Last week in church, we talked about the fruit of the spirit and Jill shared her thoughts:

I don’t have a good relationship with the Fruits of the Spirit.  Or, I should say, I grew up with them, went to college for them, & choke on them now & again.  Sometimes, when you walk alongside a spiritual tenet for awhile, it begins to rub you the wrong way, a slight blister from old shoes.

BUT!  if I begin to disassemble them, peel them apart a little (see what I did there?  I am not apologizing.), I really do like Love.  Peace may be my very favorite thing, as a mama of 5.  & Kindness?  More than just granola bars.  I don’t think I’m overstating it to say:  The Fruits of the Spirit are the heart of who we are inside Jesus.

So, practical, then:How do you wake up in the morning?  I mean, after you’ve swum into consciousness & decimated the darkness.  Are you excited about your life, even a tiny spark?  Or, like Sten talked about on Sunday, are we a house of broken folks who live broken & not redeemed?  Because the Truth is bold:  we are brand new, every single day, & we are on a trajectory to actual Paradise.  So.  No matter what our lives have been to date, we still have everything to live for.  We are literally infused with the Spirit of God.  We need to go ahead & live like it.

In the spring at this house, we hammer taps into  maple trees.  If the  conditions are right, the effect is immediate:  sap runs, syrup’s comin’.  Just add fire.  Magic.

Same with us.  Let’s make the conditions right in our hearts so we can tap into the Spirit of God & set the world on fire.  Yah?

In case you are like me & could use some suggestions, I have a few. 

These are simple but maybe not easy.  Here we go:

1. Get off your phone.  (I am literally writing this on my phone.  Hits me between the eyes, too.  Wells of Joy & a truckload of Peace depend on this, though.  You can feel it’s true.).

2. Go outsiiiiiiiide.

3. Take in beauty.  Nature, art, hobbies, hold babies, eat beautiful food.

4. Connect to Jesus people.  Text, call, stream podcasts, listen to worship music.  Tap your lifelines.  If you don’t have any or many, ask Jesus.  He’s full of ideas.

5. Create things.  Oh, creativity stirs up so much in us.  Please go ahead:  fix cars, stir soup, move your body, paint, grow some leaves or children.  Make a really funny grocery list.  You are creative.  I would not lie to you. 

That’s it.  That’s enough for now. 

Time is too short, dear ones., to muck about.  We have brilliant lives to live above the din of the world.  We have won the day already because of Who we know.

Tap, tap, Loves.  LET’S GO.