TEMPER THE HEAT

5/10/12 Each morning Mother always made her tea for the day. Right in the glass pitcher. She taught me  to make perfect tea by adding the sugar while the water was hot. (We never called it "sweet tea," it just always was.) To keep the glass from breaking, she always put a table knife in the pitcher and would pour the water so that it hit the knife first. I guess that somehow dispelled the heat.

I was reminded of this today as I read a “keep your spoon in the cup” incident described by the author in Surprised by Oxford, as her former professor was encouraging her, a “new” believer.

Keeping the spoon in the cup keeps the china from cracking under the heat, she explained…..The metal of the spoon becomes a conductor, protecting the delicate china from extreme in temperature.

You need to keep the spoon in the cup, Caro….especially when things get hot. God lifts us up, but He also grounds us. Fear will get into the cracks; fear ultimately is what breaks us apart. (Weber, 289)

I mulled my mother’s teaching with Weber’s analogy and some needed “fear” related verses. Mulling, Joshua 1:9, Psalm 16:8, Psalm 27:1-3, Isaiah 41:10, John 14:27, II Timothy 1:7 & Hebrews 13:6, as I drank my English tea in my Hadley stoneware mug from KY. What a combo!

Dispelled. Dispersed. Diffused. All good action words for tempering heat. Heat that comes from struggles and fear. Fear that will crack us wide open if we don’t allow the truth from God’s word to infuse us and thus diffuse the heat that can break us.

But God........

“But God” has been my “signpost” since the beginning of my blogging venture. It’s the crux of the verse I hang my faith on.

• Life can throw you a curve ball…………but God………. is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
• You can enter a dark night of your soul and experience that sense of loneliness and desolation……..but God……….never leaves you nor forsakes you. (Hebrews 13:5)
• You can be sad to the core……but God……….comforts you in all your troubles. (I Corinthians 1:3-4)
• You can be restless, distracted and overwhelmed……but God…….is near. In His presence is peace. (Philipians 4:4-7)
• Fear may be wreaking havoc with your psyche ……but God……….hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind. (II Timothy 1:7)
• You can feel rejected by ones you love ………but God……….is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18)
• You can end up in the wilderness of despair…………but God……..paved a way in the wilderness. (Isaiah 40:3)

“But God”……….just those two words remind me again and again, at every spiritual crossroad, that no matter how desperate the situation I can say, “but God”…… has great love for me, “but God”……. extends mercy. (Ephesians 2:4)

Keys Conundrum

5/12/10 Do not read this if you are Larry or a “burglaring blog reader.”
Why do things always seem to go awry when Larry’s out of town. Maybe they do go awry a lot but he’s just always there to make ‘em better and quickly.
Late yesterday, after meeting friend, Ann, for a little exercise, the plan was to go to dinner and to her house to help acquaint her with her new iMac. Though in her 8th decade Ann’s sharp as a tack/tech savvy and still keeping up with computer changes. The problem was my car wouldn’t start. Initial diagnosis---dead battery. I had wondered what that “dinging” sound was when I went to get out of the car. It stopped when I closed door so I hadn’t worried. (You’re probably thinking the “dinging” sound was coming from my ding bat mind—and rightfully so.)

Eventually found a kind young man, now dubbed “angel Donnie” to boost me. The problem was we couldn’t find the battery connectors (or what ever those sticking up pos/neg things are that are either under the hood or in the trunk.

No cell phone ….but Ann had hers. Of course, Larry’s phone was off---golfers don’t like to be disturbed. Finally reached “go-to” car expert, Abe, who told me it was under the back seat. Who would have ever thought that---or planned it??? Certainly not a woman. He also explained how I would have to position myself so that I could push down with my feet at an angle against the seat as I pulled up with my hands. Hm-m-m. After a few tries it did work---the whole bloomin’ thing pulled out.

After boosting my old lady caddy, my rescuer suggested I go to Auto Zone for a free battery check. Did that---left car running while I went in---AZ doesn’t ck my kind of batteries---too hard to get to—sent me to Firestone---

Continuing saga synopsis:

• Car info said battery okay

• Kept car running at Ann’s gated community during computer time

• Drove home, turned car off (again per Larry’s instructions & w/ Abe on stand-by) Car restarted

• This morning--Leaving for work---no keys—having disassembled “regular” keychain during fiasco

• Find Larry’s key in key box---

• No house or work key---

• Ck storeroom for “hidden” door key before locking ---Knocked spare house key off into a black hole (probably went into 1 of 4 upright & full golf bags) & even a flashlight didn’t help locate

• Decided to just leave house unlocked----

• Walking in to work I “unloaded” on fellow librarian, Angie

• She suggested L’s keys might have house key---Wa-lah, they did (Duh)

• No work key, so she unlocked library for me---

• Larry called and I explained morning key trauma/unlocked house, etc--said I was grateful he left Cadillac key at home---

• He didn’t----had it in his hand----

Opps---those were my keys all along!!!!!!!!

Conundrum, indeed!

II Timothy 1:7 says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”

Today I will have to pray that He will help my unbelief about my “sound mind.”