ONE

It was three days before New Year’s Eve. Things were popping on Blossom Hill Lane.

Stacy Henry was buzzing with an idea. Her real cool idea had started out teeny-weeny. But during the Cul-de-sac Kids club meeting it grew. And grew.

And grew!

She couldn’t keep it to herself any longer.

“Let’s do something really fun for the New Year,” she suggested.

“Yay!” the girls shouted.

“Like what?” Jason Birchall spoke up.

Stacy twirled her hair. “It’s that time of year, isn’t it?”

“What’re you talking about?” asked Jason, pushing up his glasses. “What time of year?”

“I’ll give you three guesses, but only three.” She squeezed in next to Abby Hunter in the president’s seat—a bean-bag chair.

Abby was the president of the Cul-de-sac Kids club. A neighborhood club with nine members. Each club member lived on Blossom Hill Lane, which was really a dead-end street. A cul-de-sac, shaped like aU.

Abby grinned. “I like guessing games. Who wants to guess first?”

“I will!” Dee Dee Winters stood up. She pulled up her knee socks. Then she put her finger on her lip. “My guess is it’s time to go group sledding.That’s really fun!”

Stacy nodded her head. “You’re right, going sledding together is lots of fun. But that’s not what I was thinking.”

“Who’s next?” asked Abby. “This is the second guess, remember.”

Dunkum Mitchell raised his hand. “It’s time to think about the New Year? Maybe write down some goals or something. That’s my guess,” he said.

Stacy looked at Abby and whispered, “He’s almost got it.”

Abby grinned at Dunkum. “Stacy says you’re real close. Wanna guess again?”

Dunkum, whose real name was Edward, shook his head no. The kids nicknamed him Dunkum because he was tall. So tall he could dunk a basketball. Every time . . . almost.

“OK,” said Stacy. “Since Dunkum nearly guessed it, I’ll tell my idea.”

The kids leaned forward. Their eyes were big as bowls.

“I want to make some changes in myself,” Stacy said. “Like grown-ups do every New Year.”

“Oh, no. Not grown-up stuff!” Jason complained. He rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue. “That’s so dumb.”

Eric Hagel frowned at Jason. “Don’t say ‘dumb.’ It’s not cool. Besides, Stacy’s idea might be more fun than you think.”

Carly—Abby’s little sister—grabbed Dee Dee’s hand. They were best friends. “I don’t care what Jason says. I wanna make some changes for the New Year, too. Just like Stacy.”

“What kinda changes?” sneered Jason.

Stacy said, “Things like asking God to help make me kind and loving. Good changes like that.”

Jason clutched his throat when she said “loving.”

Yikes! Stacy worried that a full-blown fit was coming.

Quickly, Abby called the meeting to order again. “I like Stacy’s idea, too. Keep talking,” she told Stacy.

“Can we name the fruits of the Spirit?” asked Stacy.

Lots of hands went up.

All but Jason’s.

Stacy was pretty sure he could say them, too. Jason was just being a pest. But that was normal for him.

“How many fruits of the Spirit are there?” Stacy asked.

“That’s easy. Nine!” Dunkum said.

“I almost say that,” Shawn Hunter said in broken English.

Shawn was Abby’s adopted brother. Their little brother, Jimmy, was nodding, too.

“We know lots of fruit from Bible,” Jimmy piped up. “American mother teach us.”

Abby’s eyes were shining. “Shawn and Jimmy are right. And I think we all know the fruits of the Spirit.”

“Can we say them?” Stacy asked, searching for some chalk. “Or maybe we can write them on the chalkboard.”

“Good thinking!” replied Abby.

“When we’re finished, we’ll pick some fruit,” Stacy said, smiling. “Each of us can choose a different fruit for the year.”

“But we won’t eat it,” Carly joked.

Dunkum was laughing. “Not unless you want a mouthful of joy or peace.”

Dee Dee smirked at Jason. “I think one of us needs the full-meal deal!”

Some of the kids snickered.

But Stacy was quiet. She held the board while Abby wrote the nine fruits of the Spirit.

One at a time, the Cul-de-sac Kids called them out:

Love

Joy

Peace

Patience

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self-control