The air has shifted here in Lancashire. Can you feel it where you are? The crisp edge to the morning air, the leaves beginning to loosen their hold. October is the month when the year itself seems to turn a page, and we, too, are invited to begin again.
This is the season for slowing down, for lighting candles on the kitchen table, for noticing the small graces hidden in our days: the kettle steaming, the child’s muddy boots by the door, the gold of the afternoon light falling across the hall floor. It is in these ordinary moments that holiness hides, waiting to be gathered up and treasured.
I discovered that keeping a seasonal diary is one of the of the simplest yet most impactful ways to capture this beauty. Not the kind of diary that rushes to list achievements or to-dos, but a gentler practice of sacred noticing. A place to record the pattern of our days: the prayers whispered whilst stirring the pot of soup for dinner, the song of the robin in the hedgerow, the way the seasons brush against our lives, reminding us that we are a part of so much more…
Why October?
October is a natural threshold. Summer has truly fallen away, yet Advent is still some distance off. We stand in this in-between place, gathering the last tomatoes from the garden, pulling out cosy knitted jumpers from their warm weather storage, the kettle humming as the afternoons grow darker. We steady ourselves for the darkening days. It is a perfect moment to pause, to take stock, and to begin keeping company with a diary that honours the sacred rhythm of the year.
When we write in this way; slowly, with gratitude and attention, we not only notice the beauty woven into our ordinary tasks, but we also shape a testimony of God’s faithfulness in our lives. Over time, these pages become a prayer woven through the fabric of daily life.
A Gentle Guide to Begin
To help you step into this practice, I’ve created Keeping a Seasonal Diary: A Practice of Sacred Noticing : a seven-day guide to teach you the art of slowing down, seeing with fresh eyes, and letting your diary become a faithful companion through the year.
Over seven days, you’ll learn to:
- Observe your days with gentleness and fresh vision
- Weave prayer and gratitude into your words
- Discover the quiet meaning in simple daily tasks
- Connect your inner life to the natural rhythms of the seasons
- Create diary entries that tell the story of God’s goodness in your life
This is not busywork, nor another task for your ever expanding to do list. It is an invitation to live more deeply, more slowly, more rooted in the love of God and the beauty of creation.
A Gift for October
To help you get started on your journey, I’m offering 20% off throughout October.
Let your diary become a daily companion this autumn. A place to notice what you might otherwise forget, a quiet prayer, the comfort of scripture, and the small homely graces that make up your days: steaming mugs, muddy boots, blankets pulled close.
Purchase Keeping a Seasonal Diary: A Practice of Sacred Noticing here
(Use code OCT20 for 20% off for the month of October)
May your October days be filled with golden light, quiet joy, and the courage to begin keeping a diary again.
From my home to yours
