10 Days in the Fruits of the Spirit {Day 5 ~ Patience}

Well, goodness gracious.  I am the worst blogger ever!  In hind sight, I probably shouldn't have started this series right before school started, especially considering I'm in a new grade level this yer.  Busy, busy, busy.  Be prepared for a Fruits of the Spirit marathon, okay?  :) 

 If you need to get caught up, here's where you can find Day 1 {Overview}, Day 2 {Love}, Day 3 {Joy}, and Day 4 {Peace}.

So let's be real for a minute, patience is a struggle.  I kept seeing the marshmallow lesson all over Pinterest.  I thought it would be a great way to introduce patience to Little Man.  Well, if this was a test, he would have failed.  :(  Clearly we have some work to do in this area.  

PATIENCE ~ I will wait without complaining.

Our verse for joy was Romans 12:12.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

As a side note, I had planned on taking the picture at the end ... you know, a smiling face that earned the reward for being patient.  Didn't happen. I'm sure you all know what your little ones look like when they're struggling while they wait. 

Before we started talking, I set a marshmallow on the table in front of Little Man.  I told him that he could eat it right now and it would be fine.  BUT... if we waited patiently, without complaining, he could have three marshmallows at the end of Breakfast with the Bible.  Yeah.... he ate it.  I laughed.  

We attempted a conversation about patience.  I asked him to name some things that he is excited about or looking forward to.  We talked about how it feels to wait.  I asked him to think of things he could do while we waited.  Overall, I tried to lead him to the conclusion that he can pray.  He can spend time with God.  

Ultimately, I want him to understand that there are times we have to wait on God to answer a prayer.  We had a short talk about the ways God answers prayers.  Do you remember that lesson from Sunday School?  Yes.  No.  Wait.  That waiting part is hard, but it's something we have to do.... as kids and as adults.  Have you heard that saying, "While you're waiting on God to open a door, praise Him in the hallway"?  I want Little Man to understand that we can wait patiently for things on earth and answers to prayers.  We do the same things while we wait.  

We will revisit some lessons on patience.  I also saw a lesson about making a paper chain when you are waiting for an event.  Each day you can remove a link and write something you are thankful for in the time being.  I liked that.  I think we'll try that next.  

Just as we did with our other lessons, we ended by praying over our verse using the ACTS model.

"Jesus, it's awesome that You promise to answer every prayer.  I'm sorry for not always waiting patiently.  I get excited and I feel like I have to have it right now.  Thank you for teaching me how to wait without complaining.  Help me to be joyful while I wait, to be patient while I wait, and to pray while I wait.  Amen."

As with the other lessons, we read the book and watched the Hi Hi the Bible Guy video.   We finished up our lesson for the day with a "We'll come back to this again... and wait patiently in the meantime!"

Don't miss Day 6!  Follow us on Bloglovin'!

Come join the fun!  We're linking up at Teaching Mama, My Joy-Filled Life and 1+1+1=1!