September Editor's Letter
Getting Back into a Routine
Since Cody and Morgan are both back to school, I guess that means summer is over! While I love the more un-scheduled days of summer, it is nice to get back into a routine. Cody started his sophomore year at Kansas State this week and seems to be enjoying his classes. Morgan started her college class (Spanish) on Monday, and her high-school senior year on Tuesday. It was bittersweet to take the last “first-day-of-school” picture, but she’s excited about her senior year and college next year, and we are glad about that (see Morgan's first, first-day-of-school and last, first-day-of-school photos, below).
We are also looking forward to the State Fair and AKSARBEN in September, and Tim is also holding a pasture sale mid-September. The month will fly by!
I accomplished a business goal this summer in creating a blog and Face Book page for my book Home is Where the Mom Is; A Christian Mom’s Guide to Caring for Herself, Her Family, and Her Home. You’ll find excerpts from the book and posts by moms of kids of all ages on the blog at http://www.achristianmomsguide.blogspot.com/. You can also “like” the Nebraska Family Times Face Book page and, between regular issues of the paper, receive links to articles that will “inspire, encourage, and motivate you in your Christian walk.”
September brings the 10th anniversary of September 11th, 2001. Like everyone, I clearly remember what I was doing that day. I had walked Cody and Morgan to school and came home to the news that the planes had crashed into the Twin Towers. I had been busy raising Cody and Morgan so hadn’t paid much attention to international news, and the concept of “terrorism” was pretty new to me. I remember thinking that I was glad we lived in the middle of the United States, where nothing was likely to happen…and then I heard on the radio that a “large distinctive airplane” (which of course turned out to be Air Force One, carrying President Bush) had just landed at Sac Air Force Base.
As I watched the events of the day unfold, I was sad to think that Cody and Morgan (who .were in 4th and 2nd grade) and their classmates would not remember a world in which “terrorism” was not an everyday term. The world changes were very evident in November of 2001 when our family flew to northern Wisconsin to celebrate Thanksgiving. We were greeted at the airport by BIG dogs, men with guns…and several security guards converging on us when the x-ray of Morgan’s backpack revealed a fork that I’d forgotten to remove with the rest of her lunch items.
In the days and weeks after 9/11 Tim and I had the task of explaining what had happened, and what could happen, to Cody and Morgan. Although it was very unlikely that any of us would ever be affected directly by terrorism, we have no guarantees on the number of our days. We were thankful that we could reassure our kids (and ourselves!) that if the worst happened—from terrorism, an accident, an illness, or any other cause—we could be absolutely certain that we would go to heaven and see each other again someday.
Our country is blessed to have men and women willing to serve in the military. Please remember them and their families in your prayers. And also remember those who lost loved ones and were directly involved in and impacted by September 11th, 2001.
Although there are wars and rumors of war and strife both within our country and throughout the world, we can be assured that God will not change. He is in charge, He knows what is happening, and He has promised us eternal life. And although I don’t think we’ll ever see world peace, we can have the peace that passeth all understanding (Phil. 4:7).
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.” John 14:27
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
God’s blessings and peace to you!
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Morgan's first, first-day-of-school. She's pictured with her first dog, Hershey.
Getting Back into a Routine
Since Cody and Morgan are both back to school, I guess that means summer is over! While I love the more un-scheduled days of summer, it is nice to get back into a routine. Cody started his sophomore year at Kansas State this week and seems to be enjoying his classes. Morgan started her college class (Spanish) on Monday, and her high-school senior year on Tuesday. It was bittersweet to take the last “first-day-of-school” picture, but she’s excited about her senior year and college next year, and we are glad about that (see Morgan's first, first-day-of-school and last, first-day-of-school photos, below).
We are also looking forward to the State Fair and AKSARBEN in September, and Tim is also holding a pasture sale mid-September. The month will fly by!
I accomplished a business goal this summer in creating a blog and Face Book page for my book Home is Where the Mom Is; A Christian Mom’s Guide to Caring for Herself, Her Family, and Her Home. You’ll find excerpts from the book and posts by moms of kids of all ages on the blog at http://www.achristianmomsguide.blogspot.com/. You can also “like” the Nebraska Family Times Face Book page and, between regular issues of the paper, receive links to articles that will “inspire, encourage, and motivate you in your Christian walk.”
September brings the 10th anniversary of September 11th, 2001. Like everyone, I clearly remember what I was doing that day. I had walked Cody and Morgan to school and came home to the news that the planes had crashed into the Twin Towers. I had been busy raising Cody and Morgan so hadn’t paid much attention to international news, and the concept of “terrorism” was pretty new to me. I remember thinking that I was glad we lived in the middle of the United States, where nothing was likely to happen…and then I heard on the radio that a “large distinctive airplane” (which of course turned out to be Air Force One, carrying President Bush) had just landed at Sac Air Force Base.
As I watched the events of the day unfold, I was sad to think that Cody and Morgan (who .were in 4th and 2nd grade) and their classmates would not remember a world in which “terrorism” was not an everyday term. The world changes were very evident in November of 2001 when our family flew to northern Wisconsin to celebrate Thanksgiving. We were greeted at the airport by BIG dogs, men with guns…and several security guards converging on us when the x-ray of Morgan’s backpack revealed a fork that I’d forgotten to remove with the rest of her lunch items.
In the days and weeks after 9/11 Tim and I had the task of explaining what had happened, and what could happen, to Cody and Morgan. Although it was very unlikely that any of us would ever be affected directly by terrorism, we have no guarantees on the number of our days. We were thankful that we could reassure our kids (and ourselves!) that if the worst happened—from terrorism, an accident, an illness, or any other cause—we could be absolutely certain that we would go to heaven and see each other again someday.
Our country is blessed to have men and women willing to serve in the military. Please remember them and their families in your prayers. And also remember those who lost loved ones and were directly involved in and impacted by September 11th, 2001.
Although there are wars and rumors of war and strife both within our country and throughout the world, we can be assured that God will not change. He is in charge, He knows what is happening, and He has promised us eternal life. And although I don’t think we’ll ever see world peace, we can have the peace that passeth all understanding (Phil. 4:7).
Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.” John 14:27
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
God’s blessings and peace to you!
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| Morgan's last, first-dayof-school. Morgan is pictured with her dog, Jenny. She's also sitting on the SAME swing that's in the first picture! |
My husband brought home the Nebraska Family Times (courtesy of Torpin's Rodeo Market--hey, free advertising!) and I am really excited for you to have taken the step of setting up a blog. It is a fantastic idea--an easy way to keep in touch with readers and feedback.
ReplyDeleteNice post! I remember the fork in the backpack incident :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Joy! I'm always glad to know where people pick up the Nebraska Family Times. I hope you enjoy the blog! It is a fun way to keep in touch with readers.
ReplyDeleteYes, Becky, that was an "interesting" airport experience...