Fruit of the Spirit

I was reading a scripture verse the other day and was again reminded what some of the traits are that show fruit of the Spirit. I am not a gentle person. I have known this my entire life. I speak up, sometimes even before I should. I am not unkind, although I had to work on curbing my sarcasm as the years went on. I have known a few gentle people. There are some in my life currently. Like Rebecca and Don, they are gentle and kind and loving people who are wonderful to know. They are also intelligent and gracious and generous and creative as well. Mrs. Day who used to work where I went to work was a wonderfully gentle soul. There was always a smile upon her lips no matter the challenge of the day. And Judy, she worked with me also at another job. For several years I watched her grow and change to an ever more gracious and beautiful person. Although she and I have not worked together in many years, we still bump into each other from time to time, and she is still as gentle and sweet as ever. These people are my heroes, the folks I look up to and admire. I pray for God's blessings on them each day.

PRAISE THE LORD!!

Just on a whim, we turned into Charles Boyd Chevrolet in Henderson, NC to look at their used cars the other day. This wonderful saleslady, Mrs. Cynthia Johnson, walked over to help us before we ever got out of our van. After talking to us for a few minutes she assured us she either had something on the lot to meet our needs or could acquire it for us soon. She seemed sincere. She went to look around as we parked. We had finally decided on a Chevy Trailblazer, despite the rising gas prices, because it would be good for camping. She showed us a couple which were over our set price range then went in to see if others were available on their second lot. Not long after she came out and said they had just gotten in a trade in, local one owner, low mileage, year and price in our range. She went to the back and drove it up. My husband test drove the vehicle. He said it drove like a dream and had all the bells and whistles we wanted, including the tow package for camping. We, along with Mrs. Johnson, agreed that it seemed that the Lord's hand was in the deal when we were able to compromise on the price and get the vehicle we needed and wanted. It was the most wonderful experience we had ever had at any car dealership. Our thanks go to Brian Boyd and Mrs. Johnson both, and of course to the Lord!

USED CAR SHOPPING

Did you think computers and all that information made car shopping easier? Not! There is too much information, much of it conflicting. Finally when I completed my research and decided on a couple of models, I found everyone else wanted them too. So they are scare. Perseverance! At least with my family the actual visits to the car lots are not boring. On one drive through in our local town, my husband had thought of a way to keep from hopping out of our car to read the stickers on the car windows. He brought a pair of opera glasses, of course these were really small camouflage binoculars from I am not asking where or when. As we stopped near an interesting vehicle, I saw him pick up these and I asked him to please not look like a total redneck as there were other people walking around in the lot. He just laughed and put them down till they walked by then continued to try and focus them. My son in the back seat piped up with, "No Mom, real redneck binoculars are made out of two empty toilet paper rolls tied with string and plastic wrap taped to the front and back ends!" So at least we had a chuckle at the end of our tiring day. :)