Daily Devotional Galatians 5:22-25

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. -Galatians 5:22-25

I'm not sure - I'll have to check my blog archive - but I may have done a devotional on these verses before.  I know they've been on my mind a lot lately.  Last night, my daughter says to me, "Mom, I want you to help me get healthier.  I want to eat things that are good for me and do exercises.  After my devotions in the morning, I want to exercise with you.  I want you to help me eat 5 fruits and vegetables a day.  No, wait, I want to eat 9 fruits a day because that's how many fruits of the spirit there are and that's what I'm doing my devotions on."  She's 11.  Man, I wish I had that insight at 11.  I thought it was cute though. 

I've been really working on showing the fruit of the Spirit in my life a lot lately.  I've really been convicted on this weight loss journey that it's all about showing God's glory and if I'm not exhibiting His fruit, then something just isn't working right.  So, here I am, striving for nine a day, fruits that is.  Believe me, I could come up with lots of reasons not to be in my right mind.  Being around children 24/7, as much as I love them, gets a little befuddling (to use a mild term that doesn't sound like I'm uncaring).  Here's the deal, I like chocolate.  But, if I ate chocolate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, it might lose its lusciousness.  See what I mean?  One thing I want from my life, and I'm assuming that it's what God want from my life, is to show the fruit of the Spirit, no matter what is going on in my life.  That means showing love even when the kids are fighting.  Showing long suffering even when someone has committed the same error over and over and over again.  Showing gentleness and joy when I'm tired or just plain worn out.  Showing temperance in my eating.  How I'm working on that is by trying to know Christ more each day - staying in the Word every day by doing my devotions and praying.  Seeking God's face in all areas of my life and His direction.  When I'm having a right relationship with Christ, the fruit will come out of me naturally.  Sometimes it means seeking Him right in the middle of a difficult situation, when I want to lose my cool or when I want to overeat.  I'm just striving for nine.