NEW School prayer:

This was written by a 15 yr. old School Kid in Ohio: What have we
become? A New Pledge of Allegiance (TOTALLY AWESOME!) Since the
Pledge of Allegiance & The Lords Prayer are not allowed in
schools anymore because the word 'God' is mentioned... A Kid in
Ohio wrote the attached....

NEW School prayer:

Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.

If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now...

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom thing..
The law is specific, the law is precise..
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks...
We can carry smut, but not the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong.

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.

It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen

For the Christian Prayer is not an option but an opportunity.
"In prayer; expect setbacks, but refuse retreat". R. Eastman

Wet Pants

Come with me to a third grade classroom




.....There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front

of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot
possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows
that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find
out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head down and prays this
prayer, 'Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now
I'm dead meat.'

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that
says he has been discovered.

As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish
bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably
dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap

The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, 'Thank you,
Lord! Thank you, Lord!'

Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object
of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on
while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees
cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it,
the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough, you klutz!'

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over
to Susie and whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?'

Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once too.'

May God help us see the opportunities that are always around us to do good...

Remember.....Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than
standing in your garage makes you a car.

Each and everyone one of us is going through tough times right now, but God is
getting ready to bless you in a way that only He can.... Keep the faith.

This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is
no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another.


"Father,
Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release
a renewed confidence through Your grace. Where there is need, I ask you to fulfill
their needs.
Amen."

The Christian Prayer is not an option but an opportunity.
"In prayer; expect setbacks, but refuse retreat. R. Eastman
"Salvation: Nothing to Earn, Much to Learn". Adrian Rogers
Do your best, bring out the best in others,
Don't tell the Lord how big the problem is,
tell the problem how Great the Lord is!
Put God first, be happy at last

CALL OF DUTY

Early one morning, a mother went in to wake up her son. "Wake up, son. It's time
to go to school!"

"But why, Mom? I don't want to go."

"Give me two reasons why you don't want to go."

"Well, the kids hate me for one, and the teachers hate me, too!"

"Oh, that's no reason not to go to school. Come on now and get ready."

"Give me two reasons why I should go to school."

"Well, for one, you're 52 years old. And for another, you're the principal!"

Sometimes we have to do things even when we don't feel like doing them! It's called
having a sense of duty. I think perhaps the concept of duty has taken some abuse in
the church. We sometimes talk about the importance of doing things for God because
we want to, not because we have to. And I would wholeheartedly agree with that. But
if we only serve God when we really "feel" like it, our service would be minimal
indeed. Sometimes the feelings aren't there, and we need to continue to serve knowing
that it is the "right" thing to do.

It shouldn't bother us to think that way because we do many other things in life
for the same reason.

Alan Smith writes that, "I am a father of three children. When each of
those babies entered my home, I loved them. And I provided for their needs because
I loved them. But, I can honestly say that there were many times I got up in the
middle of night to meet their needs when I didn't "feel" like it. There were times
when I got out of bed exhausted and irritable, and the only reason I got up was
because I had a responsibility as a father to meet their needs. The love is always
there, but sometimes it is a sense of duty that drives you to do what needs to be
done. "

The same thing is true in our Christian walk. When you get "exhausted and irritable"
in your service to Christ, when you don't "feel" like doing what you know needs to be
done, may a sense of responsibility, a sense of duty, drive you to continue to remain
faithful.

"And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when
he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'? But will he not
rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me
till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank
that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So
likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say,
'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.' "
(Luke 17:7-10)

Say a Prayer if you dare.

From: Liberty Counsel <alert@libertyaction.org>

Tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. in the federal court serving Northern Florida, the
first of three defendants charged with illegally praying (or merely
encouraging prayer) over a meal will face Judge Casey Rodgers.

Michelle Winkler, a Santa Rosa County clerical assistant asked her husband
to bless a meal at a privately sponsored "Employee of the Year" banquet
held at a rented, off-campus facility well after school hours. But the
prying eyes of the ACLU took note, and Michelle now faces stiff fines and
censure!

Mrs. Winkler is charged with civil contempt, but her school's principal,
Frank Lay, and its athletic director, Robert Freeman, face CRIMINAL
charges before the same judge on September 17.

Although the potential penalties are not as severe in Michelle's case,
the core issues are much the same. This historic battle begins tomorrow
in Pensacola!

We have spread the word of the ACLU's outrageous attempt to criminalize
Christianity in America in every way we can. We have appeared on the Fox
News Channel, CNN, and scores of other national broadcast outlets, and
will continue doing so.

We were on Fox News discussing Michelle's plight again just this morning.
But now I need your help in two very important ways:

ACTION ITEM ONE: Please pray! There's a reason the ACLU doesn't want
prayer in public places - they can't make headway on their secular,
statist agenda when we pray! And Michelle Winkler needs prayers from
brothers and sisters across America to stand strong tomorrow. Just
imagine being in her place!

ACTION ITEM TWO: Tell as many Christian friends as possible about this
pivotal battle for the soul of our Nation, and ask them to join you in
prayer! Even if you've already done some forwarding (and thank you so
much for that), please do even more today! This call to prayer must get
out to a much wider audience!

I cannot emphasize strongly enough what a crucially important group of
cases this is! The future of American law and our precious freedom of
religious expression literally hang in the balance in this small Florida
Panhandle community.

You can learn more about this historic battle and help Liberty Counsel
stand up to the bullies of the ACLU by going here:
http://www.libertyaction.org/r.asp?U=20953&CID=281&RID=15453583

For the Christian Prayer is not an option but an opportunity.
"In prayer; expect setbacks, but refuse retreat". R. Eastman
"Salvation: Nothing to Earn, Much to Learn". Adrian Rogers
Do your best, bring out the best in others,
Don't tell the Lord how big the problem is,
tell the problem how Great the Lord is!
Put God first, be happy at last!

THE SNEEZE

They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing into the already crowded auditorium. With their rich maroon gowns flowing ... and the traditional caps, they looked almost .. as grown up as they felt.
Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed away tears.

This class would NOT pray during the commencements----not by choice, but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it.

The principal and several students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance and no one asked for blessings on the graduates or their families.

The speeches were nice, but they were routine....until the final speech received a standing ovation.

A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then, it happened.

All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED!!!!

The student on stage.. simply looked at the audience and said,
'GOD BLESS YOU, each and every one of you!' And he walked off stage...

The audience exploded into applause. This graduating class had found a unique way to invoke God's blessing on their future with or without the court's approval.

This is a true story; it happened at the University of Maryland .

Carl's Garden

Carl was a quiet man. He didn't talk much. He would always greet you with a big
smile and a firm handshake. Even after living in our neighborhood for over 50
years, no one could really say they knew him very well. Before his retirement,
he took the bus to work each morning. The lone sight of him walking down the
street often worried us.

He had a slight limp from a bullet wound received in WWII. Watching him, we
worried that although he had survived WWII, he may not make it through our
changing uptown neighborhood with its ever-increasing random violence, gangs,
and drug activity. When he saw the flyer at our local church asking for
volunteers for caring for the gardens behind the minister's residence, he
responded in his characteristically unassuming manner. Without fanfare, he
just signed up.

He was well into his 87th year when the very thing we had always feared
finally happened. He was just finishing his watering for the day when three
gang members approached him. Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he
simply asked, "Would you like a drink from the hose?" The tallest and
toughest-looking of the three said, "Yeah, sure," with a malevolent little
smile.

As Carl offered the hose to him, the other two grabbed Carl's arm, throwing
him down. As the hose snaked crazily over the ground, dousing everything in
its way, Carl's assailants stole his retirement watch and his wallet, and
then fled. Carl tried to get himself up, but he had been thrown down on
his bad leg. He lay there trying to gather himself as the minister came
running to help him.

Although the minister had witnessed the attack from his window, he couldn't
get there fast enough to stop it. "Carl, are you okay? Are you hurt?" the
minister kept asking as he helped Carl to his feet. Carl just passed a
hand over his brow and sighed, shaking his head. "Just some punk kids. I
hope they'll wise-up someday."

His wet clothes clung to his slight frame as he bent to pick up the hose.
He adjusted the nozzle again and started to water. Confused and a little
concerned, the minister asked, "Carl, what are you doing?" "I've got to
finish my watering. It's been very dry lately," came the calm reply.
Satisfying himself that Carl really was all right, the minister could
only marvel. Carl was a man from a different time and place.

A few weeks later the three returned. Just as before their threat was
unchallenged. Carl again offered them a drink from his hose. This time
they didn't rob him. They wrenched the hose from his hand and drenched
him head to foot in the icy water.

When they had finished their humiliation of him, they sauntered off down
the street, throwing catcalls and curses, falling over one another
laughing at the hilarity of what they had just done.. Carl just watched
them. Then he turned toward the warmth giving sun, picked up his hose,
and went on with his watering.

The summer was quickly fading into fall. Carl was doing some tilling when
he was startled by the sudden approach of someone behind him. He stumbled
and fell into some evergreen branches. As he struggled to regain his
footing, he turned to see the tall leader of his summer tormentors reaching
down for him. He braced himself for the expected attack.

"Don't worry old man, I'm not gonna hurt you this time." The young man
spoke softly, still offering the tattooed and scarred hand to Carl. As he
helped Carl get up, the man pulled a crumpled bag from his pocket and
handed it to Carl.

"What's this?" Carl asked.

"It's your stuff," the man explained. "It's your stuff back. Even the money
in your wallet."

"I don't understand," Carl said. "Why would you help me now?"

The man shifted his feet, seeming embarrassed and ill at ease. "I learned
something from you," he said. "I ran with that gang and hurt people like
you. We picked you because you were old and we knew we could do it .. But
every time we came and did something to you, instead of yelling and
fighting back, you tried to give us a drink. You didn't hate us for hating
you. You kept showing love against our hate."

He stopped for a moment. "I couldn't sleep after we stole your stuff, so
here it is back." He paused for another awkward moment, not knowing what
more there was to say. "That bag's my way of saying thanks for
straightening me out, I guess." And with that, he walked off down the street.

Carl looked down at the sack in his hands and gingerly opened it. He took out
his retirement watch and put it back on his wrist. Opening his wallet, he
checked for his wedding photo. He gazed for a moment at the young bride
that still smiled back at him from all those years ago..

He died one cold day after Christmas that winter. Many people attended his
funeral in spite of the weather. In particular, the minister noticed a tall
young man that he didn't know sitting quietly in a distant corner of the
church. The minister spoke of Carl's garden as a lesson in life. In a
voice made thick with unshed tears, he said, "Do your best and make your
garden as beautiful as you can. We will never forget Carl and his garden."

The following spring another flyer went up. It read: "Person needed to care
for Carl's garden." The flyer went unnoticed by the busy parishioners
until one day when a knock was heard at the minister's office door.

Opening the door, the minister saw a pair of scarred and tattooed hands
holding the flyer. "I believe this is my job, if you'll have me," the
young man said.

The minister recognized him as the same young man who had returned the
stolen watch and wallet to Carl. He knew that Carl's kindness had turned
this man's life around. As the minister handed him the keys to the garden
shed, he said, "Yes, go take care of Carl's garden and honor him."

The man went to work and, over the next several years, he tended the
flowers and vegetables just as Carl had done. During that time, he went
to college, got married, and became a prominent member of the community.
But he never forgot his promise to Carl's memory and kept the garden as
beautiful as he thought Carl would have kept it.

One day he approached the new minister and told him that he couldn't care
for the garden any longer. He explained with a shy and happy smile, "My
wife just had a baby boy last night, and she's bringing him home on
Saturday."

"Well, congratulations!" said the minister, as he was handed the garden
shed keys. "That's wonderful! What's the baby's name?"

"Carl," he replied.

That's the whole gospel message simply stated.

With thanks to TOM & MARY

THE BLESSING OF THORNS

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes as she pushed against a November
gust and the florist shop door.

Her life had been easy, like a spring breeze. Then in the fourth month of her
second pregnancy, a minor automobile accident stole that from her.

During this Thanksgiving week she would have delivered a son. She grieved over
her loss. As if that weren't enough, her husband's company threatened a
transfer. Then her sister, whose holiday visit she coveted, called saying she
could not come for the holiday.

Then Sandra's friend infuriated her by suggesting her grief was a God-given
path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer.
She has no idea what I'm feeling, thought Sandra with a shudder.

Thanksgiving? Thankful for what? She wondered. For a careless driver whose
truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved
her life but took that of her child?

"Good afternoon, can I help you?" The shop clerk's approach startled her.

I....I need an arrangement," stammered Sandra.

"For Thanksgiving? Do you want beautiful but ordinary, or would you like to
challenge the day with a customer favorite I call the Thanksgiving "Special?"
asked the shop clerk. "I'm convinced that flowers tell stories," she
continued. "Are you looking for something that conveys 'gratitude' this
thanksgiving?"

"Not exactly!" Sandra blurted out. "In the last five months, everything that
could go wrong has gone wrong."

Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the shop clerk said,
"I have the perfect arrangement for you."

Just then the shop door's small bell rang, and the shop clerk said, "Hi,
Barbara...let me get your order." She politely excused herself and walked
toward a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement
of greenery, bows, and long-stemmed thorny roses. Except the ends of the
rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers.

"Want this in a box?" asked the clerk.

Sandra watched for the customer's response. Was this a joke? Who would want
rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but neither woman
laughed.

"Yes, please," Barbara, replied with an appreciative smile. "You'd think
after three years of getting the special, I wouldn't be so moved by its
significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again," she said as
she gently tapped her chest. And she left with her order.

"Uh," stammered Sandra, "that lady just left with, uh....she just left with
no flowers!

"Right, said the clerk, "I cut off the flowers. That's the Special. I call
it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet."

"Oh, come on, you can't tell me someone is willing to pay for that!"
exclaimed Sandra.

"Barbara came into the shop three years ago feeling much like you feel today,"
explained the clerk. "She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She
had lost her father to cancer, the family business was failing, her son was
into drugs, and she was facing major surgery."

"That same year I had lost my husband," continued the clerk, "and for the first
time in my life, had just spent the holidays alone. I had no children, no
husband, no family nearby, and too great a debt to allow any travel."

"So what did you do?" asked Sandra.

"I learned to be thankful for thorns," answered the clerk quietly. "I've
always thanked God for the good things in my life and never questioned the
good things that happened to me, but when bad stuff hit, did I ever ask
questions! It took time for me to learn that dark times are important. I
have always enjoyed the 'flowers' of life, but it took thorns to show me
the beauty of God's comfort. You know, the Bible says that God comforts us
when we're afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others."

Sandra sucked in her breath as she thought about the very thing her friend
had tried to tell her. "I guess the truth is I don't want comfort. I've lost
a baby and I'm angry with God."

Just then someone else walked in the shop. "Hey, Phil!" shouted the clerk to
the balding, rotund man.

"My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving Special....12 thorny,
long-stemmed stems!" laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue-wrapped
arrangement from the refrigerator.

"Those are for your wife?" asked Sandra incredulously. "Do you mind me
asking why she wants something that looks like that?"

"No...I'm glad you asked," Phil replied. "Four years ago my wife and I
nearly divorced. After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the
Lord's grace and guidance, we slogged through problem after problem. He
rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of
rose stems to remind her of what she learned from "thorny" times, and
that was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I
decided to label each one for a specific "problem" and give thanks for what
that problem taught us."

As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, "I highly recommend the Special!"

"I don't know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life." Sandra said.
"It's all too...fresh."

"Well," the clerk replied carefully, "my experience has shown me that thorns
make roses more precious. We treasure God's providential care more during
trouble than at any other time. Remember, it was a crown of thorns that
Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don't resent the thorns."

Tears rolled down Sandra's cheeks. For the first time since the accident,
she loosened her grip on resentment. "I'll take those twelve long-stemmed
thorns, please," she managed to choke out.

"I hoped you would," said the clerk gently. "I'll have them ready in a
minute."

"Thank you. What do I owe you?"

"Nothing. Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The first
year's arrangement is always on me." The clerk smiled and handed a card to
Sandra. "I'll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would
like to read it first."

It read: "My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked
You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me
the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me
that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show me that,
through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant."

Praise Him for your roses; thank him for your thorns!


Gabriel Wenyika

Embracing Imperfection

When I was a little, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely burned toast in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his toast, smile at my mom, and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember Watching him smear butter and jelly on that toast and eat every bite!

When I got Up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad For burning the toast. And I'll never forget what he said: 'Baby, I love burned toast.' Later that night, I went to say good night to Dad and I asked him if He really liked his toast burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, 'gaby, your Mom put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides-a little burnt toast never hurt anyone!' You know, life is full of imperfect things.....and imperfect people. I'm not the best housekeeper or cook.

What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults - and choosing to celebrate each other's differences - is the one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship. And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of GOD. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where burnt toast isn't a deal-breaker! We could extend this to any relationship in fact - as understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!! "

WAITING ON GOD

Waiting on God is where a lot of us are in our lives right now. We wait for healing (emotionally and physically). We wait for our relationship to improve, we wait for a job, we wait for some indication of what God would like us to be doing with our lives or where he would like us to be in this world. We wait for help, we wait to help others, we wait for our life to change in such a way as to find fulfillment, joy or happiness. But the bottom line is that we wait.

The question which perhaps we need to consider is "How do we wait on God?" Here are some new suggestions from God's word. You may remember reading the passage from Psalm 27:14 which says, "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."[1] There are some interesting points which you might not have thought of before in reading this passage.

In this passage, David tells us how to wait. He said, "Wait on the Lord, be of good courage". The Hebrew word for courage here has this definition: "to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be firm, grow firm,"[2]
This "courage" then carries the idea of waiting with commitment. It is having made up our minds to dig in our heels and stand fast in our belief in God and his power over the universe, no matter what. There will be no circumstances, no difficulty which is going to change the way we believe in our all powerful God.

If we understand this concept, then perhaps we need to ask ourselves, "What am I willing to put up with", "what am I willing to suffer", "for how long am I willing to wait for my answer or my deliverance" and most important, "What if I never receive my answer or deliverance in this life?"

Think about the message found in Hebrews 11. You most likely are familiar with verses 1-3 which read: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible."[3]

Then in Hebrews 11:4-11 we see a list of people who waited on God. People like Able, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Sarah. But notice especially verse 13 which says; "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth."
You see, these folks discovered the key to waiting with commitment! They never received that for which they were waiting, but they realized that the earth was not really their home. They realized who was really in control.
[1] KJV
[2] Strong's Dictionary of the New Testament.
[3] NIV

$20

 Sometimes we just need to be reminded!  A well-known speaker started off his seminar
  by: holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this 
  $20 bill?" 

  Hands started going up. 

  He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this. He 
  proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" 

  Still the hands were up in the air. 

  Well, he replied, "What if I do this?"  and he dropped it on the ground and started 
  to grind it into the floor with his shoe.  He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. 
  "Now, who still wants it?" 

  Still the hands went into the air. 

  My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. 

  No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease
  in value. It was still worth $20. 

  Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the
  decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are 
  worthless. 

  But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. 

  Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who 
  LOVE you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO
  WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE. 

  You are special - Don't EVER forget it...And remember, amateurs built the ark...

     professionals built the Titanic