"Yelling at a bud won't make it bloom."

“What is spoken wisely should be spoken calmly, and then it will be calmly considered. But passion will lessen the force even of reason, instead of adding any force to it.” Matthew Henry

"To break the cycle of sin in our lives we must add in the virtue of gentleness, by default the old vice will be replaced."

I heard about The Gentleness Challenge from a friend. The idea intrigued me. I have been thinking alot lately about how to balance authority with love when dealing with my children's misbehavior and attitudes. And I have been trying already to be more gentle in my approach to them (the whole truth in love thing). So this challenge is very timely. And I certainly cannot do it without the Lord's help. I will be praying daily for Him to help me be gentle in how I handle my children (as well as my husband and everyone else I am in contact with).

Galatians 5:22,23 says: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

I am thinking about starting a small group/book study for moms and study the book "The Ministry of Motherhood" by Sally Clarkson. Praying about it. We will see what happens.

http://www.amazon.com/Ministry-Motherhood-Following-Reaching-Children/dp/1578565820

The Gentleness Challenge

http://www.womenlivingwell.org