Today while watching a nature documentary from the BBC called Frozen Planet, I noticed something unusual: female Emperor penguins are not there to see their chicks hatch. They are off feeding while the men are literally freezing and starving to death during the Antarctic winter. So when the ladies come home, the males are somewhat reluctant to hand over the babies so they can go feed. It's an interesting role reversal, and I marvel when I consider how God has set up nature to work.

In church we discussed humility and tried to define it. Pastor summed it by saying if you're aware of your humility, you are not humble. An interesting catch-22. We are to be humble, but it's not something that you can achieve by trying to do. You have to let God change you to the point where you are not thinking about yourself above others. Galatians 5:22 says "But 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" (NLT) Reading this passage gave me an insight into joy: When the Holy Spirit controls us, He will produce joy. Sounds like a promise, doesn't it? However, when we try to control everything, this is what happens: "...sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outburst of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin." (Galatians 5:19-21) Which fruit do you want to produce? I want to produce the right fruit! Let's face it, sour grapes and rotten cherries are not the kind of fruit anybody wants to eat, and we shouldn't want to produce that kind of spiritual fruit either.

By the by, you may notice that I try to cite the quotations as best I can. This is a holdover from my days as an English major, where plagiarism is akin to murder. I do not want to be known as a plagiarist! In addition to being close to murder, it's a low-down dirty trick to steal someone else's work.