Bible Reading of the Day: Read Galatians 5:19-23.

Verse of the Day: “When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Jaran and his mom were waiting in line at the bank. While they waited, Jaran popped two sunflower seeds into his mouth and worked his teeth and tongue around to crack the hard husks of the seeds.

“Mommy,” he said, sucking the salt off the seeds, “are these real sunflower seeds?”

Mom nodded. “Why, yes, they’re real,” she answered. “Why do you ask?”

“If they’re real sunflower seeds, then why don’t sunflowers grow in my tummy when I eat them?”

Mom laughed. “Well, Jaran, I think they need soil and sunshine to grow. You haven’t been eating dirt or swallowing sunshine lately, have you?” Jaran’s eyes widened, and he shook his head seriously.

Mom smiled. “Well then, I don’t think you have to worry about any sunflowers growing in your tummy.”

Jaran nodded, seemingly satisfied.

“It would be kind of funny,” Mom added, “if seeds could grow in people’s tummies, wouldn’t it?” she asked, prompting a smile from Jaran. “Just think, people might be walking around with apple trees growing out their ears, and tomatoes popping out of their mouths!”

Jaran and Mom both got the giggles then, and the other people in the bank started giving them funny looks.

A few moments later, as they walked out of the bank together, a serious expression came over Mom’s face, and she said, “You know, Jaran, even though we’ll never have apples coming out our ears, we can have another kind of fruit growing in our lives. When we have God’s Spirit living inside us, he will make things grow in our lives that we can’t produce ourselves.”

“Like sunflowers?”

“No,” Mom answered. “Like love, joy, peace, patience, and other good things. We can’t make those good things happen in our lives, any more than we can make sunflowers grow in our tummies. But when God’s Spirit lives in us, he makes those things grow inside us.”

“That’s better than sunflowers,” Jaran announced happily. “Yeah,” Mom agreed, laughing. “Sunflowers might tickle your tonsils too much!”

TO DO: The “Verse of the Day” for the next nine days will be Galatians 5:22-23. Try to memorize it by the end of the month. You might write the words on a piece of paper and post it someplace where your family will be likely to see it.

TO PRAY: “Lord, thank you for producing fruit in our life that is much better than anything sin has to offer.”