The Lyons Den: 2023

Christmas Rumblings from the Lyons Den

Christmas 2023 from Columbia, SC

Looking Back…

In January, we enjoyed our first Epiphany Ball at the church we were attending and Lydia started ballet lessons.
In February, we enjoyed our birthday months with Jeremiah, 12, Lydia, 10 and Josiah, 8. Jeremiah enjoyed many fun youth events. Lydia and Mom did a mother/daughter tea for her birthday.
In March, Jeremiah got to copilot a plane for the first time at JAARS (part of his birthday gift). Erin enjoyed a night away in Charleston with two sweet Cincinnati friends that came down for the weekend!
In April, Josiah played baseball and Jeremiah enjoyed playing flag football. We enjoyed celebrating Easter with a Saturday evening Easter Vigil and Easter dinner hosting our neighbor and many Chinese families from CIU.
In May, we lost one of our favorite saints, Michael’s grandma, Gigi, at 105. We miss her dearly but are thankful for her legacy and life. Erin also went to York with the kids to help her family plant flowers and landscape lawns.
In June, we embarked on the Lyons’ Out West Trip. Thanks to dear friends letting us stay with them, we visited states, from Memphis to Kansas, Colorado, South Dakota, Minnesota, Chicago and ending in Cincinnati. We LOVED our hikes and visits in God’s creation with amazing friends!
In July, the highlight of the kids trip was our week in beloved Cincinnati. Erin and the kids also enjoyed helping with an Afghan soccer camp. Michael officiated a student’s wedding and we took CIU students to the beach for a Saturday.
In August, we enjoyed joining a pool in the summer heat. We began school, tried to potty train Judah and enjoyed a church camping trip at the base of Mount Mitchell.
In September, Erin began a Girls of Grace group for moms and daughters around Lydia’s age studying the promises of God and doing various crafts. Jeremiah & Lydia began taking cello lessons downtown as a part of the Strings project.
In October, Erin went to a church women’s retreat and we enjoyed a family trip with Erin’s family to Williamsburg and Jamestown. We also had a refreshing visit in North Carolina with our dear friends the Langdons.
In November, CIU celebrated 100 years, had a great visit from the Whitacres, a college friend, and we enjoyed going to Cincy for Thanksgiving.
In December, we celebrated little Judah turning 3 with a train birthday. We also hosted various neighbor and caroling gatherings.

Year’s Reading Recommendations…

From Erin: I Dared To Call Him Father, Sheikh; Your Teenager Is Not Crazy, Clark; A Lantern in Her Hand, Aldrich; Songs of Suffering, Tada; Untangling Emotions, Groves and Smith.

From Michael: Count of Monte Cristo, Dumas; Anna Karenina, Tolstoy; The God of the Garden, Peterson; The Plurality Principle, Harvey; Bonhoeffer’s Seminary Vision, House; High Conflict, Ripley; Purgatorio and Paradiso, Dante; The Power of Silence, Sarah; The Bronze Bow, Speare; A Mouth Full of Fire, Schead; Rescue, Nielson.

From Jeremiah: The Golden Goblet, McGraw; Mystery of the Roman Ransom, Winterfeld; The Bronze Bow, A Single Shard, Park; Beowulf- A New Telling, Nye; Endling series, Applegate; Rescue & Iceberg, Nielson; Lines of Courage, Nielson; Tuesdays at the Castle series set, George.

From Lydia: The Little House Books series; Little House on Rocky Ridge, MacBride; Little Farm in the Ozarks, MacBride; Winnie the Horse Gentler series, Mackall; Rescue, Nielson; A Night Divided, Nielson; Iceberg, Nielson; Grandma’s Attic series, Richardson; Prince Lander and the Dragon War, Smith; Tuesdays at the Castle series set, George.

From Josiah & Joel: Homer Price, McCloskey; Charlotte’s Web- White; Greek Myths for Young Children, Amery and Edwards; Josiah loves Magic Tree House books.

From Judah: Digger, Dozer, Dumper, Vestergaaard; The Little Engine That Could, Piper; What’s Wrong, Little Pookie, Boynton.

On Our Minds this Past Year

This year as we have completed our first year in Columbia. We think about God’s faithfulness and provision and still wait for Him to guide us this year. “Through every change, He faithful will remain.” We have seen the Lord’s goodness in this last year. He has helped us through this move. In this last year, God has provided for us financially in ways we could not have imagined. He has provided a wonderful home and neighbors we are getting to know. He has provided international Afghan ministry. He is bringing homeschool families to come alongside us. Erin and the kids have switched to a small Wednesday homeschool coop through our church. He has provided for our every need. And yet we still wait and pray that God will continue to provide for us direction and guidance in this new year.

News from the Lyons’ Den…

The Parents: Michael’’s ministry this year included lots of teaching, counseling, preaching, and lots of other ends-and-odds that came with serving as the minister of discipleship. It was a strange year for him, with the first half focused on local church ministry, and the second half focused on seminary ministry. A highlight from the first half was leading a group of devoted readers through Dante’s Divine Comedy, which ended on Easter, enjoying a men’s hike with sweet fellowship and beautiful sights, and meeting for many lunches and breakfasts with men. In the second half of the year, Michael adjusted to his vocation as a full-time professor. For the first semester, he taught an Old Testament survey and two levels of Hebrew, and began learning all about life at CIU. His highlight so far has been lunches with students who are going into ministry and taking part in a commissioning service for those graduating. His seminary colleagues are wonderful to work with. Erin’s days are full homeschooling 4 of our 5 children. She has enjoyed teaching a science Geology class for Josiah and Joel and another family at our church. We have enjoyed learning about rocks. She is still enjoying helping with Afghan ESL class and a summer soccer camp for refugees. She is assisting a refugee family by helping them get food and groceries. She is still helping weed and take care of the flowers at CIU and enjoyed landscaping the new beds for the fall and winter. She also started this fall a Girls of Grace group with Lydia for some moms and daughters in our area. She is also a full time driver for the kids many activities.

The Kids: Jeremiah is 12. He is now in seventh grade. Jeremiah has been working hard at building up his lawn business. He has been mowing and doing leaf removal this fall. He loves youth group and enjoyed playing soccer this fall. Jeremiah & Lydia started cello lessons this fall. Lydia is 10 and in fifth grade. She loves to read and do crafts. She has started a ballet class this year and enjoyed a spring and fall performance. Lydia also loved helping a friend with her girls this summer. She enjoyed being a mother’s helper. Josiah is 8 and in third grade. Josiah loves playing outside, climbing trees and learned how to ride his two wheeled bike. He loves everything baseball and has enjoyed playing this fall with dad as assistant coach. He still LOVES art and loves to draw. Joel is 6 and in first grade. He enjoys climbing trees and playing cars and making snowflakes and crafts. He had to get stitches over Thanksgiving. He hopes to never do that again. Judah is 3. He loves running and eating! He still loves giraffey and carries him everywhere and he still bonks his head to go to bed. Judah loves trains right now and his Christmas tree. He loves to run and keep up with this crazy crew.

Seeing and Savoring Christ in Christmas…

In this season of Advent, we wait; we long; we lament; we hope. We pray and meditate on the words of the hymn, “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus” by Charles Wesley. “Come, Thou long expected Jesus / born to set Thy people free. / From our fears and sins release us. / Let us find our rest in Thee / Israel’s strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art. / Dear Desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart. / Born Thy people to deliver, / Born a child and yet a King, / Born to reign in us forever, / Now Thy gracious kingdom bring. / By Thine own eternal Spirit / rule in all our hearts alone; / By Thine all sufficient merit, / Raise us to Thy glorious throne.”

May Christ be your hope and consolation this Christmas season! Whether in days of happiness or days of sadness, may the Spirit draw you ever closer to the Father, who reigns over us with kindness and glory. And together, may we trust God for the paths that He has each of our families on. CIU’s motto is “To Know Him and Make Him Known.” We are praying for you according to that phrase, and ask that you will pray for us likewise. Merry Christmas!

Treasuring Christ,

Michael & Erin, with Jeremiah, Lydia, Josiah, Joel, and Judah Lyons 😊

129 Firebranch Street, Columbia, SC 29212

elyons25@gmail.com, mlyons533@gmail.com, http://melyonsden.blogspot.com (Family news)

Subscribe to our quarterly ministry updates and partner in prayer with us by emailing to be added to the list!