October WELCOME Check In

In case you missed it, my word of the year is WELCOME, described by the acronym below. For more details on why I chose this word go here.

Worship – Making room for God
Embrace – Making room for my family
Learn – Making room to grow my mind
Care – Making room for my health
Offer – Making room for others
Minimize – Making room by clearing a thing or practice from my life
Everyday Blessings – Recording the little joys that occur when I make room

WORSHIP
Goal: Rise early.

This goal didn’t directly help me with worship as much as I’d hoped. The times I rose the earliest were times I had the least time for devotions. I know this is a good goal to have anyway, and I have done better with it this month.

I heard four different preachers this month due to doing music ministry in a few different places. Two of them I had never heard preach before, so I enjoyed the new perspectives on familiar truths.

I’m still following this Bible reading plan. I am finally in the New Testament and enjoying the 5 books John wrote. In the Gospel of John, I wrote down every question Jesus asked and pondered how I would answer it in my own life. On Sundays, I read through the Psalms.

EMBRACE
Goal: Planned outings and trip to Kansas.

This month, I had several planned and a few impromptu outings with members of my family. I had a shopping trip to our favorite Hobby Lobby with my daughter. I took a road trip and outing with my boys which I’ll explain more below. But do you mamas know that long car rides are the best times for conversation? I love all I learn about my kids when we’re in the car for hours. (This was not the case 10 years ago! Ha!) We also made a Starbucks run the day I took the three of them to get haircuts. And Jerrod and I went to a favorite local coffee shop after a tough orthodontist appointment. Jeff, Jessica and I also went out for coffee. And don’t ask how many times we stopped for coffee on the way to and from Kansas.

I got to spend a day with my parents and sister’s family as part of our road trip. We got to have coffee (again), lunch and dinner together all in the same day.

LEARN
Goal: Start a new project.

I did start my new project. I am continuing to work on my new project. I am not ready to share what the new project is. But, I am growing and learning a lot as I do it.

Always, I’m learning through reading – one of my favorite pastimes. Anytime I recommend a book (or anything for that matter!), remember it is not infallible and I’m not recommending or endorsing every part of it. With that caveat, here are a few good books I read this month:

On Teaching Apologetics to Our Children:
Mama Bear Apologetics edited by Hillary Morgan Ferrer
This was such a wonderful book! I wanted to contact the group of ladies writing this book and ask where I could sign up to be in their group. It’s kind of hard already to find other moms into apologetics and theology, but when they write a book about how to teach it to your kids? Yes, please! In spite of the tough ideas they dealt with like Marxism, Relativism and Naturalism, it was easy to understand. Plus, they broke down how to talk to your kids about each idea in age-appropriate ways. I loved how honest they were about the good each realm of thought has brought (yes, even Marxism and Feminism) but also how clearly they showed where Biblical Christians must divide from the ideas.

Fiction:
Just David by Eleanor H. Porter
This was such a sweet classic book. I couldn’t believe I’d never read it. The author also wrote Pollyanna which everyone loves to hate, but I also found it to be a sweet and uplifting book when I read it as a kid. This would be a lovely read aloud for those of you who still have kids (sniff) young enough to (double sniff) be read to. (crying hard enough to not care that I just ended a sentence with a preposition)

Southern Crimes series by Lisa Harris
This is a new Christian suspense author I found who is a missionary mama as well. I enjoyed this series and started on another one. For those of you who wonder why I’m stuck on Christian suspense in my fiction: I’m tired of language and graphic details not necessary to a good story. Are these a bit predictable at times? Yes, but also interesting enough to keep my attention when I just don’t want to think a lot.

On Hospitality (For real, not Entertaining):
A Life That Says Welcome: Simple Ways to Open Your Heart and Home to Others by Karen Ehman
I’ve had this one on my list for this year because, well obviously, it fits my yearly theme. This was a practical book on how to truly welcome others in your home. Not a guide to impress others but an inspiration to go love people better.

On My Coffee Table:
October feels more like fall, so I decided to bring out a few fall decorations for the coffee table. I don’t care for a lot of orange so I didn’t get orange pumpkins. My husband said the white and silver pumpkin is hoping I don’t notice and I leave it out for Christmas. Maybe I will just because he said that… I put some fall children’s books on this table, but I also used Vivian Maier: The Color Work by Colin Westerbeck and Exploring English Castles by Edd Morris.

CARE
Goal: Keep everyone healthy.

Even though I know health isn’t entirely in my control (or even much at all), I still am responsible for purchasing the vitamins, making sure they’re administered, making the doctor appointments and taking people to them. This month two of us had colds (negative COVID tests)….our first since May of 2020. We brought out the remedies and were thankful they passed quickly. Figures that would happen the month I set this goal! One of us started a chiropractic treatment plan and another started orthodontic treatment. We even had to fit a dentist and vet appointment in this month, so I’ve been in a lot of waiting rooms.

OFFER
Goal: Music ministry and Fall Outing with Friends

We traveled one week out of this month to Kansas to help with the music at a convention, and we helped out at a local church another week for revival services. We made some new friends and got to sing about Jesus and even had a little down time along the way.

The boys wanted to keep up a fall tradition where they go to a farm and hang out with a friend and cousins. We left early in the morning (see my Worship goal above), went to in-person piano lessons, went on a hayride, ate lunch at a special restaurant near the farm, did all the farm activities, ate dinner with my mom (after hiding in her basement for awhile due to a tornado warning) and got home just slightly after bedtime.

MINIMIZE
Goal: Talking

Everyone who knows me well is laughing at this goal. I own the fact that I talk more than I listen. I do want to change that by listening better to my husband, my kids, my family and friends and even God. No, He’s not going to tell me anything by special revelation not in His Word nor is it an audible Voice. But, I do want to hear His Voice within my heart instead of talking over Him.

EVERYDAY JOYS
A few more highlights from our October below:

A tractor parade (yes, for real)~my youngest turned 11~made homemade noodles for the first time in years~we are perfecting our Sunday dinner teamwork (after 40 years of my late grandma or sweet mama cooking dinner for me every Sunday)~got to visit a real ACE school and hear them in action~found a praying mantis on our back patio~my third kid lost his last baby tooth 🙁

We each have a job and work as a team on Sunday dinners. It’s a special tradition handed down from both sides of our family, and we aim to continue it in our new place. See if you can guess which kid does what. My daughter mashes and arranges the potatoes, but one boy sets the table, one boy prepares and serves the drinks, and the third boy arranges all the food. Mom did the cooking, but I didn’t touch the table until I sat down to eat.

QUOTES OF THE MONTH:

…dividing the world into safe/good/Christian or dangerous/bad/non-Christian is like cutting your kids’ food for them…it becomes counterproductive as they mature. Why? Because it gives them the mistaken impression that as long as they categorize something correctly, they can turn their brains off and operate on autopilot…..When it comes time for them to interact more with the world, it’ll be like they are walking into a junkyard with virtually no immune system.

From Mama Bear Apologetics by Hillary Morgan Ferrer and others

No one is bowing to an idol in their closet, but we have plenty of people bowing to a Jesus of their own design.

Also from Mama Bear Apologetics

Watching and waiting, looking above
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love
and
Near the cross I’ll watch and wait, hoping, trusting ever.

From “Blessed Assurance” and “Near the Cross” respectively by Fanny Crosby, who was blind

Disclaimer: On any music video I share, I am only attempting to share that particular song. It is in no way an endorsement of the artist, other songs they may sing or any ads associated with the video.

October doesn’t bring Memorial Day or Veterans Day or any other traditional holiday where Americans remember their military. But October brought two people to our family. My late grandfather, who would have turned 99 this October, served his country in the Coast Guard during World War II. And my son, who was named after him and an uncle he never met who gave his life for his country in Vietnam. So, this is the month I want to remember.

I hope you are enjoying autumn and had a inspired October! Many blessings as you enter the month of Thanksgiving. I’d love to hear some of your goals in the comments or in an e-mail. I’ll check in again next month.