June 8, 2015

BELIEVE CHECK-IN | MAY.


Oh, May. I loved you and I hated you. But mostly, I'm just glad that June is on its way because, well, SUMMER. Sweet, sweet, summertime.

If I had to describe 2015 into one year, I'd honestly say it was a tough one. I was challenged in many more ways than I ever imagined, but I also grew through all of it. I learned more about myself, who I am, and who I am not that I have in a long time.

This past month, I learned that life isn't about me. I always thought of myself as humble (haha, well isn't that an oxymoron in and of itself?) but I was truly humbled this month as I read through SheReadsTruth's Fruit of the Spirit study. That study taught me so many things about myself, but more importantly, about Jesus.

This month I learned that I need to believe that life isn't about me. It's not about my plans or my wants. It's not about my pain or my victories.

It's about HIM. He deserves all the glory, all the praise, and all the credit. It's because of His plans, His love, and His grace that I am who I am today.

And I need to not only believe it but live it out, too.

The fruits of the Spirit--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control--are all fruits of the SPIRIT, not me.

They're not things that I produce, not things that I can create, nor are they things that I am without Jesus.

It's only through Jesus that I can FIND peace and joy and self-control. It's only though Him that I can trust and believe and find hope. It's only through Him that I can see what it means to love.

It's not about me, but about Him.

And I pray that I remember that for the rest of this year.





11 comments

  1. i love that you pointed out that they are fruit of the spirit and not us. that drastically changes the way we look at this verse!! someone pointed out to me once that it's singular "fruit" not plural "fruits" - to drive the point home that all of those things are one fruit of the spirit. and we can only get that fruit from the spirit. echos what you are saying!

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  2. What a great lesson, Kiki!!!! It is soooo tough to be knocked down by God, but then, it's also the best thing that can happen to us! :)


    I JUST read Galatians this morning! It was super good for my soul! I was telling Amy about it this morning..but I came to 2:14 where Paul is talking to Cephas and some other Jews about their hypocrisy and the part where he said, "their conduct was not in step with the truth of Gospel" really hit me.


    We have so very much to learn! I'm so glad that God IS at the center of it all!!!!


    BTW - In July I've got plans to read Packer's book "Staying In Step With The Holy Spirit" (I think that's the name of it)...I know NOTHING about it, but it sounded super good. You might enjoy it too!

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  3. When I read the post, I stopped to go over that sentence of Kiki's again too! It was my favorite line in the whole post! :)


    Thanks for sharing what you said about it being "fruit" and not "fruits". I love the way you explained that! It really does make a difference.

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  4. Amen and amen! I forget that it's not all about me pretty much on a daily basis, so this was SUCH a good reminder. What are the SRT studies like? I've been thinking about doing one now that I just recently finished my last study.

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  5. yes that is awesome kiki AMEN! i pray to remember that too and its something that needs constant reminder because only He writes our story!

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  6. "This month I learned that I need to believe that life isn't about me. It's not about my plans or my wants. It's not about my pain or my victories."
    amen and amen right there friend. i am constantly learning that, not my pain or my victories - its all about Jesus.

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  7. When I read that it was a MINDBLOWN moment because it totally changed the way I not only view that verse but all of those qualities. And I love that point about fruit vs. fruits. It's SO true! I love learning more and more from verses each time I read them!

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  8. I agree with you Victoria, @Robyn Black's note about fruit vs. fruit really solidified those truths!

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  9. Oh goodness, I am the same way! I am constantly reminded that it's about HIM, not me.


    And SRT is amazing! I've been following their plans for over a year now (or maybe more?) and love their plans. For some reason they always seem to hit home and fit my current seasons. It's crazy cool. :) They have different studies (the current one is Women in the Word and we've been studying women in the Old Testament for the past two-ish weeks) and I love that they change it up and that they're written by women. To me, it's almost a lot like reading a blog post about different topics/stories/books in the Bible. If you want more specific info, just let me know!

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  10. YESSSSS. I honestly need to have that tattooed to me because it's so true. It's about HIM, not me. :)

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  11. Amen to what you said, too, Finley! It's definitely a daily reminder for me!

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