This next item is also from Lola's devotional....but I'm only going to use the part which really touched me so deeply. Please forgive me, Lola.

      See, I have a son and a daughter. I tell them both VERY frequently, several times a day if possible, how much I love them. I learned that from my neighbor and dear friend, Mike Volner, who is one of the most Godly men that I know. They just can't hear that too often. And I tell Jenni how important she is to me, and how special she is to my life. But after reading this next piece, I realized that I don't tell my son David that often enough. I seem to hold my son to a higher standard. He has ADHD, and while I make allowances for that, I still ride him HARD about his grades and his room. Jenni thinks that I'm strict, and I am, but I don't think she realizes how tight a rein I hold on David.

      I just came from his room. After telling him EXACTLY what I read in the next piece, I just held him and told him just how truly special he is to me....a gift from God!! And I promise to him, to Jenni, and to God to make sure that BOTH my children, and my wife, realize how special they truly are: A gift from the very hand of God! I never want to take them for granted again.....Bill

      Here's the piece....

      That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine. He thinks I'm a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that says Who I Am Makes A Difference' on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor.

      As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to honor you. "My days are really hectic and when I come home I don't pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in school and for your bedroom being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You're a great kid and I love you!

      "The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn't stop crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, "I was planning on committing suicide tomorrow, Dad, because I didn't think you loved me. Now I don't need to."

      WHO I AM MAKES A DIFFERENCE BECAUSE I AM A PERSON WITH A HEART AND FEELINGS AND A NEED TO BE ACCEPTED.

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