Monday, November 20, 2017

When You Rise Up - Chapter 8 - The Necessary Nine


My Kids & Their Cousin Near Star Valley, AZ (Dec'16)
1.  What characteristics do you think are most important in close friendships?  Share some that are non-negotiables for you.

Respect, courtesy, thoughtfulness, the ability to listen, kindness.  All the Fruit of the Spirit are really good to have in close friendships, though.

2.  As you think about each of the nine fruits of the Spirit, write out how you see these growing in your own marriage relationships?  How do these manifest themselves in your friendships?

  • Love - I love my husband by serving him in his many hobbies and things.  He loves me by wanting what's best for me, for my health.
  • Joy - I think we could have a lot more joy if we didn't nit pick on each other so much.  My husband sees with a really critical eye.  For me, I am always on the go and sometimes my To Do List steals my joy, or my husband's critical spirit steals my joy.
  • Peace - We have more peace now after being a part of the Titus Bible study now for over a year, but this is definitely still a work in progress.
  • Patience - We each have some level of patience for each other, but we can also be impatient with each other.  Work in progress.
  • Kindness - My husband shows me kindness in different ways than I show him.  It's a challenge to describe this.
  • Goodness - I think both of us want what's good and best for the other person, never wishing or wanting any harm to come to the other person.
  • Gentleness - My husband is usually a more gentle person to me than I am to him.  I can be quite hostile, but I feel that a lot of times I feel stressed.
  • Faithfulness - I allow no male relationships into my life that would threaten my marriage.  If there is a male that does not respect my marriage boundaries, then I am quick to cut that person off.
  • Self-Control - I'm not saying everything on my mind, especially when I'm emotional.  Though my husband still says a lot of mean things to me when he's upset, it's less than he used to.

3.  Are there any areas of weakness that you know that you should confess as sin and forsake and allow God to work on this in your own life?  Write them here.

As much as I can say about my husband having a critical spirit, I know I can be quite critical and mean, too.  I tend to hold things inside, not sharing it with others until things get too much for me and then I explode.  I know I need to learn to be able to talk about my frustrations in a healthy manner with my husband, but I can get quite animated and upset easily.  God gives me plenty of opportunities to practice this and I keep failing.


4.  Discuss other creative ways that you can teach your children about the Fruit of the Spirit.  If they are young you may want to choose different ways than if they are older or teenagers.

We can have healthy discussions on how to deal with uncomfortable or challenging situations, or use situational examples.  That's not real creative, but hopefully it works.

5.  Share any insights or Scripture that spoke to you in this chapter.  How can you use this to become a more intentional parent this week?

I can see how my life would have been so much easier had someone taught me to choose my friends based on how much of the Fruit of the Spirit they had, as well as my spouse.  But I never saw it that way nor was taught that way and haven't taught that to my kids.  It seems almost too late and life can be challenging despite the many rewards we have.  Maybe it isn't too late and I can still teach my kids before they are adults?



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