I recently finished reading a book by Arnaldur Indridson. At the beginning of the book the author explains how the Icelandic people address each other. Their surname is patronymic, meaning it is made up of the person’s father’s name and ends with -son for a male and -dottir for a girl. Hence Indridson, means son…

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Stay in control, STOP (what you are about to do or say), THINK (about your choices), DO (what will please God). Simple instructions aimed at teaching children about self-control but…

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. One of my earliest school memories, to my shame, is when I was sent to the headmistress’s office after playing “tag” in the playground and being a little too enthusiastic.…

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Hannah was a troubled young woman. She shared her husband, as was the custom, with another wife, who had produced many sons and daughters. Sadly, Hannah was unable to…

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Last week I was writing about kindness. Today we are thinking about goodness. What is the difference? Surely kindness is goodness? Is all goodness kindness? The image I’ve attached…

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. I see kindness as a practical and outward expression of love. Also it is not grand or showy, but quiet and simple. It could be giving your car park…

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Some months back I was on a cycling holiday with my friend Rev Rach Ward in Eastbourne. On the first day of our holiday, we cycled up to Beachy…

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. What is your idea of peace? When I was looking for images to accompany this “thought for the day”, the majority of images were either water or mountainsides. The…

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Joy is a feeling of happiness, but it is more than just feeling cheerful. It has a very visible exuberance about it, an external expression that everyone can see…