{Hope for the Home}: Making GENTLENESS Come Alive

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Is this not the picture of gentleness? 

And honestly, after the day I've had, I am captivated by Jesus' invitation to come and rest. Drawn to it really.

Doesn't that sound lovely, refreshing? To take shelter in the calm, gentle presence of my Savior.

So, how do we do this?

First, we simply need to "come" to Him. Set aside our busyness. Carve out intentional time in our day to spend with Him. In prayer. In His word.

Second, we have to lay down our burdens at His feet. Jesus freed us from the law of sin and death when He took our place on the cross. All we have to do is put our faith and trust in Him. Let go of the things that are weighing you down, turn them over to Him. Nail them to the cross and leave them there.

Family Activity for the Week...

I challenge you to look at your schedule for the upcoming week and choose one thing to cut out. Cross it off the list. Cancel it. And in its place, gather together for a family devotion time. A time when you can read the Bible and pray together. A time to focus on God. A time to lay your burdens down. A time free from distractions. A time for rest.

Allow His gentle spirit to fill your home.

Go here for some tips/ideas on how to have a family devotion and be sure to leave a comment to let us know how it went.

Did you do the goodness challenge from last week?

Don't forget to hang your {Gentleness} fruit on your Fruit of the Spirit tree and display it in your home as a visual reminder for your family this week, as you focus on gentleness in your home. Go here to download the printables that go with our Making the Fruit of the Spirit Come Alive in Your Home series if you missed our introductory post. And go here  for Cat's tutorial on how to make your fruit printables into glass pebble magnets, so that you can hang your tree on the refrigerator.

Happy Wednesday, friends! Invite your friends to join us next week as we talk about FAITHFULNESS!  :)

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.