Influence

So, I got my bible memory verse written on a post it and stuck it to my bathroom mirror. The act of doing that put a smile on my face. Nice! So, I went looking for a bible study by Beth Moore given to me by a dear lady from my church who came to visit me when I was in the hospital before Faith was born over 7 years ago. It's called Living Beyond Yourself-Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit. I have written in it so started it but never got through it all. So, I began it again this morning. I only got through the first two pages and decided that was enough to ponder. I have to take what I am given in smaller doses so that I can fully reflect on it and be able to find a way to put it into practice in my own life. So, the word that came out in these first two pages is INFLUENCE. She talks about about how women have a lot of influence throughout history starting with Eve and how there's a fine line between influence and manipulation. I think we can have influence in quiet and gentle ways by just being who we are in Christ and demonstrating to others who Christ is by how we are and how we are living. I have to examine myself each day and pray that I will live with the Spirit and the fruit given to me. The fruits of the spirit should be evident in all we do and say and are. If people were asked to list some character traits of me, I want them to first list all the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. I can honestly say I can't say all of these are part of who I am. I have my moments of inpatience and I have my days of depression and negative thinking and boy do I have plenty of days when I have no self-control. I am SO a work in progress but that is the beauty of it all. We are forgiven for our sins and our failures and are free to learn and grow so that we can be more and more closer to the perfection that is Jesus Christ. My prayer: Holy Spirit, Help our hearts to be gentle and to think before we speak so our influence may be used for your good purpose. Amen.