Most of us are decent enough people in public. The real test of goodness is the small, unseen moment when no one would ever know.

In this episode, Nicole and Stephanie continue our Fruit That Lasts series with goodness, the fruit that grows in the hidden places. Our culture likes to say people are basically good, but Scripture gives us a more honest picture and a far better hope. Goodness is not about appearing good. It is about letting God transform who we are when no one is watching.

Galatians 5:22-23 calls these the fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of our effort. Goodness is not willpower or reputation management. It is what the Holy Spirit produces in a life surrendered to Christ, and it shows up most clearly where no one is keeping score.

In This Episode

• Why goodness is about who you are in private, not how you look in public
• How social media can quietly turn goodness into performance
• The little compromises that trade our goodness away without us noticing
• What the Pharisees, Joseph in Egypt, and Joshua's stones of remembrance teach us
• Simple, everyday practices for growing goodness in the unseen moments

What Goodness in the Unseen Moments Actually Means

Goodness begins with understanding that God, not us, is the standard of what is good. We live in a culture that says just be a good person, as though goodness is sitting inside all of us. The gospel is more honest. We are created in God's image and also broken by sin, which means we do not need more confidence in our own goodness. We need Christ to change us from the inside out. Goodness is choosing what is right when there is no audience: honesty when a lie would be easier, integrity when cutting a corner would save time, kindness when no one will ever know.

Resources Mentioned

• You Are What You Love by James K.A. Smith
• Social Sanity in an Insta World by Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra
• Good to Great in God's Eyes by Chip Ingram
• The Attributes of God by A.W. Pink
• ROOTS Morning Journals. groundedgrowth.org/store

Final Encouragement

Goodness is not about being seen as good. It is about quietly becoming good in the moments only God will ever see. You do not have to overhaul everything at once. Pick one hidden place this week, one small unseen choice, and do the good and honest thing there. Remember that you are not the source of your own goodness. A.W. Pink describes God as the fountain of every good, the One from whom all goodness flows. Think of Joseph, alone in Egypt, who refused to compromise his integrity when no one from home would ever have known. His goodness in the unseen moment was really just his faithfulness to the God who was always watching. So on the days your goodness feels thin and no one is clapping, do not give up. Keep doing the small right thing in secret, and trust that the God who sees in secret is growing something lasting in you.

Stay grounded and keep growing.

www.groundedgrowth.org

Instagram: @GroundedGrowthMO

Most of us have settled for being nice. Nice is easy. Kindness is something else entirely.

In this episode, Nicole and Stephanie continue our Fruit That Lasts series with kindness, the fruit that almost always costs us something. Being nice is a pleasant surface. Kindness is a costly action, and the two are not the same, even though we treat them like they are.

Galatians 5:22-23 calls these the fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of our effort. Kindness is not a personality trait a few lucky people are born with. It is what the Holy Spirit grows in a life that stays close to Christ. And it starts with remembering how kind God has already been to us.

In This Episode

• Why biblical kindness goes deeper than being pleasant, and where the "cost" actually shows up
• The difference between being nice and being kind, and why we confuse them
• Why our kindness runs thinnest with the people closest to us
• What Jonah, the Good Samaritan, and Boaz show us about kindness
• Simple, everyday practices for growing a kindness that looks like Jesus

What Kindness That Costs Something Actually Means

Kindness is an attribute of God before it is a behavior we try to produce. Romans 2:4 tells us it is God's kindness that leads us toward repentance. His kindness is never just Him being nice to us. It is purposeful. It draws us back and it changes us. Micah 6:8 does not only tell us to do kind things. It tells us to love kindness, which means something is happening in the heart, not just the behavior. And that is where the word cost matters. Kindness may cost us our time, our convenience, our comfort, or the satisfaction of getting the last word.

Why It Is So Hard

We live in a world that rewards speed and self-protection, not sacrifice. Being nice is free. Being kind asks for our time, our comfort, and our plans, and it rarely shows up at a convenient moment. Most of us are only naturally kind to the people who can be kind back. Faith Chang names this pull in Peace Over Perfection, how prone we are to lean on our own goodness instead of resting in God's. When we forget how freely He has been kind to us, our kindness toward others turns stingy and conditional.

Resources Mentioned

• Peace Over Perfection by Faith Chang
• Adamant by Lisa Bevere
• The Attributes of God by A.W. Pink
• ROOTS Morning Journals. groundedgrowth.org/store

Final Encouragement

Kindness that looks like Jesus is not about being nice. It is about letting His love spill out of you in ways that actually cost you something. You do not have to overhaul your whole life. Pick one person this week and do one kind thing that is a little inconvenient, and let that be enough. Every bit of kindness you give is really just an echo of the kindness God has already poured over you. He was kind to you first, while you could not pay Him back at all. So on the days your kindness runs thin, do not try to squeeze more out of yourself. Go back to the One who is endlessly kind and let Him fill you again.

Stay grounded and keep growing.

www.groundedgrowth.org

Instagram: @GroundedGrowthMO

"The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you." 2 Peter 3:9

We are continuing our Fruit That Lasts series with the fruit that probably gets tested more than any other, patience. Most of us think patience is about traffic, long lines, and not losing our tempers with our kids. But biblical patience goes so much deeper. It is trusting God's timing while He is doing His work in us.

In this episode, Nicole and Stephanie get honest about what patience looks like when you are stretched thin. They talk about the seasons that felt like interruptions but were really God's classroom, the impatience that shows up first with the people we love most, and the steadying truth that God's delays are never God's absence.

In this episode:

• What biblical patience actually is, trusting God while we wait instead of just gritting our teeth.
• Why patience is so hard when we crave control and immediate relief.
• What it looks like when our patience runs out.
• What Jesus shows us through His disciples, His delay before Lazarus, and His patience with us.
• Four simple ways to grow patience: pause before you react, pray through the wait, pursue Him in the interruption, and practice patience with yourself.

Scripture and references:

• 2 Peter 3:9
• Romans 8
• James 1:19,
• James 5:7-8
• Philippians 1:6
• Hebrews 6:10.

Books mentioned:

• When God Doesn't Fix It by Laura Story
• Identity Theft
• Habits of Grace by David Mathis.

Stay grounded and keep growing.

Follow along and stay connected:
Website: www.groundedgrowth.org
Instagram: @GroundedGrowthMO