This morning as I was reading, I came across this verse.
 
Isaiah 58:11
 The Lord will guide you continually,
      giving you water when you are dry
      and restoring your strength.
   You will be like a well-watered garden,
      like an ever-flowing spring.

There are many times when I am dry in my faith.  I am so thankful that during those times, HE is faithful and never gives up on me.  Sometimes it is so hard to face our neediness.  We want to feel like we are in control and by sheer willpower, do everything without acknowledging our need for Christ.  Something I needed reminded of is how He places me in situations where my strengths are of no good and my weaknesses are extremely evident. If I let Him, he draws me closer and closer to Himself.  I am learning to thank Him for the hard times I go through, knowing that it will be used to accomplish the Lord's work.  I am thankful that He restores my strength daily.

Daniel's Birthday

Today is Daniel's 9th Birthday! He came down the stairs this morning smiling so big!  He asked me all week if he could have the day off from school because it was his birthday but I was the mean old mom and made him do school anyway.  He was wonderful about it and did it without any complaints.  I did bribe him a little bit with telling him we would go pick out his cake when he got finished!

Daniel started a tradition when he was 5 or 6 that he would hide the birthday present and then make a map so that the person could go find it.  Now, they all do it for each other.  So here is a picture of Ashley's map for Daniel's present.

Here is Nathan's:

And here is Daniel, excited to go find his presents!

After opening his presents, he picked Sir Pizza to eat for dinner. Then we came home and ate Ice Cream Cake! Yum!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DANIEL! You are such a blessing to our family and we all love you so much!

Peace

Last night before bed, Nathan and I were praying for a very dear family that we know that is going through a very scary time.  After we finished, he looked at me and said, "Mom, is there really a purpose for everything we go through?"  I could tell that it just really bothered him that this family has to go through this trial.  I am so thankful for his tender heart toward people. I shared with him that just because we know Christ, doesn't mean we will be free of pain.  That is until we get to see HIM face to face! After our talk, I went to bed really thinking about the questions that he had and asked God to help me explain it a little better. 
While reading today, I came across this verse.....Colossians 3:14-15. 

¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Peace is the main mark of the authority of Christ.  A sense of peace will always accompany His will even when it is not our personal preference.  Christ is the Prince of Peace!  We can have peace because HE is peace. 

 

We carve pumpkins every year, and last year we forgot to buy them:( The kids were no very happy with us.  So this year I made sure not to forget!

And the best part.......they did them all by themselves!  As true to tradition, we separated all the seeds and baked them. YUM!

Our youth group served hot chocolate, coffee and cookies to trick-or-treaters inviting them to our church.
They had a great turn out and everyone was so shocked that we would do all this for them.  The youth kids all dressed up as different color M & M's!

Nathan at Tyler's house! I am so thankful for their friendship:)

They each carved a pumpkin.....one had a "T" and the other an "N"!