# Which "Fruit" are you going to plant & commit to watering over the next 365 days?



## PinkPebbles (Nov 23, 2012)

Ladies – this is a light-hearted thread…so let’s have some fun!!! 

None of us are perfect and we all are a work-in-progress. The beauty of seed time is that there will be a harvest. So which “Fruit” are you going to plant and commit to watering over the next 365 days?

*Fruit of the Spirit Breakdown by Jarrod Clark*

*Love*- There are 3 types of love. There is *Eros* love, which is known as “erotic love”. There is *Philos* love, which is a brotherly love or a love known between two friends. And lastly, there is the ultimate love, *Agape love*, which means *unconditional love.*
Agape love is the love that, Jesus, displayed and therefore is the love referred to in Galatians 5:22 when defining the* fruit of the spirit*. Love is a powerful thing because it covers a multitude of sins as *1 Peter 4:8* tells us. *1 Corinthians 13:13*_ says: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” _
When you love unconditionally, it doesn’t mean you won’t be hurt, it doesn’t mean that you won’t be talked about but it does mean that you are displaying the fruit that, Jesus, displayed. Agape love will take you a long way in life. Make a decision to love unconditionally regardless of how people have hurt you.

*Joy** -* There is a difference between *joy and happiness*.*Happiness* is an emotion. It’s something that you feel one minute and could be gone the next, based on what’s going on around you.
_Joy_, however is a gift from God. People who are joyful may not always be happy but they choose to display the Joy that God has given them and shine their light so that the world may see.
You may be going through the worst trial known to man but if you choose to be joyful regardless of your situation, regardless of your past, then God sees that and He honors that.

*Peace** – *Peace is another fruit that is based on a choice. When you have a bad day, you can either choose to wallow in despair, hang your head down and complain, or you can choose peace. You can make the choice when you walk out the door in the morning that no matter what happens to you today, you’re going to smile and not get hot and bothered. Make no mistake, it won’t be easy but it’s worth it!

*Longsuffering **-* Many times God doesn’t move when we want Him to move. It can be tough exercising patience while in adversity. I encourage you, my friend, to operate in patience regardless, don’t get uptight._ *Psalm 27:14* encourages us in times of distress because it tells us: “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”_ Remember, every trial you face is just a test. God looks at how you handle the adversity while you wait and He rewards you for enduring it with patience.

*Kindness** -* Kindness is very much like love in the sense that it’s an unselfish act. When you’re walking through a door, just because the person in front of you doesn’t hold the door open for you, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t hold the door open for the next person.


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## PinkPebbles (Nov 23, 2012)

A wise man once said, *“Be the change you want to see in the world.”* In other words, instead of judging someone when you don’t agree with their actions, set an example. Kindness is an example that we need to see more of, especially in the world today.

*Goodness*- Goodness and kindness also go hand in hand. I encourage you to always do what you know is right. About a year ago, in 2008, ABC had a reality show entitled, True Beauty. As I watched this show, I noticed that they would put the contestants in situations where there were hidden cameras and they had the opportunity to do what was right or wrong.

There was an episode where a decoy was riding a bike on the street and he would fake a fall right in front of these candidates. The question was, would these contestants just walk away and not help the decoy or offer a helping hand?

*What would you do in a situation like this? *

The right thing to do would be to help this person indeed. Do what you know is right in every situation whether or not someone is watching.

*Faithfulness** -* You may not be able to see the outcome of what God is doing in your life or where He’s taking you but always know that God will never lead you astray. He’s got your best interest at heart. God is the captain of our ship and we have to trust Him for He’s got the course plotted. He’s knows the end.

*Gentleness** -* Have you ever been out and you got a feeling that you shouldn’t have been where you were? Many people call it intuition.

When God speaks to us, He doesn’t ring out loud in a thunderous voice from the Heavens, like many of the movies portray Him. You will know when God is speaking to you because you will feel a gentle nudging in your spirit to do right when your flesh wants to do wrong.

It’s not our place to judge others. When someone is going down the wrong path, instead of belittling and talking down to them, encourage them to do what is right with a spirit of *meekness*.

*Self-Control* – Anger is another emotion such as happiness. There are going to be times when people or situations make you feel angry but I encourage you to make the choice to exercise self-control. *Wrath* is one of the *works of the flesh*, (as outlined in Galatians 5:19-22) which is very much the opposite of the *fruit of the spirit.*

*Temperance* is the spirit that, Jesus, carried to the grave. He was called out of His name, He was betrayed by Judas and He was spat on, bruised and chastised.

In the world today, if someone is called out of their name, that would be a fight waiting to happen but Jesus didn’t operate that way. He chose to exercise Self-Control.

Make the choice today, to exercise love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, as you charge forward in your life journey.


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## LongTimeComing (Nov 23, 2012)

All of the above...


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## BrandNew (Nov 23, 2012)

All of them, but if I had to pick just one it would be Gentleness


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## loolalooh (Nov 23, 2012)

Really great thread.  All, but most of all the "fruit of peace" in 2013.


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## CarefreeinChicago (Nov 23, 2012)

Awesome thread. I would have to go with self control, peace.


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## Highly Favored8 (Nov 23, 2012)

It would be all of them. However if I had to pick one it would be Peace.


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## PinkPebbles (Nov 23, 2012)

I fall into the category "all of the above" too!!!

I will be investing more in the "fruit of faithfulness." Standing on the word of God during the good and bad. I will be going to bible study more consistently b/c faith comes by hearing, and hearing, and hearing the word of God!

Also, I will be planting the "fruit of love." Lord knows I have to pray for my enemies and know that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities. 

Ladies - 2013 is going to be filled with *Beautiful Gardens *


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## Iwanthealthyhair67 (Nov 23, 2012)

where's the all button ...


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## Renewed1 (Nov 23, 2012)

I chose Joy.  I can be such an unhappy and ungrateful person.  I 'm working on it as we speak.


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## RegaLady (Nov 23, 2012)

All of them!

But I chose Love, because I believe it is the foundation for all the others. There is a reason why it is listed first. First love, and the rest of the fruits will follow.


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## Blackpearl1993 (Nov 23, 2012)

I want to work on all of these, but I voted for self control. My main goal is to get closer and closer to Christ by allowing Him to crucify my flesh.


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## Chrissy811 (Nov 23, 2012)

You know the Lord always picks one for me. Last year it was longsuffering this year it was love. I would love to work on Joy, Gentleness and Kindess though.


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## MrsHaseeb (Nov 23, 2012)

I chose gentleness. I know that I tend to have a very strong personality and my sister is always teasing me for it. My future husband even told me I can be quite forceful and that I think everyone should see things the way I see them... I really wanted to be mad at him telling me that but I couldn't because I have heard it from too many other people..

Sent from my 4G HTC Thunderbolt using LHCF


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## MrsHaseeb (Nov 23, 2012)

RegaLady said:


> All of them!
> 
> But I chose Love, because I believe it is the foundation for all the others. There is a reason why it is listed first. First love, and the rest of the fruits will follow.



Beautiful and so true.

Sent from my 4G HTC Thunderbolt using LHCF


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## LiftedUp (Nov 24, 2012)

Love

Because "God is love" and once I sow that seed, other things will follow.


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## MrsMe (Nov 24, 2012)

I'd say all of the above, but I will concentrate on self-control and love. As I prepare myself to marry FH, I realize that I've put the man through so much with my temper tantrums but still received unconditional love from him.


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## PinkPebbles (Nov 25, 2012)

Ladies - I'd like to share what God revealed to me.

It's easy to be a Christian when we cut everyone off that we've had a disagreement, miscommunication, or misunderstanding with because we no longer have to push ourselves to operate in the fruit of the spirit.

When we are faced with such challenges we shouldn't run, hide, or isolate ourselves but rather face our weaknesses and allow God to prune and mold us into His very image.

'He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world' 1 John 4:4 

Let us continue to plant and water our fruit daily !!!!

_So many believers think of the fruit of the spirit as little more than a passive list of pleasant qualities that can help improve their personalities. But they're far greater than that! *They're pure spiritual power. *Kenneth Copeland_


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## Belle Du Jour (Nov 25, 2012)

I will be doing a study on this today.  Gifts and Fruit of the Holy Spirit are mentioned in several places in the Word: 

Isaiah 11:2-3
Acts 8
I Cor 12-14
Gal 5:22-25

My goal is to cultivate all of these. If I had to pick one, I'd want wisdom like King Solomon because wisdom is the gateway to many other things.


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## Blackpearl1993 (Nov 25, 2012)

PinkPebbles said:


> Ladies - I'd like to share what God revealed to me.
> 
> *It's easy to be a Christian when we cut everyone off that we've had a disagreement, miscommunication, or misunderstanding with because we no longer have to push ourselves to operate in the fruit of the spirit.
> *
> ...



You are so right! It is too easy to just cut folks off, and it doesn't allow us to grow. It also makes us focus on how we were "right" rather than focus on how we need to stretch and grow to be more like Christ.


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## ManeStreet (Nov 25, 2012)

Faithfulness to God. I've been struggling with this.


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## PinkPebbles (Nov 25, 2012)

Belle Du Jour said:


> I will be doing a study on this today. Gifts and Fruit of the Holy Spirit are mentioned in several places in the Word:
> 
> Isaiah 11:2-3
> Acts 8
> ...


 
Belle Du Jour thank you for sharing!

I'm currently studying the fruit of the spirit and will continue throughout 2013. Please share your study notes, knowledge, and revelation with us .


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## PinkPebbles (Nov 25, 2012)

Blackpearl1993 said:


> You are so right! It is too easy to just cut folks off, and it doesn't allow us to grow. *It also makes us focus on how we were "right" rather than focus on how we need to stretch and grow to be more like Christ*.


 
Blackpearl1993  Preach!!!
Last week God convicted me on how I’ve been treating my coworker. I felt my coworker was too negative.  I made up my mind to distance myself and thought I had done the right thing. Well, in my attempt to distance myself I stopped speaking to my coworker. When she had a question I was real short with her. She noticed a changed in my behavior and then the tension started.

God ministered to my spirit to let me know I should have handled the situation differently. There will always be some type of negativity whether you are in corporate, church, school, event, etc. that will have to be dealt with.  The Lord let me know the very first time she started speaking negatively about others I should have said “nobody is perfect and we all need to learn how to work together.” There was no need for me to distance myself and be unkind. My actions were no better than her negativity. However, this experience has taught me a valuable lesson .


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## Reminiscing (Nov 29, 2012)

I really need a big dose of courage going into 2013, like the Popeye eats his spinach type of courage.  Except I need my courage to be permanent rather than temporary.  Lol!. But seriously, I need courage to move forward and act on some of the plans and ideas God has given me.  So I know that courage isn't a fruit of the spirit but I feel it's synonymous with faithfulness.  The boldness and courage I need will come from complete faith in God and knowing that He will never ever let me down.


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## Prudent1 (Nov 30, 2012)

Self control. My flesh just shriveled as I voted. I'll take more of this in all areas but especially with _dees_ here co-workers of mine. I'm praying not to reach out and touch a few of them almost daily:hardslap:.


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## Lymegreen (Dec 1, 2012)

I normally don't come into this section but I will say love.   

I need to find my love for people.  I find that I could care less about anyone outside of my circle.  I don't want to be like that.

eTA: maybe not care less but I find that I had been content to just have superficial relationships with people outside of my inner circle and never invested so to speak...  I can see where I can plant the seed of love in certain areas of my life.


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## Lymegreen (Dec 1, 2012)

PinkPebbles said:


> Ladies - I'd like to share what God revealed to me.
> 
> It's easy to be a Christian when we cut everyone off that we've had a disagreement, miscommunication, or misunderstanding with because we no longer have to push ourselves to operate in the fruit of the spirit.
> 
> ...



This really spoke directly to me.   This is exactly what I'm dealing with.  I am the queen of cutting people off.   But, I'm in a place in life where I am forced to not only be around people I'd rather not be but I'm also learning to move in 'love' in the midst of confusion.  I've asked God why? why?  In previous times in my life removing myself was enough but that is not possible now. 


I am growing....


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## hair4romheaven (Dec 1, 2012)

I am going to pick a few and work on it over the next quarter.


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## PinkPebbles (Dec 2, 2012)

Lymegreen said:


> This really spoke directly to me. This is exactly what I'm dealing with. I am the queen of cutting people off. But, I'm in a place in life where I am forced to not only be around people I'd rather not be but I'm also learning to move in 'love' in the midst of confusion. I've asked God why? why? In previous times in my life removing myself was enough but that is not possible now.
> 
> 
> I am growing....


 
Lymegreen thanks for sharing 

I'd like to share a quote that has encouraged me to continue to _plant_ and _water_ daily.

_"When we position ourselves under the headship of Christ and learn to do what He requires of us, there is a flow of the Holy Spirit that will carry us through....with each new step of obedience we take, we experience new blessings and new freedoms we have not known before and never thought possible." Stormie Omartian_


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## PinkPebbles (Jan 17, 2013)

*Joy: A Very Real Force*​
Joy. It's not a warm, happy feeling you're supposed to have now and then when things are going well. It's much more than that. Joy is one of the most powerful spiritual forces in the world.

Look again at Nehemiah 8:10 and I'll show you why. If you were to diagram that scripture and remove the phrase "of the Lord," you would find what it's truly saying is this: Joy is strength. The two are interchangeable.

That's what makes joy so crucial. You can't live a life of faith without being strong in the Lord - and when God wants to make you strong, joy is what He uses to do the job!

Joy is not just a state of mind. It is not a fleeing emotion. Joy is a very real force, and the devil doesn't have anything that can stand up against it. Just as fear has to yield to faith, discouragement has to yield to joy.

Since joy is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, you already have it residing within you. But you must develop it, confess it, and live by it if you want to enjoy its power.

Whatever circumstances you are facing today, you can be full of joy. You can be strong in the Lord. You can draw on the supply of the Holy Spirit within you and come out on top.

Rejoice!

*"The joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10)*

*Scripture reading: Psalm 18:28-50*

Kenneth Copeland​


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## Laela (Jan 18, 2013)

Beautifully said!


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## PinkPebbles (Feb 13, 2013)

*LOVE*​So, why should we love one another?

Because,
_“No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”_
1 John 4:12​ 
Did you catch that?  _“No one has ever seen God!”_  The next part of this verse is where things get exciting.  _“IF (or when) we love one another, God abides (dwells) in us and His love is perfected (or made complete) in us.”_  Do you see it?  Did you hear what God just did?

No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, then God dwells in us.

Can other people see you?  Yes.

If God dwells in you, then could others possible see Jesus in you too?  Yes.

If others can see God in you, then isn’t that kind of like seeing God?  Yes.

WOW!  We have the ability and responsibility to help others see the invisible God!

Why must we love one another?  So the world can see the invisible God!

Real Choices:
How can you be a visual image of the love of God today?  Remember when God desired to show us His love He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.  What a great visual image…service, selflessness, and sacrifice…all to show us His love so that we could see the invisible God.  

How about you?  Who around you might need to see the invisible God through your love for them and others?

Digging Deeper:
Read John 13:34-35, and then consider the number of times that Jesus instructed His disciples with a “new command.”  I believe you will find it seldom which highlights the significance of the command.  Does your family or community know you are a disciple of Christ by your love?

Pray:
Jesus make me a portrait of your love today.  God abide in me as You love others through me, and let people see You, the invisible God, in me for your glory and their salvation.  Praise be to God our Father.  Amen!

Taylor

​


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## AtlantaJJ (Feb 13, 2013)

I voted Love because I need to view everything in life through God's perspective and not through my own which is very selfish and self centered.  God's perspective is always that of love.


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## moniq (Feb 13, 2013)

I would say all but I chose faithfulness.  My dh, ds, and I always touch on this topic when we bible study.  I know that it isn't impossible to have all in your life it just takes hard work and dedication.  I am such an introvert that it is hard for me to share with others but I know that it is vital to my spirtual growth and it may help someone along the way if I help and share with them.


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## PinkPebbles (Oct 13, 2013)

Hi ladies - checking in....

I started this thread because I wanted God to correct and perfect me in areas of weakness. And I'm proud to say God is doing an awesome job. I've been placed in situations that were challenging and at times I've felt defeated, but by God's grace I was able to overcome.

I'm convinced more than ever now that God is truly in control of our circumstances. If we have a hunger and thirst to be more like Christ, God will fight our battles; strengthen; and perfect our walk with Him. 

We can't do it without Him, and He doesn't want us to do it alone. He wants to reveal His character, so our character can imitate His. When we are in fellowship with God we can't help but be filled with His spirit. And His spirit within us will produce the fruit.


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