One, Two, Skip A Few

Allison doesn't like to wait. She's my youngest of three, and she typically manages to find some way to get what she wants (within the boundaries, of course). If I'm not available to get or do something for her right when she wants it, she works her way down the family "chain." Whoever wants to get rid of her the fastest (she talks a LOT) usually caves in to her request. It's not always like this, but more often that I'd like to admit.

We're working on this formed habit, but sometimes she just says something that totally cracks me up. Last month I told her that I'd look at dogs on the internet with her in a few minutes, and she said, "Do you mean Mommy minutes?"

I asked, "Mommy minutes?"

She put her hand on her hip and looked up at me with all four of her eyes, using her other hand to help her talk. "Yeah, mommy minutes. Your minutes are longer than mine."

I could not contain my laughter or the urge to pick her up and kiss her cheeks all over.

So this morning, she did it again while I was giving her older sister the morning snuggle. "Mom, is it my turn to snuggle?"

"A few more minutes, Honey."

Then she sped-said, "One, two, skip a few, 59, 60.....One, two, skip a few, 59, 60....okay, it's been a few minutes."

Ohhhhhhhhhh myyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.


I can't help but think how many times I've said "one, two, skip a few, 59, 60" to my Heavenly Father. I did yesterday. And even this morning. Why is it so difficult for this baby daughter to wait, especially since I KNOW that He has good things in store for me? I'd rather pull an Allison and go from one thing to the next until I get my way...but He wants me to wait--wait on Him. And after I've learned to wait on Him, He wants me to wait on Him patiently. And after I've learned to wait on HIm patiently, He wants me to wait on Him patiently with joy and contentment. He wants nothing less than this kind of adoration and trust from His baby girl.

So Lord, here I am today...one, two, I'll wait for You.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in His Word I put my hope.

My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Psalm 130:5-6 (NIV)

Fruit is a VERB

Written by LauraLee Shaw. Inspired by the Holy Spirit

John 15:8
”This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

L et the Fruit of the Spirit come alive in you,
O beying the Word of the Lord in
V erb form,
E agerly acting upon that which you have hidden in your heart.

J ust as Christ demonstrated His love for you,
O pting to die for your sins, so
Y ou should choose to lay down your life for others.

P ractice what you preach,
E xude joy in work, as well as play,
A sk God--beg God to
C omplete His work in you
E ach and every hour of every single day.

P ursue peace
A ctively, showing even more than
T elling.
I nvite your
E nemy to break bread with you.
N otice when someone is alone and
C are about the underdog
E specially.

K now that the Lord will
I gnite His Spirit in you as you acknowledge your
N eediness and complete
D ependence upon Him to do the work.
N O WAY can you produce the practice of patience on your own!
E ven when the enemy pursues you, God will
S helter you under the shadow of His wings.
S imply trust and obey.

G o for it!
O bviously you are beginning to see that
O bedience gives way to a fruit-filled life.
D o you have faith like a mustard seed?
N o? You see…
E ven when showing kindness to others causes you pain, you are
S haring in the
S ufferings of Christ.

F or by His stripes your hurt will be healed,
A nd
I t will give way
T o His goodness spilled out as blessings in your life.
H e will pour them out from the
F ullness of His love for you.
U nderstand that He does not give as the world gives.
L ove in His form does not always bring happiness.
N ever did He promise you a trouble-free life or
E xemption from
S uffering.
S o why believe then? “What’s in it for me,” you ask?

G rowth—the spiritual kind.
E nergy—the lasting kind.
N ot only those, but also
T ruth and
L ove—the faithful kind.
E ndurance and
N ever
E nding
S trength--the
S upernatural kind.

S o let His gentleness be
E vident to all by
L iving this
F ruit-filled, Holy Spirit-filled life.

-- ONLY HE CAN GIVE YOU THE SELF-CONTROL TO BEHAVE THIS WAY.

C an I share something else? If you love God with all your heart, then
O bey Him. Don’t just say that you love Him.
N o one will believe you love Him if you don’t show His love to others.
T ake a moment to pray on this living, active Word from Him.
R epent if need be. Then respond by
O ffering your body as a living sacrifice.
L et the Fruit of the Spirit be a verb in you.

Colossians 1:10

”And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God…”

***Scriptures taken from the NIV Translation
***The fruit of the Spirit is found in Galatians 5:22-23


Adapted from the following NIV Scriptures: Luke 11:28, 1 John 3:18, Psalm 119:11, Romans 5:8, 1 John 3:16, Matthew 5:19, 1 Thessalonians 5:14-17, 1 John 5:14, James 2:22, 1 Peter 3:11, Romans 12:20, Psalm 41:1, Romans 8:10-11, Galatians 3:3, Psalm 51:17, Philippians 1:6, 2:13, Psalm 57:1, Proverbs 3:5-6, Romans 2:13, Philippians 1:11, Matthew 17:20, Romans 8:17-18, Isaiah 53:5, Deuteronomy 28:2, Ephesians 3:18, John 14:27, 16:33, Ephesians 1:19, 3:20, Colossians 1:29, Romans 5:5, Philippians 4:5, John 14:15, 1 John 4:20, Acts 3:19, Romans 12:1