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Well, hey friends, welcome back to the Ruth Joe Simon's podcast. I've got my coffee in hand, but it's middle of summer. And so I'm thinking maybe you've got iced tea, lemonade, something. Well, thanks for joining me today. We are in the Fruit of the Spirit summer series because I don't know about you, but my summers oftentimes feel like this

fruitful time. I'm so excited about it. And then I get somewhere in the middle of summer and I feel

like I'm just dragging. And so hopefully this series is just that midweek pick me up where

we kind of get reconnected to the truth of God's word,

right in the middle of our long summer days, and remind ourselves that true fruit is born through the spirit to the glory of God,

not by our own strengths, not because we're just working super hard at trying to be more fruitful

and be more patient, be more loving, or be more kind, but that we are connected to the vine

of Christ, that we are abiding in Him and by the Spirit.

We're being transformed day by day.

So this whole series has been based on the Fruit of the Spirit passage in Galatians

5, verse 22.

Let me read that for us once again.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such things,

there is no law. If you haven't gone back to the beginning, I really invite you to do so.

It's been a great journey for me so far as well because as I read the scriptures that help us

focus on and meditate on each of these aspects of the fruit of spirit. It's really helped me,

let me see, be honest about how much I lack in these areas, that it's okay that they're not just all in bloom.

You've heard me say, you don't have to be blooming to be growing.

It's okay if you don't have a garden full of patience or a garden full of self-control

or a garden full of kindness.

It's okay if you're growing deep roots in the Lord and letting the Lord

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