Cultivating the Garden | Episode 1: Beneath the Surface— What Is Growing in Me?

Season 4 of Gospel Girlies begins with a foundational question: What is growing in me?

Before we talk about the fruit of the Spirit individually, we need to understand where spiritual fruit comes from in the first place.

In this episode, we explore what Scripture teaches about life in the Spirit, abiding in Christ, and the transformation that happens when we remain connected to the true source of growth.

Fruit doesn’t appear overnight. It takes time to grow.

And while we often focus on producing fruit, Jesus reminds us that the goal isn’t to manufacture fruit. The goal is to abide in Him. The fruit is what grows because of it.

Scriptures Referenced:

Galatians 5

John 15

Romans 8

Colossians 3:12–17

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Hey girlies, welcome back to Gospel Girlies, the Gospel Secret Podcast for women. I'm your host, Angel, and around here, we're about honest faith, real life, and change and obedience, even when the robe doesn't make sense. So get ready to have your hearts filled, your souls lifted, and your faith ignited. If you're new here, welcome home girly. If you've been here, you already know the vibes. Hey girl, hey! So you hear your girl? Your girl is back in action. I am healed. My throat is free of soreness. My nose is free of stuffiness, and I sound like me. Hand claps, hand claps, y'all. That was a week of oh my goodness, because honey, your girl was a little down, and anybody that knows me knows I dislike eating soup. I have no idea, and I think it was because I burned my tongue when I was a little kid on some oatmeal, and I just feel like I don't like it, and so I dislike eating soup because soup is too hot for me to eat, and in order to get the feels, you have to eat the soup and drink your little tea thingies. Well, I don't drink tea, but like the little hot toddies. Um, if you know what I'm talking about, you know what I'm talking about, you have to drink them as hot as possible. Well, me, my little sensitive mouth, I don't like to burn my little taste buds, and so yeah. And then, y'all, let me tell y'all what I did. I decided, and I was like, I was pretty much better, you know what I'm saying? Like, throat was not as sore, you know what I'm saying? I could breathe freely. I decided to eat a bag of popcorn and a cupcake, a red velvet cupcake, baby. Let me tell y'all, that popcorn and that cupcake tore my throat up. Throat was on fire. I said, Oh Lord. I said, why did I do that to myself? And so guess what? Your girl had to go and invest in some cans of soup and some mashed potatoes, and then I brought the mashed potatoes and the soup and the electrolyte drinks and all of that, and forgot to get some snacks, but I made it through, and I'm back and I'm better, and I thank God for healing. Um, so yeah, welcome back. I'm back, I'm back, I'm back. Um, one thing that I want to talk about is so I have a childhood friend, her name is Michaela, and if you don't know, Michaela also has a podcast, so definitely go and check her out. Her podcast is called Matters of the Hearts. This childhood friend um is actually a family friend, so our families are very connected, very locked in, you know. And my girl is getting ready to finish up her doctorate, so you will be calling her Dr. Michaela Anderson soon and very soon. I am y'all, so my girl got matched um for her program and she's moving to Colorado, and she just had a going away party, and of course, my little self had to get sick literally a week before I was supposed to go home to go to the party. I really wanted to be there for my girl, she's always been there for me, and she's always there for all of her friends. Um, so I definitely wanted to go and so show support for her. But of course, I was sick, so I was not able to make it home. And my aunt actually FaceTime me the night of the party, and so you know, I saw everything. I was seeing her cookies and her cake, and like everybody just in there showing my girl some love. And y'all, while her brother had to get on the phone and hit me with the, you know, you're supposed to be here, right? I could have cried, I could have cried, and I'm tearing up now. Y'all, I am so sad that I missed my girl's going away party because I definitely wanted to be there. Um, I was supposed to be there, you know what I'm saying, but I got sick, and that's okay. So I am going to personally tell my girl Michaela how proud I am of the woman that she is becoming, the woman that God has designed her to be. I cannot wait for her to start this next chapter of her life and see where God is taking her. I can't wait to come and just enjoy. Uh girl, I am so proud of you. I love you so much. And we locked in for life, girl. You ain't going nowhere. I may have missed the party, but I'm here for life. You can't get rid of me. Sorry, not sorry. Love you. Um, and then y'all, let me tell y'all. So yesterday, I had three competencies to submit. And I don't know, like, I was just, I really don't know what I had going on yesterday, but I just I did not start. I had lecture videos for two classes and then three competencies. One class had five videos, the other class had four videos, one class had two competencies, and then the other class had one, right? I did my competencies. Oh, how irritating those competencies was, y'all. Y'all was so mad. I was answering the questions, I'm thinking I'm doing good, and I didn't do too bad, but I was just like, nah, I should do a little bit better than that. Took the first competency, y'all, and it was about creating schedules. Um, you know, because as a BCBA, your schedule can change at the drop of a pen, at the snap of a finger. So you have to be able to move your schedule around and work accordingly because there are requirements that you have to meet, right? And so, y'all, I took that one. So, when I read that one, I was like, Oh, this is gonna be easy because I did it for the other class, and it was easy, and I was not stressed out. Y'all, if they didn't make me rip that paper up and y'all could see right now, I have so I had to write it down. I was stressed, child, I was like, man, and then I submitted and I got all my points. I was like, okay, cool. So then I go to the other two competencies, and we just gonna say, Chow, chow, chow, chow. They made that way too hard. I just feel like, or maybe my brain just wouldn't. So then mind y'all, I didn't start my competencies until like nine something, and I did them as many as attempts that I had allotted to me, and so if I'm not mistaken, I probably started watching videos maybe at like 10 o'clock, or maybe even 10.22, and mind y'all, I was like, oh, usually I do them one at a time or whatever, but I was like, uh-uh. So I had laptop and iPad, laptop and iPad, both classes going at the same time. Child, by the grace of God, that grace of God is something good. I finished both classes at like 11.54 p.m. And anybody who's in school, y'all know that deadline is 11.59 p.m. So at 11.54, I was finishing up those um videos and was able to get my points. Y'all, I was just like, oh my gosh. I was like, there's no way, there's no way, but through God, everything is possible. Okay, amen. Um, so yeah, y'all. That's my little update about my little week. I was sick, I'm better now. Um I missed my friend's party, but that's okay. Um, and then them assignments. Oh, also, yesterday I was at the bank, and this lady, she was in there and um she had locked her card. And you know how like comfortable people have to be with your site um in order for them to just tell you anything, or maybe she's one of them people that just tell anybody everything. Um, anyway, she was telling me like how first she complimented me on my glasses, y'all. And I was like, Thank you so much. These are actually my favorite glasses, and she was like, they fit you so well. It's like compliment, thank you, received. Um, and then she went to telling me how you know she had to come and get her card unlocked, um, because she's trying to change like her number and da-da-da-da, and all this stuff. And I was just like, um, and then she was like, you know, the Lord got me, and I was like, Yes, fam, he does. You are covered, um, he will make a way for you, you know. And I was just like, oh, look at us. Um, but yeah, that's you know, went to the bank, had that little conversation and that encounter, and that's one thing that I want to get more comfortable um with is like when I'm sitting looking at somebody be like, hey, Jesus is good, you know, just just saying something, inviting them to church and um speaking the word, you know what I'm saying? I I definitely want to get comfortable with doing that um more often um than I do, and so that's the thing that I'm gonna work on. Also, y'all, let me tell y'all, I thought I was done with my updates, but I got some more. It's okay. I didn't get to talk as much last time because I barely had a voice. Um so the week leading into the week that I got sick, me and um, I call her my sis. Um, we were supposed to be, we stated that we were gonna get up at five o'clock and um just spend time with God, you know, the thing that we practice at the end of the episode, um, just doing that, you know, getting in our word, doing a little worship, prayer, and all that stuff, right? Y'all, I set that alarm at 5 o'clock and it went off, and I was just like, yeah, nah, not it, dog. Like I wasn't even aware enough to be able to even open my mouth or even do anything. So I pushed my time back a little bit, and then once I did get up, like I was in it, you know what I'm saying? Had 30 minutes, 40 minutes. Today, y'all, my praise, worship, and prayer part was like an hour and almost an hour and 20 minutes, okay? Um, and then reading the word part, it always takes me like an hour, two hours, because I'm reading two chapters, and then I'm also using my study Bible, so I'm also reading that. So it's like reading the chapter over, but not the full chapter, the description of what's going on in the chapters. Um, and that takes a little minute, and then I also process it um and like answer some questions about what I just read. So it takes a lot. Um, so y'all, I probably I feel like I started that at like maybe like nine or ten o'clock, and I finished at 1153. What is up with me in 1153? Um, so yeah, I spent a lot of time with God, um, and it it feels so good. And the vocals that came out, my my. Um, but yeah, so we are being each other's accountability partner and ensuring that we are sacrificing, because that was the word sacrifice. You sacrifice time to spend time with God, and we are so excited to see where this is going to take us, not with expectations, just curiosity. Um, and so if y'all want to join, um definitely go ahead and join us in that five. I but okay, so I'm not doing 5 a.m. right now. I am first working on getting up and being consistent. Now I did my devotions every morning, but actual prayer and worship and then reading the word. I'm gonna get consistent in that first before I add the time aspects, and then after I'm consistently doing that, then I'm a 5 a.m. it okay. Um, so I also want to start off with a question of the day, and it comes from my um devotional that I did this morning, and this month's devotional has been centered around the Sermon on the Mount. Um, and so the question says, If you traced where your eyes have gone this past week, what have they been admiring? And what has that admiration been doing inside of you? Mmm, that's good. And see, I haven't even answered this question for myself, and so next week I will answer the question and give you another question. That's what we're gonna start doing, okay? All right, so I know I've been talking and talking and talking, and I know y'all are ready for the episode. So let's get into it. Today, we are beginning a brand new series called Cultivating the Garden. How the Spirit Transforms Our Lives. Over the next several weeks, we're going to walk through the fruit of the spirit and explore what it looks like when God begins to transform us from the inside out. We'll talk about all nine fruit of the spirit, but before we dive into the individual fruits, I think we need to start with a more important question. Because we need to slow down for a second and talk about how fruit grows in the first place. Where does it come from? How does it grow? And how do we know what's actually growing in our lives? So before we go any further, I want us to pause and ask one simple question. What is growing in me? If you've ever planted a garden, and I haven't, but I've watched it, you know that eventually whatever was planted is going to show up. If you planted flowers, you'll eventually see flowers. If you plant vegetables, you'll eventually see vegetables, right? And of course, if weeds are left alone long enough, you'll eventually see those. So a garden always reveals what has been growing beneath the surface. And of course, the same is true spiritually. Whether we realize it or not, our lives are always producing something. The question isn't whether we're growing, the question is what are we growing? And that's where Galatians 5 begins to challenge us because Paul shows us that there are really two different ways to live. One produces the work of the flesh, the other produces the fruit of the spirit. And so at the beginning of Galatians five, Paul begins by talking about freedom in Christ. He reminds believers that Jesus has set them free and that they shouldn't go back to trying to earn God's approval through the law. One of the things Paul specifically addresses is circumstances. Or not circumstances, y'all, Lord. Circumcision. Paul's point was that some people were treating circumcision as it could make them right with God. And Paul is like, nah, that ain't it. Because if you're relying on the law to make you right with God, then you're choosing the law instead of Christ. And if you're choosing the law, you have to keep it all perfectly. And if you know, like I know, ain't none of us perfect. The only perfect is who? Jesus. So that's why Paul keeps bringing the conversation back to faith. Throughout the chapter, he's reminding believers that our relationship with God isn't built on trying to earn his approval. It's built on trusting Christ. We're not accepted because we followed enough rules or performed well enough. We're accepted through faith in Christ. In fact, one of the things that stood out to me most was when Paul says that what matters is faith expressing itself through love. Faith that is real will always express itself through love. After um talking about freedom in Christ, Paul begins contrasting two different ways of living life led by the flesh and life led by the spirit. Like I said before. The flesh produces. One kind of fruit, the spirit produces another. Can't say that enough. So a question to reflect on is what is my life producing? Because whether we realize it or not, something is always growing. So at this point, I find myself asking another question. I ask a lot of questions if y'all haven't seen by now. If the fruit of the spirit is something that grows, then how does it grow? And that is where John 15 became so important. We've already walked through John in the last season. So Jesus tells his disciples, I am the vine. God is the gardener. And we, me and you, or you and I, if you want to use correct grammar, we are the branches. He says that branches that bear fruit are pruned so they can bear even more fruit. It is pruning so that we can produce even more fruit than what we already have been producing. So at the heart of all of this, Jesus makes a statement that completely changed how I think about spiritual growth. He tells his disciples, apart from me, you can do nothing. Think about that. What I find interesting is that Jesus doesn't tell the disciples to focus on producing fruit. He tells them focus on remaining connected to Him. The fruit comes as a result of that connection. Because a branch cannot produce fruit by itself. Sorry, not sorry. It has to stay connected to the vine. Repeat it. Okay, I got y'all. You cannot produce fruit if you are not connected to the source. Sometimes we focus so much on becoming more loving, more patient, or more peaceful that we forget where those things come from in the first place. Jesus reminds us that the priority is staying connected to him. Because fruit grows naturally when the branch remains connected to the vine. Okay. So if we can't produce fruit on our own, then where does it come from? And I got scripture for y'all. Romans eight helps us answer that question. Paul explains the difference between living according to the flesh and living according to the spirit. He says that being carnal, oh Lord, carnally minded or flesh-minded leads to death. Sounds harsh, but being spiritually minded leads to life in peace. Child, we'll be in the wilderness for sure if we tried that. Paul points us back to the work of the Holy Spirit and the role the Spirit plays in our lives. Like he reminds us that the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses, guides us, and works in us as we grow. The spirit isn't just present to comfort us during difficult moments. The spirit is actively transforming how we think, how we live, and how we respond to God. But Romans 8 reminds us that transformation is a work of the spirit. Okay, don't kick your feet up yet. Like we choose to surrender, we choose to obey, we choose to remain connected to Jesus. But as we do that, the spirit is at work within us, shaping us and transforming us over time. So in Colossians three, Paul gives us a picture of what this fruit looks like in everyday life. He tells believers to put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. He tells them to let the peace of Christ rule in their hearts, to live in unity, and to be thankful. He also says something important. Above all these things, put on love. Because love holds everything together. Imagine that. Love isn't just another fruit on the list. Love is what holds everything together. And what stood out was that Paul talks about these qualities almost like getting dressed he says, put them on, which means this is intentional. Every day we have opportunities to choose love, patience, kindness, and peace. And when those qualities begin showing up in our lives, there's evidence that God is doing something in us. So as I spent time studying these passages, y'all, one thing that kept standing out to me was fruit doesn't appear overnight. It takes time to grow. Sometimes slowly, sometimes in ways we don't immediately notice, but growth is still taking place. The goal isn't to manufacture fruit or manufacture fruit. The goal isn't to try harder. The goal isn't to check off a list of Christian behaviors. The goal is to abide in Jesus and walk in the spirit. The fruit is what grows because of it. So before we spend the next several weeks talking about the fruit of the spirit, again, let's take a moment and ask ourselves one simple question: What is growing in me? That was good. Okay, so next week, y'all, we'll be talking about the foundation of the entire garden. Love. We'll explore why love isn't just one fruit among many, but the fruit that holds everything together. We'll look at what biblical love really is, what it looks like in everyday life, and why scripture places such a strong emphasis on it. If you'd like to come prepared, spend some time reading John chapter 13, verses 34 and 35, and 1 Corinthians 13 this week. As you read, here's one question to reflect on. How does God's definition of love compare to the way our culture defines love? You missed it? It's okay. You ain't gotta pause it. I'll say it again. How does God's definition of love compare to the way our culture defines love? I appreciate you so much for spending this time with me today and allowing me to spend time in the word with you. If this episode encouraged you, challenged you, or gave you something to reflect on, I'd truly love to hear from you. Leave a review, share the episode with a friend, or let me know what stood out to you most. And don't forget to stay connected with Gospel Girlies throughout the week. You can follow us on Instagram at GospelGirlies and on TikTok at GospelGirlies with one underscore for encouragement, updates, and conversations beyond the podcast. And y'all know what time it is. Let's get in the presence of God. So for the next few moments, no music, no distractions, no phone, no pressure to perform, just you and God. Remember, inhale, ya, exhale, way. Ready? All right. Thank you, Jesus. As always, adventure in faith begin today. Remember to walk boldly, live faithfully, and step into God's plan for you. Because it is greater than anything you could ever imagine. I'll see you next time on Gospel Girlies Wednesday at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Bye.