October 3rd has always been a special day in our family because it is my brother’s birthday. I adore my brother. He is strong. He is confident. He is most definitely the kindest person I have ever been around. He loves the Lord. He loves people. He is hilarious. He fights fires. Well, he actually jumps out of airplanes and then fights fires! Thank you God for my brother and for the memories we’ve shared and will continue to share in this life.

Happy Birthday Drew!

Six years ago, October 3rd became a special day for another reason. Our dear daughter. She is a spirited, passionate and joyful girl. She is so helpful. She adores her two brothers. She is beautiful. She is very smart. Her determination is admirable. She doesn’t quit. She loves Jesus and wants others to love Him, too. She is athletic. She loves to read. The way she colors is so pretty. I love watching her grow. I enjoy hearing about her days at school. I am so thankful for the last six years; I can’t believe we are here already. Thank you Father for this precious child. Our lives are better because she is in it.

Happy Birthday N!!

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Our memory verse for this week is pretty self-explanatory. You see, I do this devotion with our daughter every night {well, almost} and a few nights ago, we read about complaining and arguing. My kids aren’t perfect and complaining doesn’t escape their lips. Complaining drives me nuts. I do it. They do it.

I do not want to complain and I want to empower my children to fight the urge to complain. We will fight it with a list. For every one complaint, I will verbally {out loud} say two things I am grateful for. For example, complaining that the checkout line is too long will be replaced with, “Thank you God that I can buy food today. ” It sounds simple, but I am sure it will not be easy to do. Want to join me? Let’s rebuke complaining and replace it with thankfulness!

Philippians 2:14 – 15a

“Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you.”

Have a great week!

KC