September 2005

Hi All,

Summer is nearly over and school has already started. I am sure that at some point your teachers will be talking to you about safety. You will no doubt be having tornado and fire drills and for those of you that ride the bus there is the always-fun bus safety drill. One thing you probably will not learn is school bus stop safety. In the first 3 days of school for College Community I have seen some scary things and also some dumb things. There is a boy at the stop closest to our house that likes to throw things in the road. On this particular day he was throwing sandbags into the street, you know the ones that the construction workers were using to hold the “Road Closed” signs in place? Last year he was putting loose chunks of concrete in the street. I am not sure if he thinks it would be funny to see a car run over these things or not. Other kids are pushing each other and if they are not careful, someone is going to end up in front of a moving vehicle. During the same three-day period I saw a young boy, waiting for the bus, hold out his thumb like he was hitchhiking. I was amused for all of 1 second, and then the horror set in. What if someone took him up on it and stopped and offered him a ride? I am sure that he thought what he was doing was innocent enough, but I doubt he thought of the consequences. The more I think about it the more it scares me.

All of us, kids and adults, have become hardened to the horrors that are in this world. Hardly a day goes by where we do not hear that another child has been abducted. Sometimes they are returned home safely, sometime they are found dead, and sometimes they are never found. I can remember many nights driving home from work between 10 and 11 and I would see kids 8 years and older out walking or riding their bikes. I don’t know about your parents, but mine had me in bed at 8:30 at the latest. Many of you and your friends have access to surf the Internet and there are some of you that might even be going to chat rooms to talk to other people. Whatever you do, do not tell anyone anything personal about yourself. There are people out there pretending to be someone they are not. These people are in no way trying to obey God.

The “enemy” is all around us. We do not want to be like the people of Jerusalem in Jeremiah 6. God is very upset with the people, so mad that he is sending an army to destroy them. All the people have to do is to repent and do what God asks them to do, and then they will be spared. Instead they become afraid:
“25Do not go out to the fields or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword, and there is terror on every side.” Jeremiah 6:25 NIV
They forgot that all they have to do is put their trust in the Lord and to be pure in heart and mind. Before you do something, think to yourself, “What Would Jesus Do?” If Jesus would not do, don’t do it!

I certainly do not want anyone to go into a panic over this, just be careful. God gave your parents a wonderful gift, you. I know your parents would agree that we want you to be healthy and safe. Take care of that gift.

Because of Him,

Terry and Diane

Keep us safe Lord
Heavenly Father, we ask that you keep us safe in all that we do. Father, we realize that there are many people in this world that do not know you and that some that do that for what ever reason want to cause harm to others. Lord; keep us safe from these people. Help us to show them what it is like to live a Christ-like life. Let us be your example in this world. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

“5If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever.” Jeremiah 7:5-7 NIV