Fruit of the Spirit: Margie and Self Control

fruit.of.the.spirit.week.nine.self.control.galatians5:23.

this is last in the fruit of the spirit blog series. i've learned so much over the last ten weeks (supposed to be nine :/) thanks, karen, for giving me a place to express myself. someday maybe i'll have my own blog.

self-control...just use it!

check these out... prov16:32, 25:28 rom13:12-14, 1cor6:12, 9:25-27 1thess5:22  titus2:12 heb12:2,  2pet1:5-7 certainly there are more! found this... http://www.openbible.info/topics/self-control

just like the other eight beautiful fruit of the Spirit, you have the free gift of self-control at your access any time...a sweet deposit from Holy Spirit when you accepted Christ into your heart!

it sounds easy, just use it. even david fell in this area. a man(or woman)after God's own heart. that's how i want to be known, don't you?

david was a man that could have benefited from the use of self-control, yet God called Him a man after His own heart. God is full of grace and mercy. david truly repented of his sin. God forgave him and used him in mighty and beautiful ways. (see 1&2sam 1kings 1chron)  david didn't say "oh lord forgive me, i'm sorry...do you mind if i do it again tomorrow?"  he fell on his face and completely turned from his sin. he changed his mind, yet still suffered consequence. he asked God to search his heart and lead him in the everlasting way. david fully surrendered to God. when repentance came, david changed.

did you know that anger can be averted by using self-control? how about lust...drunkenness...pride...gossip...lies...laziness...judgement...peer pressure... people pleasing??? sometimes using self-control just looks like saying "no!" (no temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. 1cor10:13) or often i stomp my foot and say, "get out!" when bad thoughts come in.

most everyone has a place (or places) where they need to tap into self-control. repent and just start using it! i've decided drum up the courage to confess a couple places i KNOW God is telling me to fast from, or even give up completely. i've been putting this blog off because i know it will be hard. but here goes...confession time...

one. binge-ing. ahhhh i said it.(even if i can't spell it) one example: the other night i woke up 3am-ish, went to the kitchen, got a small glass of silk chocolate milk (that's pretty healthy, right? soy milk) and opened the bag of chipsahoy cookies. i pulled out 2, really good, i shrugged "two won't hurt" i thought. "yummy, just 2 more" mmhm. then, "two more? why not?" wow, delicious... i'm not sure if i had more that night, but more times that not i can't stop. ugh!  or can i?  oh yeah, self-control. i've got this, because He's got it. Holy Spirit, help me. at parties and other gatherings that seem to revolve around food, i just keep going back for one more "something". one more can't hurt, can it?

two. social networking! this one is really hard, too! i am obsessed. i don't work as much in the summer. this opens up free reign iphone time. i absolutely love posting instagram pics, then posting them to facebook, and twitter. twitter connects me with people i respect and learn from in the christian world. facebook was my only connection with family and friends when we went to paris to get my sister who was gravely ill. God did so many amazing things while we were there, and i got to share it with the world. when God inspires me, i post it. when someone inspires me, i retweet it. i only use it for good, really.

so, this is what i am going to do... instead of filling an emotional need with one&two, i will take captive the thoughts that drive me there(2cor10:5). change my thinking (phil4:8). i will turn the other way.

1.total lifestyle change for me here. when i want to take more food than i need, when i get up in the night, when i start to go for more...i will seek Him, worship&praise Him. i will speak life over myself! i am fully equipped to do this!

2.i will take a break of unknown length from instagram, facebook, and twitter. every time i long to check my phone, i will long for and seek Jesus. I read the word.  i will go on my bible app if i'm alone.

3.i will fill up both of these misunderstood needs with the Father's love.

4.i will leave my phone on to check texts, calls and email, but you won't be able to reach me through instagram, fb, or twitter for a while. i know He promises to provide a way out when i'm tempted. 

i repent from these distractions from you, God. oh, how many hours have i missed with you, Jesus? how much time have i wasted? forgive me Lord. i want to waste my life on You. i want to hear Your voice more. i want to know Your word and carry it in my heart more. i want to be more sensitive to Your prompting and direction. forgive me for spending more time like a zombie than seeking and being with You.  (that i may be filled with the knowledge of Your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that i will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please You in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of You, God; strengthened with all power, according to Your glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to You, Father, who has qualified me to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.col.3:9-12)

maybe it's relationships i long for. connection to people. i'm going to put down the food and my phone now.

right here, right now, open my eyes, open my ears...

to see and hear, to be aware of all the beautiful opportunities to really connect with people (my husband, daughter, the sister i live with, the one i don't, family, friends, strangers...) social networking has given me a great new connection with family and friends i would otherwise not connect with...this i will miss, but we can still reach each other! 

join me? i'm sure you are not over-indulgent where i am. where are you lacking self-control?

grace and peace to you, margie 

check out these awesome bloggers

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there is beauty in letting go ~ the rabbit hole chronicles ~ a joyful journal ~ the ever-changing thought ~ broken rubies ~ by feet or heart ~ apopipto lepis

Fruit of the Spirit: Gentleness by Margie

a week behind again 

fruit.of.the.spirit.week.eight

(a few words and lots of scripture)

gentleness...i have learned from Ali.  when she was younger, she reminded me that it wasn't the cashiers fault when i was rude about not getting the price i expected. even now as her gentle spirit matures she reminds me to tap into this beautiful fruit of the Holy Spirit. i'm so proud of her for digging in and not just hearing, but doing! (james1:21-25) 

like each piece of fruit, it is a choice to be gentle.  God has provided all we need to walk in gentleness as a gift, freely given when we accepted Jesus into our hearts and called Him Lord!  also, He reminds us to be gentle by sending gentle, godly, jesus-like people into our lives as an example.  

who has Father God sent to you? 

(just a few of the many He's sent me...  john, ali, chad, karen, mom, lorianne, theresa, christy, isaac, kim, lisa, dena, chris, kristen, brenda, brooke, tracy, jenn, kerry, patty, keith, jamie, cathi...sorry if you were left out, i could go on and on)

please don't skip this next part!

the living word of God has much to say about gentleness... 

"Blessed are the GENTLE, for they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5 NASB)

Let your GENTLE  spirit  be known to all men. The Lord is near. (Philippians 4:5 NASB)

A GENTLE answer turns away wrath,  But a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1 NASB)

In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any  of them  are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. Your adornment must not be  merely  external-braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but  let it be  the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a GENTLE and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands; just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear. (1 Peter 3:1-6 NASB)

So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, GENTLEness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things  put on  love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed,  do  all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. (Colossians 3:12-17 NASB)

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and GENTLEness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3 NASB)

now that's a good word! 

can't go wrong with the Bible!

one more to go...self control. i'm super excited to get #9 out very 

soon. 

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 NASB)

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there is beauty in letting go ~ the rabbit hole chronicles ~ a joyful journal ~ the ever-changing thought ~ broken rubies ~ by feet or heart ~ apopipto lepis

Fruit of the Spirit: Faithfulness (by Margie)

fruit.of.the.spirit.week.seven.faithfulness

*God's faithfulness is never-ending.

it never fails! His word is faithful and true. He is faithful and just. His faithfulness is to all generations. it reaches to the sky.

*for me...given as a gift, a deposit made deep within me when i received the Holy Spirit, faithfulness is always available. i get to let His faithfulness work in and shine through me. like each piece of fruit, i can choose to be faithful. God has given us all we need to walk in the fruit of faithfulness.

(in no particular order)
faithful... to God
to my husband
to my family & friends
to God's family
to the lost
to serve
to love
to the Word
to abide
to obey
in prayer
with my money
with little
with much
with my time
in good and bad times
the list is unending...

i am not a ' thus sayith the Lord' kind of person. however, last year God said, "margie, you are loyal. that is good. don't let the world take it away from you." #sozo

so, i'm wondering if loyalty and faithfulness are the same thing.
what do you think?

definitions...
faithful
- adjective
1.strict or thorough in the performance of duty: a faithful worker.
2.true to one's word, promises, vows, etc.
3.steady in allegiance or affection; loyal; constant: faithful friends.
4.reliable, trusted, or believed.
5.adhering or true to fact, a standard, or an original; accurate: a faithful account; a faithful copy.
6.Obs. full of faith; believing.
- noun
1.the faithful,
2. the believers, especially members of a Christian church or adherents of Islam.
3. the body of loyal members of any party or group.

loyal
- adjective
1.faithful to one's sovereign, government, or state: a loyal subject.
2.faithful to one's oath, commitments, or obligations: to be loyal to a vow.
3.faithful to any leader, party, or cause, or to any person or thing conceived as deserving fidelity: a loyal friend.
4.characterized by or showing faithfulness to commitments, vows, allegiance, obligations, etc.: loyal conduct.

i want to be faithful in this...
"abiding is a wonderful discipline that teaches us to stay, to dwell, and to remain in the place of first love." graham cooke

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there is beauty in letting go ~ the rabbit hole chronicles ~ a joyful journal ~ the ever-changing thought ~ broken rubies ~ by feet or heart ~ apopipto lepis

Oh My Goodness... and some words from Margie

Sorry for the lack of goodness last week. It got away from me. I'll circle back around to it soon. In the meantime, check out these words from Margie. You can find more of her thoughts at her twitter account @margiedoh

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fruit.weeks5&6.

kindness and goodness 

(and computer problems)

so... this is very late, but i felt compelled to share a few thoughts! 

God himself is Kindness. 

Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (5Romans 2:4 NASB)

Kindness 

- noun

1.the state or quality of being kind: kindness to animals.

2.a kind act; favor: his many kindnesses to me.

3.kind behavior: I will never forget your kindness.

4.friendly feeling; liking.

kindness is a choice, like all the other fruit, it's a gift from God. a deposit when you received the Holy Spirit. you've already got everything you need to walk on kindness! 

God is Goodness

goodness is purposely choosing right over wrong! 

goodness in a man is not a mere passive quality, but deliberate preference of right to wrong, the firm and persistent resistance of all moral evil, and the choosing and following of all moral good. (Easton's bible dictionary)

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God. (3 John 1:11 NKJV)

Goodness 

- noun

1.the state or quality of being good.

2.moral excellence; virtue.

3.kindly feeling; kindness; generosity.

4.excellence of quality: goodness of workmanship.

5.the best part of anything; essence; strength.

6.a euphemism for God: Thank goodness!

- interjection

7.(used in expressions of surprise, alarm, etc.): Goodness, you gave me a start! Goodness gracious! 

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. (Galatians 6:7 NASB)

you simply cannot be kind or good if you're...holding unforgiveness, negative, angry, frustrated, grumpy, impatient...

if you notice someone's having a bad day...choose to brighten it.  decide to smile,  love, be joyful, walk in peace, be patient, show kindness and goodness... each fruit builds off the previous.

my encouragement to you: just smile at everyone on your path and see what happens!!!  you could share your experience here if you like. i find it quite interesting the responses from just smiling at someone and being kind. try it! 

see what these amazing bloggers had to say about the fruit of the spirit...

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there is beauty in letting go ~ the rabbit hole chronicles ~ a joyful journal ~ the ever-changing thought ~ broken rubies ~ by feet or heart ~ apopipto lepis

Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness

I had no idea how difficult it would be to write about kindness, and I'm not really sure why.  There are a lot of scriptures, quotes and poems about kindness out there, but nothing has been inspiring me. So here I am, on the last day of Kindness week, with nothing to say.

One definition of kindness is the desire to do good to others; goodwill; charitableness. Do you know people who live like that? I sure do. A lot of them. I think most people, from every place, culture, religion, and nation, have the desire to be kind, to do good, to share, to be generous.  The problem is, we also have free will and a fallen nature.

Kindness seems to be wrapped up in a lot of different things. I don't think one can love without also being kind. Kindness is a choice, each and every moment - the choice to love rather than to lash out, to give rather than keep, to do good rather than bad (however that is defined), to be kind instead of cruel. And, as with all of the other fruits, we do have it in us to be kind to even those who are the most unkind. And this isn't just about doing kindness. It's about asking God to show us how to be kind, how to treat others, how to think kind thoughts. It's not about doing kind things, it's about having an attitude and thoughts that are kind, toward others and about others.  The world may think you are the kindest person ever, but if your heart and mind are not in agreement with your actions, you and God need to have a little talk.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ~ Colossians 3:12

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. ~ Matthew 7:12