What fruit am I growing?

Image from Thompson and Morgan.
Spring is all around us. We see the trees budding, the daffodils are in full bloom and the tulips are just about ready to open their colors to the world. With all this growth and life bursting forth, you can't help to think of what other things might be coming to or already have come to the surface.

In my Sacred Space reading today, I was stopped by the question of reflection presented.

" Where do I sense hope, encouragement and growth in the last few months. What have been fruitful activities or occasions. How will I give those fruitful things the space and time needed to produce more fruit in the near future."

It's been a long winter, and due to that I think it's easy to think and stay in a place of frozen tundra spiritually, physically and intellectually. In the words of Ferris Beuller, "Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

I don't want to miss the fruit of life. It would be a shame to allow the sweet, lovely and life-giving things in life to be missed, simply because I'm too busy or to focused on the not-so-sweet things in life.

So today, I challenge you (and me) to think over the good and fruitful things in your life.

How have you grown? What joyful times have you shared with family and friends? When have you laughed so hard you could no longer breathe?

Let's share some fruit today and prove that spring has sprung not only in our yards, but in our lives as well!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's my start to spring fruit so far:

Having my Dad come out of surgery well and with humor: Nurse: "Where did you go on vacation last year Gary..." Gary: "Not the Pocono's!"

Playing scrabble with my husband and mother in law on a sunny Easter Sunday.

Learning from my son how to better play Mario Kart on the WII.

Running three miles on the first run of this week.

Getting started on spring cleaning.

Going shopping with my daughter and racing to buy her formal dress for prom before closing time.

Starting painting a mural in my daughter's room.

Almost wrapping up a mural I started working on at my kids' music school.

Sitting by the lake and asking God some big questions.

Seeing students starting to come to worship on Sunday's and having them love being there!

Comments

Sunny and rainy day friends

There are two kinds of friends in the world: Sunny day friends and rainy day friends. This is a statement that my Mom used to remind me of when I was in the midst of drama or conflict with one school friend of another. There are lots of people that we define as friends, but they are really acquaintances. Two men were out hunting in the northern U.S. Suddenly one yelled and the other looked up to see a grizzly charging them. The first started to frantically put on his tennis shoes and his friend anxiously asked, "What are you doing? Don't you know you can't outrun a grizzly bear?" "I don't have to outrun a grizzly. I just have to outrun you!" This story is funny, but it does help define the distinct difference between a rainy day friend and a sunny day friend. The sunny-day-friend is more concerned with watching out for their own health and wellness, than their friends' wellbeing. On the other hand, a rainy day friend is willing to take risks, work fo

FCE - Dog stroke in spine

Kahlúa is our 15 year old dog that we adopted from the Humane Society when she was four. She joined our family and has been with us for eleven years so far. This morning we found her laying on the carpet in the dining room and was unable to get up and go outside. After letting her rest for a few hours, I gave her some bread to eat and she got up. She was wobbly so I scooped her up and took her outside to go to the bathroom. She managed to remain standing for a few minutes, but was back down quickly. Her back legs did not want to support her even though she was trying to walk. By this point, she had begin to cry so I called the vet and they said to bring her in for an evaluation. My kids and I tearfully wrapped her up in a blanket and drove to the vet. It seemed as if we were sitting in the waiting room forever. The vet told me that her heart, eye function, and lungs were great - also taking into consideration her age of 15! The problem seemed to be FCE - firocartilanginous embolism: w

Gifts we have to give

So often people will think of the areas of life that they fall short or what may need some improvement. I think there is some wisdom in knowing where we need some work as humans, but I also feel it is equally important to learn, foster and use the gifts each one of us are instilled with. So here is the challenge or question that I'd like to present: "What gift(s) has God given to you that can be used in the care and ministry of loving others?" How have you seen that gift used in the past? How would you like to use it? If you dream big and I dream big together - how could God work in that big pool of gifts in the lives of others??? Let's share our gifts today and dream of what they can accomplish for God's purpose! 1 Peter 4:8-10 (New International Version) 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,

Uphill idealist

Search This Blog