Fruit Of The Spirit Blog Hop

Today, tomorrow and Sunday, I am participating in a different kind of Blog Hop.  I am so honored to have been invited by Nana to join this group of Faithful women...Please read her words and meditate on how you use The Spirit's Fruit in your life.
"Welcome to another Faith Blog Hop presented to you by Paper Tree House Studio! If you have been following the hop then you should be arriving here from Kristal's blog. If you just came across this hop, or stopped by one by One, you can start over at the beginning at The Paper Tree House.

Every month, a group of bold women gathers to make the Name of the Lord famous and to share the talents we have been given by Him. We also like to share a little bit of Truth that we have learned from the Bible and/or a bit about how He has impacted our lives. This month the theme is “The Fruit of the Spirit”.
As Christians, we are expected to demonstrate the Fruit of the Spirit because the Spirit of God abides in us. In Galatians 5:22-23 we find the following definition: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” There are many misconceptions about this fruit. People look at the list of attributes and they are convinced that God has not given them one of the “fruits”, and so they live with remaining sin and a sense of defeat in certain areas of their lives.
If you look at the passage again you will notice that the word FRUIT is NOT plural. It is only ONE fruit, so if the Spirit of the Lord abides in you, then the attributes that characterize the Spirit live there as well. If you are not experiencing one of the characteristic of His Spirit in your life, pray that the Lord would cleanse you and purify you. He is into the business of completing those He saves. My prayer is that you would draw near to the Lord and that He in turn will draw near to you…
The same way that the Lord blesses those He loves, we want to bless you. We have found an amazing line-up of sponsors and we want to share with you what you could win by hopping around with us:
Paper Tree House Studio: Cricut Create
Scrapbook News & Review Magazine: One year subscription to their online magazine.
Zutter: Distrezz-it-All
Scrapbooks & Stuff: Seasonal Cartridge
Papperie: Yummy Goody Bag
Bonita Rose: One spot to her AMAZING class on color.
Shimmerz: Yummy Goody Bag
Now, in order to win one of these Grand Prizes, you will have like My Paper Tree House on Facebook, leave a comment on their post, and become a follower on the My Paper Tree House Blog. Then you have to follow the hop order  and leave comments in the posts of all the amazing and talented women that are part of the lineup. All throughout the hop you will find RAK’s and special giveaways, so make sure that you complete the entire hop!
For my project, I have made a set of cards, each one highlighting one of the tenents of a Fruitful Spirit.  The background paper is from Flair, and is called "Fruit Stand"  I love the jumble of fruit, writing and paler colors in it.  I used it, for continuity, on all the A2 sized (4.25 X 5.5 inch) cards.  All of the gems on each card are from Imaginice and were adhered with my IRock.

The first fruit mentioned in  Galatians is Love.  First Corinthians tells us that Love is the greatest of all things that will last forever.  To make this card, I used the Inspired Heart Cricut Cartridge, and cut the first layer of Love at 4 X 5 inches from cream colored cardstock from my scrap heap.  I thought it needed more depth, so I used gold chalk to highlight it.  The gems are melon colored.

The second fruit of the Spirit is Joy.  For this card, I adapted, and used the word Joyful from the Inspired Hearts Cartridge.  I cut the top layer at 4 X 5 inches.  The jems here are gold, and I used Melon Dew Drops ink to accent the word.  I have to admit, since I have been dealing with chronic pain, this is one fruit I need to pray for god to show me how to find again.

Peace is the next part of the Fruit of The Spirit that Paul mentions.  We are all looking for Peace, whether it be to have a cherished soldier home from a far away war (and God, please bless Aaron, Jonathan, Brian and Stephen!), to have a quiet and restful vacation or, in the case of mamy mamas out there, just 5 minutes without little voices or teenaged music!  Again using the Inspired Hearts cartridge, I cut the word at 4 X 5 inches, and added green gems to the base.

Paul mentions patience as the  4th fruit of The Spirit.  My husband is the most patient person I know--and he learned it all from his mama.  I thank God everyday for this blessing in my life, even as I struggle to find my own patience.  I used the Inspired Hearts cartridge to create the lettering on this card, at 4 X 5 inches.  I added red gems to the side.

Being kind, the 5th fruit, is something that, although it may be in our souls, most of us need to be taught.  The best way to go about teaching small children to be kind is to live by example.  I learned kindness from my daddy, who never had a bad word to say about anyone, and who was a kind and gentle man.  I miss him every day.  I cut the lettering using the Inspired hearts cartridge at 4 X5 inches, and used a black Copic fine-tipped pen to make faux stitching.  I added three gold gems to the bottom.

Goodness is something that we need to think about more today...as paul did when he named it as the 6th fruit.  Just what IS goodness?  I invite you to read Roger D. Cotton's essay on Goodness as one answer to this question.  I used SCAL to create the lettering here...cutting it at 4 X 5 inches and adding blue gems to the side.

I believe Faithfulness is the stongest of the 9 fruits I possess...and Paul spoke of it as the 7th fruit of The Spirit present in all of us.  I have had some hard experiences in life, but none has managed to shake my Faithfulness to God.  He is the reason I am--and I live to make Him my King!  This card was again created using SCAL, and red gems were added to the top of it.

The 8th fruit is a surprising one, at least to me...why would God value gentleness so much he asked the Holy Spirit to instill it in every soul?  As I mentioned, my father was a gentle man...one who never hurt deliberately, and seldom accidentally--I pray that God will develp this in my soul.  This card was also made with the Inspired Hearts cartridge, with green gems added to it.

Once, when I was discussing this with a friend, she said that Jesus certainly didn't exhibit self-control when He drove the money-changers from the Temple.  I respectfully disagree.  I think this was an extremely controlled action, made necessary by the corruption and the cheaters who abounded there.  In addition, it set the events in motion that would leave to His crucifiction, necessary for our salvation.  This card was created with SCAL, and accented with gold gems.


The blog candy I have for a visitor here is a set of Fruit of The Spirit cards, created in the colors you choose. Please leave a comment on this post, with your thinking on this theme....leave your email (in the safe ksjennings at gmail dot com format) so I can contact you personally if you win.  Comments will remain open until midnight on Sunday, and the winner will be chosen by Randy, at random.org.
Now for some more fun! Hop on over to Zeni's blog to be inspired...and Be Blessed!