The vine, vine dresser, and some fruit.

On the road to improving my life, I make lists. Trust me, I have a ton. On one of my many lists is the new goal to read more novels. So this weekend I started a new book by Hayley DiMarco. After reading the first couple sentences I knew the written words where exactly what I needed to read. The author started out the first chapter with the concept of a vineyard. It's rooted from the passage John 15:1-8. Jesus describes us as branches and Himself as a vine. "When we remain in him we can produce good fruit." Fruit in terms of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. "It's you at your best." This verse got me thinking about my life and the world around me. Everything I do is colored by the fact that I love God. My life isn't how I planned it to be; it's at times messy, untimely, and confusing. I'm on a daily search for hope, patience, and kindness. There are moments where nothing can stop me and times where it feels as if it couldn't get worse. However, what makes a huge difference is that God is vine dresser to my branch. With all this craziness I couldn't do life on my own and trust a God who can. "When life is more than I can bear, God is more than I need." My life does not focus on what others think or do to me but who He is. My life is defined by the simple truth that because of God's love He lives in me to help improve the grow of my fruit. It's unbelievable what picking up a book can do for you and your relationship with Jesus.