5 Minute Monthly: October

Autumn has always been my favorite season out of the four. I love the changing of colors, pumpkin patches and hot cider, apple picking and crisp, cold windy days. October is the month packed full of this pure autumn and I tried my best to fully embrace it this season. I will say the fall I know and love is a bit different than the autumn here in England. Here in the city there are far more houses than trees, apple orchards cannot be found, pumpkins have a very short season and the only apple cider available is alcoholic. But those things matter little when compared to the warmth of laughter, friendship and a home of happy boys. Truly, that is enough for me, but I did manage some pumpkin bread and homemade apple cider though just for kicks and giggles. So here's what the month of October brought our family!

Life Happenings

Our "home of happy boys" isn't usually easy-going kids who only smile and laugh, however good they may be. My boys are happy, but not all of the time, and this month was a testament to some of those not so happy moments. Josiah has been such a good boy but is now entering the realm of dreams and fears and as a kid with a big imagination and an even bigger vocabulary; our nighttimes have been interesting and a bit challenging lately. He is mostly afraid of shadows and some nights involve tears before sleep as we try and lovingly teach his how to face his fears. Though it is difficult at times, we have found it to be the perfect opportunity to share about the love and care of Christ and how he is watching over us. It is comforting for Josiah as we sing about the power and protection of our Savior and it is a great reminder for Tyler and I too.

Silas too has had his own mini struggles. Our little stinker has been waking up multiple times a night, and though it really hasn't affected his happy attitude, it does affect his mommy's mood. I am doing my best to learn patience and positivity even in my tiredness but some days are harder than others. Leave it to our kids to teach us so many lessons. Tyler and I are already learning so much from our boys.

Even with these small mishaps, daily life for me has been a joy. I have been able to bake for events, host families at our house and enjoy the days with my kids and mom friends. I even got to go to a women's conference with some friends from the church and was refreshed from a day spent studying the Word with other ladies.

My biggest household problem this month was laundry. Like most UK households we have no dryer which makes drying clothes in the colder months quite frustrating. Thankfully this problem was solved by a sweet older couple from our church who gave us a heated drying rack. This has made a huge difference and we are so grateful for their kindness.

Tyler's month has been full in different ways than mine. He spends his days working at the church office, his nights are dedicated to different ministry events, and his in between hours he gives willingly to his little family. This month he finished his essay on Ezekiel and also had week long intensive class on the Early Church Fathers. He is now preparing to do his assignments for that class. He also found the time to lay insulation in our attic, work in the garden, make a shoe rack out of a wooden pallet and (sort of) train for a half marathon he is running next month.

One final joy for us all that happened right at the end of the month was a visit from our good friends from America who made a detour from their trip to Ireland to visit us. We were so blessed by their company and it is always an encouragement to see friends from the States. It has been a wonderfully full month for our family and we are thankful.

Ministry Update

Life in the church is busy in the best way with something going on almost everyday of the week. The babies and toddlers group that Tyler and I both help with is thriving. There are some new moms coming who seem interested in learning more about the church and my hope and prayer is that they continue to ask questions and seek to learn more.

Tyler continues to help with students and our connect groups are running smoothly. We love the deeper friendships that come from talking about God over a cup of tea. Tyler has also had opportunities to preach at different churches and will be preaching at our church soon. He is loving all of this exposure and he is learning a lot about how to rightly and properly share the truth from God's Word while also being listenable and engaging while speaking. Tyler is also teaching at the youth group occasionally, as he helps co-leads the group. Right now they are learning how to correctly read the bible by putting verses in their proper context; a helpful tool that will hopefully help them read their bibles with deeper understanding. In between all this, Tyler tries to find time to do his assigned reading and writing for his class.

As the holiday season approaches the church is having a few events that are unique to this time of year. We are hosting a ladies craft night where I will be sharing about the true meaning of Christmas and my experience of Christmas as a child. Also as a church, though the UK doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving, we are having a similar event called a "bring and share dinner" which will be quite fun. Our prayer is that these events would be encouraging to the body of believers and an opportunity to share the gospel with those who don't yet know.

Pray with Us

Prayer is such a powerful thing and we know the Lord hears our prayers. We are greatly encouraged by your prayers for us and so thankful that we have so many faithful people standing behind us. The approaching holidays are always a time when people are questioning the most. Our biggest hope and prayer is that more people would come to know Jesus this holiday season.

Requests

• Pray for us these next couple months as we miss Thanksgiving and spend Christmas away from family

• Pray for our family as we enter the sick season with two young children

• Prayer for Tyler as he finishes up his papers for his class and is generally busy in church ministry

Praises

• We are so thankful for our heated drying rack that makes laundry so much more enjoyable

• Praise God for bringing people who are searching to the groups that we are a part of

• Thank you God for Jackson and Grace and their encouraging visit