With the leaves almost gone and the snow flurries starting to fly I think it is time to be done for the fall. I praise God for the way He has allowed us to minister in ten churches and one college.  Ministry is a gift.  This fall has been one of the most unique seasons of ministry.  On the personal side the Coffeys were out for a couple of weeks having Ella.  We then were out for a couple of weeks because of my need for surgery.  With these God given circumstances there have been a number of spiritual lessons gained. The greatest of these lessons for me was the assurance that I am God's child.  Rom 5:3-5 reminds us "And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." How is it that through pain we actually find comfort regarding our position in Christ? Let me testify. I found myself in physical pain complaining about my circumstance only to be convicted by a specific passage of scripture that I was reading for my devotional time.  Phrases like "though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day" or "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" cut through my self focus and caused me to thank God for these small trials.  As I began to tell God that He could have whatever He wanted from me it dawned on me that I would not naturally say and mean those things if the Spirit of God did not dwell in me.  What an assurance of my position in Jesus Christ.