The Fruit of The Spirit Series: Self-Control

Happy Friday! I can't believe this series is already coming to an! I am so glad to have had each one of these women sharing their heart on The Fruit of The Spirit! It was my first guest-post series and it was so much fun! So thank you, to each one of you who participated! Sarah from Life with The Casterlines is going to be closing us out today! She is so sweet and so cute, so funny! Be sure to check out her Facebook, Twitter, Follow her on Instagram and Bloglovin' you won't regret it!!

Hello friend! My name is Sarah and I blog over at Life With The Casterlines {although I am taking the remainder of the year off as I re-brand and prepare to re-launch in 2015.} I am so excited and honored to be a guest on Mary-Keith’s blog today! She and I have come to be such great friends, even though we’ve never met before in real life. I love her blog, her fun personality, and her heart for Christ. When she invited me to be a part of this series I just knew that I had to say yes. Today I’m wrapping up the last of the fruits of the Spirit with self-control.

Self-control. Out of all of the fruits of the Spirit, I think self-control is the hardest for me to emanate. After all, what is the opposite of eating all the chocolate I want? Self-control. What is the opposite of talking bad about my husband when I’m out with my girlfriends? *gulp* Self-control.

I wish I could write to all of you sweet, beautiful people and give you a 10-step guide to how I conquered this fruit of the Spirit. Maybe bring you along on a riveting story with lots of twists and turns and a victorious ending. But unfortunately, my struggle against my flesh and my pursuit of total self-control is still very present and very near.

The good news is—that’s okay. After all, until we take our last breath we will all be in this process of sanctification. Not one of us is perfect {even when we pretend we are} and that’s the beauty in all of it. Rather than pointing out each other’s’ faults, we can choose to link arms and fight against our faults together by encouraging one another and pointing each other back to Christ. So while I can’t tell you how I managed to have a perfect “10” on my self-control score card, I would like to link arms with my sisters today and offer you some encouragement.

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.” -2 Peter 1:3

His divine power has given us everything we need. This right here is life. Glorious, shining, life. Sweet sister, through the power of God Himself, we have everything we need! We can look at every trial, every temptation, every heartache and respond with this one verse. We already have the victory over our flesh because we already have everything we need to live a godly life! Hallelujah!!

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” -2 Peter 1: 5-8

Increasing measure. Did you catch that as you read the Scripture? Peter didn’t say, “If you possess the qualities and are never-failing with them….”He said, “increasing measure.” This means that we are growing and increasing these qualities in our character, and as we continue to grow we will continue to be effective and productive in our knowledge of Christ!

“Show me Your ways, Lord, teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” –Psalm 25:4-5

Show us Your ways, Lord. Is this your prayer? It certainly is mine. And this is the key to unlocking healthier fruits in our lives. The cry of our hearts should be, “Show us Lord! Teach us how to live for you!!” His divine power has already given us everything we need to live a godly life, and as we continue to grow in Him we are guaranteed to be effective and productive. So the only thing we need to do is ask! Apart from Him, we can do nothing. But with Him, we can do anything! By His divine power and our willingness to learn, we can and will grow in all of the fruits of the Spirit…even self-control.

I have so enjoyed reading this series and I’m so thankful for Mary-Keith and our friendship—and for all of you! The community I have gained through blogging has been absolutely incredible and I’m so grateful to be a part of it. As we close out 2014 and begin a new year, will you join me in asking the Lord for a fresh teaching of His ways? Will you ask Him to show you how to live for Him, and have a heart that is willing to be taught? I know that this one request will be far greater and have a far wider impact than any other New Year’s Resolution ever could!!

What fruit of the Spirit do you struggle with the most? Has the Lord shown you anything during this series that is making an impact in your life?  

Fruit of The Spirit Series: Gentleness

Hello! Am I the only one who canNOT wait until Christmas? Just me?? Anyways I put on in my first post in this series that I was looking for more guest posters and Ms. Kent emailed me and asked if she could be one! She has a name but I always refer to her in my head as "Ms. Kent" not sure why! Anyways LAURA and I talked about which fruit she would like and we settled on Gentleness for her. 

 I have always wanted this series to be truthful, and I wanted my guest posters to be real and talk about their struggles with the fruit that they chose. Because, frankly, life is not rainbows and lollipops. Being a Christian is hard. But we can look to each other for understanding, and encouragement. So this is why I am SO excited for Laura (Ms. Kent) to be sharing her heart with my amazing readers today! Please go check out her blog The Kent Happenings, then follows her on Bloglovin' and Like her Facebook Page for updates! 

But let it be the inward adorning and beauty of the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, which [is not anxious or wrought up, but] is very precious in the sight of God.
1 Peter 3:4 (AMP)

I find it interesting that when we focus on a specific gift of the Spirit, we suddenly find ourselves in situation after situation that requires such a gift.  When Mary-Keith & I spoke about which gift I would write about, “Gentleness” jumped out at me. I knew I had some growing to do in this area, but since that day, I have been absolutely everything but gentle, and I’m fully aware of why I needed to write about it!!

What is gentleness? It’s the polar opposite of the way I’ve found myself behaving over the past week.

Gentleness is often translated as “meekness”, and while this doesn’t mean weakness, it does mean kind, loving, patient and plain-ole NICE. Gentleness doesn’t seek revenge for a wrong, it doesn’t chastise in hurtful ways, and it is slow to react when the full details of a situation aren’t had.  Gentleness is lovingly correcting a behavior, forgiving a wrong-doing, and it doesn’t assume the worst in someone.

We should always allow the spiritual gift of gentleness to work in our lives, but especially during the holidays. We never know what emotions the holidays will bring to people. Some may be struggling with the loss of a loved one, others are terribly homesick, some are struggling just to provide a single gift for their child, or maybe they anticipated spending this season with a new baby but their bodies rejected this possibility. We are to be the light of the world, and we can’t light the world with a mean, vindictive attitude. We must allow gentleness to take up residence in our lives – so much so that you can’t get it off the couch! And we need to ooze gentleness if our true desire is to show others the love of Christ.

Is what you’re about to say being spoken with gentleness?

Is your behavior in this situation shining light, or will it put someone else’s out?

The Fruit of The Spirit Series: Faithfulness

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“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!” Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided— “Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

Such beautiful words, sung to a beautiful tune. Lyrics that speak truth and strum at our very heart strings.

Faithfulness is a bit of a roller coaster. As humans we are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But glory be to God that he never gives up on us. His faith for us is perfect and unfailing.

Lamentations 3:22-23 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

There have been times in my life when I have stood at the foot of a mountain to big for me to climb on my own. I have questioned and fought against everything that came my way. When I was in middle school my family went through a really rough time. I was going through confirmation classes at my church and I could not convince myself that it was in my best interest to be learning about a God that I thought had forgotten me and my family in one of our darkest times. I was so lost and angry. Then it came time for me to travel on a mission trip to Washington D.C. with my confirmation class to work with those in need. Again I in no way shape or form wanted to go. I was not in the mood to help people in the name of Jesus Christ when he did not care about me. But to make a long story short, we were helping to cook and serve breakfast to the homeless at a local church. In the mist of my state of unbelief a lovely older homeless lady approached me. She said. " Sweetheart I just wanted to let you know that God wanted me to tell you that your brother and your mother are going to be okay. Keep the faith." Well I immediately burst into tears. God allowed this beautiful child of his to enter just went I was about to lose all faith in him. But as always God took me by the hand and showed me that his love never fails. That he is always faithful to a fault. And that even though I had given up on him, he never gave up on me.

Psalms 91:4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

So when the mountain looms or when the road gets bumpy remember God allows U-turns! Allow him to take you by the hand and let him show you the true meaning of faithfulness.

May God bless you and keep you, may his face shine down upon you and give you peace. Now and forever more. Amen!

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A special thanks to Mary-Keith for allowing me to be a part of this beautiful series. May they continue to bless you as we enter this advent season. Keep the faith as we wait for the most glorious gift given, Jesus Christ.

The Fruit of The Spirit Series: Goodness

Happy Friday! And on a Holiday weekend?? Score. 

Today I am continuing my series on The Fruit Of The Spirit Series. The Fruit today is going to be brought to you by: Me! No guest poster today. 

So, Goodness huh? I gotta be honest, this one was a toughy for me. Goodness isn't as easy to define and talk about to me as lets say - Love, or Kindness. 

Think about it. Goodness. Is that like Kind-ness? Slapping a "ness" to the end of the word. The act of being good? So is that, what, being a good person? Is one of the attributes of being one who believes in The Lord and is seeking after Him - being Good? 

Seems too simple.

So I started thinking about all the times I use the word "Goodness" Here is what I got: "I can't wait to enjoy this mocha and all it's  chocolately goodness"  "oh my goodness! look at those cute boots!" 

That really got me no where.So then I started thinking about God and all the times I think/ talk about Him being good.

 "God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good" 

So that's when it hit me. That's the angle I am going with. God is good. He is so good to me. He is generous, gracious, He has a plan for me, He is loving, He knows the depths of my depravity and He still loves me.

God is good. 

Even though life isn't perfect. Life is hard. Nothing, and I mean nothing, in life is certain (which if you're me can lead to anxiety). But even though nothing in life is certain. God is still God. He is still good. I still have a reason to worship Him. I still have hope. 

Well after I had established that I still wasn't really any closer to figuring out how to apply this to my life. I am not God. I am not able to forgive sins, and save people. Then it hit me. Being Good/ having Goodness just means being like Christ. All the things about Him we would label good - I, we, should strive to be that way.

Serving people, loving people, forgiving people, forgiving ourselves. 

I apologize for this rambling, incoherent, not super conclusive post. I don't have it all together. I don't have a lot of the answers I am searching for. But I am trying. Thank you for stickin' around. 

What do you think Goodness is? How do you see Goodness in your life?

The Fruit of The Spirit Series: Kindness

Hello Reader! I am so glad you found your way over here today! Today I am continuing with my Fruit of The Spirit Series and the lovely Katie from Hot Tea and the Empty Seat is guest posting! I have gotten to know Katie through her blog and emails we have exchanged. She is adorable and a great writer! Be sure to check out her Blog, Follow her on Bloglovin' and Like her Facebook page to get the haps over in Katie's world - you won't regret it!

Hey friends! I am so excited to be guest-posting on the fabulous Mary Keith's blog today! She is such a sweet friend that I am blessed to know. I have so loved reading each post in this series. What an encouragement it is to be refreshed & reminded of the power of the fruits of the Spirit!

Today's focus is on Kindness.

"How precious is your lovingkindness, O God!  And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings."

Psalm 36:7

If you are a daughter (or son) of the Most Awesome God, chances are, you have experienced God's lovingkindness! He has lavished His kindness upon us in so many ways. By sending His son into the world to save us, broken sinners to blessing us with food and water and life and friends and coffee. The Lord is so kind, there is no doubt about that!

What amazes me is that this same kindness that God possesses is in those who are His redeemed children.That awesome, powerful kindness is in you and me!

 To be honest, sometimes I'm not the greatest steward of that specific gift. Am I the only one?

Let's be real. There are days when showing kindness will seem impossible. Whether you're late for work, the kid poops on ya, your husband isn't understanding, or you flunked a test, it's hard to be open to showing kindness when our circumstances aren't prime. But the Lord gives us strength to do just that.

Jesus showed ultimate kindness on the Cross and that circumstance wasn't even close to being good or ideal. It was actually the hardest struggle anyone in history will ever endure. Yet He endured it and conquered it. For us. His kindness to us was that great. This gives me courage to push through the bad days and choose to show kindness even when it hurts.

Our Lord is selfless and the key to being kind is to be selfless, to always be looking outwardly to the needs of others and less focused inwardly with what we ourselves want, need, or desire.

Look around you. People are in need of genuine, pure, & honest kindness. It's something this world can't give. The world tells us to be nice in order to get something in return. But Jesus wants us to give our kindness to our family, to strangers, and to everyone we meet... without expecting anything in return!

How can you show kindness to your family today?

How can you show lovingkindness to your husband today without expecting anything in return?

How can you give kindness to someone who may not know Jesus this week?

How can you speak  kindness into your sister in Christ's heart who is struggling?

When we show genuine & pure kindness to others, we are glorifying the God who shows us kindness like a waterfall, every minute, never-ending!

The Fruit of The Spirit Series: Patience

Y'all, I'm so glad to be able to guest post in Mary-Keith's space! I've had the pleasure of getting to know her a little bit more over the past couple of months.  She's funny, down to earth and just one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet.  When she asked if I would be a part of her Fruit of the Spirit series, I knew I couldn't say no! I mean, really? How can you say no to that face? 

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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 
Galatians 5:22-23

Forbearance, or patience, is something I've struggled with since I was a child and I would be lying if I said I've conquered it.  However, as I've grown in the Lord and as He has worked on me, I've learned a little more about what being patient truly means. 

Our lives are go, go, go.  After completing a task, we are always off looking for the next one. It seems, nowadays, that we just can't sit still.  Sure, we pray about what direction we need to go in but do we really want to wait around and see where He leads us? Nope.  At least, I don't.  I'll pray for days, weeks, months even, and He won't reveal where He would like me to go so I just decide for myself.  And more times than not, it ends in disaster.  Romans 8:25 says, But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.  We don't know the plans He has for us so it's not up to us to make up our own, we have to be patient in Him. 

It's hard, y'all. It's hard to be patient. And it's tiresome. As our patience wears out, so do we. Our bones start to ache, our heads start to hurt and we just feel so run down and like we can't keep waiting. But the Bible tells us that if we do wait,  our strength will be renewed and that we will soar on eagle's wings, we will run and not be weary, we will walk and not be faint (Isaiah 40:31).   

How many of us are quick to anger?  So often we get into petty arguments and disagreements  because one (or both) of us blows our top before knowing all the facts.  So many times I've gotten my panties in a wad because the first sentence out of someone's mouth is one I do not agree with. I don't take the time to listen to the rest of the statement and I get angry.  I've worked on this, a lot, and while every once in a while I do get angry, I try to remember James 1:19-20, My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because  human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

For example, right now, my husband is being REALLY sweet by making my morning coffee and breakfast. However, he keeps interrupting me and it's causing my blood to boil a bit. Even though he's not being malicious or trying to interfere,  I feel annoyed because I'm working on something and he keeps coming in my office. Annnnnd as I type that, I realize that I need to be patient with him, in this moment. He loves me and he wants what is best for me. Heck, he's being patient right now because instead of spending time with him, I'm working on this post! I told y'all that God was working on me. :)

What do you do in those times that you are feeling impatient and anxious? 

Thank you so much, Sarah, for doing this post! I am so honored to have you guest posting for me! Just a reminder to anyone who didn't see: I have a Facebook page for my blog: Facebook Page Go over and Like it for updates! xoxo

The Fruit of The Spirit Series: Peace

I am so very honored to be writing a guest post for Mary about the fruit of the Spirit! Mary and I met 6 years ago during an internship, we were roommates. I prayed for weeks before meeting Mary, as she would be the newest roommate to our tight knit group. Everyday, at least once, I would ask Jesus to help me be friends with my newest roommate. Then…Mary moved in. And she HATED everyone, even me! I thought this was quite the hopeless cause. But about a week later, while walking from the cafeteria to our dorm, Mary turned to me and said, “You know Casey, this might sound totally strange, but out of everyone, I just feel really drawn to you.” I smiled real big, and I exclaimed, “That’s because I asked Jesus to make you my friend!!!” And we have been best friends ever since. Thousands of miles apart, we still share the unbreakable bond of a Christ centered friendship, we were in each other’s weddings, our husbands even have the SAME NAME and are BOTH Pastors—you can’t make this stuff up! We are now both bloggers, and someday we will both be mommies! (You are welcome Mary!)

You can find out more about me on my blog: The Not So Perfect Life of a Pastor’s Wife.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23

Peace. 

If I were to ask you to describe for me a word picture of peace, what would yours look like?

I know some would describe a place out in nature, maybe a lake, ocean or some body of water, that is quiet and still, and absolutely beautiful. Others would say its a quiet house, in a cozy chair or bed, and another might describe a snow-covered lawn, roaring fireplace, Christmas lights, and a hot drink in their hands—the latter is my current experience. However, as beautiful as these pictures are, they still fall very short of what God describes as the peace that He gives.

Peace.

In the doctor’s office, hearing the news you always feared—infertility. 

Peace.

When taking steps of faith, with many unknowns as to the outcome.

Peace.

In the midst of sorrow and pain, holding the hand of your loved one as they cross from this life into eternity. 

Peace.

When the reality of this broken world leaves you with the feelings of uncertainty and little hope.

Peace.

When your worst possible nightmare becomes a reality.

Peace.

When you lose your child.

Peace.

When your dreams come crashing down.

Peace.

When it does not makes sense. 

Peace.

These, are the pictures of peace. Peace is not some feeling that takes away pain or fear. Peace is trusting God in the midst of all of those things. Peace comes from God—from knowing Him and trusting Him. 

Some of you may be wondering if I have ever experienced situations like those listed above. Yes. More times than I would like to admit, God has graciously given me peace in the middle of a less than peaceful situation.

Peace is not something that comes naturally to me. I used to be a very anxious person. I freaked out about everything, (and I still do sometimes!) I didn’t trust the Lord to help me, or to have good intentions for me. I did not believe that “He works everything for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.” (Romans 8:28). I was a mess!!! Always worrying, always anxious, trying to be prepared for absolutely everything but never succeeding. Then God brought me to this verse:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

God had given me the simplest answer and the best answer He had to my question, 

“How can I have peace??” 

Prayer. 

Supplication (Seeking). 

Thanksgiving(the attitude not the holiday). 

And…letting go. 

We have to surrender our control in order to receive the peace of God. And this peace, it surpasses all comprehension, we can’t try and manufacture it, and we can’t control it. This peace, it not only is obviously from God, but it guards our hearts AND minds. Why is this important?

What we think and believe determines our attitudes and actions. Are you choosing to believe God today? Are you choosing His way over your own? Are you trusting Him to be faithful? If so, peace should reign mightily in your heart. But if peace is not reigning in your heart, maybe it is time to ask ourselves if we truly  are trusting God or if we are really putting our trust in other things. 

Trust is only as good as the object we put it in. So if our trust is in God, are we safe? If we trust in God, are we secure? Yes, but we are not without pain…yet. 

That day will come when we are finally reunited with God in heaven, through Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God, who came as fully man and fully God, lived a sinless life, fulfilling all prophecies and laws, and through His death and resurrection paid the price for our sin so that we could be reunited with God for eternity, and have hope each day we are living and breathing because we are now adopted as children of God.

Trust in Him. Receive His peace. He will never let you go.

The Fruit of The Spirit Series: Joy

Hello everyone! Day 2 in The Fruit Of The Spirit Series is here! Today our guest poster is Stephanie from the Just A Little Bit Louder Blog! I "met" Stephanie just a few weeks ago but she has quickly become one of my favorite people! She is from The Northwest and is a Children & Youth Pastor. So basically she has super incredible patience and a huge heart! Plus she is real, honest, relatable and HILARIOUS! We have so much in common and I am so lucky to know her! PLEASE go check out her blog because she is awesome and I love her so I know you will too!

I tend to think in extremes. When I process any decision, I think of either the ultimate best situation or the absolute worst consequence. Once I made the mistake of teaching the teenage girls at my church to filter all their words through this: “Helpful or Hurtful?” and it ruined all of my fun because I’d say “Ew, you mix your slurpee flavors together? You are a freak of nature.” and one girl, Sarah, looked me straight in the eyes and said “Stephanie. Helpful or hurtful?” Ugh. 

Anyway. I used to think that the opposite of sadness was joy. Like my whole life I thought that if you cried or felt sad or anything, you didn’t have joy. 

When I was 20 I was diagnosed with depression. I reached out to my church and they didn’t have anything to give me except a shrug and a “pray more.” Then they would continue to talk about things like “joy” and “peace” and I’d sit there thinking “what in the freaking heck is wrong with me, and why do I cry every single night instead of being so happy and so cheerful and stuff?” 

And it took me like 7 years to figure it out. Seven years of wondering why God had passed me by when he was distributing joy and gave me a lot of sadness instead. But one day, when I was feeling happy, I started wondering why my happiness would always fade away back into sadness. If that was what joy was, then why did it always go away? I prayed about it for awhile and it hit me like a ton of bricks. 

In all of my sadness, through all of my tears, despite my always-broken heart... I continually turned hopeful eyes towards the Lord, confident of his delight in me. When I looked around at the things of this earth, I would experience temporary, fleeting emotions. Feeling happy or accepted or rejected or alone or unworthy or appreciated. The point is, it was all temporary. Feeling unworthy would fade away when a whole table full of people I admired would laugh at my jokes. Feeling sad faded away when I was happy. 

I’d actually had joy the whole entire time, because in the deepest depths of my sorrow I knew the One to cry out to, the One who was listening and crying for me. Joy wasn’t -and still isn’t- the result of any earthly circumstance. You know when you’re having a rough day and you FEEL overlooked and you FEEL unimportant and you FEEL not good enough, and then you stumble upon a word from God - maybe in a song, maybe through a person, maybe on a piece of paper tucked away in a book... and you close your eyes and breathe deeply the assurance of God’s existence and his love for you? I think that moment is joy. It’s quiet, but it’s constant. It’s unchangeable. It’s untouchable. It’s eternal. 

Thank you so much Stephanie for sharing your thoughts on this subject with us! 

Be sure to check from every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from now until December 5th to keep up with this series!

The Fruit of The Spirit Series: LOVE

Hey everyone! 

I am super excited to announce my first ever series! The Fruit of The Spirit Series is starting today and posting Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for 3 weeks! I am going to be having some amazing bloggers guest posting. I am really looking forward to it! I hope you will come by and read the posts and learn about the Fruits of The Spirit with me!

For those of you who are not familiar, The Fruit of The Spirit are characteristics of a person who is Saved. When you truly put your life in Christ's hands and commit your life to Him then your life should show fruit of The Spirit of God living inside of you.

[Man, explaining that without Christianese is really hard]

Today's Fruit is Love.

There are a billion, trillion things I could say that I Love. In fact, if I counted all the things I have said I have I love in my life it would probably be around a billion trillion things. Not even being dramatic. I overuse the word Love on the reg.  I think a lot of us do.

So that makes it hard to talk about Love because Love is everywhere. Heck, I even have Love tattooed on my arm. I am always wearing Love, literally can't take it off.

However, I think as a Christian who claims to have been transformed by the Love of Christ I think Love needs to mean something more. Something more than cute boots. Something more than Gilmore Girls. Something more than puppies.

If I am looking to my Savior on how to live my life, as I should be, shouldn't I take note of how He demonstrated love?

He literally gave up His life because of His great love for us. He showed love to everyone. He loved me before I gave my life to Him. He loves me still even when I mess up. And I mess up all the time. 

So looking at that rather daunting example of Love - does that inspire me? It does. It inspires me. It encourages me. I want to be like Christ. 

So I have to love everyone!

LOVE ALL THE PEOPLE!

If you don't get this reference please refer to this post

Don't worry, friend. When I say "everyone" I mean everyone except that idiot who cut you off. Everyone except the person who just laughed at your kid. Everyone except your unsaved friends. Everyone except that hussy that wore a mini skirt to church, she really needs to cover up for the sake of my husband. Everyone except those homosexuals - they're obviously beyond hope. Everyone except your husband when he forgot to put the toilet seat down in the middle of the night - again! 

Incase it wasn't clear - I was being extremely sarcastic. My point is, we have to love everyone even when it is hard! Even when we don't want to. Why? Because Christ loves everyone. And if we claim to know Christ than the Fruit of The Spirit needs to be evident in your life. Starting with Love.

But do not fret, the beauty of The Fruit of The Spirit is the Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives inside of us and guides us and helps us Love everyone as Christ does.

What do you think about Love? Do you think Loving everyone is hard? Is Love evident in your life?

I have a few open spots left in this series, please email me if you are interested in being a guest poster!