Philippians 1:11

May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation – the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ – for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
~Philippians 1:11~

As moms, homeschoolers no less, we have the tendency to give until we don't have anything left to give. We empty ourselves on a daily basis...even hourly. If we don't remember to fill ourselves up, we've got nothing to give to our families. We're meant to be filled with the fruit of our salvation or righteous character. What is that fruit? Galatians 5:22-23 gives us quite a list: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Some days, I remember fairly well to have most of those.

When things don't go the way I planned, do I remember to control my reaction? Do I practice self-control? I know I try to...and have to ask for extra grace on those days when I just don't “feel” it. How about you? Are you reactive or pro-active? (I don't mean the acne program either.) We are to PROduce fruit and be PROactive. We are not meant to be spectators in our own lives. God wants to actively use us. When I haven't practiced self-control, it means my day has revolved around me and my feelings rather than what He might want to teach me in those situations. Like John the Baptist says, “He must increase, and I must decrease.” Why is that the way it is supposed to be? The last phrase of the verse has it absolutely right...”for this will bring much glory and praise to God”.

Wow! Has this covered a lot or what? Usually, we're really good at producing most of the fruit most days. On days where we've failed, we just need to remember to go to the One Who modeled this for us. When we fail miserably and feel like we were fruitless the entire day while our kids were watching, we can always lead them back to the Word. Let them see how Jesus would've handled it. If need be, we need to apologize to them for anything said or done while we were “out of control”. It's very humbling, but they realize we aren't perfect. The only One who was and is perfect is Christ Jesus.

Dear Heavenly Father~
I don't even know where to start today. I need so much the fruit the Holy Spirit gives. I realize there are days I do pretty well, but, on other days, I fail to produce anything. I pray, in those moments when I am reacting to things, You will put Your Hand over my mouth, keep me in my place, and quiet my spirit. Give me Your peace and patience, Lord.
Yielding to You~ Amen