Christmas
Rumblings from the Lyons Den
Christmas 2015, Hebrew Union, Cincinnati, Ohio
Looking Back…
- In
January, both Michael and Erin enjoyed a visit with some sweet friends
from seminary who had been serving the Lord for the last few years
overseas.
- In
February, we welcomed Josiah Patrick to our den; supposed to be born in
March, he couldn’t wait until then.
- In
March, life felt a little chaotic and overwhelming, as we adjusted to Si-Si
being in our family- and juggling the demands of three?
- In
April, we enjoyed celebrating Easter and the Resurrection of the Lord-
always a special time to ponder and look toward!
- In
May, we enjoyed warm sun, flower planting, and a family trip to a retreat
called the “Springs.”
- In
June, we enjoyed the beach with Erin’s family- to Duck, Outer Banks we
vacationed happily- though Lydie says she likes the sand but not the raging
sea.
- In
July, Jeremiah splashed the pool with more lessons at swim ministry; then
Jeremiah and Daddy had some “boy time” camping (where they’re pretty sure
they saw bears, lions, and maybe even a dinosaur).
- In
August, we went to a Marriage Conference in Louisville and enjoyed picking
blackberries at church and swimming in the church pool.
- In
September, we celebrated our 10th anniversary and enjoyed
attending a parenting-counseling conference in Florence, Kentucky.
- In
October, we took a little getaway with sidekick Josiah to the Great
Smokies. Josiah enjoyed assisting
his parents hike a 10 mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail- actually he
had it easy.
- In
November, we enjoyed a visit from sweet TX friends, the Proctor family,
and enjoyed refreshing fellowship while the little ones played happily.
- In December, Michael is grading, while we enjoy making cookies, gifts and other Christmas festivities: but most of all our family is gazing on Advent- the coming of the Messiah- our greatest treasure who came as a babe in humility!
Year’s Reading
Recommendations…
Ah, reading, one of our greatest pleasures as a
family…or addictions? Here is a selection of those that stand out the most this
year:
From Michael: On the Priesthood, Chrysostom; The Compelling Community, Dever;
Simply Jesus, Wright; Onward
Moore; The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second
American Revolution, 1783-1789, Ellis; Unbroken, Hillenbrand; Dead
Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Larson; Ancient Israel’s
History, Arnold & Hess; Hidden Riches, Hays; Life and Society
in the Hittite World, Bryce
From Erin: True Beauty, Mahaney; Mom Enough, Desiring
God; Side by Side,
Ed Welch, Good News for Weary Women, Fitzpatrick; Glimpses of Grace, Furman
From
Jeremiah: Charlotte’s Web & Stuart Little, White; Magic School Bus books; Jesus Storybook Bible & Audio, Lloyd-Jones; The
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lewis
From
Lydia: Going On A Bear Hunt, Oxenbury; Go-Dog-Go & Are You My Mother?, Eastman; Favorite Parables From The Bible, Butterworth
& Inkpen; Song of the Stars, Lloyd-Jones.
From
Josiah: Any book I can chew or my big brother and sister
like to read!
On Our Minds This Past
Year…
This year, we recount all the ways the Lord has
blessed: we have much to be thankful for over the year. It begin with the last day of December 2014,
when God provided us a van, after praying for one for 6 months! Then we praise God for the birth of Josiah
Patrick and his sweet spirit, who came on Feb 28. Though things have been “adventurous” with 3
kids in our apartment, we are thankful Josiah has been a good sleeper and content
with the flow of our family. We are
thankful too for celebrating 10 years in marriage: where has the time gone!? We are thankful for parents that watched our
kids so we could get away in the Smokies for three days and recharge ourselves
with miles of hiking! We are thankful
how God has provided for us financially when Michael’s stipend for school ended
and how God gave Michael a dissertation proposal idea very quickly. We are grateful for the people of God placed
in our lives who encourage and strengthen our walk with the Jesus. In addition, God has faithfully brought women
into Erin’s life that have been huge blessings this year to mentor and grow her. We are thankful to see evidences of grace in
our children’s lives as they grow to understand who God is more and more! These are just a few blessings or ways we see
God at work over this last year and look forward to what He will do and teach
us in this new year!
News from the Lyons’ Den…
Dad
& Mom: Michael in his free time (ha!)
loves to read, play, and wrestle with the kids. This year he led many family
hikes in our neighborhood woods, Mt. Airy.
He presses on in balancing school, church, work and writing. He
continues to learn what it means to simply be faithful to the calling God has
placed upon him.
Erin loves running
(without the kids!), walking with the kids,
as
well as play dates with friends. She is
learning more about homeschooling in anticipating Jeremiah’s arrival to
Kindergarten next year. She has enjoyed
canning with sister-in-law Laura and reading good books when she can (Go-Dog-Go
doesn’t count…). God has been teaching
her about depending on the Lord for each day and praying for a joyful heart in
what seem like long days as a Mom with young children. He has been kindly reminding her of the calling
of motherhood and showing her the idols of her heart that can easily become
demands.
Crazy
Kids: Jeremiah will soon be 5 in February: this
hardly seems possible, we’re pretty sure we just brought him home from the
hospital last year! Jeremiah is all boy:
He loves playing in the dirt, chasing his sister, building Legos or blocks, and
playing trains and dinosaurs. But most of all, he loves to knock Daddy to the
ground and wrestle the evening away. Jeremiah enjoys listening to Audio books during
his quiet time and he loves learning during “homeschool preschool.” He is on the cusp of reading if Mama can just
get organized. Lydia is almost 3 (in
February). She loves to soothe and rock
her baby dolls, read books with her big brother, play house or build a nest for
them to sleep in. She also loves to sing
and dance. Right now, Lydia loves
picking out her own clothes and likes to “look pretty” or tell Mommy she looks
pretty. Josiah-well, he just
follows the others! At 9 months old, he
crawls and gets into everything, following big bro and sis everywhere. We have already caught him playing in Lydia’s
little potty a few times (nasty!).
He is a happy and sweet little man.
School/Jobs: This year Michael had
his dissertation proposal accepted in April and now is officially in the
research/writing stage of dissertation.
This process will most likely take 2-3 years depending on how much time
he has available. Michael still works at the Hebrew Union library,
teaches a graduate course in Hebrew, and has prepared students for Akkadian
reading classes. This fall he also
traveled to a Methodist Seminary in Columbus and enjoyed teaching Bible classes
to their pastors-in-training. When he was not writing or teaching, Michael
continued to work part time at our church. Meanwhile, back on the farm, Erin
keeps working at home (have you seen her flowerbeds or freshly mowed lawn!?). J She has been
encouraged on long Mondays with a few Subway lunch treats dropped off by her
husband!
Church:
We
continue to be encouraged by fellow believers at our church, ECC. This year Michael has taught through all the
prophetic books, while also encouraging areas of discipleship at the church. Erin has enjoyed getting to know fellow moms
at Thursday Morning Moms and loves to organize “park days” in the summer. She had the privilege of co-leading a women’s
Sunday School study on Titus & 2 Timothy this Fall and continues in our
home
a book study with a great group of youth-girls from our church. We are richly
blessed by the people of God at ECC.
Seeing and Savoring Christ
in Christmas…
In
Ezekiel, the prophet describes how the presence of the Lord will return to a new temple. The presence of God—God
with us—is seen as the only hope that will turn the brokenness of the people
around. At Christmas time it is the
presence of God with us, the culmination of the prophets’ hope that we
celebrate: Immanuel, God with us—he is here. The glory of the Lord himself became a man. Here is hope for our brokenness…and
his name is Jesus. Join with us in this new year and pray that our family
marvels at the glory of God in the Messiah above all else, for only in Him will
our family thrive…and yours too.
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