Fruit of the Spirit - Part 8

 While I'm taking my annual summer break from writing new devotions, I'm sharing this series on the fruit of the Spirit, which was originally published in 2016.

Devotion for the Week...

It's time for the sixth installment of our fruit of the Spirit devotion series! If you missed the previous devotions, click to read the introduction, about love, about joy, about peace, about patience, about kindness and about goodness. 

Once again, here is our verse for this series: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22,23).

When I think about faithfulness, I think of the faithfulness between a husband and wife who have taken a vow to remain together for better and for worse and to never turn away from each other. There will be good times and not-so-good times, but those who are faithful do not abandon each other or decide to seek out a relationship with someone else to replace their spouse.

God calls His relationship with us a 'covenant', which indicates a vow or promise. He has chosen this relationship with us and Jesus promised us "surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Nothing will cause God to abandon us or to decide to choose someone to replace us. Paul wrote, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38,39). Nothing in all of creation can cause God to renounce His relationship with us!

Of course, faithfulness doesn't only come into play in a marriage. Faithfulness is really a matter of commitment. Commitment to doing what we said we would do, or being where we said we would be even if, in the moment, we don't feel like doing those things or going to those places. Faithfulness means our word means something.

Unfortunately, faithfulness can be hard. Sometimes we just don't want to follow through on our commitments. We don't want to do the work we said we would do. Relationships (any relationship, not just marriage) can be hard and it can be tempting to seek out something new. Sometimes we just want to be selfish and ignore the promises we made.

Thankfully, the Holy Spirit nudges us in those moments. I know I have felt it and you probably have, too. It's that feeling that we are not doing the right thing, that we need to follow through on what we said we would do, whatever that may be at the moment. If we will obey those nudges, those reminders that God's faithfulness should be evident in His people, then gradually faithfulness will become our norm. Give in to the temptation to blow off a commitment once and it becomes easier to do it the next time. But keep your commitments again and again and the voice of temptation will have less of a hold on you. You will become faithful, as God is faithful.

Divided Pattern Release

Today's the day I get to re-release my Divided pattern out into the wild! 

Divided has been expanded to include baby quilt instructions, along with the throw size shown here. It has also been updated to match the format of my other patterns and gone through technical editing to be sure all the math is right and the instructions make sense to quilters other than me 😏 

The update also means that I can now offer Divided as a printed pattern for those of you who prefer that format. The printed pattern is a PREORDER right now and will ship out as soon as it arrives from the printer.

Divided looks great in any colour combination, as evidenced by the two very different versions I've made (so far - there's fabric on the way for another one!). This muted grey and black combination completely changes the feel of the design and gives the quilt a more masculine look, doesn't it? My father-in-law has threatened to steal this particular quilt!

There's no curved piecing involved in making Divided. It's all raw edge machine applique, which makes for a quilt that is quick to stitch 😊 That means you can try out all the fabric combinations your quilty heart can dream up! Ocean themed? Rainbow? Pastels? Christmas? Halloween? Yes to all of them! 

Head on over to my Etsy shop to get your PDF copy of Divided or to PREORDER the printed pattern.

Fruit of the Spirit - Part 7

While I'm taking my annual summer break from writing new devotions, I'm sharing this series on the fruit of the Spirit, which was originally published in 2016.

Devotion for the Week...

It's time for the sixth installment of our fruit of the Spirit devotion series! If you missed the previous devotions, click to read the introduction, about love, about joy, about peace, about patience and about kindness. This week we're moving on to goodness. 

Once again, here is our verse for this series: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law" (Galatians 5:22,23).

The original word that Paul used for goodness, agathōsynē, means "uprightness of heart and life, goodness, kindness." In planning for this devotion, I immediately thought of this verse, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Romans 12:2).

It feels like there is a decided lack of goodness these days. We have all, much too frequently, felt sorrow and disbelief when we heard about the tragedies around the world. There is no denying that 'the pattern of this world' is far removed from the 'good, pleasing and perfect will' of God.

Thankfully, the vast majority of people will never intentionally harm another person, but even still, we all know that it's hard to be truly good. Just spend time with any toddler and you'll quickly learn just how natural it is for us humans to be selfish and mean and demanding. Between raising my own boys and babysitting toddlers belonging to others, I have witnessed many, many tantrums, pokes, pushes, grabs, etc. Toddlers want what they want, right now, and they're not concerned with how that might affect others. That is, in a nutshell, the natural human state, which is why parents have to teach their child to behave like a 'civilized person'. Goodness doesn't come naturally. It has to be learned and it takes effort.

That is why Paul tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. 'Renewing' here carries the idea of a renovation, of changing something for the better. So, the Spirit of God will change our minds for the better, allowing us to be no longer bound to the pattern of the world, but instead to think and act according to the will of God.

This renewing of our minds is an ongoing process as the Spirit changes our attitudes and behavior in different ways, bringing us ever closer to being like Jesus. Gradually, the more we walk with the Spirit and allow Him to work in our lives, the more we will grow in goodness.

And this world can certainly use more goodness.