Handwriting - by Elizabeth Reynolds

One of the lessons I had to teach once a week with the class that I taught over the past 5 weeks was handwriting. I always find handwriting a fantastic opportunity to teach students scripture, as writing helps our brain remember and if they're going to practice neat writing, they may as well be learning scripture as well.

The lesson also followed their weekly 'religion' lesson and if the religion teacher happens to not be available that day, then they don't get religion. And so handwriting then became a back-up religion lesson too, which worked really well! While they ate their morning healthy snack (which is usually a piece of fruit) I taught them about spiritual fruit - the "Fruits of the Spirit" in Galatians 5:22-23:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

We had a brief discussion about each and then later for their lesson, they wrote this scripture out neatly and slowly and carefully on the given handwriting sheets. (And of course I taught them the song that goes with it!) Each week then, I gave them 1 or 2 scriptures on each of those fruits and we discussed what each of them meant, and what they mean for us in our everyday lives and dealings with one another.

With each scripture, while I was telling them what it meant and what that should look like in our daily lives, I was challenged myself - EVERY time! Each fruit of the spirit I want to display more in my life and here I was trying to preach it to a bunch of kids. More and more I realise how much I need to practice them more myself and as a mature adult.

I encourage and challenge you to dwell on, meditate on, perhaps even write out (in your best handwriting) EACH one of the fruits of the spirit. (In a following email I will pass on all the individual scriptures I used in the classroom if you would like to do this activity with these extended scriptures.) But for now, just meditate and reflect on just those words:

Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Humility. Self-Control.

How do you stand with each of these? Are you displaying these beautiful traits in your everyday life and dealings with people? I know it's a challenge for me. I want to make these habitual behaviours in my life. I need to practice them and ask the Lord for help and strength in the process.

I pray you are blessed immensely today as you ponder these words. Have a beautiful week.