Self-Control: The 9th Fruit

Canva - Boy reading holy bible

I’ll get back to this precious pic in a min. First…

I’m sorry, but, WHAT?!

How the heahck (<– my best friend’s comical pronunciation of “heck”) did we get to the last Fruit of the Spirit already? I’m already feeling sappy (I feel like that’s almost a pun, because “sap” and fruit-stickiness and…ok, I’m done), but let’s leave the sap for another time. We got us a fruit to focus on, partner! (Wow, apparently I’m in accent mode?)

*Quinn now reflects for 1.4 minutes on whether she should write the entire post in weirdly-spelled words to give the effect of various accents*

Naw, we’ll skip it.

Speaking of self-control, I’ll rein myself in to focus on today’s fruit.

About five years ago, my mom introduced me to a devotional series called Made to Crave. The devotional’s basically about craving God above anything else: specifically food.

A discussion of the devotional could easily be another post (or series of posts), but, basically, I relate. Food is wonderful and was created by God to be enjoyed by our God-crafted taste buds, but some people (“Hi, my name is Quinn and I’ve struggled with liking food too much.”) take it too far.

One of the biggest takeaways from that book that’s stuck with me some five years later is…

Having a lack of self-control in seemingly “unimportant” areas of life (i.e. eating) can grow into a lack of self-control in very important areas of life (i.e. relationship w/ Jesus).

We may not feel like our lapses in self-control have anything to do with our relationship with Jesus, but they do.

How?

Here’s an example from my own life:

Bible/prayer time is pretty much a given “thing” in my life each morning, by God’s grace. It’s a thing I can absolutely get better at, but it’s usually still a thing, and I’m thankful for that.

I’ll get back to that in a sec.

Sometimes I’m on my phone too much. (“QuinnIcannotrelatetothat. Howisthatpossible?”) I’ll think about setting limits for my usage, like, “I’m going on here to check one person’s birthday, and then I’m getting awwwwf.” And then I see a “This is what you posted four years ago” thing, and I’m like, “Oh my goodness, those scones in the pic were amazing! I wonder where the recipe is.” And that rabbit trail might lead to the Distraction Land of Pinterest, where I forget what I’m looking for and end up looking at memes for five minutes. And then I remember I was doing something on Facebook, so I hop back to that and see that someone inevitably got engaged or made a “Baby _____, coming May 2019” announcement, so then I have to (“have” in the “want” sense of the word) go see all about how he proposed or how they told their parents about the pregnancy. And then I might go find the birthday and get back to life.

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Is that the worst lapse of self-control? No. But it’s still a lapse.

When that lack of self-control grows into a pattern, I gradually see it reflected in my spiritual life. For example, spending 10 mins on my phone instead of 10 seconds turns into 30 minutes spent with God becoming 15. 15 minutes becoming five. Five becoming an often-missed “habit.”

And then, understandably, I start to feel like God is far away. “Uh, hey God, where’d you go?” Yikes.

The more I lose self-control in various areas of my life, the greater chance there is of that overall lack of self-control affecting my spiritual life. And that’s poopy, because that can make God feel sorta distant.

When I feel like God’s distant, it’s not His fault: it’s probs because I’m “slacking” in spiritual discipline. Now, without going too deep into theology, let me “disclaimer” this by saying I don’t believe in works above grace salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that.

Anywho, self-control is clearly important, especially when it involves our relationship with Jesus.

Remember, God is like a friend. In order to get to know Him better, you need to spend time with Him. Becoming besties rarely happens overnight. In fact, some married-for-forever couples might tell you they’re still learning new things about their spouse.

As Christians, we’ll be learning more about Jesus and growing in our faith until the day we die. (And then I guess we’ll grow much closer to Him in heaven.)

The lack-of-self-control-in-phone-usage is also a reminder that my priorities have been drastically impacted by the world. When I wake up and almost immediately feel an urge to grab for my phone instead of praising God for another day, another breath, another blessing, that is SCARY. And it’s NOT ok. Compromising time with God for time with whatever your distraction of choice is (I have several), is unacceptable. I mean, isn’t it? I’m convicted, too, just so you know. This is not a one-way message; it’s more like a boomerang message, I guess. (No, not the basic white girl *yuck, did I really just type that?* Insta boomerang. The physical boomerang that, when thrown, comes back to you.)

Told you we’d get back to that heading picture. Sorry if it took more than one min.

That–that picture–that’s the goal. Let’s spend less time like this…

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…and more time like the beginning picture.

(Disclaimer: Phone usage isn’t evil. I’m just encouraging both of us to spend more time nurturing the One relationship that matters most…and I’m not talking about your relationship with YouTube.)

How’s your spiritual life?

On a scale of 80-90 (1-10 is boring…”I’m a rebel just for kicks, yeah”), how content are you with the time you spend with God?

This “time” could/should include:

Praising Him
Reading the Word
Praying for yourself and others
Repenting of your sins
Being still & listening

That ^^ investment…it’s worth more than gold.

Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where the thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:20-21

Persevere in self-control. Set a goal…a timer…get an accountability partner. Think about how God will use your time/brain/emotional investment with Him to bring glory to Himself and to bless you and even others. Isn’t that cool? Maybe He’ll use a verse you meditate on to change your day next week. Or maybe He’ll visibly respond to a prayer request that’s been on your heart and pleaded in your prayers.

Let’s all focus more on what we’re gaining than what we feel like we’re losing.

“Every sacrifice made for the Lord is not a loss but a gain.”

-Sarah Mally

Challenge: Let the first and last thing you do each day/night be talking to and praising God. Your phone doesn’t get the privilege of seeing your face before God does.

Gentleness: The 8th Fruit

susan

Near the end of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the Pevensie children get crowned. (There’s surely a more proper way to say that, but I’ll leave that to you and Google.)

Each child is given a special name: King Peter the Magnificent, King Edmund the Just, Queen Lucy the Valiant (dude, that’s my fav), and Queen Susan the…Gentle.

Back when Narnia (the newer version, not the old Narnia that you might’ve, like me, checked out from the library in elementary school and stopped watching halfway through…let’s just say that all of us who did that greatly appreciated the 2005 version) first came out, I thought Susan’s crown “title” was a major downgrade. (Let’s be honest–I still haven’t quite gotten over it. Maybe writing this post will be therapy for the childhood trauma of watching the other 3 children get a better title than Susan that I endured.) I mean, Susan the Gentle? Whaaat? Especially after Lucy the Valiant? Linguistics-wise, “valiant” is just a cooler word in general. Throw in its meaning, and you (in my *correct* opinion) have a waaaaay better title than “gentle.”

***I should mention that the first “big” role I ever played was Susan in a local musical adaption of “The Chronicles of Narnia,” which might make me more sympathetic towards her.

Why did Susan get “gentle” while Peter got “magnificent”? Character analyses-aside (sad face, because those are fun), let’s conclude that “gentle” must be at least near the same playing field of importance as “magnificent” or “valiant.”

But, how?

As crazy a conclusion as that is, let’s dive into this remembering how genius C.S. Lewis was. Surely he knew what he was doing when he gave Sue that title.

I’ve gone through quite a few stages in my fairly short (it’s all relative, y’all) life. I was a tomboy early on, went to a somewhat extreme girly-girl, and have now evened out somewhere near a hopefully healthy middle. (I.e. Dressing up is fun, but I don’t often spend more than 10 minutes on makeup by choice.)

My point is, “gentle” was not my compliment of choice growing up, yet I heard that word spoken of me in my childhood/young adulthood enough for it to stick in my mind. While I’ll bet ya the people who spoke that thoughtful compliment to me probably meant it in the best possible way, I always thought it was a bit of a cop-out, like with Susan and her “cooler” sibs.

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^^my fan theory for Susan’s off-camera reaction to her new title

So, where is the beauty in gentle?

What better place to look than God’s Word?

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

1 Peter 3:3-4

Remember the story of how Taylor Swift bought my mom’s coffee? Think of that as an example of gentleness. It wasn’t showy. It didn’t come with party poppers that went crazy the moment my mom realized who bought her coffee. Taylor kindly, meekly did what was right, no applause needed, and God took care of the rest (by pouring a few metaphorical coals on my mom’s head.)

A touch of gentleness goes a long away.

Gentleness sometimes feels like the absence or opposite of power. But is that not wrong? I think it is.

Gentleness is powerful indeed. It is the self-control that maintains power.

In other words, gentleness is self-control in action. When you’re in a situation where anger might be your first reaction, here’s how you can put “Gentleness” into action:

Give “it” (whatever that is) to God
Ask for His peace
React calmly, with grace and dignity

How powerful is that? I think that’s gentleness. And, if that’s gentleness, then I think we could all use more of that, myself especially.

Maybe Susan’s “downgraded” title was actually just underrated.

          
        How has someone's gentleness impacted your life?

Faithfulness: The 7th Fruit

Canva - Ring, Wedding, Marriage, Gold, Yellow, Book, Love

I went to a beautiful wedding the other day. My friends were so focused on glorifying God in their unity as a married couple, and it was awesome.

As most couples do at weddings, my friends said vows to each other. They promised faithfulness to each other, to the best of each of their abilities and with the Lord’s help.

Faithfulness.

What does that mean?

Synonyms include…

~Loyalty

~Constancy

In Quinnterested-speak, faithfulness is…

Persevering in your staying-ness.

Faithfulness can be a tricky fruit to model, especially if you haven’t had good examples of faithfulness in your life. Whether you come from divorced/never married parents or a beautifully faithful household, we all have one example of faithfulness in common:

God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

1 Corinthians 1:9

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.

Hebrews 10:23

Praise be to God, for we have a mightily faithful heavenly Father.

Storytime.

It was nearing my delirious hour. Actually…it was probably past it. A few of my closest friends and I were at IHOP, home of all quality late-night adventures, amiright? In a rare break from silliness, we went around the sticky (syrup, y’all) table and said one of our favorite things about God. Mine was His unchanging nature. While the delirium quickly returned (in the form of placing our hands in the middle of the table, one on top of the other, sprinkling, a-la Catholic baptism-style, water from a straw on our hand pile as a euphoric symbol of unity…*it was late*), I’m really thankful for that moment of reflection.

In our constantly-changing culture, really only one thing is 100% certain: Jesus. And what the Bible says (about Him, etc.). If your father or a relative/friend has given up on you, rest assured that God never will.

Now, how can we swipe the metaphorical lazy susan of faithfulness so that it faces us? (Are the metaphors getting better? I have a feeling they’re getting worse…so bad that I included a link to what the object of the metaphor is, since it may not be obvious. I feel like that’s a bad sign.)

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.

Mark 11:22

We can have faith. We can practice faithfulness towards God and others.

How?

As Christians who’ve been given the power (for His good, not for our own abuse) that raised Jesus from the dead, we have the opportunity to represent Jesus in human form. We’ll probably fail approx. every other minute, yes. But God is faithful to allow us second chances as we continue to repent of our sins and seek to use His power to show faithfulness to Him and those around us.

Can practicing faithfulness be complicated, exhausting, and uncomfortable? Ayup. (Quinnterested-speak for “Yes”)

Is it important? Also ayup.

P R A C T I C I N G F A I T H F U L N E S S

So, we (“I”….preachin’ to myself here, yo) can practice faithfulness by looking at the word in maybe a different way: being faith-full, or full of faith. Like, when we trust God, we believe He will do what He says He will do. We hope, with full faith.

Side Note: One of my new favorites verses is Luke 1:45. Elizabeth, the future mother of John the Baptist, is visited by a newly Holy-Spirit-impregnated Mary (mother of Jesus). Elizabeth has no knowledge of Mary being preggo when Mary comes to visit. However, when Elizabeth sees Mary, John jumps in Elizabeth’s womb! Elizabeth and Mary talk about how she’s carrying the Savior of the world, and then Elizabeth says this (v 45):

Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!

This could be a whole other series as well, but I think Mary’s faith was pretty inspiring. If you don’t know the story, please read about it in the Gospels (Matthew 1 or Luke 1)

We can show faithfulness to others by sticking with them and showing them a small glimpse of God’s perseverant faithfulness with all of us crazy people.

Another way to show faithfulness to others is to practice integrity: Following through on what you say you will do.

There are more examples, surely. What wold you suggest?

 How will you practice faithfulness, to God or others, today?

Goodness: The 6th Fruit

       Goodness is the only investment that never fails. 
                     -Henry David Thoreau

That’s a weird way to start off a post about the Fruit of the Spirit, you might say. Cool, then it sounds like it’s time you get to know me better.

I really like The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Star Wars politics-aside, I mainly love these movies because of Rey’s commitment to fighting for what she knows is right. They’re classic good vs. evil films (see where I’m going with this?), and Rey is an incredibly inspiring illustration (yay triple alliterations!) of what trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit looks like. That’s a thing I can get really excited about. (Yes, my passion for finding sermons in movies could be a whole other blog series…dude, I really want to do that now!)

If you’ve seen The Last Jedi, you know the *interesting* relationship development between Rey and a certain someone. (That’s as #spoileralert-y as I’ll get…but, it’s also been almost a year since it came out, so you basically have no excuse if you haven’t seen it. Basically.)

Rey has to make a choice, and it’s simple: good or bad?

Simple, but not easy. Rey has to sacrifice what might feel good in the moment for what she knows is right. It’s less about herself and more about the team she’s on. As a budding Jedi, Rey has a responsibility to uphold the mighty, mysterious name of the powerful group.

My point?

Let’s define today’s fruit this way: Goodness is simply doing the right thing, like Rey in Star Wars.

We may not have the force to tell us what is right and wrong, but–oh wait, we do. Enter The Holy Spirit. I’m nerding out a little here, but, you guys, guess what?! We have something even better than the Force, and we have something more important than the Jedis to uphold!

As adopted children of the King, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit, our inner Jiminy Cricket, if you will, guiding us through the countless good vs. evil choices we have to make every day.

Yesterday I talked with friends about how, as Christians, we represent Christ’s Name everywhere we go. What a responsibility, right? The highest, really.

I think of it like a shirt. (What?) When I became a Christian, I put on a logo t-shirt that said “Christian” on it. Everyone around me had the potential to read my shirt and judge that entire group of humans based on my actions. #nopressure

But, seriously, what a cool opportunity! As Christians, we’re empowered by God to be able to do the good, right thing. (Even if we fail a lot, because we’re imperfect humans.) We’re not walking through this crazy battle alone; we have our force, the Holy Spirit, and our home slices (wow, even on paper I’m so white), fellow Christians.

So, how does goodness look for us, as Christian t-shirt wear-ers?

Here are some examples:

Goodness is…

-Holding the door open for an elderly person

-Lovingly telling the truth to someone, even if it hurts

-Not cheating on that stupidly hard exam

Goodness is standing for what is good and true, and taking action on it, even when it hurts; even when it’s unpopular.

One of my favorite quotes by G.K. Chesterton is, “Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.” Isn’t that awesome and true?

If the dark becomes popular, that doesn’t mean it’s the side we’re supposed to be on. And, if we’re tempted to forget that, like Rey was in The Last Jedi, we should lean into the voice of our “Force” and remember who we are, Whose we are, and why we’re fighting for Him.

I’ll leave you with this challenging verse.

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. James 4:17

Let’s go be warriors, in His strength.

May the force be with you.

(Image: Disney/Lucasfilm)

Kindness: The 5th Fruit

Canva - Hospice, Hand In Hand, Caring, Care, Support, Elderly

      Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. 
                              Proverbs 12:25

Kindness. What a general, perhaps overused word. And yet, what a blessing.

Such a blessing.

Today, we’re going to hear a couple of stories of how my family has been impacted by kindness.

I love a good story.

Who’s with me?

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Here we go…

Storytime part 1

Taylor Swift bought my mom’s coffee. One time, several years ago. At the Starbucks drive thru.

Now, as a preface to the following details, let me tell you that my mom is a faithful, loving, and caring woman of God. She’s also human, and the following sentences reflect that. I’m sure you (and I!) can relate.

Back to the story. Basically, my mom was not super complimentary of the very expensive car in front of us in the drive-thru line. (I recall the phrase, “That car costs more than your aunt’s house!”)

We finally pulled up to the pick-up window. As my mom prepared to pay her dues (that’s a weird way to talk about giving the barista money for your drink…), the barista, semi-sheepishly (if my memory serves me correctly) said something to the extent of, “It’s already been paid for,” and then proceeded to tell us that Taylor had paid for my mom’s drink.

I recall my mom then proclaiming the phrase “heaping coals” (see Proverbs 25:21-22).

An act of random kindness (ARK) can go a LONG way. Don’t underestimate what God can do with a free coffee for the person in line behind you: it might challenge/humble and bless them at the same time.

Next, a story that shows how God can use an ARK to answer a prayer!

Storytime part 2

The day had been stressful. I was weighed down by a little conflict I didn’t want to be in. I sat down at school and talked with God about my anxiety. I asked Him to show me a sign or something of His love, even though He never has to prove anything to me–He’s in authority, not me. I pretty much left it at that and headed to Panera Bread before Bible study.

Later, as I was packing up, the 40ish year old man at the table next to mine looked up and, just slightly uncomfortably, said, “I don’t want this to sound weird; I’m a happily married man; but your eyes are beautiful.” It wasn’t creepy, fyi. It was so sweet and encouraging.

I walked out, and a few moments later, it hit me: That was my sign of love from God: Encouragement from a total stranger!

I drove to Bible study. About halfway through our time there, one of my sweet students suddenly looked up and semi-blurted out, “You’re really beautiful. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that.” It was so random and perfect and incredibly touching.

First, the random man at Panera. Then the thoughtful student. Both of them, I believe, prompted by God to say exactly what they said, in His perfect timing. It couldn’t have been better orchestrated. Those “random” acts of kindness are a blessing to me still, even if that was a while ago. (Disclaimer: Since that was a little bit ago, the intricate details are slightly hazy in my mind, but the main points are definitely accurate.)

ARKs make a difference. Do your part by following through, and God will magnificently take care of the rest. Trust me, He’s really good at His job! (FYI, I’m definitely in need of hearing this, so please don’t think I’ve learned everything and am only passing this down.)

Haven’t gotten enough ARK stories? Check out these heart-warming ARK accounts.

ARKs are beautiful and so important. You never know how God can use your little (or big) “random” act.

But, are ARKs the only way to go?

According to one of my friends, no. Yes, ARKs are important, he said, but possibly even more important are…

intentional acts of kindness (IAK…not as catchy, eh?)

What does IAK mean?

A blessing planned, basically.

What does that look like?

-Intentionally planning to meet with a friend who’s struggling

-Taking the longer route to ________ to say hi to someone who needs your love

-Speaking life to someone, maybe by sending them an encouraging text/email

-What do you think? Comment below with IAK (or ARK!) ideas, or post on social media, using the hashtag: #ARKtime or #AIKtime!

Whether you’re team ARK or AIK, kindness is clearly important. It’s a practice you and I can always get better at, starting today.

            Who will you show an ARK or AIK to today? #ARKtime

Patience: The 4th Fruit

"God's way of answering the Christian's prayer for more patience, 
experience, hope and love often is to put him into the furnace 
of affliction."
                        -Richard Cecil

Test #1: giphy2

Does that image switch on your brain’s immediate distress switch like it does in my brain? If so, you might, like me, have an issue with patience.

Test #2:

One (hyphenated) word: MOUTH-WATERING. What if I set that beautiful piece of sugary goodness in front of you and told you that, if you let it sit untouched for a set amount of time, you would get to eat that and an additional cinnamon roll to reward your patience? Would you dare to test your perseverance? I’m not the first to offer (note: It’s a fake offer) this “ultimate” patience test. Magic for Humans magician and host Justin Willman offered a similar test in an episode of his new Netflix series.

With those tests out of the way, let’s not daddle any longer. Really, daddling can be an issue when I write, because I start to write in a rather long-winded fashion. And a scatter-brained fashion. Speaking of daddling, is that even a word?

Congratulations, your patience has probably just been tested yet again. If you read the first sentence of the previous paragraph and then skipped to this…I get it. Our attention spans have grown alarmingly short, and, if we’re not intentional and careful, our faith can suffer as a result.

It’s hard to wait for something as good as a cinnamon roll when you know you’ll get rewarded with another one in a set amount of time. But, what about when you don’t know when that “reward” will come? Even harder!

Let’s keep riding on this patience horse and settle a little deeper into the saddle. (I know, my analogies need some fine-tuning.) Romans 5 talks about another (aforementioned) P-word: Perseverance. Today, let’s focus on marrying the two and seeing the result.

Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Romans 5:3-4

Persevering in patience is literally a process. And it happens one patient choice and step at a time.

When I’m in a trial, the major part of my soul wants to get outta there PRONTO. Who cares if I add a few character traits to the Brownie Patch Holder of my soul in the prolonged waiting process? (Are they–the analogies–getting better? Imma be honest: I liked that one.)

That reminds me of a movie scene. Well, a future movie scene. God gave me a movie idea that is near and dear to my heart, and I hope to make it into a film with Him someday. Without giving too much away, the film, which is inspired by a true story, is about a girl who’s going through a trial. (Wow, so specific and unique. I know, I know. But this story is kinda my baby, even though it’s from God, which I guess makes Jesus the baby, but…I digress. When the movie comes out, you can watch it, and then you’ll know what it’s about.) Anywho, an important scene in the movie idea is when the protagonist is driving, burdened by her trial and weary from begging God to get her out of it. As she drives, she feels God saying, “I can heal you. I could heal you right now. But, if you wait for Me to heal you in My perfect timing, here’s what would result: you’d learn patience; others would see your trial and praise Me, resulting in new believers. All because your timing is not my timing, and you accepted that, trusting me to do what only I can do. Which do you want?”

Basically, do you want one cinnamon roll now, or two later? (Let’s say they have zero calories and are refined sugar-free…and gluten and dairy-free. Basically, let’s say they have the nutrients of kale and the taste of your favorite food and you’ll grow the powers of flight and invisibility.)

                        Which would you choose?

If you’re struggling with patience, let me remind you that I get that. Whether it’s waiting at a stop light or aching for God to pull me out of a trying season of life, patience isn’t my strongest suit. But, (excuse the well-placed but still slightly annoying cliche) it’s better late than never to start practicing patience, and trusting God to do what He can do. He’s got this.

Peace: The 3rd Fruit

“The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear.” -Ram Dass

Let’s switch it up a bit from our previous posts on the Fruit. For today’s discussion on peace, our Fruit of the Day, let me share an illustration of what comes to mind when I think of “worldly” peace.

Canva - Yoga on the Beach

Meditation & Nature.

Two things that can be extremely good and can cultivate peace, especially when combined. But, you might say, isn’t meditating “bad”? To answer, let’s first remember a major point of Jesus’s teachings: It’s all about the heart. Yes, actions matter, but, out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45) Thus, to test whether an action is in line with what God wants for us, we should check out the heart behind that action.

The same goes for nature. If we’re looking for peace in nature in a self-focused/self-sufficient manner, thaz no goot. (That’s Quinn-speak for “that’s no good.”) But, if we’re seeing the beauty of nature and worshiping God through that, letting Him use His creation to restore our soul, then that is truly beautiful.

Sorry for the rabbit trail…Let’s add that little thought nugget to our meditation discussion. If your meditation goal is to find peace through Christ (and not by finding it in yourself, or through another *small g* god), then go for it, bro! The Bible actually recommends that kind of meditation (meditating on the Word, for God’s glory)! God knows this *easily-distracted* girl needs some “BE STILL” time. #squirrel

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So, we’ve talked about worldly peace, and how that can translate into godly peace. And we’ve seen that there are various sources of peace. But there’s only one source of true, incomparable peace. And I bet you can guess the source. 🙂

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. -Jesus, Matthew 11:28-30 (emphasis added)

We will never experience true peace (in meditation, nature, etc.) until we find it in Christ, because His peace is unique from any other.

Philippians 4:7 says “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” According to verse 7, we can’t even totally understand the peace Jesus offers us, it’s that good! Nature, worldly meditation, and every other source of peace can’t quite (or, at all) compete with what Jesus offers us. His peace is…

-perfect

-whole

-incomparable

-protective

-REAL

Have you ever felt totally at peace, without really knowing the source of or reason for your peace? Every good and perfect gift is from above; I believe that true peace is a gift from God.

Michael Jr., a Christian comedian and actor, wrote a sketch about the power of God’s calming nature. You can check out his entire sketch later, but, for now, let’s talk about its main point.

(#spoileralert)

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First of all, Michael Jr.’s video is GOOSEBUMP-WORHTY, is it not?? Dang.

Second of all, did you catch what he said near the end?

“Be still, and listen for the Father’s voice…what He wants you to know is that He loves you.”

When I’m off trying to make peace on my own, life ain’t gonna be purty. (*shudders at bad grammar*) But, when I (finally) admit that I can’t do it on my own, that I’m sinful, and that I need my Father’s help, love, protection, guidance, and peace, that’s where I find strength and hope and peace, all because of who Jesus is (the Giver of perfect peace) and what He’s done for me (died on the cross to pay the ultimate price for the forgiveness of my sins.)

If you’re in a less-than-peaceful season, you’re not alone. It’s vulnerable and unsteady and uncomfortable to be in that place, yes. But we don’t have to be there. Because our God made a way for us to live with His perfect peace. All we have to do is believe and accept it. And listen for the Father’s voice.

Be still, and know that I am God...
Psalm 46:10

Joy: The 2nd Fruit

Joy

Dear Joy,

I really liked you in Inside Out.

I’m hoping God reveals to me and whoever reads this post more about you; about how we can embrace you, choose you, and appreciate you.

Sincerely, Quinnterested

Let’s continue with our tradition of checking out the world’s definition of our juicy fruit (no, not the gum) of the day…

Joy is:

-A feeling of happiness (shoutout to ma man Google for the definition)

-A circumstantial feeling of happiness

-A movie starring J-Law

-A character in Inside–ok, I’ll stop

In my friends’ definitions…

Joy is:

-The feeling you get when you see puppies walking your way

-The feeling you get when you finally get home after a long day and crawl in your bed

(Yes, those were both written by the same person)

-A gift from God. It’s an outlook and attitude that transcends circumstance. It runs deep, and often seems inexplicable. While happiness may come and go on a whim, joy has staying power and consistency. Joy is one of the greatest and most curious markers of a Christian life.

First of all, WOW. Major thanks to my friends for their fun and brilliant definitions!

Now, let’s play eye spy. *Cue demeaning voice softly speaking to babies* Can you spot the difference? (Does this bring up memories of shows like Dora the Explorer to anyone else? Or am I just a child at heart? Or in reality?? WHO AM I?? *insert stereotypical horror film music*)

…Back to the point. Here’s what I found: Joy doesn’t have to depend on circumstance. In fact, it shouldn’t depend on it. Sure, circumstance can influence your joy. That’s natural. When you see adorably fluffy puppies walking your way, I sure hope your brain naturally reacts with delight and joy! But, when we’re having crappy days, it’s SO.EASY to let our joy fall as a result. This brings us to our main point for today’s fruit. As usual, there are many things we could focus on regarding just this one word.

Here’s the major theme for today’s fruit:

Joy is a choice

You can choose to be joyful in situations where joy might not be your gut reaction. Praise God for that choice, right? Heck yes! Is it easy? As Minion-imitating-Lucy says in Despicable Me 2, “Ah, no.” This might sound weird, but sometimes when I’m in a joy-or-anger situation, I can almost see the two emotion choices in front of me. Which one I choose is my choice–no one but me can make it. And I’m not a perfect person, so sometimes I choose to sing angrily at the driver in front of me who’s NOT PAYING ATTENTION to the GREEN LIGHT in front of us. (Yikes, ever heard of counseling?) But, glory to God, we do have a choice. Jesus came so that we might live abundantly (John 10:10.) Sometimes I need a strong reminder to embrace that truth.

Sometimes when I read Bible verses that use the word “joy,” I see them telling us to have it. It’s a thing we have to do. For example…

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. (James 1:2-3)

Joy is a beautiful thing. But sometimes it doesn’t come as naturally as we’d like; it’s a decision we have to constantly, intentionally make.

I’m going through a trial right now that sometimes makes joy feel far away, and I’m not used to that. I don’t like it. But, just because I’m not feeling it doesn’t mean I can’t choose it. Challenging? I’m gonna say a strong 9/10. Important and rewarding? Hard 10/10. Remember, Jesus came so that we might have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10) When we’re going through a trial, God can and will use that to refine His children who love Him. But it’s not going to be easy.

We need to use our free will to make a choice–the right choice, the hard choice–to choose joy.

When we find our joy and strength in Christ, we have all we need. It may not feel like it, but feelings aren’t always the best indicators of fact. (I should note that I’m quite an F on the Myers Briggs test, so I understand that feelings are things many of us are quick to trust and rely on.)

So, will you choose joy with me today? I know, it’s hard and sometimes really not fun. But let’s both do that today, and see what God does. After all, He’s the one who created both the emotion and the choice, anyway. And, when it comes down to it, it’s all about Him, anyway.

If you missed the first post of the Fruit of the Spirit series, feel free to check out the post on love.

Love: The 1st Fruit

First, what we’re doing:

I’ll dice up this delicious first fruit in a second. Before that, let me introduce where we’re headed on the Quinnterested (Quinn + interested = Quinnterested) train. For the next nine weeks, I’m going to dig deep into each of the nine fruits: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) If you’ve grown up in the church, you’ve probably heard those verses countless times. The fruits are plastered in your brain, along with the commandments, your favorite parables, and so on. I get it. But I want to go deeper. I want to think of personal stories and images that I associate with every fruit when I read Galatians 5:22-23. Well, for the next nine weeks, that’s what I’m hoping to do. Will you join me? I hope God will use any words I write to speak to you personally. He’s good at that.

The first one: Love

Love. What a word. Its definitions and illustrations seem endless. Books and movies, friends and family all tell us what it is. Here are some definitions I’ve seen in the media. Maybe you’ve seen them, too.

Love is…

-A feeling that’s subject to change

-A special kiss (Disney, are you telling me I should go around kissing guys until I know which one I love??)

-An ability (my favorite “worldly” definition, taken straight out of the mouth of the adorable Marty in Dan In Real Life)

I asked friends on Facebook how they define love. Enjoy their answers; they’re a smart bunch:

Love is…

-Putting the needs of others above your own

-Wanting the best that God has for a person

-[Being] steadfast

-God/Jesus

A round of applause for all my Facebook friendies who submitted a response!

To quote the brilliant Brian Regan, “Somethin’ changed.” See the difference between the media’s definitions and my friends’? No longer is love about M-E. Love is about Y-O-U. Oh, and it’s about another person, but we’ll get to that in a second. In the world’s eyes, it’s normal to call it quits when you stop feeling the “butterflies” for your special someone. There’s a key element that’s drastically missing from “worldly” love: selflessness. In the selfless version of love, you stick with the “loved one,” regardless of what you’re feeling at the moment. Thus, love becomes an action, not a feeling.

This brings us to our final love definer: The Bible. And that’s the definer that matters the most, since its definitions will never change.

Good news: the Bible has a LOT to say about that. We’re going to focus on one major definition for this post…

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” -Jesus, John 15:13

That’s about as selfless as it gets. If we want to know what love means, we have to look no farther than Jesus. Jesus put John 15:13 to action when He went to the cross for us. He laid down His life for us, and He asked us to do the same.

If you live in America, you’re blessed to live in a low-persecution culture. It’s not that we don’t experience persecution; certainly many people do. But American persecution is rarely comparable to the bloody persecution against Christians that goes on around the world. My point is, we may not be put in situations every day that ask us to literally lay down our lives for our friends or for God. So let’s get creative. How can you selflessly love someone by “laying down your life” for them today? Maybe it means going the extra mile while cleaning up your dorm, so that you can “love” your roommate well. Maybe it means spending your free time (ha, what a concept for college kids) helping a friend with homework or writing an encouraging letter to someone, instead of binge-watching Parks and Rec. (How dare I even suggest that? I’m the worst.)

Take a moment. Thank Jesus for loving you well. Then ask Him how you can love others well, with action.

As you take a moment to reflect on love, let me share several other biblical definitions with you:

Love is…

-Patient

-Kind

-Humble

-Pure

-Truthful

-Protecting

-Trusting

-Hopeful

-Persevering

-Unfailing

Ready, Set…Go!

If someone gave you a perfect, amazing gift that you LOVED but chose not to use, wouldn’t that be weird? Well, God gave us all gifts, but sometimes we don’t like to use, or share, those gifts with others. I confess, I sometimes fall in that category. And yet, this blog has started. I’m not perfect, not the wisest person on earth, not…a lot. But, I am a child of God who’s been gifted with specific, important, unique gifts that God gave me for a reason. So, if I get to share those gifts with you through this blog, then to God be the glory. Les DO IT!

Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. — Leo Buscaglia

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