Transitions

September 2007 Newsletter

Hi All,

This month is one of transitions. Whether that is going to school for the first time, transitioning from one level of school to another, or going from school into the world of work there are many things changing.

For the youngsters that are going to school for first time it usually means going from a relatively unstructured world to a more structured one. What do you remember about kindergarten? I remember that there was no more playing in the sandbox all day. I had to take a nap when everyone else did on the rugs. There was a really cool wooden train and car set that we got to play with. Yes, those wooden trains and cars did exist long before they had the Thomas the Tank Engine toys. Then there was show and tell, the stuff that we brought in was sure important to us at the time. Now I can not even remember anything that I brought in. Of course kindergarten was not "real" school, we would have to wait until 1st grade before we went every day to school.

Interestingly enough going from 3rd to 4th grade was a big deal in my school. You see when you went into 4th grade you went upstairs with the big kids. 4th grade was also unfortunately the year that my friends taught me how to swear. That did not go over well with my Mom and Dad.

Going to junior high was the next big move although it was not too bad since the elementary school and the junior high did share parts of each other’s buildings. Then it was time for my sophomore year and high school. I would consider myself lucky because the same year that we moved to the high school is the same year that the freshmen started going there too. Since we were not the youngest, the upper classmen tended to pick on the freshmen and leave the sophomores alone.

My transition from high school to college was the biggest change. Ultimately I dropped out of college to take care of my wife and new baby daughter. Looking back I should have stayed in school. I was young enough and had enough energy to do it. Looking back the lesson that I learned here was not to wait 20 years before going back to school. You see this fall I start another transition in my life as I start online classes through Grand Canyon University. I am going to finally finish (with a lot of help from God) my degree. My first two classes are New Testament History and Old Testament History. I may have to take Spanish at some point if my 4 years of high school and 1 year of college French do not take care of the foreign language requirement. Fortunately Karissa has agreed to tutor me as she is in her third year of high school level Spanish.

This month we also transition from summer to fall on September 23rd. Some parents are watching as a son or daughter starts school for the first time while others send there children off to college. Football starts, baseball starts to wind down as we approach the World Series in October, NASCAR and the Hus Racing League are down to the last couple of months for the year, and we will honor those who lost their lives 6 years ago on 9/11. Our lives are shaped by what we do and the things that happen around us. The one thing that we can count on in life is change. As you transition from one stage of life to another always remember that there is one thing that will never change … God is always there watching over us and taking care of us. God never changes. God is the same now as He was in the beginning and as He will be in the future. Take time to thank God and your parents for the things, little and big, that they do for you each day.

Because of Him ~ Terry

But there’s far more to life for us. We’re citizens of high heaven! We’re waiting the arrival of the Savior, the Master, Jesus Christ, who will transform our earthly bodies into glorious bodies like his own. He’ll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him. Philippians 3:20-21 (MSG)