix. She explained her son's
final wish and asked if it might be possible to give her 6 year old son a ride
around the block on a fire engine.
Fireman Bob said, "Look, we can do better than that. If you'll have
your son ready at seven o'clock Wednesday morning, we'll make him an honorary
fireman for the whole day. We can come down to the fire station, eat with us, go
out on all the fire calls, the whole nine yards! And if you'll give us his
sizes, we'll get a real fire uniform for him, with a real fire hat - not a toy
-- one with the emblem of the Phoenix Fire Department on it, a yellow slicker
like we wear and rubber boots. They're all manufactured right here in Phoenix,
so we can get them fast."
Three days later Fireman Bob picked up Billy, dressed him in his
uniform and escorted him from his hospital bed to the waiting hook and ladder
truck. Billy got to sit on the back of the truck and help steer it back to the
fire station. He was in heaven. There were three fire calls in Phoenix that day
and Billy got to go out on all three calls. He rode in the different fire
engines, the paramedic's van, and even the fire chief's car. He was also
videotaped for the local news program.
Having his dream come true, with all the Love and attention that
was lavished upon him, so deeply touched Billy, that he lived three months
longer than any doctor thought possible. One night all of his vital signs began
to drop dramatically and the head nurse – who believed in the hospice concept
that no one should die alone – began to call the family members to the hospital.
Then she remembered the day Billy had spent as a fireman, so she called the Fire
Chief and asked if it would be possible to send a fireman in uniform to the
hospital to be with Billy as he made his transition.
The chief replied, "We can do better than that. We'll be there in
five minutes. Will you please do me a favour? When you hear the sirens screaming
and see the lights flashing, will you announce over the PA system, that there is
not a fire? It's the department coming to see one of its finest members one more
time. And will you open the window to his room?
About five minutes later a hook and ladder truck arrived at the
hospital and extended its ladder up to Billy's third floor open window--------
16 fire-fighters climbed up the ladder into Billy's room. With his mother's
permission, they hugged him and held him and told him how much they LOVED him.
With his dying breath, Billy looked up at the fire chief and said, "Chief, am I
really a fireman now?"
"Billy, you are - and the Head Chief, Jesus, is holding your
hand," the chief said. With those words, Billy smiled and said, "I know, He's
been holding my hand all day, and the angels have been singing.." He closed his
eyes one last time.
DADDY'S DAY AT SCHOOL
Her hair
up in a pony tail,
her favourite dress tied with a bow
Today was Daddy's Day at school,
and she couldn't wait to go
But her mommy tried to tell her,
that she probably should stay home
Why the kids might not understand,
if she went to school alone
But she was not afraid;
she knew just what to say
What to tell her classmates,
on this Daddy's Day
But still her mother worried,
for her to face this day alone
And that was why once again,
she tried to keep her daughter home
But the little girl went to school,
eager to tell them all
About a dad she never sees,
a dad who will never call.
There were daddies along the wall in back,
for everyone to meet
Children squirming impatiently,
anxious in their seats
One by one the teacher called,
a student from the class
To introduce their daddy,
as seconds slowly passed
At last the teacher called her name,
every child turned to stare
Each of them were searching,
for a man who wasn't there
"Where's her daddy at?"
she heard a boy call out
She probably doesn't have one,"
a student dared to shout
And from somewhere near the back,
she heard a daddy say
"Looks like another deadbeat dad,
too busy to waste his day."
The words did not offend her,
as she smiled at her friends
And looked back at her teacher,
who told her to begin
And with hands behind her back,
slowly she began to speak
And out from the mouth of a child,
came words incredibly unique
"My Daddy couldn't be here,
because he lives so far away
But I know he wishes
he could be with me on this day
And though you cannot meet him,
I wanted you to know
All about my daddy,
and how much he loves me so
He loved to tell me stories,
he taught me to ride my bike
He surprised me with pink roses,
and taught me to fly a kite
We used to share fudge sundaes
and ice cream in a cone
And though you cannot see him,
I'm not standing all alone
'Cause my daddy's always with me,
even though we are apart
I know because he told me,
he'll forever be here in my heart"
With that her little hand reached up,
and lay across her chest
Feeling her own heartbeat,
beneath her favourite dress
And from somewhere in the crowd of dads,
her mother stood in tears
Proudly watching her daughter,
who was wise beyond her years
For she stood up for the love
of a man not in her life
Doing what was best for her,
doing what was right
And when she dropped her hand back down,
staring straight into the crowd
She finished with a voice so soft,
but its message clear and loud
"I love my daddy very much,
he's my shining star
And if he could he'd be here,
but heaven's just too far
But sometimes when I close my eyes,
it's like he never went away."
And then she closed her eyes,
and saw him there that day
And to her mother's amazement,
she witnessed with surprise
A room full of daddies and children,
all starting to close their eyes
Who knows what they saw before them,
who knows what they felt inside
Perhaps for merely a second,
they saw him at her side.
"I know you're with me Daddy,"
to the silence she called out
And what happened next made believers,
of those once filled with doubt
Not one in that room could explain it,
for each of their eyes had been closed
But there placed on her desktop,
was a beautiful fragrant pink rose
And a child was blessed, if only a moment,
by the love of her shining bright star
And given the gift of believing,
that heaven is never too far.
FROM
THE KIDS
JESUS' DAD'S NAME
A Sunday school teacher asked her class, "What was Jesus' mother's name?" One
child answered, "Mary." The teacher then asked, "Who knows what Jesus' father's
name was?" A little kid said, "Verge." Confused, the teacher asked, "Where did
you get that?" The kid said, "Well, you know they are always talking about Verge
n' Mary.''
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3-year-old, Reese: "Our Father, Who does art in heaven, Harold is His name.
Amen."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little boy was overheard praying: "Lord, if you can't make me a better boy,
don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the christening of his baby brother in church, Jason sobbed all the way
home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was
wrong.
Finally, the boy replied, "That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a
Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you guys."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I had been teaching my three-year old daughter, Caitlin, the Lord's Prayer for
several evenings at bedtime, and she would repeat after me the lines from the
prayer.
Finally, she decided to go solo. I listened with pride as she carefully
enunciated each word right up to the end of the prayer: "Lead us not into
temptation," she prayed,
"but deliver us some E-mail.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One particular four-year-old prayed, "And forgive us our trash baskets as we
forgive those who put trash in our baskets."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Sunday school teacher asked her children, as they were on the way to church
service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?"
One bright little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Six-year-old Angie and her four-year-old brother Joel were sitting together in
church. Joel giggled, sang, and talked out loud. Finally, his big sister had had
enough.
"You're not supposed to talk out loud in church." "Why? Who's going to stop me?"
Joel asked. Angie pointed to the back of the church and said, "See those two men
standing by the door? They're hushers."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin, 5 and Ryan 3. The
boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the
opportunity for a moral lesson. "If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, 'Let
my brother have the first pancake, I can wait.'" Kevin turned to his younger
brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A father was at the beach with his children when the four-year-old son ran up
to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore where a seagull lay dead in
the sand. "Daddy, what happened to him?" the son asked. "He died and went
to Heaven," the Dad replied. The boy thought a moment and then said, "Did God
throw him back down?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their
six-year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?"
"I wouldn't know what to say," the girl replied.
"Just say what you hear Mommy say," the wife answered. The daughter bowed
her head and said, "Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to
dinner?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little girl was in deep concentration while creating a drawing. Her mother
asked her what she was drawing and received the curt reply, "God." Her mother
responded, "But no one knows what God looks like!" The little girl replied,
"They will now!"
A BOY AND A DOG
A
storeowner was tacking a sign above his door that read "Puppies for Sale". Signs
have a way of attracting children, and soon a little boy appeared at the store
and asked, "How much are you gonna sell those puppies for?"
The storeowner replied, "Anywhere from $30 to $50."The little boy reached
into his pocket and pulled out some change. "I have $2.37, can I look at them?"
The storeowner smiled and whistled. Out of the back of the store came his
dog running down the aisle followed by five little puppies. One puppy was
lagging considerably behind. Immediately the little boy singled out the
lagging, limping puppy. "What's wrong with that little dog?" he asked.
The man explained that when the puppy was born the vet said it had a bad hip
socket and would limp for the rest of its life. The little boy got really
excited and said, "That's the puppy I want to buy!"
The man replied, "No, you don't want to buy that little dog. If you really
want him, I'll give him to you." The little boy got upset. He looked straight
into the man's eyes and said, "I don't want you to give him to me. He is worth
every bit as much as the other dogs and I'll pay the full price. In fact, I will
give you $2.37 now and 50 cents every month until I have him paid for."
The man countered, "You really don't want to buy this puppy, son. He's never
gonna be able to run, jump and play like other puppies."
The little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly
twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. He looked up at the
man and said, "Well, I don't run so well myself and the little puppy will need
someone who understands."
The man was now biting his bottom lip. Tears welled up in his eyes...He
smiled and said, "Son, I hope and pray that each and every one of these puppies
will have an owner such as you."
In life it doesn't matter who you are, but whether someone appreciates you
for what you are, and accepts you and loves you unconditionally.
EXPLANATION OF GOD
This was written by an 8 year old,
Danny Dutton of
“One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones
that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth.
He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and
easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching
them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers.
God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this
goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside
bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this.
Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears,
unless he has thought of a way to turn it off.
God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him
pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your mom and
dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have.
Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in
Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and
performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn
about God. They finally got tired of him preaching to them and they crucified
Him. But He was good and kind, like his father, and he told His Father that they
didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K.”
This is my favorite part.
“His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his Hard work
on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could
stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps His
You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got
it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.
You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if
there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God.
Don't skip church or do something you think will be more fun like going to
the beach. This is wrong. And besides, the sun doesn't come out until noon
anyway.
If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very
lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God
can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared, in the dark or when
you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids.
But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure
God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases. And...that's why I
believe in God.”
GOD BLESS
AND THANK GOD FOR CHILDREN SAYING GRACE!
Last week I took my children to a
restaurant. My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. As we bowed our
heads he said, “God is good, God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would
even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And
Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby I heard a woman
remark, “That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how
to pray Asking God for ice-cream! Why, I never!”
Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, “Did I do it wrong? Is God
mad at me?”
As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job and
God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table.
He winked at my son and said, “I happen to know that God thought that was a
great prayer.
“Really?” my son asked.
“Cross my heart,” the man replied. Then in a theatrical whisper he added
(indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), “Too bad she
never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul
sometimes.”
Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared
at his for a moment and then did something I will remember the rest of my life.
He picked up his sundae and without a word, walked over and placed it in front
of the woman. With a big smile he told her, “Here, this is for you. Ice cream is
good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already.”
A Baby's Hug
We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high
chair and noticed everyone was quietly eating and talking. Suddenly, Erik
squealed with glee and said, "Hi there." He pounded his fat baby hands on the
highchair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a
toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment.
I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man
whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of
would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His
whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it
looked like a road map. We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he
smelled. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. "Hi there, baby; Hi there,
big boy. I see ya, buster," the man said to Erik.
My husband and I exchanged looks, "What do we do?" Erik continued
to laugh and answer, "Hi, hi there." Everyone in the restaurant noticed and
looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my
beautiful baby. Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room,
"Do ya patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek-a-boo."
Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk. My husband and I
were very embarrassed.
We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his
repertoire for the admiring skid-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his
cute comments. We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My
husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The
old man sat poised between me and the door. "Lord, just let me out of here
before he speaks to me or Erik," I prayed.
As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep
him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm,
reaching with both arms in a baby's "pick-me-up" position. Before I could stop
him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man's. Suddenly a very old
smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love relationship.
Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny
head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears
hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labour,
cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever
loved so deeply for so short a time. I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and
cradled Erik in his arms and his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said
in a firm commanding voice, "You take care of this baby."
Somehow I managed, "I will," from a throat that contained a stone.
He pried Erik from his chest unwillingly, longingly, as though he were in pain.
I received my baby, and the man said, "God bless you, ma'am, you've given me my
Christmas gift." I said nothing more than a muttered thanks.
With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering
why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, "My God, my
God, forgive me." I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence
of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul,
and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding
a child who was not.
I felt it was God asking, "Are you willing to share your son for a
moment?" when He shared His for all eternity. The ragged old man, unwittingly,
had reminded me, "To enter the
Kingdom of
God, we must become as little children."