Mom Heart Moments #324

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

THIS MORNING, I was thinking about how to prepare myself for a wonderful holiday weekend. I love Thanksgiving and enjoy the feast, but sometimes with all the cooking and work and family and ideals flying about, we can find ourselves in the midst of a lot of extra stress. Children eat more sugar, sleep less, have to share more, are in unfamiliar places, and so . . . the potential for disaster is higher! Knowing this, the best way to arm ourselves is to walk by the Holy Spirit so we can give them the gift of a Spirit-filled mom.

I am going to yield to the Spirit’s work of producing fruit in me:

• Love —I want to love, affirm, and look at my sweet ones with eyes of gratefulness that they are my beloved.
• Joy —I am so blessed. God is good. He is with us. I will choose to be joyful in what He has provided.
• Peace —Peace will rule me, so no matter what happens, I will keep peace and give peace in every situation.
• Patience —By choosing to exercise patience in every situation, I will bring the music of God’s heart to the atmosphere of our holiday.
• Kindness —Giving a kind word and graciousness to each person, seeing their heart needs, and serving them will bring a sense of His presence into our day.
• Goodness —Because He is good, I will rejoice and be glad in the reality of His promises and in His willingness to provide.
• Faithfulness —I will be faithful to serve all the people around me, to do the hard work of cooking, washing, and serving, that others might know the joy of celebration and beauty.
• Gentleness —On a day heightened with emotion and expectations, I will bring Jesus’ gentleness to each person in each moment.
• Self-control —I will choose to control my spirit, tongue, and attitudes and give to God my worship through my Spirit-controlled attitudes and heart.

Ask God’s Spirit to shine through you as you interact with others today.