Poured Out

I know it is a day late, but we just enjoyed our Thanksgiving meal.  Melanie is up and in action again, so she did most of the work and now we are all very full.  We all have so much to be thankful for.  So happy thanksgiving to you if you’re American, and for those of us who aren’t, we can join in the moment too!  Tomorrow we’re planning to decorate for Christmas (about a month late by our childrens’ reckoning!)  Then on Sunday I fly up to Scotland for a week of teaching at Tilsley College.  I return on Friday of next week.  The light at the end of the tunnel can be seen, but I still need to press on for a couple more weeks of busy-ness.  Then in mid-December we can enjoy a week off together here at home.

We had a busy but enjoyable weekend.  A good friend, Andrea (a male name in Italy), visited from Friday until yesterday.  The weekend ministry went well and we enjoyed some good time talking together.  Yesterday Melanie went down with some sort of stomach bug.  Hopefully it was a reaction to food, rather than a virus (for Andrea’s sake, as well as the rest of us!)  As I write this Melanie is homeschooling from her bed.  She is feeling better today, but still weak as she has hardly eaten in a day and a half.  Please pray that the rest of us won’t get whatever she’s had.  Tonight I finish the series of seminars at Oakhall, then tomorrow is the final Moore course meeting for this series in Ephesians.  We are still in a busy season, but the end is almost in sight now.

Hannah’s never happier than when she’s on a horse or pony!

Aliyah doesn’t want to miss out!

Birthday boy – 2 years old!

A sibling celebration!

How can he be a mess before his cake?  You’ll have to ask Joel!

Thanks for praying for our weekend.  It was fantastic!  First of all, everyone stayed well (no headaches for me) and it was actually quite relaxing for us.  Well, OK, Peter preached 5 times but in between the messages, he was able to relax.  The church we went to is a really friendly church and they were having a fellowship weekend – kind of like a weekend away without the “away” part!  Peter preached  4 times on, “Following Hard When it’s Hard to Follow” from Hebrews 10-13 and from John 9 on Sunday morning.  I got to listen to 4 of his messages and was reminded why he’s my favorite preacher!  The church people were so responsive and appreciative and we really pray that God will use the Word in a powerful way in these people’s lives.  We stayed with a family who live in the countryside.  So the kids got to enjoy their animals – guinea pigs, rabbits, chinchillas and dogs.  The girls were even able to ride horses nearby!  (Pictures soon!)  I enjoyed the countryside atmosphere, despite all the mud – ha! – and was able to have some time to read and rest.  At the church, the children really enjoyed socializing with the church kids.  Even Joel was often surrounded by older boys who took care of him and played with him.

We went to visit Peter’s mum on the way home yesterday and spent the day with her which was lovely. The girls enjoyed making cards with her.   After a bit of a stressful journey home (lots of tired, grumpy children on board!), we are home and back into high gear.   Here are a few prayer points:

*Tomorrow I am in charge of the craft and storytime at Open House with the mums and toddlers. I am going to talk about American Thanksgiving and being thankful to God. Pray for good conversations with the mums.

*No time to rest for Peter today.  He is preparing for the 2nd of 3 seminars at our church tonight.  Topic: You and Your Bible.  Pray for fruit.

*We have an Italian friend coming to spend time with Peter this weekend.  Pray for us to be a blessing to him.

Meanwhile, we have a birthday boy today!!!  Joel is two years old!  We will post some pictures soon.  He is a very handsome and sweet birthday boy.  We are so blessed to have him in our family.  Thank you Lord!

This won’t be happening next year, but that’s another issue.  The primary issue right now is that we leave tomorrow for a weekend with a church we’ve always enjoyed our interactions with in the past.  This weekend is their annual “retreat” so that means I speak on Friday evening, twice on Saturday and twice on Sunday.  We all get to go as a family, which means I am not away from home in the way I define being away, so that is a good thing.  Three years ago we were scheduled to be with this church for their annual missions weekend, but sickness ravaged the Mead home and I ended up taking just Hannah.  Amazing how time flies.  So what won’t be happening next year?  Hopefully this kind of weekend will, but not on several consecutive weekends!  We appreciate your prayers for us in this busy season.  We’re not too busy to read an email or comment from you to let us know what is going on in your November and/or how we can pray for you.  Thanks!

It was a good weekend.  The seminar went well on Saturday and then Sunday I flew home in the early evening after preaching in the morning.  It was good to enjoy fellowship with the pastor of the church and I hope we will be able to meet and talk again in the future.  Today we had a family day scheduled.  No work.  Lots of play.  We didn’t bother going out (miserable English weather), so we enjoyed games, books, fun and an Aliyahn nosebleed here instead.  It’s good to unwind together a little.  Tomorrow I have the first in a series of three evening seminars on the Bible at Oakhall, Bible study on Wednesday evening and then a church retreat starting Friday (we all go this time).

I would appreciate your prayers for our Oasis book club tonight.  We’ll be discussing “Married for God” by Christopher Ash.  Pray for a good, open and God-honoring discussion.  Peter also leaves today for Glasgow for the weekend.  Pray for energy for me this weekend.  I woke up yesterday with a stiff and sore neck/back, similar to what I had 6 months ago.  It’s a bit better today but pray for healing for that.  It’s hard to function being in pain like this.  But really, pray mostly for effective ministry for Peter this weekend and a good book club tonight!  Pray for closeness to the Lord for all us.

Tomorrow evening I fly up to Glasgow for a weekend at New Prestwick Baptist Church. I’ll be leading a Biblical Preaching Seminar all day on Saturday, then preaching in the church on Sunday morning.  Appreciate your prayers for me up in Scotland, and also for Melanie and the team down here without me for two days.  Incidentally I have woken up today with a strong cold . . . be great to be free of this by tomorrow evening and for Melanie not to have a house full of illness this weekend!

It was a good weekend and I got home yesterday evening without any trouble.  The children were all excited to see me, which is always reassuring!  So you know you’re with students when discussion at the dinner table includes whether cheap cheddar cheese is better than cheap red leicester cheese.  You also know you’re with students when there is a real openness to learn, an appetite for the things of God and an enthusiasm for evangelism.  We spent the sessions together in Mark’s gospel – what a great book that is.  Going back to it again has left a mark on me, and I hope it will leave a deep mark on them as they look forward to their “mission week” of evangelism in February.  Please pray for the Christians on university campuses in this country – what a strategic opportunity they have!

Now it’s a few days at home before a brief visit to Glasgow next weekend.  Please pray for these days to be productive as we need to maintain the pace for a few more weeks yet.