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√ Dallas Cowboys of Arlington
√ Jerry Jones
√ Miami Dolphins
√ Kendall Langford
√ Arizona Cardinals
√ Matt Leinart
√ Seattle Seahawks
√ T.J. Houshmanzadeh
√ Texas Rangers
√ Elvis Andrus
√ Cliff Lee
√ Jon Daniels
√ Chicago White Sox
√ Ozzie Guillen
√ Manny Ramirez
√ Kirk Herbstreit
√ Holiday Inn Express
√ Tim Tebow
√ Florida Gators
√ Urban Meyer

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√ Humpty Dumpty
√ Stephen Strasburg
√ Tommy John
√ Washington Nationals
√ Little League World Series
√ Gov. David Patterson
√ New York Yankees
√ Texas Rangers
√ Dallas Cowboys of Arlington
√ Washington Redskins
√ New England Patriots
√ New York Giants
√ Houston Texans
√ TCU
√ Oregon State
√ Pittsburgh Pirates
√ Notre Dame
√ Brian Kelly
√ Knute Rockne
√ Frank Leahy
√ Southlake Carroll
√ Brett Shipp

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First, I want to say thank you to Mom. You vowed “for better or for worse,” and you have lived up to your word far beyond what should be expected of anyone. We in the family have always known how strong and courageous you are, but as you have fought your own cancer and then fought alongside Dad against his, that strength and courage has been on display for many more people to see. Throughout, you have modeled for me what true love is and what a Godly marriage should be.

Proverbs 31 says of a wife of noble character: “Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.” That chapter also says, “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

Mom, you are a wife of noble character, and you are to be praised.

Brad, thank you for being a great brother to me and a great son to Mom and Dad. People say that you take after Mom, and I could see that over the past months as you have sweetly and tenderly helped care for Dad. I know the load has been heavy, but you have carried it bravely.

I also want to thank my wife, Sally. You have been so unselfish, allowing me to spend whatever time I needed to spend with Dad. But more than that, you cared for my Dad as though he was your father. The two of you have always had a special relationship, and I already miss seeing you two together. When I married you, you didn’t become a daughter-in-law to Mom and Dad — you became the daughter they had been waiting for.

Next, I would like to apologize to all of you for not attempting to deliver these words myself. I tend to get emotional when I speak anyway, and I knew there was no way I could say these words myself today. That is because my Dad always taught me that relationships are the most important things we can have. I knew that if I stood up here and looked out to all of you and saw all of my Dad’s relationships that are represented in this place today, I would not be able to finish what I want to say. I figured my choices were to start this myself and have someone else finish or just go ahead and let someone take over from the beginning. I chose to let someone read all of these words.

I believe that the greatness of a man can be judged by the greatness of his friends. As I was fielding phone calls and texts and e-mails and Facebook messages over the past couple of weeks, at times I became overwhelmed with emotion as I considered not only the quantity but also the quality of Dad’s friends I was communicating with. I was talking with people who I have enormous respect for. People who I consider to have accomplished great things for God. And here they were telling me how much my Dad means to them, and how much he has impacted them.

My Dad has many great friends, and you can’t have great friends unless you, yourself, are a great friend. Your presence here today is testament that my Dad was a great friend and a great man.

More than that to me, he was a great Dad. Many of you here today are ministers, and you know how difficult it is to raise a family as a minister. There are many demands, and so many directions in which ministers can be pulled. But my Dad never allowed being a minister to take away from what he considered his more important role of being a father.

Dad always made time for me. I could pop into his office at any time and interrupt whatever he was doing. He played sports with me. He coached my teams. He watched my games. I don’t have to tell you that we fished together. He even kept taking me fishing after the time I hit him in the back of the head with a lead weight, hooked the back of his cap and cast the cap into the lake. I guess this would be a good time to mention that Dad also was a forgiving man.

He was so concerned about making time for me that even in my adult years, he would say that he hoped that I never felt neglected growing up. I didn’t. He received affirmation for that a few weeks ago.

Through Facebook, I reconnected with a friend who lived across the street from me growing up. I hadn’t talked to him in twenty-five years. My friend told me to tell my Dad that he still remembers Dad being our all-time quarterback in our neighborhood football games. My friend said those memories of my Dad have inspired him to make sure he spends plenty of time enjoying his children and playing with them outside. Of course, my Dad had no idea he had made that kind of impact on our neighbor. All Dad was doing back then was trying to be a good father to his sons.

But still, that’s my Dad. Whether it was someone from another part of the world or a kid across the street, Dad made an impact simply by being himself. He didn’t have to BE a great man, because he WAS a great man.

Finally, I would like to say a few words to my two kids, Ashlin and Tyson. Grandpa loved you. He was so proud of you. I know you know that, because he told you that many times. And I have a feeling he told a lot of people in this room how proud he was of you, too. He never missed an opportunity to brag about his grandkids.

I know the recent months have been difficult for you both. They have been difficult for all of us. Even though Grandpa didn’t like needing help to get around, it made him happy when you would help him. You both were so sweet in the way you cared for him. You made him feel special.

Even though we have talked about this many times, I want to remind you that while we know Grandpa is in a better place, and that he no longer is suffering, at the same time all of us are also hurting and sad. Everything you are feeling is normal. I know you miss your Grandpa. I miss my Dad. I’ve always had my Dad around. It hurts me a lot to know that he won’t be calling me any more and saying “I just wanted to hear your voice.”

But I also know — and we have talked about this, too — that one day we will all be together again, and he will know who we are. For eternity, he will be your Grandpa and you will be his grandkids. I believe this because of what Dad taught me the Bible says.

Grandpa has given our family a spiritual heritage that is helping us through these tough times. As a family, we MUST treasure and protect that spiritual heritage.

In the hospital waiting room one day, a woman prayed for some of us. The next day, she stopped by Dad’s room and prayed for him. After she prayed, she told Dad that he had many mantles and then she looked directly into my eyes.

In one of the last conversations I had with Dad, I told him I was taking the Thomas spiritual mantle from him. I assured him that the Thomas name would continue to be associated with people who love and serve God. I told him that I would take the spiritual heritage he has given me and pass it on to the two of you. He liked hearing that.

Ashlin and Tyson, I will teach you the spiritual heritage my Dad gave to me. I want to be for you the type of father that my Dad was for me. I will try as hard as I can. But to be completely honest with you, I don’t know if I can do that, because I had the best Dad in the world.

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As I reflect on my father’s life and what things he should be best remembered for, I soon realize that this could take a long time. I will try to not get too carried away, though, seeing as how Dad was never a fan of long-winded services.

Since his passing, our family has been overwhelmed with messages and stories from individuals who were deeply impacted by my dad. As a family member, friend, mentor, minister, writer, leader or a combination of all of those roles, he has touched many, many people in a profound way. The impact and influence repeated in these individual stories are a great legacy to this man we have gathered to celebrate – but they do not tell the whole story.

Those of us who had the great blessing of being close to my dad are privileged to know the traits and motivations that facilitated the creation of those stories. We have been allowed the perspective to step back from all of the individual brush strokes and see the entire painting for the masterpiece that it is.

As I reflect on the meaning of this masterpiece of a well-lived life, the central theme that I see represented is that my dad ALWAYS saw the potential that lies inside of people. No matter what the rest of the world saw in a person, my dad could find the very best in that person and help them bring that out to prove the world wrong. Where others saw someone without a chance, my dad saw someone who only needed one more chance to put things together.

Dad reached into broken homes, broken hearts and broken spirits, and he mined the gold that was dormant within. He helped those without a voice find their voice. He helped those without a reputation create a new, and lasting, one for future generations. He helped those without confidence to feel the confidence that he had in them. Basically, my dad fixed broken people and broken situations – and he was great at fixing things.

Giving people second, third, or final chances can be a messy business to get involved in. A few times over the years, I witnessed my dad extend opportunities to people who eventually came back to hurt him or disappoint him. In private, though, he would often tell those of us closest to him that he would do it all again if he had it to do over again. He was always quick to not only forgive, but to also forget any trespasses against him. Despite the risky business he delved in, I never saw him write off a single person, no matter what they did to him personally.

I reflect on these things not only as someone who sat in the wings and watched them unfold for others, but also as someone who experienced many of them personally.

Whatever level of brokenness I found myself in, I always knew that my dad thought I was made of the finest gold. Over the years there were things that as a father and son, my dad and I just did not see eye-to-eye on. Still, when I looked my dad in the eye, I absolutely knew that he loved me unconditionally no matter what it cost him in the end to love me that way. That is a risky kind of love, but it was the only love my dad knew how to give. And he freely gave it away.

Now that my dad has passed, I have to selfishly admit that I am deeply saddened that my young children will have little, or no, memory of this great man we have gathered today to honor. Instead of personally experiencing the mentoring and deep faith that my dad poured into others, my children will only know of these things by the stories and memories we remember to pass down to them.

In the end, however, the masterpiece that I recognize my dad’s life to be, is just one brush stroke in an even larger and more beautiful masterpiece that God is painting. By laying down his torch earlier than many of us would consider timely, my father is allowing those that he has touched to pick up the torch and carry his work forward. In doing so, my dad becomes a father to more people than just David and me, and he becomes a dear friend and brother to more people than just you.

Obviously, it is a detour in all of our plans for Dad to have been diagnosed with cancer, battle that disease, and eventually pass away from it. Well before he ever became ill, however, my dad would tell people, quote, “the detours of my life have been the richest part.”

Thankfully, for many of us, my dad specialized in taking detours.

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From Tyson – Age 10

My Grandpa was a great man, the best Grandpa ever. He always had my back. He always made us laugh and could make a joke in any situation. He was the toughest person I ever knew. In the hospital, he told me, “When I get out I want to go fishing.” It made me so sad when I remembered that. Even if I didn’t like fishing, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. To make Grandpa happy was my favorite thing to do. The night after he died, me and my Dad talked about how great of a man Grandpa was. He was the best friend I ever had. I loved him so much.

From Ashlin – Age 12

Grandpa, I am going to miss being able to do things with you. Like those horsey rides on your back, or going to look at boats with you at Bass Pro Shop, or even rolling you from room to room in the desk chair when you were not able to walk. No matter what we did together, I enjoyed every single minute of it because you meant everything to me.

It made me feel so special when you said I was one of the reasons you would keep fighting. When you were having a hard time talking, I’m glad we made the secret hand shake so we could say “Love You” without words. I know God has a great plan, but it’s hard for me because I miss you so much. I will try to put my trust in Him. I want you to know that I love you and am so proud of you.

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