September 2010 Lower Family Newsletter

[Chad T. Lower]

August was a fun month -- more so because Ali turned 3 this month.  Our little lady is getting ready to start preschool (same place Chi went the last two years).  For her birthday, we took the family to Knoebel's again.  Seems like for the past couple of years, we go to Knoebel's at the start of the summer (usually for Penn College day) and again at the end of the summer (for Ali's birthday).  For now, the trips are relatively easy as the kiddos are about the same height and like the kiddie rides.  By next year, Bella will probably be tall enough to ride the more adult rides, so we may have to split up in the park.  I can't wait until they want to go on a roller coaster so I can ride too.  Unfortunately, I can't do circle rides (not even the merry-go-round) or I get nauseous.

 

Bella went on her first over-night camping trip with her Girl Scout troop.  She has been camping before with my extended family- everything from tent camping, to RVing, to cabin camping, to pop-up-trailer camping.  With her troop, they went tent camping.  She did great and didn't even get homesick while she was away.  This was her second activity away from home this summer and she loved both of them.

 

Suzy also spent some time back at her old stomping grounds.  Her brother had to take his son to an appointment in Pittsburgh, so Suzy was in charge of milking the cows that day.  The next day, her sister had surgery on her foot, so Suzy spent the rest of the weekend taking care of her until she felt better.

 

This past week, all Bella and Chi both started school.  Bella is in 3rd grade and Chi just started Kindergarten.  Both are enjoying school so far, although both are excited to have labor Day off as well.  Bella has had three nights of homework this week and has been doing it with little fuss.  Hopefully she has forgotten the resistance she put up last year.  Or maybe she is trying to show off to her little brother.

 

Ali will start her school this week.  So on Tuesday (the day after Labor Day), Suzy will be an empty nester -- well, for a few hours anyway.  Her current intention is to go to the library (not home) and write for those few hours every Tues, Weds, and Thurs that Ali is in Preschool.  Although she has been writing romance and dabbled in a few screenplays, her current big project is a youth fiction series about a boy who lives in a planetarium! 

 

I was able to donate my 56th pint of blood this month making my total donations equal to 7 gallons worth of blood.  It amazes me to think that I have bled enough to fill up 7 milk containers.  If things go as planned, I will have given my 8th gallon at Christmas time next year (2011).

 

I finished teaching my summer class the second week of August.  Initially the class that I taught (MTH 006 Elementary Algebra II) was only offered during one section (mine).  As demand grew for the summer they added two more classes with each class capped at 25 students.  I had the full 25 and the other two sections had 20 students apiece.  I think I was spoiled this summer because the students who first signed up for the course (i.e. the students in my class) were wonderful!  The average pass rate for any developmental math class across the United States is around 50%, and Penn College usually has similar numbers.  Of my 25 students, not only did over half pass, but 11 got A's!  There were only three students who did not pass, and 2 of the three scored in the 60's (need a 70% or better to pass developmental math).

 

I had a week off, then the fall semester started.  Due to a last minute schedule change, I teach from about 9 until 6:30 most days with Fridays off.  Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of down time during the week (between classes) so evenings and weekends get the brunt of the grading.  Motorcycle safety classes are also winding down with the last class being the first weekend in October.

 

The next part of our love definition from I Corinthians 13 tells us that [love] always trusts (the second of our four "always" parts).

 

We should trusting by believing in God's promises.  In Isaiah 14:24, he is making a prophecy about Assyria and writes, "The Lord All-Powerful has made this promise: 'These things will happen exactly as I planned them; they will happen exactly as I set them up.'"  Fortunately, we know this statement to be true of all things, not just limited to one prophecy.  God has a plan for all the earth and knew us even before we were born!  Because of this intimacy and his record of keeping promises throughout history, it should be easy for us to trust him.

 

Of course, it is one thing to say that we trust in God, but another to show our trust.  In Philippians 4:6, Paul tells us to, "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."  If we say we trust him, and then worry, we really aren't trusting him.  If we truly do trust him, we will present him with our needs and let him do his work.  We should also remember to thank him for all that he has done for us so far.  This morning at church, we had a guest preacher.  One thing he said was, "When we work, God rests.  When we rest on God, it allows him the ability to work in and through us."  So first we have to say we trust.  Then we have to show we trust...

 

Romans 8:28 reads, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."  When we trust in God, we know everything will work together for good.  Everything won't be good, but together it will be.

 

So when we love others, we need to show the same kind of trust that we show God.  We need to trust that person, but not just say we trust those we love.  We must believe and demonstrate that trust.  And if the person we love is a Christian, we know that God has a purpose for them and that everything will work together for their good.  Certainly makes it easier to trust when we know what the end result will look like!

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