"But the fruit of the Spirit is...GOODNESS"

The sixth fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians is...Goodness. The chosen writer for this one is Lisa Witte. I met Lisa wayyyyyyyy back in our college years at Ozark Christian College. Though we didn't hang out and do a lot together, I always knew Lisa to be very kind, sweet, and a hard worker. She and her high school sweetheart, Bob, both were students at OCC during the time I was there, and now they are happily married (almost 13 years, which is the same amount of years as my husband and me! :) The ironic thing is now they both serve in full time ministry at First Christian Church in Brazil, IN...which just happens to be my homechurch. Bob is the preaching minister there. So when my family can make it back to Brazil for a visit or a holiday with my family, we get to visit with Bob and Lisa for a short time. We have reconnected a little bit more in that way, which is pretty cool.

I know Lisa is passionate about ministry, which is just one reason why I asked her to be a part of this. I hope you are as blessed and encouraged to read what's on her mind and heart as I was when I read it. Lisa, thank you. I heard you were nervous about being in such company of writers such as Pat Merold and Cindy Dagnan. Here's the cool thing...we were not created the same. We are all different with many different talents, gifts, and interests. Just like they (and other contributors to this blog) have written in their own unique way, so have you. I have been blessed and challenged by each one, yours included. I appreciate the creativity you have brought to this. I also appreciate the kind of Godly examples you and Bob are to your boys...it is evident in your writing. We can learn a lot from our kids, can't we? ;)

Name: Lisa Witte
Hometown: St. Louis, MO
Married to: Bob Witte
Family: 2 cute sons...Joshua and Caleb
Current Living: Brazil, IN
Hobbies: travel, spending time with my boys and friends, eating out, playing games (that I can win), puzzles, facebooking, watching tv, exercising


And now, wisdom from Lisa...


"For the past few weeks I’ve been pondering about goodness, the sixth Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians. When Jennifer asked me to be one of her contributors for her blog I was very excited and started thinking of all the different angles I could take with each fruit and what examples I could share. Then she sends out an email that states I’ve been randomly selected for the fruit of goodness….goodness. My first thought is “What?! Goodness?! You’ve got to be kidding me! I didn’t have even ONE angle for goodness!!”

How do you even define goodness? In today’s world we use the word good to mean so many different things.


Oh my goodness gracious!!!

Now be a good boy!

This chocolate fudge cake is soooo good!

That was a pretty good movie.

How are you doing? Good.

Give the cake batter a good mixing.

Of course exercise is good for you!

It was so good of you to call!

I hope you brought home good grades this semester.

Are the leftovers still good or do we need to throw them out?

Could you please give me a good reason why you are late?

Good grief!

God is good.


When using the word good we usually mean it’s better than OK, but not quite as superior as excellent. There’s always room for improvement. But if that’s the case, then why does the Bible say God is good? No way can God improve. Obviously our definition of good and God’s definition are far different.

In Galatians the Greek word for goodness is agathosune which means uprightness of heart and life. Webster’s dictionary defines upright as “marked by a strong moral rectitude or integrity”. This makes much more sense as to why the Bible describes God as good. God’s nature exudes goodness. He is just, honorable, righteous and truthful.

But since God is good he is aggressive in his goodness, meaning that he disciplines us because we lack goodness. It is only possible to achieve goodness through the Holy Spirit. It goes back to the age old question as to whether man is inherently good or bad. The Bible uses the terms human nature and sinful nature synonymously. It is in man’s nature to sin. But Galatians 5:22 gives us hope that by possessing the Holy Spirit we too can be characterized by God’s fruitful nature.

Knowing the Holy Spirit instills goodness in me, how is that revealed in my life? I’ve been struggling to come up with a personal example. I was discussing this with my husband, there are so many times when I can stand up for what is “good” in the “real” world, but sadly in my Christian bubble I tend to take a backseat and not voice God’s truth and discipline when I see it needs to be heard. I holdback my words, not only because I’m quiet natured and shy (those that know me well, quit laughing!) but being a pastor’s wife, I know what I say has the possibility to reflect on my husband’s position. It’s ridiculous, I know! Of all people I should be one that displays goodness and protects the church from sin. But I’ve also seen too many times when one person’s good intentions and righteousness can be construed as something totally different. I have much to learn, I tell my children all the time that you can only control you, not anyone else...I need to take my own advice, huh?

Just last night, my oldest son, Josh, gave me a glimpse of what goodness is. He was invited to go see a movie with some friends. My husband and I try to monitor what movies would be appropriate for our children. We take advantage of Focus on the Family’s website, www.pluggedin.com, it gives a detailed rundown of content (language, sexual, violence, spiritual, etc.) that is in a movie. We looked up this show and I saw there was some language in it. Josh is getting older and I realize that he will be exposed more and more to these types of things, so my husband and I decided that we’ll let him go. I told him he was allowed to go, but gave him a motherly pep talk, that just because he hears bad words in a movie doesn’t mean he should say them. I also told him if there is something onscreen that is inappropriate to close his eyes. I thought giving him some tips now would help when he is faced with these situations in the future. He was excited and went on with his day. After dinner, I was in my office and Josh comes in to tell me that he’s decided he doesn’t want to see the movie now. I notice his face was red and tears were welling up in his eyes.

I asked, “Why don’t you want to see the movie now?”

“I don’t like to hear people say bad words", he answered.

At this point the tears were ready to spill over. I tried to reason with him, “Josh, you’ve seen other movies that people said bad words.”

Josh said, “Yes, but I didn’t know they were going to say them before watching the movie.”

I was trying to understand, “Why don’t you like to hear those words?” Duh…I don’t like to hear people talk like that either! He just shrugged his shoulders. “Is it you don’t like the way it makes you feel inside?”

Tears streaming down his face, he shook his head yes. All this from a 10 yr. old boy! What integrity he has! I could feel God’s goodness radiating from him! I could only guess that he was crying because he was torn between being with his friends at the movies and letting the Holy Spirit guide him to goodness.

I never thought I would envy something my child has. Making those decisions are hard and how often do we tend to close our eyes to sin, then to avoid it all together. Not only is goodness used to rebuke others, but it is used to discipline ourselves. I think we need to listen a little more closely and act upon the fruit the Holy Spirit adorns us with.

God is Good!"

"But the fruit of the Spirit is...KINDNESS"

The fifth fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians is...Kindness. The contributor of this week's writing is my friend Cindy Dagnan. She is my punctual one...having this done when asked to for a couple of weeks now. Sadly, I am just now getting this posted!

I met Cindy for the first time last fall at a womens' retreat in Thayer, KS. I had heard about her gifts in speaking and writing, so I was very excited to be able to go and listen to her. And even just after hearing her speak two different times, I will say she's one of the best! God truly has blessed her with this ability to be used by Him to speak to our hearts...my heart. Cindy has been through a lot in her life, but she's remained faithful to our God. She speaks with such openness, honesty, and compassion. I can tell her heart's desire is for all women everywhere to fully grasp just how much our God loves us. Her heart is good, her heart is pure. Though I just met her last fall, I have already emailed her a few times now, pricking her brain about some things. I figured with daughter #3 coming for us, who better to ask than Cindy, who is the mother of FOUR daughters? I'd say she has something to offer there! :)

Here's some more facts about Cindy that I'd like to share with you:
-besides being a Christ follower, a wife, and a mom, she's also...an author, a speaker, and a chocolate lover;
-she has spoken at national conferences, retreats, womens' functions, and marriage seminars (and I believe has even spoken with her husband concerning marriage);
-she has written articles for Today's Christian Women and Focus on the Family;
-she has written 5 books (her most recent book is Hot Chocolate for Couples...you can find the others on her website);
-she also has a newsletter that you can subscribe to.

To read and learn more about Cindy, please check out her "Wannabe Woman" blog at:
www.cindydagnan.com


Cindy, it was my privilege to go and hear you speak about what God layed on your heart to tell us that beautiful fall evening. Thank you for your willingess to be used by God in this way. Wanna know a little secret? I get just a little envious when I hear people like you speak. This has always been a passion of mine, but never feel "good enough". I guess I'm one of those "wanna-be women"! ;)

Name: Cindy Siglar Dagnan
Hometown: St. Louis, MO
Married to: One amazing man, Greg Dagnan
Family: Greg and Cindy have 4 beautiful daughters
Current Living: Webb City, MO
Hobbies: "I love Krispy Kremes, books, and lightning bugs!"


And now, let's hear from Cindy...


Kindness
Cindy Sigler Dagnan

"I saw it perched on the edge of the bookshelf next to my tattered, but well-loved pink teddy bear with the navy blue paws, nearly every day of my growing up years. A thin hardcover book with a mint green cover and faintly pastel pen & ink drawings: Kindness Is…

I recall a few of its admonitions. “Kindness is letting your little brother hold the new baby first.” “Kindness is pushing the smaller ones on the swing.” “Kindness is putting others first.”

We probably don’t think much about kindness as a word these days. It’s relegated to one of the listed fruit produced in us by the Holy Spirit. It’s a lovely phrase from novels of long ago, “Would you do me the kindness of…”

We long to love. We pray reluctantly for patience. We thrive on joy; whimper about faithfulness and search for peace. Kindness gets lost in the endless list of “should bes.” Frankly, it doesn’t seem quite as important, quite as—ahem—spiritual.

There are several words in the New Testament Greek Lexicon which can be used for kindness or goodness. My favorites are agathosune [pronounced ag-ath-o-soo-nay], meaning “uprightness of heart and life, goodness, kindness” and chrestotes, meaning “moral goodness, kindness, integrity.”

Now that we’ve forayed for an entire paragraph into a baby Greek lesson, perhaps it seems a bit more relevant. :) I’m thinking it should be more than that – it’s downright daunting! Why? Because to be perfectly honest, most of us put on a respectable front, but basically, we really want what we want. [I like my favorite restaurant. I want the heat up when I’m cold and the air down when I’m hot. I want to eat the last Krispy Kreme in the sack. I really, really like chick flicks and sometimes I’d rather be left alone without anybody needing me.] We just want to look like self-sacrificing, kind “good girls.”

While raising our four daughters, I frequently find myself saying [pleading, beseeching even], “Girls! Be kind to each other.” What do we mean when we say that? I suppose we can mean, “Be nice.” And yet, that sounds so innocuous. I vote that we dig a bit more deeply. Although the verse that defines kindness in one of the simplest ways doesn’t even use the word, I think the words we’ve come to call The Golden Rule sum it up best: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Kindness then, is close cousins with compassion and it snuggles up next to goodness with a bit of basic manners swirled in, like colorful sprinkles flowing down the top of an ice cream sundae. Naturally, kindness lives in the neighborhood of love. It means putting ourselves in another’s place and truly trying to experience life from their perspective.

Having kindness as a priority means a huge shift in focus, from self-centered to others-focused. Sigh. See? Not as easy as it looked. And, having graduated from my mint green children’s book, what might kindness look like, all grown up?

Kindness means noticing another’s needs and reaching out first, sometimes at cost to ourselves.

Kindness is a Snickers bar and a bottle of water for the bell ringers at Christmas time. It’s a copy of the New Testament together with a coupon for a McDonald’s hamburger for the guy holding a cardboard sign at the intersection of grace and ordinary.

Kindness means reading one more story, extending grace and having the courage to say “no” sometimes, even if it means our kids don’t like us right then.

Kindness means not volunteering our spouse for something without first consulting them and occasionally encouraging them not to anything, but just to relax.

Kindness is a word aptly spoken, an encouraging smile, a scripture and a witty line or two arriving in the mail.

Kindness is a meal after the new baby, a casserole during recovery from surgery and an “I’m sorry you have cancer” cheesecake.

Kindness brings flowers to the widow, an offer of help to the overwhelmed mom and a speech of gratitude to our hardworking husbands.

Kindness notices what our children do right instead of endlessly harping on what they’ve forgotten to do.

Kindness is the emotional equivalent of flannel jammies and hot cocoa on a snowy morning or the sweet kiss of icy lemonade on a sweltering July afternoon.

Kindness is letting someone in line ahead of you, not laying on the horn in the face of someone’s traffic stupidity, and being genuinely nice to the woman who drives you nuts at Thursday morning Bible study.

Kindness is a way of life. It is treating people as though they are everything, since they are everything to the One who made them."


Thank you for your thoughts Cindy! Now everyone else, go check out her website:
www.cindydagnan.com