SABBATH SNAPSHOTS: longevi-TEA

Hubby's mom (our Mommar) didn't live to be 103, as George Dawson the focus of today's book review did. However, she did grow up during impoverished times and yet kept that same positive "life is good" focus as Dawson projects.

Dawson's book, Life is So Good, written with Richard Glaubman, is not the best book I've ever read---but I liked it. There are so many lessons to be learned from someone who didn't learn to read until age 98. Even his kids didn't know he couldn't read, until he revealed that "secret" to them during their teen years. Yet, all 7 of his children graduated not only from high school but also from college.

His "learning" began at the knee of his father. "Life is good." And with a grin he added. I do believe it's getting better." (Dawson, p. 4)

In his youth, witnessing a murder of an innocent black man, had Dawson asking himself, "Why am I still here?" and realizing the answer. "I am a witness to the truth. That's why I'm still here. I can't let the truth die with me." (Ibid, p. 45) That was Dawson's impetus to get the true story written down before it was his time to die.

Tho his continuing story didn't focus much on that incident, you understand it's impact on his life and his reticence around others, not of his race. From building levees on the Mississippi and driving railroad spikes to breaking horses in his hometown of Marshall, Texas, Mr. George Dawson continued to work hard, show respect for all people and champion learning for the youth in his GED classes. He was their inspiration.

Dawson had a deep knowledge that came from watching and listening. Even with a limited understanding of Watergate, he still showed a depth of understanding when he commented, "...maybe Richard Nixon just wanted something too much. He worked hard to get what he wanted and forgot the important things along the way." (Ibid, p. 217)

Summing up his philosophy, he answered a 5th grader's question who wanted to know what life was like. "Life ain't all good or all bad. It's full of everything." (p. 233)

I, however, appreciated his answer to an adult who asked if he was a "cup half-empty or half-full" kind of guy. "I see it as being enough, so it's just fine." (p. 238) So biblical! (Philippians 4:11-12)

If you liked Same Kind of Different as Me, you'll like this book.

"Morning Quie-TEA-ude"

and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business...(1 Thessalonians 4:11, NASB)

No humming of air conditioners. No barking dogs. No lawn mowers or blowers. No chattering of people, just squirrels.

Quietness, broken only by the occasional honking of geese overhead and enriched by by a streaming fountain and chirping of birds at the feeders. Such serenity coupled with cool morning breezes and my quiet time accoutrements defines my Tea With Thee time on the patio. Bible. Prayer list. Journal.

Such a quiet life is enhanced by time alone with the Lord in the morning time.

A quiet life, begins anew every morning as the sun breaks once again. 

Tending to my own business begins with my attending to the Lord in the quietude of each new day. 

Qui-TEA-ude---that state of stillness, calmness, and quiet in both my person and my place--began this morning on the patio. May it continue throughout my day!

"migh-TEA to Almigh-TEA" : a transfer

Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty. (Zechariah 4:6, NIV)

“Have you ever had one of those days boys, have you ever had one of those days?  When nothing goes right from morning 'til night, have you ever had one of those days?" Those old Elvis (?) song lyrics whirred in my head recently. Did you ever......?

Have you ever felt crummy from the "get-go?" You awake feeling "down" and that feeling continues throughout the day. Edges of His Ways (April 26 entry)

No matter how hard I try---my (mental) strength gets me no where. I cannot change this mindset.

Carmichael's entry helped me understand why this is so.
It (trying in one's own psyche) is useless. Trying to feel different does not "touch" feelings. One can't even argue with self because feelings elude arguments.  In psychology 101, I learned that feelings follow action.
Prayer is an action.

But now, I pray let the power of the Lord be great..... (Numbers 14:17)

Turning to the Lord is an action.
Even waiting on Him is an action. Especially if patience is involved.

One chooses to turn and to wait on the Almighty.

Not my might but His.

The Almighty serves up a cuppa migh-TEA to everyone who turns to Him.
Almighty might!

"Traves-TEAs vs. Nicie-TEAs"

demonstrating all expressions of humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another in love. (Ephesians 4:2, ISV)

My maternal grandmother cornered the market on nicieties. Not in finery or elegance, but in politeness. Politeness in every "manner of her life." 
That's it---manners. Good old fashioned manners. Rudeness not allowed.

My introduction to "proper" behavior came from watching Mama Davenport's lifestyle, along with my Emily Post Book of Etiquette, a high school graduation gift. She didn't have a book of etiquette, Mama just had the "Good Book." 

All those godly attributes from the "good book" are the nicieties she practiced every single day. Thinking of others. Putting others first.

Mama's nicieties left everyone in her path feeling, not only acknowledged, but fully appreciated. She didn't share her life in words or "posts." She embraced others in relationship. 

She would have had trouble with "tweeting" her every move and meal on Twitter. She would want to take the time to "ask after" others. 

Maybe that's the traves-TEA of our rampant epidemic of sharing----we don't "ask after" others.

This week's college graduation for a family member had me privy to an interesting comment. Mom, he's so nice. When he takes me to a restaurant, he leaves his iPhone in the car. Isn't that nice?

Nice indeed. A BIG cuppa nicie-TEA! Ah-h-h, it's nice to be nice!

"sui-TEA-ble"

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3, ESV)

In desperate need of something to write info on, I picked up a copy of "The Memphis Flyer" (4/24/14)  stacked on the counter at Lost Pizza. Normally, the "Flyer" is rarely on my reading radar. But....the need for paper was great.

With said paper in my carseat (after garnering my info) and me with some waiting time, I started thumbing 'til a verse of poetry caught my eye. I began to read......

Like the author, Bruce VanWyngarden, I agreed that Walt Whitman's poem, "Song of Myself" (1855) gave "an uncanny descriptive definition of Facebook" and other social media sites.

No need for end of year family review letters,* we now have daily "reviews at our fingertips" thru a barrage of tech blitz. We're bombarded with INFO. 

This personal marketing blitz allows each to present self as he/she wants others to see him/her and Twitter and Instagram allow photographic proof of  good times, proud mommy moments and photo-shopped pix of our almost "true self."

"I celebrate myself and sing myself" penned Whitman. VanWyngarden suggested that if Whitman had posted his work on-line today he could call it, "Song of My Selfie."

But God.......showed me that I cannot smugly stop here just because I don't FB or "tweet" and instagram, .......'cause I do blog. 

I blog what I think, feel, and believe. I post pix of lots of teacups that don't show the rest of my messy countertop. Isn't that like a partial truth?

All that to say, I want a mea-TEA blog---meaty with God's truth. NOT a ME-tea blog that's all about me.

A blog that serves the reader a "sui-TEA-ble "cuppa of God's word. A cuppa that meets him at his point of need. Suitable and significant for giving God's grace, unique to each reader!

*BTW, If I'm on your Christmas letter list, please keep me there. Remember, I'm "old school."

"Afternoon Tea"

Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy. (Psalm 126:2, RSV)

"Afternoon Tea" is, by tradition, a time for reflecting on one's day while recouping a little energy and possibly chatting with a friend----or, as in this instance, a daughter.
Conversation steeping over a hot pot of tea, A ceylon black tea for me and Buckingham Palace tea for her.  Sugar for both of us---nothing artificial here.

No cream to mask the flavor, just a hint of milk. No lemon either---we save that tartness for sweet tea, the iced variety, that has NO place at a British inspired teatime. No verbal raspberries, sour grapes or tartness, even in our conversation, just lots of sharing and laughter.

Tiers of savories and sweets, from tea sandwiches and cheese straws to scones with clotted cream and jam (Even spiced almonds and a little meat shaped ball on that tier) along with tea cookies and chocolate covered strawberries.  

A genteel time. A time of being, not doing. No electronic devices needed, except to show a few pictures. No interruptions.

So similar to my quiet times of conversations with the Lord. An uninterrupted time. A time of true sweetness, nothing artificial----the milk and meat of the word at my fingertips. A time to "be" in His Presence.
A time to taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8)

Tea With Thee---a TEA-rrific way to spend a morning.

High Tea*---a tea-lightful way to spend an afternoon with "my" daughter. Both are refreshing!

*Memphis version of a more formal afternoon tea---a yearly Mother's Day event at  the Woman's Exchange

emp-TEA-ing

but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:7, ESV)

All of us have dregs in our cup of life. Such a cuppa is usually filled up with SELF and needs to be emptied. Otherwise complaint seems to permeate and spill over to others. 

Complaint, the antithesis of contentment, comes when the goal of self, in its many forms, is blocked. Self-gratification. Self-fulfillment. Self-aggrandizement. Self-advancement.

How does one go about emp-TEA-ing all this self-centeredness?

David McCullough Jr. said it well in You Are Not Special: (Parade, 5/4/14, p. 4)

...The great and curious truth of the human experience is that selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself!

A re-brew is needed. Emp-TEA self. Re-Brew selflessness.

A BIG cuppa selflessness is good for all....because it spills over and blesses others in our path.

SABBATH SNAPSHOT : "personal partiali-TEA"

---Yes, I have read The Goldfinch. I read it last year before going to spend a weekend in Greenwood, Ms, birthplace of the author, Donna Tartt.

Yes, I know it won the Pulitzer Prize BUT as well-written as it was, I would not recommend it because much of it was too dark for me. The thread that ran through the book concerning the young boy's possession of Fabritius' painting of "The Goldfinch" was intriguing BUT the family DYSFUNCTION (in all caps) that Theo experienced (especially in Las Vegas with his dad and dad's girlfriend) was so raw that it jarred my sensibilities and overshadowed all the rest for me. Harshness and depravity. I'm not partial to those characteristics in my reading.
Emotional abandonment of children, in life or in literature, is not my cup of tea. 

Tartt's writing did hook me at first, i.e. Theo's description of the painting & it's reminder of  his mother.

It was a direct and matter-of-fact little creature, with nothing sentimental about it; and something about the neat, compact way it tucked down inside itself—its brightness, its alert watchful expression—made me think of pictures I’d seen of my mother when she was small: a dark-capped finch with steady eyes.

BTW, the painting itself was housed (on loan from Royal Picture Gallery, The Hague) at the Frick Collection, my favorite NYC museum, until January. I hate I missed it and Vermeer's "Girl With a Pearl Earring."
The museum I would recommend, but not the book. That's just my partiali-TEA to "gentle reads" and this was not a "gentle" book.

---Want a gentler read that deals with art---Try Harriet Scott Chessman's,  Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper. In story form, with chapters divided by the pictures for which Lydia posed, you will meet the contemporaries of her sister, the artist, Mary Cassatt, including Edgar Degas, "his eyes heavy lidded, like a lizard's in the sun." (p.52) It's a short easy read....

and includes a Cassatt painting of "The Cup of Tea." Lydia, her sister's model, is ailing & often wonders how her sister sees her beyond her malady. (Bright's disease)
Looking at herself in the painting, Lydia's thinks as she speaks to said girl, "Look at me." I long to say to her. "Tell me what you are thinking as you sip your cup of tea."

Maybe my partiali-TEA to tea and this American born grand dame of impressionism led me to this book, but the story held me there. A gentle read set in Paris in the late 1800s.  A story that resonated with the profoundly moving relationship of two sisters, told from the point of view of the non-famous one. Endearing, not sappy.

"Special-TEA"

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. (1 Peter 4:10, NIV)

All of us have our specialty (or speciality as the Brits (Princes) who are in Memphis for a weekend wedding would say). Those distinctive qualities are what make us unique. Art, music, even culinary expertise or physical prowess can set us apart from others, especially for those who fine tune these God-given traits.
In the spiritual realm, such aptitude takes on the term giftedness as the  characteristic is used to bless others.
A gift given by God, "fanned into flame" and passed on to others, often in the form of encouragement.
A God-given talent---a "special-TEA" to be served to others.

Not a recipient of the creative gift of "voice," I stand in awe of those who are---and even more so when they use this gift to serve the Lord. Such are the Phoenix ladies, mother Sally and daughter Michèle. who not only are blessed with this gift but share it with others. They minister around the world in any way needed---music, theater, culinary, MKs, writing, divorcee's, widows, other singles & ME!!

My only specialty, not exactly spiritual, but used to bless those who are, is to sniff out unusual "southern" food places and introduce their speciali-TEAS to others, who are not native to the region.

 Deep Fried Brownie Sundae at Puckett's Grocery
Blue Ribbon winner at the Southern Fried Festival
Yes, that's bacon on top.

Special-TEAS---we all have our own cuppa to pour out into the lives of others, especially those who are of the household of faith!

"curiosi-TEA"

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. (Ephesians 1:17, NIV)

"Curiouser and curiouser !" remarked Alice, as she saw how small her feet looked through the "end" of the telescope. Saying "Good-By" to her feet, she begins a management plan to keep in touch with her feet. (Alice in Wonderland, chapter 2)

"Good-by, tea cup." Aren't you curious as to how I "shot" this photo?

To all but curmudgeons, curiosity in a child is endearing. A part of childhood and learning. A positive.

Not so much with old folks. With them, curiosity has the negative connotation of being nosey. But....if curiosity is the beginning of leading an adult to a personal management plan for finding the Lord, then that is a positive. Seeking Jesus, from a deep curiosity, to know Him better, that too is positive!
To that end, we should all seek to keep in touch with the Lord---to know Him in a deeper way. To be curiouser and curiouser about His life (and death) and what it means to each of us. That's curiosity at its finest.

In a "Rabbit Hole" as visited by Alice, nothing is quite what it seems. That sounds a bit like life in many ways. The only true constancy of truth that one has is in a growing relationship with the Lord.

So here's to "curiousi-TEA"----serve me a BIG cuppa that I might "seek and find out" more about Him as I study His word and embrace it in my life.