Monthly Devotional

A Fruitful Summer

June 2007

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

At the end of this summer, what stories will your scrapbook tell? How many pages will show the fruits of your summer?

I embrace two months of running barefoot in the grass, catching fireflies at night, and sitting around our neighborhood pool. I enjoy sleeping in without pressures or deadlines. The rules slide. Rooms aren’t always kept clean, instruments aren’t regularly practiced, and the only homework is when I finally declare the house a disaster zone in need of house-work.

But a summer without any discipline can yield little fruit. And with irregular schedules and vacations, it’s easy to let church attendance slide. Although summer is a time for refreshment and renewal, it can become spiritually dry. It doesn’t have to be that way. It just takes forethought and prayer.

One summer when Julia and Christine were four and six, we decided to be fruitful. Each week we chose a tangible fruit and a corresponding verse for the nine fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). We learned the verse, talked about what it meant, and attempted to live it out. We decided which fruit represented LOVE, JOY, or PEACE and by the end of the summer, the kitchen cupboards were filled with banana, kiwi, peach, apple and more, labeled with a corresponding Bible verse

Last summer we walked with Jesus by studying the book of Mark during our quiet time on the quilt. We traced our feet on colored construction paper and after each day’s reading we wrote what we had learned, and tacked up a footprint. Pretty soon we had the footsteps and teachings of Christ walking about our kitchen cupboard.

Another year my daughters enjoyed making paper dolls dressed with a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, and love. They determined which attributes represented shoes, hats, dress, and gloves. We spent seven days dressing dolls from characteristics found in Colossians 3:12-14.

If you have boys as well as girls, try dressing a soldier in the full armor of God: truth, the breastplate of righteousness, helmet of salvation, shield of faith, sword of the spirit, and Gospel of Peace (Galatians 6:11-17). These items of apparel will make great new school clothes!

As my children grow older, I look forward to studying the nine “Blesseds” of Matthew 5:3-11, a perfect match for nine weeks and a summer of blessings. I haven’t figured out this year’s summer theme, but I look forward to seeing what God wants us to learn.

My cousin Joan and her husband select a Bible verse for their family each summer. Why not ask God what characteristics He wants you and your children to grow in this summer? This could be a season ending with a harvest of fruit. Can you imagine your family’s summer verse inscribed on scrapbook pages and more importantly—IN their hearts?

Lord, show me what to teach my children. Help me find the scriptures for them to memorize and apply. May this summer be a summer of bearing fruit for You. May Your Words be inscribed in our hearts.

Copyright © 2007 - Ann Marie Stewart. All rights reserved.

Please comment by contacting Ann.