The autumn, to a person in need of warmth, ties and affection proved a very heartening time. Because soon bleak winds would make the downside cold, villagers turned their eyes to home amusements…So as old man’s beard whitened the hedges and the scarlet of berries shone through the grey of misty mornings, committees…met again, and whist drives, choral evenings and a play… were planned.”
Under the Rainbow, Susan Scarlett
Hello Friends,
Another quote from Susan Scarlett, my newly discovered author treasure find. I love the idea of autumn being a season which enfolds the lonely and warms the broken. There is certainly a sense of activities moving inside as the evenings draw in, of settling around the fire with a friend for a cosy chat and bringing out the board games and handicrafts. These days I’m much less inclined to go out in the evenings as tiredness tends to overtake me, but when I do I love the smell of woodsmoke and the light peeking out from snug cottage windows.
The highlight of October was the girls’ baptism. We had been working towards it for some months, with our minister thoughtfully preparing not only them but the whole church alongside, so they really felt loved and supported. They both gave fairly tear jerking testimonies; their story of physical adoption being very intertwined with their story of spiritual adoption into God’s family. Both the boys were home and led the worship with their band buddy. Lots of friends and family came, some travelling from quite a distance. We had a wonderful time of food and fellowship afterwards. It really felt that, as a family, we were being held and enclosed in love. As you can imagine it’s not been an easy journey and we continue to stumble along, often making mistakes and falling back regularly on God’s redemptive love and healing. But, for this one day, I felt it was ok….God is holding us and moving us forward. I hope it will be a day that the girls can look back on, as a line in the sand, during the tough seasons. I know I am already doing this!
The book is coming along and the next couple of blog posts I think will be fairly short as I pour as much time into this as I can, tapping away in snatched spaces of time.
Well, friends, I hope you may know the gentle touch of God in your everyday life through unexpected kindness and provision. As the days get shorter, I hope you are able to enjoy some bracing walks, some warming mugs of tea and the beauty of the fading autumn days.
With love, Molly x
Nature notes and homestead jottings
I’ve not been doing much on the home front this month; I made fire cider which must be ready to decant by now. The pigs went on their final journey at the end of the month, so we kept feeding them throughout October and it was satisfying watching them enjoy all the mud and rain! I allow the chickens out of their penned in area once most of the veg has been harvested and they love pecking and scratching around. So far our netting has prevented them from eating through the brassicas. They eat all the slug eggs so I have remarkably few of these slimy visitors during the summer, which makes me smile.
Homeschool journal
I honestly can’t remember any particular highlights of our home ed month, other than National Poetry day with was a good excuse for a Poetry Teatime, a regular part of our learning rhythm on the primary years;
Musings for our time
I’ve had several conversations recently with friends who are, like myself, looking to the next decade or so and mulling over current decisions in the light of what could be coming our way. What education/career choices would be good for our adult children? Can we avoid/ pay off debt? Is it wise to buy a house with a mortgage or best to stay renting? Shall we home educate? What homesteading skills are you learning? (That was my favourite conversation).
Obviously our priority is to strengthen our hearts and souls before the Lord, studying Scripture and developing rhythms of prayer. However, just as God trained and used Joseph to prepare strategically for a barren season, I wonder if now is the time to be looking tactically at the needs of our church families and communities and the resources we have between us to meet these. It could be that the already deteriorating frameworks and systems within which many of our services are delivered will collapse further and and maybe we need to pray for creative solutions and new ways of doing things, possibly running parallel to the existing ones. Most of all, I believe we need to seek His face, to lay afresh our resources, our abilities and our time before the Lord and be willing to follow any calling or make any changes, however small or possibly large, He may ask of us.
What about you? Are there any changes you’re considering making, or have already made?
A sunny morning at the Bishops’s Palace
Mothering through the seasons 