{ Thank you for the prayers }

Good morning everyone :)

I just wanted to come in real quick and thank you all for the prayers, the advice and the support you've shown me here on the blog, on Facebook, Instagram and even private messages.

The past few days have been extremely difficult for us and our son.

I don't want to talk too much about it, for various reasons, but mainly because I don't want to expose too much on here in regards to my son, he is 15 and he does deserve some privacy.

I will say that after going through this with my daughter, it's easier to understand the process, it's easier to understand what he's going through and we've learned how to talk to him, and how not to approach this subject.  It also helps that Jasmine is able to relate to what he's feeling and is also able to help us understand where he is coming from.

When you have a child that is showing signs of depression, that tells you that they feel insignificant or worthless, there is a trigger that happens inside us.  I want so much to drill into him that all of those things are not true, but what I believe and what he feels, are two very different things.

Anyway, all of your prayers, along with all the prayers he has been receiving and the church lists he's been added to, prayer chains and so forth, are starting to show in his behavior.

One thing we learned was not to push too much or constantly hammer on things, he talks to us when he is ready and that has been really good to see.  He is opening up, he is expressing his feelings, he is wanting to spend more time with the family, he is out of his room for hours at a time where before we could not get him out of there for longer than it took for him to eat dinner.

We still have a very long process ahead, but we've all pulled together as a family and we've told him as well that we will ALL get through this together, just like we did with Jasmine.

At first I asked "why me again?  I went through it with Jasmine, why do I have to go through this with Nicholas?".

But I am no longer thinking that way, I'm praying for my son, I'm praying for me for wisdom, to know how to approach him, to know the right words to use when talking to him, to be patient, to have strength and more than anything, for the Lord to work in my son's heart to show him that he is an important part of this family and very much loved.

So, thank you all for helping me through this process.  I will try to keep you updated on what is going on, and any day now, Tiffany will be having her baby so we will be headed to San Diego, so I'll definitely be blogging more from there and sharing photos etc.  Nick is coming with me, he has agreed to go and I think it will be a wonderful change of scenery for him.

So often with teens just a change of place and change in routine, helps them so much.  I'm hoping this trip is what he needs to start feeling somewhat better.

Lord, I pray Your emotional, physical, and spiritual protection over my son. Keep evil far from him, and help him to trust You as his refuge and strength. I pray You will guard his mind from harmful instruction, and grant him discernment to recognize truth. I pray You will make him strong and courageous in the presence of danger, recognizing that You have overcome and will set right all injustice and wrong one day. Help him to find rest in Your shadow, as he lives in the spiritual shelter You provide for him. Let him know that the only safe place is in Jesus.  Amen!