October is in the books. I don’t know about where you live, but here in southern Missouri, the trees have turned beautiful shades of reds, yellows, oranges, and even some darker colors like purples. It’s absolutely stunning.
Along with the fall colors, the month held the final few games in both football and volleyball. And to wrap up the month, our church had a Trunk or Treat and a Chili Cookoff. That event was well attended by both community and church people.
In the middle of the month, I had the opportunity to attend Wilderness, a retreat I try to go to each year in Colorado. It was everything I expected it to be, and more.
All in all, it’s been a pretty amazing month.
Things are happening pretty crazy around JeffRandleman.com as well. My writing schedule has solidified into something approaching regularity, and I have a lot of cool ideas on the horizon.
In case you missed them, here are my top seven posts for the month of October:
- The Difference Between Purpose, Vision, and Mission
- Why You Need To Develop A Philosophy Of Ministry
- Book Review – Sacred Pathways by Gary Thomas
- Our Tradition: Christmas Eve Candle Light Service
- 6 Characteristics Of A Good Communicator
- 3 Characteristics Of A Bad Communicator
- Trying A New Bible Reading System
It’s become a regular thing to see several of the articles on purpose, vision and mission make the list. These are from the Foundations of Youth Ministry series. I see these things top the list month after month. It’s good to see some of my older content staying so fresh and helpful. But I was beginning to worry that the newer stuff I’ve been writing wasn’t as good. It never seemed to make this list.
However, that seems to not be the case. Two of the posts that made the Top 7 this month are very recent, from a mini series on communication that I wrote this summer. My goal was to make sure that my writing continues to stand the test of time, and it seems that the steps I’m taking are being effective. Now, to continue that trend…
My favorite post from October was a series of posts that I wrote and scheduled for the week I was in Colorado. This is a series based out of several verses from 1 Timothy 4 and 5, called The Life That Honors God. The link goes to the landing and introductory page for the series. You can see each individual part from there.
I’m pretty excited about the next couple of months. Though they are the final months of 2013, they represent an important change in our lives. This will be my first holiday season in my new role as a lead minister. Always before, as a youth minister, I played a supporting role during the holidays. This year will be different. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.
If you are a blogger, leave a comment with your top post for the month. If you don’t blog, leave a comment with a favorite post or blog that you read this month.