Palette of Plen-TEA -ful Beauty

The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:12, NASB)

Dropping temps once again prompted our "favorite season" discussion at water aerobics. Most tended toward the temperate months tho there were a few "hot-weather" die-hards. 

A last vestige of summer against a brilliant fall sky.

Among the temperate climate lovers, autumn seemed to be the winner. Color being the reason.

Certainly there is much beauty to behold this time of year, especially if you, as friend Jerrie, are a fan of orange. 

This past week in the mountains, I once again had my eyes wide open to God's offering of "fantastic foliage n the foothills." It seems in the fall that even if you're just squinting, there is color everywhere, even in flat Memphis, where pumpkin orange is prolific! Pumpkins on parade. 

A true palette of plen-TEA-ful color served in a cuppa beauty. 

All by God's design. God saw that it was good and I do as well.

A Cuppa Necessi-TEA

......And what does the LORD require of you But....to love kindness, And to walk humbly.... ?(Micah 6:8, KJV)

A cup of tea, fast internet connection and a trustworthy best friend are some of the bare necessities of modern life, according to a Daily Mail internet survey. Also included were television, iPhone, and a car. Naturally, a cup of tea was #1, as the survey was done among the Brits. As a tea lover, I concur. I would also add a crossword puzzle to my list and a FRIXiON Clicker 07 erasable pen. 

This past week I have experienced life in a place with no daily weather reports, (unless one requested them)----we just walked outside for a temp ck and looked up to see the cloud cover---or lack there of. At home, the weather can tend to rule conversation and scheduling. 

I knew little of the world's happening---Seattle slayings or Ebola possibility until I returned home. It was a welcome respite from the barrage of negative news which tend to overtake our media and can make me feel sad and helpless.

No cell reception, limited TV (by choice) and a car that stayed "mostly" parked was very welcome. We tooled around in a golf cart. Even food, which is a universal necessity, was "eating what was at hand." (OK, so much of what was "at hand" was delivered by Chef, Simon.) But....bacon and eggs and a simple grilled cheese are equally good to curb one's hunger.

Much of the preceding list was "tongue-in-cheek" as a way of emphasizing some of the less important things which many folks consider physical necessities. What about spiritual necessities?

But God.....has a way of narrowing down true necessities to kindness and humility----using those "times away" to draw one unto Himself. Heart preparation can occur in the still moments so that the bulldozer of God's Spirit can arrive and begin to touch our soul each day in a new way. True relational necessities linked and strengthened with those spiritual chains of shared-faith.

Sharing morning devotions around a table after laughing over unique breakfast choices, think "sweets." Sharing and caring. 

Celebrating life.....whether in song and dance with "toasts," or in the simple acts of a Scrabble game or singing hymns with lots of la-la-las when no one can quite remember all the words.

Doing dishes together at the sink. Pooling our minds together to come up with a crossword answer or just a random fact that somehow escapes our memories.....until later. Then, we're free to shout it out, without condemnation.

A cuppa spiritual necessi-TEA sweetened with relational integrity and served with kindness and humility.

SABBATH SNAPSHOT : Locali-TEA----Aus-TEA-ralian Outback

One of 150 recopies of this historical fiction---not even a copyright. The book was the result of Amereon LTD in order to keep availble unusual copies.
Written by Norwegian author, Nevil Shute, the book is based on the Japanese invasion of Sumatra and the journey of 80 women and children in a forced 2 1/2 year journey around the island. This vast journey ended with only 30 of them alive. The Author's Notes are a MUST!
The chapter designations start in the middle of a page. Not dust jacket. A gentle find.

Time frame--World War II. 

Setting--Malaysia, England, Australia, with a brief visit to Scotland in the beginning.

To find "A Town Like Alice," and fully understand the title----read to page 162....and there are only 277 pages in the book. An intriguing book which I happen to like.

A Cuppa Mountain Majes-TEA

Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. (1Chronicles 29:11, NIV)

How much easier for me, it is to praise the Lord when surrounded by the glory and grandeur of mountains!

Those feet would be mine but the colorful trees, majestic mountains and fluffy clouds are all HIS!

A cuppa majes-TEA that is filled with praise for HIS creation!

Clari-TEA of Hearing

And He was saying, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Mark 4:9, NASB)

Scripture teaches much about the Lord, our creator. From Genesis 1 to Romans 1:19-20. Words of truth can jump off the pages. Often the wonder of creation jumps out at me the minute I open my eyes in the morning.......if I "have ears to hear and eyes to see."

This week those truths have been exemplified visually and aurally as I have walked through the fields and in "The Garden" at Blackberry Farm. From pigs and birds to rustling wind and babbling brooks. What awesome reminders!

"This is my Father's world and to my listening ears, all nature sings and round me rings, the music of the spheres..."
from memory----also found in hymn 144 of the Cokesbury Hymnal.

May the Lord grant clarit-TEA in my cuppa as I walk among the sights and sounds of His creation, wherever I may be.

This is my Father's world----oh let me ne're forget! 

Quotabili-TEA : a Visual

He that hath knowledge spareth his words: (Proverbs 17:27, KJV)

In my opinion, folks with top-notch writing ability can say the most with the fewest words.
Pithy with a punch. For me, nothing jogs my memory better than a pithy quote......whether it's written in my Bible maginalia, my journal or seen on a creative craft.
Quotabili-TEA---good quotes, great pithy quotes, quotes worth sharing. From spiritual or intellectual to relational and funny.
Often, as the saying goes, a picture is worth a 1,000 words.

• We must allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. (Bonhoeffer)
• All of life must be given to the Lord----spiritual and secular are not separate. (1/1990 Serendipity Bible)
• I am afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth (Martin Luther)

Humility---this highway doesn't have too much traffic in politics (7/2006, Howard Clark)

• Sooner or later even the upbeat soul gets beat up by life (R.Morgan, The Promise, p,.2)
• "Life huggers"--people who hang on to this world because they think this is it. (Richard Paul Evans)

Somethings do require cake---but at Blackberry Farm one might substitute pecan pie, fudge, iced brownies or Dove Bars.

Cuppa Locali-TEA in a quote---

Tea definition--

• No two persons ever read the same book. (Edmund Wilson)
• There's no such thing as a good book written just for children. If it's good, any age can enjoy it. (Dotsy)

So many quotes so little time and space----My Bibles are filled with quotes.....as is the internet. But.....these are the ones that ring true with me and my cuppa quotabili-TEA to share with others.

"Divini-TEA" of only One

...we know that "An idol is nothing at all in the world" and that "There is no God but one." (1 Corinthians 8:4, NIV)

In all the world, there is but one true God. How do I know? The Bible tells me so. 

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: (Deuteronomy 6:4)

For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, (1 Timothy 2:5)

Nothing says it better! 

Only fools say there is no God. (Psalm 14:1)

Share a cuppa divini-TEA with one who might doubt the truth.

Sagaci-TEA and Serendipi-TEA : a perfect blend

My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; (Proverbs 3:21, NIV)

According to YourDictionary.com, sagacity is the quality of being wise or having good judgment.

Serendipity is an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident---or as I call them God-incidences. The unexpected beneficial moments of life.

God's Word is THE book for wisdom in living. Its truths are sound judgments needed to live our lives by.....so, my Serendipity New Testament is a perfect blend of sagaci-TEA and serendipi-TEA! A great cuppa; it provides the unexpected, yet beneficial extra.

Boun-TEA-ful Harvest

While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease. (Genesis 8:22, NASB)

Autumn is visually my favorite season---the cooling temps also add to its seasonal charm, especially in the mountains. God's offering.
Roasted veggies. Caramel apples. Gingerbread. Pumpkin Roll. An autumn abundance.

What a bounty---apples , nuts and a canopy of leaves in the mountains of western North Carolina this past week. Everything in abundance.

Honey Crisp apples offering a snap and tingle in one's mouth from Barber Orchard off of Hwy 74N on Old Balsam Road just south of Waynesville, NC. Pecans and almonds from the "nut man's" white panel truck at the corner of Hwy 19 and Hwy 276 at the turn to Lake Junaluska, NC and a carpet of leaves as well as a canopy of color above us on the Henize property off of Walnut creek Road and Hwy 64 between Franklin and Highlands, NC.

"The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God, blesses us." (Psalm 67:6) 

How this verse rang true for us and dear friends as we soaked up the crisp, clean mountain air of North Carolina. Carolina blue skies seem to emit a keeness of sorts as the temps begin to fall.

A boun-TEA-ful cuppa blessings for me......and my dear friends!

SABBATH SNAPSHOT : heartfelt hilari-TEA

Bob Goff's NYX bestseller, Love Does, is a book which celebrates the ordinary and the whimsies of life. 

I loved this book---to pieces and in pieces. Part was shared in an after dinner read aloud. Part was read alone. Part was read to hubby. It's a perfect book to read in parts! 

Each of the 31 chapters are a complete story---perfect for a bedside table. You could go to school, especially Sunday School, on the chapter subtitles. "I used to think........but now I know.....!

• I used to think....you had to be special .....but now I know....you simply need to say yes.
• I used to think.....religion tasted horrible....but now I know....I was just eating the fake stuff.
• I used to think.....I could shape the circumstances around me......but now I know God uses the circumstances to shape me.
• I used to think.....I had to be somebody important to accomplish things....but now I know....Jesus uses ordinary people more.

Chapter 10 alone, is worth the price of the book to me. (And I'm frugal---I use the library!) "The Interviews" is worth a read by all heads of state.

Chapter 11, "Wow, What a Hit," was a favorite because it emphasized the importance of using encouraging words throughout life. It tugged at hubby's heart as well as mine. 

"Words of encouragement are like that. They have their own power and when they are said  by the right people, they can change everything.....Words people say to us not only have a shelf life, but have the ability to shape life." (Goff)

One review stated, "Its like you are just sitting there having a cup of tea with him (Goff) while he describes for you how he feels he is supposed to live like Jesus."

This book, a quick, easy read grabbed my funny bone, my heart and my tear ducts! 

That my friends is a recommendation!