Christmas
Rumblings from the Lyons Den
Christmas 2014, Hebrew Union, Cincinnati,
Ohio
Looking Back…
- In
January, we hunkered down for a hard winter with lots of snow, which
included shoveling, sledding and building snowmen for a little boy on the
go.
- In
February, Jeremiah turned 3 with a Curious George birthday party
(including a visit from the Man in the Yellow Hat!), and Lydia turned 1 as
we gave her a birthday blessing.
- In
March, Erin and the kids hopped a ride to York to surprise Pop-pop for his
birthday, and enjoyed visiting friends at the Mission Festival at COD
along the way.
- In
April, we celebrated Easter Resurrection festivities, and Michael studied for
BIG exams fervently.
- In
May, supported by lots of prayer, Michael passed 3 comprehensive exams,
taking one each week. We also welcomed
Erin’s sister’s baby, our nephew Christopher Santoro, into the family.
- In
June, we visited our new little nephew and spent time with our PA family;
then Michael and Erin took a restful weekend hiking trip, just the two of
us to the Great Smokies.
- In
July, we found out we were expecting a third little cubbie, due to arrive
mid-March 2015. We took our first
camping trip with the kids—though we ended up on the ground, the kids
loved camping and sleeping by Daddy & Mommy.
- In
August, Erin enjoyed a girl’s get away with some sweet friends that live
far away. Daddy was on duty with
the two kiddos—he did a great job keeping them smiling each day!
- In
September, we celebrated 9 years of matrimony and enjoyed an evening getaway
to the Springs Retreat ministry.
- In
October, we drove to West Virginia to meet Erin’s family at a cabin on a
lake; we hiked, ate and played- our time together was worth the 5 hour
drive to see family far away.
- In
November, Michael planned a conference at our church- hosting Dr. Bruce Ware
which was very refreshing. Michael was busy also teaching classes at
Xavier and Hebrew Union each week.
- In
December, we sadly lost Michael’s Grandma Mary, but prepared for the remembrance
of Christ’s advent joyfully.
Year’s Reading
Recommendations…
Montesquieu once wrote, “I have never known any trouble that an
hour's reading did not assuage.” Here is a
selection of our favorite reads that made us think and grow this year:
From Michael: The Hobbit, Tolkien; That Hideous
Strength, Lewis; The Abolition of Man, Lewis; C.S. Lewis—A Life,
McGrath; The Conviction to Lead, Mohler; The Lion’s Gate: On the
Front Lines of the Six Day War, Pressfield; Scripture, Culture, and
Agriculture, Davis; The Lost World of Scripture, Walton and Sandy; A
Biblical History of Israel, Provan; Five Views on Biblical Inerrancy,
Merrick and Garrett.
From
Erin:
Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full, Furman; One Thousand Gifts, Voskamp;
Thirty Days of Bible Study for
Busy Mamas (Colossians 3), Forster;
And lots and lots of kids books! J
From Jeremiah: Everything Goes on Land/By
Sea,
Biggs; Busy, Busy Town, Scarry; Agnus Lost, Flack; Blueberries
for Sal, McCloskey; Going on a Bear Hunt, Oxenbury; Corduroy
books; Clifford books; Curious George; any book about trains,
fire trucks or airplanes! He loves selecting
different books at the library each week.
From Lydia:
Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?, Dr. Suess; Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, Perkins; Cat Goes
Fiddle-i-Fee, Galdone; Oh, A Hunting We Will Go, Langstaff & Parker;
Over
in the Meadow, Wadsworth; Any book with animals in it as well as singing song books.
On Our Minds This Past
Year…
School: In May, Michael took three big
“comprehensive exams,” which included three all-day tests in Ugaritic,
Akkadian, and Bible where he had to master everything under the sun in each
subject field. He studied and prepared for one year before taking these! We are very thankful that God
mercifully sustained us through this most difficult time with prayer and good
friends. He is now considered ABD (All But Dissertation) and is beginning the 2-4
year process of writing the dissertation (it never ends, does it!?).
Jobs: This fall, Michael has taught a graduate
Hebrew class at HUC and has enjoyed teaching two religion classes at Xavier
University. In the meantime, he works part-time at our church, supervising the
area of adult discipleship, including the new launch of community groups this
year. He also continues to work at the HUC Library, tutors, and finds other
creative ways of providing. Erin’s work remains demanding, but rewarding. J She labors at home with Jeremiah and Lydia, while preparing for the
arrival of a little cub in March 2015. She enjoys reading to the kids, taking
them out on walks and extending hospitality and serving others where she can. She
takes the kids to Library story time, a music class in the neighborhood and
other play dates.
Church: We were blessed this year to have Dr.
Bruce Ware (a prof at Southern Seminary) teach a weekend conference on “Beholding
the Glory of the Son!” Aside from normal
responsibilities at church, Michael
enjoyed teaching Joshua – 2 Kings for Adult Sunday School this
fall. Erin helps in the nursery, attends
the Thursday Morning Moms group, and enjoys getting together with other
ladies. This fall she has led a monthly
study (True Beauty, Mahaney) with the youth girls in our home. We also enjoy
attending our community group.
Children:
Jeremiah will soon be 4 in
February! He is all boy, with lots of energy. He loves to ride
his bike in the basement, play with friends, build train tracks, help Mommy,
and read. His highlight this year was riding a Metro bus with Daddy downtown
for a Father/Son date. Jeremiah loves to
pretend he is a fire truck going to help someone. He makes friends everywhere.
Lydia
is almost 2 years old. After many months of scooting on her bottom, Lydia
finally decided to walk this fall. She loves to sing, read books, and watch
mommy bake cookies (as well as eat them!). She loves to sit in our lap and
cuddle (daddy’s favorite time!). She has
grown very attached to what she calls, “Gooey”: a purple ladybug pillow
pet, and her “Cowey”: a Chick-fil-A cow. J She is full of smiles, but is quite emotional
at times. She also has developed a great lion “roar” in honor of her family
name.
New Ways God May Grow Us
This Upcoming Year…
We
thank the Lord for His blessings to us this past year! He has sustained us through every turn,
providing what is good for us and for His glory! Here is how you can pray for our family this
year: Pray for our new little boy who is on the way, both for a safe arrival
and for him to grow in the wisdom of God from an early age. Pray for our home
as we all adjust to caring for three little lives. Please pray with us too as we trust God to
provide time and balance with Michael’s dissertation phase now. As this stage
of Ph.D. studies inches forward, please keep praying that we listen to God’s
Spirit for future steps we should take as a family. Above all, ask God to open our eyes as a
family to find satisfaction in Jesus alone…and we are praying the same for you
too.
Seeing and Savoring
Christ in Christmas…
This Christmas our family ponders a stunning event
2000 years ago. From the birth of a little baby boy, a promise of hope and new
life exploded into the universe. This boy grew up in the knowledge and grace of
his Father and then set his heart and mind on obeying the Father at all costs,
even death on a cross. From his birth to his death to his victorious
resurrection, Jesus brings a hope worth singing, “gloria in excelsis deo.” As
the seasons change and Christmas comes and goes, remember the Messiah: the hope
of mankind has come at last, the God-man, Jesus the King. Long ago, at many
times and in diverse ways, God spoke to the fathers by the prophets, but in
these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of
all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the
glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds all things by his
powerful word (Hebrews 1:1-3a).
Treasuring
Christ,
Michael,
Erin, Jeremiah, Lydia & Baby Brother (due March 2015) Lyons
Posts
