365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 157

The other day at work I had to listen to a phone conversation that got very heated. The Assistant Manager was trying to get information on the new program that I have to use to import. I ended up with an error message and got the word on what to do to avoid that and than came to a screen that I was at a loss on what to do. The training I had with our manager never went this far in the process because of a program issue. The conversation was mostly done in a foreign language but there were a few English words in there and the tone, frustration and anger made it obvious that she wasn’t getting the info she needed but an apparently rude and disrespectful brick wall. This person apparently has a reputation for acting this way. There have always been some thing I will not tolerate and one of those is disrespect. My immediate thought was I had better avoid having to ever talk with this person because I may loose it. But later after letting it sit in my mind for a while, I started to think of how would have Jesus responded to such a person. Gentleness and compassion were the words that came forward. He would treat any person regardless of the rudeness or disrespect as a valuable person who is loved by God. It will definitely take the power of the Holy Spirit within me to do what Jesus would do in this kind of situation.

Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 128

Have you ever seen someone do something to someone that was disrespectful and as soon as they left the room, you reacted with negative words about the person who just left? That was me yesterday. I have talked to God about this one as it is an issue I have had all my life to react to something before thinking about it. It is the control part of my temperament that is leading me in this. I have to let go of all control and give it all to the Lord. This will have to be a daily commitment to let Jesus put the yoke on me and guide my steps, actions and words. For a more contemporary feel, I get a visual of squeezing lemons into a colander sifting out the seeds so we can make lemonade. Lord, be my colander today and let all things go through you.

1Peter 1:13-16 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: Be holy, because I am holy.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 107

My dear daughter will be turning 10 in a couple of weeks. She is very precious to us but she is pushing our buttons right now. It seems that she is one of the quiet kids all day long at school but as soon as she is home, she talks non-stop. She wants to give you a play-by-play of everything. It is definitely wearing on our patience but we have tried to listen to her and respond to her questions. She has also developed this attitude that is bordering on disrespectful. No, it has crossed the border into disrespectful. So, I am trying to figure out how best to approach this issue so we can turn that attitude back into loving responses and the Lord lead me to this passage about being gentle. It is going to start by myself and my husband being gentle in the way we approach her. She has always been very sensitive to harsh words or yelling but much more responsive to simply and gently telling her what she needs to know and learn. We will be calling on the Holy Spirit for his help with patience and gentleness in the days ahead so we can guide our daughter towards being more like Christ.

Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.