April 2009 Lower Family Newsletter
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Chad T. Lower
Apr 4, 2009, 9:09:36 PM4/4/09
to LowerFamil...@googlegroups.com
March is supposed to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb.
Today, I was teaching my first Motorcycle Safety class of the season and the wind was roaring like a lion!! Although I arrived home over four hours ago, my knees are still feeling the sting of the cold. On a good note, though, last night is was raining. It stopped raining this morning shortly before I left the house and we didn't see any rain all day. I can only imagine how miserable it would have been if we were wet, cold, with the wind blowing as hard as it was. But despite the cold, the students were eager to learn and they were a great group. They listened well and learned a lot. No one dropped their motorcycle and there were only a few people who stalled after the first exercise. I can only pray that the rest of the season goes as smoothly.
Although the course is specifically a motorcycle safety class, I encourage everyone to take it. Much of what we teach is applicable to any mode of transportation and, by taking this safety course, most people have a greater awareness of other motorcyclists on the road. The largest group of accidents involving a motorcyclist and a car is when a car does not yield the right of way and turns left in front of an oncoming motorcyclist. The usual statement heard after the accident was, "I didn't see them." Of course, you are under no obligation to ride a motorcycle ever again, but the benefits to you and others on the road will be priceless. You can find more information about classes in your state by going to the MSF website http://www.msf-usa.org. In Pennsylvania, our specific site is http://www.pamsp.com and the course is free to residents.
My hope is that everyone takes the Basic Rider Course. The course was designed for people who have never ridden a motorcycle and for those who have ridden for decades. The BRC runs for 15 hours total which includes 5 hours of classroom and 10 hours of range (hands on motorcycle). The classroom part is learner-centered where students help each other learn and the RiderCoach acts as a facilitator. For the range, motorcycles and helmets are provided.
If you ride regularly, I also recommend (after you take the BRC) to take the Experienced Rider Course once a year and every time you get a new motorcycle. The ERC is a 6 hour course, all on the range, although there is a "classroom" part which is done between exercises. The course is done on your own bike, so you will learn how to quick stop, corner, swerve, and perform limited space maneuvers on your own motorcycle. In addition, during the ERC, you are allowed to bring a passenger with you. If you ride with someone regularly, they can learn how to be a good passenger, especially for the above mentioned skills. Plus you get to practice with the extra weight in case you would ever need to use those skills "for real."
Isabella is attending an art class at St. John's School of the Arts. She makes artwork using various types of media (like chalk, charcoal, watercolors). Her class will be having an art show within a few weeks. Ironically, her teacher graduated from Messiah College, same as me, although we graduated in different years and did not know each other. She is also improving in her reading tremendously. One of her school activities was "reading to dogs" where she read to real dogs while their owners held them. The school also puts on a parents craft night where the students and their parents can go and do a craft activity together. This year, Suzy and she made a spaceship complete with two aliens (one was even driving). She will also be starting soccer again later this month.
Malachi has officially started his speech therapy. He is currently working on his "F" sounds. At his preschool, they went to the local landfill, learned about recycling, and (most importantly for him) got to see all the cool big trucks that work at the landfill. Another fun project his Preschool was involved in was a quilt making project. One of the boys in his class got a new brother, but he was born with Down Syndrome. They named him Victor, because he will be victorious in his battle with this condition. Suzy cut out quit squares and the students were able to stamp them with fish stamps painted with fabric paint. Suzy and another mom then made a quilt with the squares and the class presented it to Victor. Victor's mom said it was too beautiful to use, so she said she is going to use it as a wall hanging instead.
Alessandra is continuing to improve and grow her vocabulary. She still likes singing Old MacDonald has a farm, but only does the EIEIO part (and the animal has to be a duck). She was 28 pounds and 33 inches at her 18 month check-up, which puts her at the 90th percentile for her weight and slightly below that for her height making her officially our smallest child.
Early last month, Suzy's blog (http://passiton.today.com) hit over 300 visitors in one day!! Since then, it has been averaging between 200 and 300 unique visits a day with about 15 new visitors each day. I think the increased traffic has motivated her to blog more consistently. I know that shortly after I leave in the mornings to walk to work, she is up and typing her Daily Dose of Encouragement before the kiddos are even out of their beds. When you consider that the entire month of February netted 199 visitors, having that same number (or more) each day is quite an improvement.
We are also still writing for eHow (with Suzy doing the bulk of the writing). All 39 of her articles can be found at http://www.ehow.com/members/mrschadt-articles.html. Considering that there were only 4 articles written when I wrote the last newsletter, she has been quite busy!
Her most popular articles are:
I wrote a few as well:
A friend of mine who I worked with at Wal-Mart, who attends school at Penn College, and who I still talk with on a regular basis recently created a webpage for himself (http://brandonevano.webs.com). On his "About Me" page, he wrote the following:
Jesus Christ died on the cross for me and for that I am grateful. I am a born-again, true believer. Christ died through a horrible death for hours, tortured and beaten. While he endured all of the pain, one thing that came in his mind was not regret, but, it was me. And you. That is enough reason to believe that he loves us more than anything. I can’t think of one person who could love me enough to go through that and have the last thought in mind, be me. I am saved from the flames. You can too. Accept Jesus Christ in your heart as your Lord/ Savior & that he died on the cross for you.
One of the best known verses in the Bible is John 3:16, which reads, "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." The New Testament was originally written in Greek, so the verse I quoted was an English translation of the original Greek, but if you go back to the original Greek, the word that gets translated "world" is the Greek work κοσμεω (cosmos). Even without a Greek/English dictionary, I am sure you can interpret the meaning of the word.
But even though God loves the cosmos, He is a much more personal God than that. In my main Bible, I have crossed out the word "world," and replaced it with the word "Chad." Although Jesus died for the entire cosmos, if everyone throughout history and into the future rejected his death and his teaching except this single, solitary person named Chad who was born almost 2000 years later, he still would have gladly died for this one sinner so that I may be saved. Brandon said it so eloquently, "While he endured all of the pain, one thing that came in his mind was not regret, but, it was me. And you." And you. He died for you too. Gladly gave his life. Was tortured, beaten, and killed. Not for anything he had done. But for what you have done. And me.
So as we approach this Easter season, remember that God created the world in seven days, but conquered the grave in three. If you have a relationship with Him, I encourage you to renew it this Easter. If you don't have a relationship, it is never too late, but the sooner, the better! The Christian Motorcyclists Association has a great guide to help you start (http://www.cmausa.org/ride_plan/). I, too, am available if you have questions or need more information. I pray that I will see you on the other side of eternity.
--
Chad T. Lower
a.k.a. Chopper
http://chadtlower.tripod.com/
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Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others.
Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
Philippians 2:3-4
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