Our witness at home

Have you ever read something in the Bible and thought, "Hmmm, I wonder how my kids would rate me on that one?"  As Christians, we usually think about our witness as it applies to people outside our homes - at work, at church, or even those we encounter on the street.  But in reality, isn't it the people inside our homes that are most affected by our words and actions?  I know it's easy to let my guard down when I walk through the front door.  And sometimes, I just need a little reminder of what my witness really should look like.  {even when my kids are the only ones looking}

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"But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindess, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Galatians 5:22)

It's a long list.

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Gentleness

Faithfulness

Self-Control

Love - to love our children despite their faults, to sacrifice for them the way Christ sacrificed for us, to willingly lay down our lives for theirs e-v-e-r-y d-a-y

Joy - to actively take pleasure in our children and treasure the life we share with them

Peace - to create a safe, comfortable, restful home for our children, free of anxiety and condemnation

Patience - to perservere with our children as we teach them how to be big, knowing that they won't do it right the first time AND to be patient with ourselves, because we won't always do it right the first time either :)

Kindness - to speak affirming words to our children and our spouse, whether we are in their presence or not

Goodness - to be a living example of honesty, integrity, and truth to our children in everything we do

Faithfulness - to be faithful with these precious gifts God has given us, modeling for them what a Christian life should be - not a life of perfection, but rather a life of humility, submission to the Lord, and forgiveness ... always

Gentleness - to demonstrate our love with hugs and kisses and tender words, to discipline in love, and to be sensitive to each child, especially the ones most different from us

Self-control - to remain the "grown up" and restrain our own emotions in the face of frustration and exhaustion (and temper tantrums!)

.   .   .   .   .   .

In Philippians 4:8, we are told to meditate on that which is noble and pure. Try meditating on the Fruit of the Spirit throughout your day, and watch God strengthen your witness on the homefront ... where it matters the most!