Fall 2025 Newsletter: Rhythms and Reflections
Filling the Barn
We began our journey as mini-ranch owners in the plains of eastern Colorado in 2018. With 5 sandy acres, an older manufactured home, and a couple of outbuildings, we settled into a rural lifestyle with ourselves, our two horses and a lot of hard lessons to be learned.
One of the lessons involved hay for the horses. Our larger outbuilding was perfect for hay storage, so for the first couple of years, we would, in the fall, purchase a year's supply of hay: bales packed to the rafters in that building -- everything we needed to keep the horses fed for the next 12 months. I remember how good it felt to know that this element of our need for the next year was safely stored in the barn. I didn't have to worry about our suppliers having the hay we needed in the middle of the winter; I didn't have to worry about price fluxuations. We were set!
As the years went by, we found it increasingly difficult and impractical to buy hay in one-year increments. The cash flow implications were pretty dramatic. Plus, we came to understand that our hay suppliers were, in fact, reliable and fully understood how much we (and their other customers) depended on them to have good hay in stock whenever we needed to resupply. Today, some 7 years down the line, we stock hay in monthly increments, and there's never been a time when we couldn't get what we needed from our vendors.
The Holy Spirit reminded me this morning about my personal transition in this journey: from a stockpiling mentality to a "just in time" mentality toward hay for our horses. And He pointed out what a great metaphor that is for how my capacity (and willingness) to trust God has changed. We have gone from needing to see the "barn" filled to the rafters with provisions for our future to being comfortable and confident that God will supply exactly what we need at just the time that it is needed. Thanks be to God.
MDS
Finding our Groove
The Fall for Mark and Christy is bringing opportunities to settled into a new tempo and a new set of rhythms in ministry and in daily life.
Christy has reduced her hours at Restored Hope Network (her "day job") by 40% in order to make more space for the spiritual direction and support group work coming through Redeemed Seasons. Christy is now caring for over a dozen women in one-on-one contexts, and she continues to co-lead with Mark the "At My Right Hand" support group for parents and family members of LGBTQ-identified loved ones.
Mark is providing one-on-one care for 16 active spiritual direction clients and continues to handle most of the administrative tasks for Redeemed Seasons, as the ministry's Executive Director.
Outside of the ministry, life for Mark and Christy now includes a couple of new and important elements. First, they are caring for Mark's mother, who moved from Houston to Colorado Springs earlier this year. She has settled in an independent living facility in town and is a regular feature in their weekly schedules.
Second, Mark and Christy have agreed to serve on the Lead Team for a new church plant, scheduled to launch in September of 2026. This commitment is generating a transition away from Mark's active role as a member of the clergy at Holy Trinity Anglican Church and toward the visioning, development and coordination needs of the new Anglican church plant.
All of these work and life elements are contributing to an active and very rich season for Mark and Christy, with lots of opportunity to lean into God's strength and wisdom and to receive God's grace and peace.
Seeking Partners in Support
We continue to invite and encourage new financial partners for Redeemed Seasons. We have been working toward a 2025 goal of $2,000/month in new recurring donations. We have a long way to go. Would you join us?
Redeemed Seasons provides more than $4,000 per month in free services and programs to men and women and families impacted by LGBTQ issues. These free services include one-on-one care sessions, gatherings of our “At My Right Hand” support groups, and online access to our discipleship videos series, Rescue & Restoring.
We are able to provide these services at no cost only because our ministry partners bless us with the financial support needed to keep the ministry going. Would you donate to our ministry, so we can provide hope and healing to those in need?
• $75 funds one hour of one-on-one care or spiritual direction.
• $100 funds one month of support group access for a family.
• $25 funds one month of access to our healing and discipleship videos.
The link to our Giving page is https://www.redeemedseasons.org/give.
