"traveloci-TEA"

Choose for yourselves this day.....(Joshua 24:15, NIV)

At our house you can tell where we've chosen to travel by hubby's collection of mugs in our kitchen cabinet. Mugs that mostly bring good memories. What you can't see are our places we've chosen to travel in our minds. Things that too often we lug mentally. 

Oh the places we go, even in our minds----or as Dr. Seuss writes, Oh the Places You'll Go. (1990)

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...” 

So....today when you pour your morning cuppa, remember that daily we "choose whom we will serve" and even as Dr. Seuss says, "Today is your day"----your day to choose. 

Maine, Summer of 2013
A trip chosen to be with family & to celebrate the 90th birthday of Ashley Bryan.
Both were times of rejoicing!

"Traveloci-TEA" Might make it easier and cheaper but it's only a company. Travelocity takes you only where you choose to go. It can arrange for you to go to faraway places but the luggage you lug there is all yours. So.....remember, "This is the day the Lord hath made" so...."rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24)
That's what you need to pack up for your all your trips. Even those you take only in your mind.

SABBATH SNAPSHOT: writabili-TEA

Melanie Benjamin certainly has writability as is shown in her recently published, The Aviator's Wife. This historical fiction is based on the life of Anne Morrow Lindbergh, herself known for writability in her classic, Gift from the Sea.

Benjamin's easy, yet informative read, gives much insight into the once shy daughter of a US ambassador and her very complicated marriage to Charles Lindbergh, once the "darling" of our nation. It tells of that time in our country's history which my parents knew all about. I, not so much----thus my interest in the book.

Well-written. Yes.....but, with it came disclosures of fears and struggles that Mrs. Lindbergh kept from prying eyes. Supposedly she and Charles carefully edited her diaries near the end of his life so.....it probably wasn't the perfect little marriage, which was the public's perception. 

Ms Benjamin says The Aviator's Wife is primarily the story of a deeply intelligent woman. A woman of resilience. A woman who lived in the shadow of her husband.

As historical fiction, apart from the well-known actual people, events and locales presented....all else are used fictitiously by the author. The kidnapping and murder of their 20 month old son, Lindbergh's heroic flight of 1927, infidelity, other children of Charles as later DNA evidence proved, his comments interpreted as anti-semitic during the prelude of WWII, and his 1953 Pulitzer Prize winning, The Spirit of St. Louis are all documented events.

The author includes these facts but then weaves in the emotional aspect of this mystifying marriage in order to tell Anne's story. Fiction and reality blurred, but the story is told from adventures in flying as her husband's only crew to praying as she finally began to write, lingering over words as she searched for imagery.....trying to look at the world through her own goggles, not his.

Words of truth or fiction---as written by the author:

• What do you want to do? Marry a hero. (Lucky Lindy was America's hero.) 
• I would always be looking for that proud glance; that feeling of belonging, of knowing who I was and that I mattered, for the rest of my life. 
• Always the image of the of a child and a birthday cake with one candle....."No Anne. We need to forget." 
• To my children, I was just mom. That was all. And before that, I had been Charles wife, the bereaved mother of a slain child. That was all. 
• He spent much of his time working on some engine or another....not emotions; something he could understand. 
• When he was home, the air in the house was so impenetrable with tension....had to retreat to breathe. 
• Marriage breeds its own special brand of loneliness.

One with writability provides us with a cuppa readabili-TEA---though sometimes we must read with care if we hope to extract God's lessons from a book with the cultural reality of our times!

"identi-TEA": a Re-brew

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; (Jeremiah 1:5a, NIV)

Those words were spoken by the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah. They are true for us today, as well.  God, as creator, even knows and names the stars. (Isaiah 40:26.) But as our creator, God factors love into His relationship with man.  We are known and personally loved by our Good Shepherd; (John 10:14) He calls us friend. (John 15:15) He calls us by name. (John 10:13) He has set us apart for the plans He has for us, as Jeremiah continued in the verse.
Therefore Our true identity is in Him.

This morning's cuppa of identi-TEA was my third one. In October of 2010, I began with the many ID badges I had worn in my life time and concluded with, "I plan to savor my identi--TEA with a “cuppa”----Lyons Gold Blend---as I begin my day with Him, because that’s the identity that counts for eternity. In July 2011, as I was entering a new season in life, I had begun to reflect on and rethink my identity---wondering how others might "see" me.

Now-a-days,  I ask, "Do my actions allow others to "see" my true identity? Child of God.

Once again, on this snowy February morning in 2014, I'm spending "Tea With Thee" time with my Lord sipping a cuppa true identi-TEA. A cuppa poured into my heart by the One whose sacrifice gave me that identitiy. My ID is really His ID imparted.

Remember---the Lord calls you by name, even your nickname...
 or your grandparent one!

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! (1 John 3:1) 

"authori-TEA"

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. (Romans 13:1, NIV)

Leaving church Tuesday, loud claps of thunder, the wall-shaking, window-rattling kind, had everyone's attention. It reminded me of the Lord speaking with Moses on Mt. Sinai. the lightning, thunder and powerfully loud trumpet blast certainly got the attention of the Israelites. They trembled. (Exodus 19) God's word had power for their lives and gave authority to Moses to lead them.

Sometimes God's word seems to speak LOUDLY to me. When it continues to thunder in my head, I know that I am suppose to pay attention. "For the word of God is living and powerful,..."(Hebrews 4:12, NJV) It is the authority Christians choose to follow.

Power, literally translated, is “authority.” You have been delivered from the power, or authority, of darkness and placed into God’s kingdom. (Colossian's 1:13)

Authority, the right to rule and the right to be obeyed, belongs to the Lord, the Creator of all things. All authority belongs to Him.

A worthy cuppa for all---God's authori-TEA!

difficul-TEA

I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel. (Isaiah 45:3, NKJV)            

Have you ever felt like a lone sheep?  As if wolves in the distance were waiting to devour you? Especially in the dark of night. Isn't that when fear is greatest? During the night watch.

You're not alone---even though you might feel alone. 

Pain is unavoidable in life. Yet, we try everything to keep it at bay. Pain avoidance is common in our culture. We run from it. Both ease and convenience are promoted. There's even a credit card that will "pay" for it. Difficul-TEA is a fact of life, regardless of what the ad-men say. Even money can't always "buy" your way out of it.

So what does one do with the unwanted, sometimes unwarranted, pain of struggle?

The Psalmist David tells us in Psalm 23, that our Shepherd is with us in the shadow of death. Not just death, but any dark ravine of pain through which life leads us. Those detours of darkness. 

We need to seek the face of the One whose face gives light during those days---and nights. According to the words of Isaiah the prophet, God can use those dark times and actually give them to us as treasures. Life lessons of struggle learned with the One who calls us by our name---just like the psalmist's shepherd.

Some of life's best lessons are taught in the most difficult times. 

A cuppa difficul-TEA might not be our choice....But God.....can use it for our good. Just knowing that, soothes my heart.

"shor-TEA-ning"

The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. (Ecclesiastes 12:10, NIV)

Shor-TEA-ning was the only "tea" word I could create to get across this idea of finding just the right words---and the right number of words. Less is more. Simplicity over verbosi-TEA.

I needed to pare down the words of my lesson on fear from Psalms 23, 27 & 46, before teaching it to the night class, which has a shorter timeframe. Thus, shor-TEA-ning is needed. What do I cut out? What MUST be left in?

Somewhat like my morning cuppa---if I want a more robust tea due to my time constraints, I brew a half a cup----but my tea is stronger. I use loose tea because it gives the strongest flavor in half the time BUT I only allow myself half a cup because I don't need extra energy from the caffeine. I just need the right amount for the time allotted---without skimping on the flavor. 

 Pithy with a punch. Just like my cuppa "shor-TEA-ning."

"capaci-TEA"

My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. (Psalm 45:1, NKJV)

 My schedule is full, Lord. I don't have time to write, but I do love you, Lord. Those were my earliest thoughts.

"I'm teaching today, Lord." (As if He didn't already know that!) As time compulsive as I am, I calculate down to the minute on teaching days. Since I'm teaching today and tomorrow I'm thinking the blog might need to be set aside. (Even tho I've sensed God's prompts to write daily with my "tea" theme, until led otherwise.) But now.....was I trying to do the leading and make it sound spiritual.
Cut myself some slack. Embrace God's grace. (Sounds pretty spiritual, doesn't it?)

But God.....says, "Feed my sheep." (John 21:17)
As Charles Haddon Spurgeon says, "There is no writing like the writing dictated by the heart."

It seems that the Lord has been dictating to my heart, especially these last two days.
Capaci-TEA---not mine but His. Fill me up Lord with all of You!

Man's capacity varies, shown left---God's capacity, shown right....
Of course, God's capacity is infinite BUT you get the idea!

"TEA-chable"

The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. (Ecclesiastes 12:11, NKJV)

If one is going to "tea"ch God's word, especially if she is not a biblical scholar, much preparation is needed---tho the lessons for the teacher are usually greater than the lesson to be taught. Paring is necessary if there is to be clarity in the presentation. One thing is needful---God's word in God's way----God is El Shaddai, the "All Sufficient One"---everything else is superfluous.

"Keep the main thing the main thing" as Kay Arthur often says when she's teaching. C. H. Spurgeon puts it this way, "The man of one book is eminent, the man of one pursuit is successful."

As the "Preacher" says in Ecclesiastes, there is "no end to books and much study is wearisome," or simply put, man's all is to "Fear God and keep His commandments." 

There is nothing quite like a divine education---but it comes first to the teacher and then to the student. 

Grateful for a morning of "Tea With Thee" time, prior to teaching, this "TEA-cher" is still sipping from God's word and praying for a "tea-chable" spirit for both herself and her students.

SABBATH SNAPSHOT: ap-TEA-tude

2/2/14 Aptitude is a defining word for gift. Anne Morrow Lindbergh

certainly showed her ap-TEA-tude for writing in Gift From the Sea. (1955) So much so, that after receiving the book as a gift from dear friend, college chum & Pi Phi sister, Maureen Kinney, I read it every January for over 30 years. After she died, not so much. Reading it nowadays is like a memorial to her and our friendship.

Though not necessarily spiritual, her words offer wisdom that I can view from a godly platform.
Here are some treasured words:

I want to be at peace with myself....I want....to live "in grace"....(p.23)

Art of being alone is a difficult lesson...but once done....incredibly precious. (p. 42)

to be the still axis within the revolving wheel of relationships, obligations, and activities. (p. 51)

World's false values: 

• weighed in quantity, not quality; 
• in speed, not stillness; 
• in words, not in thoughts; 
• in acquisitive, not beauty (p.119)

Gifts Pre-cepts or Signposts toward another way of living: 

• Simplicity....to retain a true awareness of life; 
• Balance of physical, intellectual and spiritual;  
• Work without pressure; 
• Space for significance and beauty; 
• Time for solitude and sharing; ....a life of human relationships. (p.120)

128 pages of Morrow's ap-TEA-tude. 

"ingenui-TEA" : a re-brew

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. (Psalm 139:14, ESV) 

Sometimes the truth of that verse is hard to believe. Why? Comparison. One of the most destructive things a person can do is to compare himself to others. Each one of us is uniquely made by God, so "to compare" is not reality-based or fair to self.

How easy it is for me to see my creative weaknesses. Inventive, clever, innovative are certainly not descriptors of staid ole me.

In order to fill myself with ingenui-TEA, I would need to sip lots of cuppas. But God....has reminded me that one strength of my personality is ability to appreciate gifts in others, knowing God certainly varies His gifts among His children for His purposes. 

The Lord has filled my life with ingenious folks from family to friends.....and even unknowns. Hubby and children continue to rank as high on my creative folks list and a December 15, 2010 blog entry introduced one such friend and her ingenuous gift. 

Last night at Pyro's Pizza, I appreciated the ingenuousness of an unknown. It was a WOW---so glad someone thought of that. A toe pull! It keeps germy hands at bay when leaving a public bathroom. 

How refreshing to sip a cuppa appreciative, "ingenui-TEA."