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Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Hello. Thanks for stopping by. If you care to read about what's crossing my mind or sticking in my heart I welcome you to my latest post. So, I hope you enjoy my ramblings. More importantly, I hope I can encourage you to join me in my quest to be a faithful follower of my Lord Jesus Christ.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Orange Tree


But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Today, I was talking to the preschoolers about the "fruit of the Spirit". For the past couple of weeks I have been asking them to tell me their favorite fruits. One little boy has been adamant that his favorite fruit is an orange. He will not waiver. It's orange. I'm kinda on the fence myself. Some days it's an apple. Some days I lean toward blueberries. So, I guess I don't have a true favorite.

Today, as I began to talk to the children about the fruit of the Spirit, I started with the first in the list: "Love". I would say that it is the favorite "fruit" in this list. It's not a surprise that most people think it's good to "grow love" in life. What is a little puzzling is that most people have a least favorite fruit. No doubt about it - I don't hear many people say how much they crave "longsuffering". How about you? Yet, it is listed right alongside of love, joy peace and the others. By the way, self-control is probably toward the bottom of the list as well. A quick survey in my life would not diminish my appreciation of the value of "love". But, if I'm honest, it will also require me to appreciate how the Spirit of God has helped me to develop a patient trust. My love of patience is a little like my love of broccoli. The older I get, the more I appreciate it. Now, communicating these lessons to preschoolers over the next few weeks will test my creativity...and my patience! Thank you Lord.

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