Happy New Year!!!

Lauri here:

We had a great New Year's Celebration at LLF, even though it seems like 80% of the church has been bitten by the Light Strike Laser Tag fever.  I am still having dreams of running into a person carrying one of these http://www.amazon.com/Wowwee-Assault-Striker-Simple-Target/dp/images/B005IGHP7M/ref=dp_image_z_1_0?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&img=0&color_name=1

in every single room-can we get some designated equality of space at next year's party?  But I digress.....

I am still reading "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" by Joanna Weaver along with my daily Bible time, and it just has so much great information, especially in the current chapter regarding Fruit bearing.

Throughout the Word of God, the analogy of fruit is used.  All four Gospels include Christ's picture of the Vine and the branches.  Out of the 27 books in the New Testament, fifteen mention the kinds of fruit we are to have in our lives including:

• The fruit of our lips:  Hebrews 13:15
•  The fruit of our deeds:  Colossians 1:10

•  The fruit of our attitudes:  Galations 5: 22-23

She goes on to talk about how you make sure you are producing fruit,

It's really not difficult.  You see, fruit isn't something you can sit down and manufacture in your life.  Fruit happens.  You get connected to the Vine and pretty soon you've got zucchini--tons and tons of zucchini.  So much zucchini you just have to share!!! 

Weaver, Joanna, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World,  pp. 84-85, Waterford Press: Colorado Sprints, CO, 2000.

This passage really speaks to me, because I struggle with wanting to control things.  How in the world can I control the fruit in my life when I have nothing to do with it?   I guess that's why I have to read just a small section of this book at a time, it is a lot to apply & digest. :)