Galatians 5 describes the fruit of the Spirit. With all the sadness and despair out there, we certainly need it! So, the Friday Five is simple. Pick any five of the following attributes and go wherever the Spirit leads you… your choice! Suggestions: When have you experienced this attribute? When have you struggled with it? Or who embodies it for you?Or if you’re feeling light-hearted–just assign a fruit to each one. I think Generosity is a Banana, don’t you?

Love-Love is in my friends in family. The love they show me each and every day. Love was when my aunt and uncle let me stay with them for almost a year even though I was difficult at times. Love is in my sister Andrea, love is in my dad, love is in my mom, love is in all those that share their love with me.

Joy-I’ve got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart to stay! Joy is something that is embodied in the friendships I have gained throughout my life. Joy is in our late night Perkins runs, joy is in our game nights, joy is on our many spur-of-the-moment parties. Some of my fave stories of joy took place at seminary. Seminary was such a place of joy for me when we fellowshipped together. I remember my first bday there and we decided to watch the movie Chocolat so I bought my own bday cake (you must remember it was one of our first days of seminary so no one really knew anyone) We watched the movie and then ate the cake. At one point, we decided to dive into the cake with our hands. Needless to say, soon we were rolling on the floor in hysterical laughter. That image is forever engrained in my mind as a picture of joy. Joy was also in seeing my friends get their first calls. Joy was seeing my friends grow in their faith journey.

Peace-Peace to me is seen in the prairies of ND. I dont know there is just something in the prairies of ND that are so peaceful and serene. Peace is also knowing that Im never alone!Peace
is knowing my sister is not in a bad relationship anymore.

Patience-Patience is waiting for your first call when the rest of your classmates already have those. Patience is learning that good things come to those that wait. Patience is trusting that God will be there through the pain and the sorrows and the joy and the happiness. Patience is waiting for the rain to come when you so need it for your crops and your garden to grow. And patience is waiting for God to bring Mr. Right into your life!

Kindness-Kindness are my friends Darrell and Em being there for me my last semester at seminary when I was doing fieldwork. (The seminary wasnt sure if they could let me stay on campus and D and E were willing to do just about anything for me to help me out…including even possibly staying with them). Kindness was Jen and Daisy taking me to the train station when I wasnt able to get a ride there. Kindness was Dawn and Kip letting me follow them back to ND so I wasnt driving alone. Kindness is Liz and Carrie driving to ND for my consecration service to be a part of my special day. Kindess is all my friends checking up on how my mom is doing. Kindness is Mark, Liz, Mackenzie, Kevin, Neel and all my other seminary friends accepting me for me and helping me to grow as a women of faith.

Generosity-For some reason, this one is taking the most time for me to think of. Im not sure why. I know there have been many times in my life when people have being extremely generous to me but I cant think of any specific times. Generosity, is something that I experience when my grandma shares her garden produce with me. Generosity is when people help me move. Generous is paying for my meal when they know Im having a hard time making money. Generosity is inviting me over for a meal to share in fellowship.

Faithfulness-Faithfulness is definetely my mom. All though she has lived with a mental illness all her life, she has remained faithful. She doesnt let her illness get her down. She trusts in God’s love. And because she lives with this illness, this has been the biggest example of faithfulness in my life.

Gentleness-Again this reminds me of seminary and also camp. So many people have helped me to see my gentleness. They always tell me that I have such a loving and gentle spirit. That is something I will always remember but this spirit was a characteristic of my friend Chewy in college. Chewy was a gentle soul most of the time. He had a drinking and drug problem and I never saw that side of him. However Chewy and I connected because he had dealt with mental illness myself and could understand where I was coming from. One weekend the two of us were at a retreat together and I was crying. Chewy sat down next to me, and placed my head upon his shoulder. Ill never forget that image. Chewy, in that moment, was so gentle and comforted me.

Self-control Selfcontrol is knowing when to say no to ice cream. Self-control is knowing how to say no in general. Self-control is something I need to work with especially in the area of food. Self-control is learning how to do things in moderation.

(SO as I finish up this F5, I have somewhat of a challenge for all of my readers and the rest of the webring. (It might be hard because we dont know each other that well)How do your readers see you embody the fruits of the spirit? It would be fun to see how others see the fruits of the spirit in each of us. How do I embody the fruits of the spirit?)