opportuni-TEA

So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. (Galatians 6:10, NASB)

Today is "National Pie Day," according to yesterday's Commercial Appeal. This year the designated day, January 23, falls on a Thursday. That info certainly jogged my memory of a by-gone era. 

At our house 31 years ago, when daughter Molly was 3 yrs. old, we designated Thursdays as "our" pie day. Flexible hours, while teaching at the University during that time, worked well with our endeavor. Together we rolled & pinched pie dough, added various fillings and then delivered them to neighbors, newcomers, and folks who could use a lift, as well as Sunday School and Bible Study teachers.

One week our recipient was Molly's Community Bible Study Children's leader, "Miss" Pam. We, with people from all over the Memphis community, met at 2nd Pres. to hear the teaching of God's Word from Katherine Phillips. So.....not knowing where "Miss" Pam lived, Molly just took the pie to her at CBS.

Year's later, a board member of the Neighborhood School purchased one of Molly's village paintings from her "Contemporary Folk Art for the Soul" series for the inner city Christian school. Hanging the picture at the school Molly, the artist, & "Miss Pam," the board member, made the connection of baker and recipient----of a pie almost 30 years earlier. A blessing "unknowingly" reciprocated. 

My cuppa today is filled with opportuni-TEA to pour out a blessing to another in the household of faith. 

I think I'll bake a pie!

I did----HHS' Debbie J's famous Pecan Pie

brevi-TEA

God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:2)

Much time was spent this morning in God's Word. So much so, that when my phone rang at 12:20, I had to admit I was still in my gown-tail. (a Mama Davenport term) 

Yet, not one blog thought had been given. Not even a "tea" word. Was this the blog door closing? 

Verbose. Had I been writing too much? My desire has been to write in a "pithy with a punch" way? Were my own words overshadowing His truths?

Driving home from Bible Study tonight, I prayed, "Lord if you want me to blog today, please give me the words. So......here they are.

• Serve a cuppa brevi-TEA.
• Pare it down and pour it out. 
• Take truths from today's study & summarize.

There's a stark contrast between the godly who delight in God's Word and the ungodly who scoff at God. (Psalm 1) 

• God's Word: Delight. Meditate. Follow.

God reveals Himself in nature and His Word as we "look" for Him. (Psalm 19) 

• Look for God daily.

God's truths give completeness and purpose to life while wickedness centers on self without purpose. (Psalm 37) 

• "Fret not!"

Pouring out only a 1/2 cuppa of all I learned today. 

• 

Just enough. Sometimes brevi-TEA is best. 

Dispari-TEA

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good (Genesis 50:20, NIV)

Often our life journeys don't take us where we think we're headed. That was certainly true in Joseph's life when  his own brothers threw him in a wilderness pit and later sold him.
In our own lives we can be shocked and think, "This is not the movie I bought my ticket for." Terminal illness. An unfaithful spouse. Chronic pain. An addicted child. What good can come from this? Where are God's blessings for my life?

If one has lived a moral life of serving God and others, he/she can mistakenly assume that such behavior will protect him/her from calamity.

Tragedy seems inconsistent with godliness. Seemingly, there's such disparity.

It's easy to take verses of scripture that seem to honor wise living and overlook the parts that follow.
"....in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation."(John 16:33, NIV) Christians are not exempt from tribulation----those hard parts of life. We just have to trust God and keep reading....and understand that when God says "Take heart....." or "Wait,"He is there in the midst with us.

"There's a difference between reading a map and traveling the road---as distinct as the disparity between reading a menu and and eating a meal." (Miles to Go, p.5)

In a life well-lived, one can still be served some inconsistencies of adversity and affliction----But God....is in those intersections of dispari-TEAs.

Life is a continuous journey. Continue to live it well. And......If along the way, life serves you a big cuppa dispari-TEA, just sweeten it with God's grace.

Then...leave that cuppa in His hands.

Tranquili-TEA: A calm cuppa

Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all time in every way.
(2 Thessalonians 3:16, NIV)

But what do we do with the peace that the Lord provides? Do we even slow down long enough to recognize it for what it is? Do we let the world bombard us with its messages so that God's word is obscured?

J & MJ, our "couple friends" have chosen to limit use of their devices and to disconnect completely from television. NO TV. Highly educated, fun-lovin', caring, NORMAL folks choosing to pull the plug on media influence and its overwhelming interruptions. (For skeptics, there's no live streaming at their house either.) My hubby can't even begin to imagine a "NO Sports" life.

Such a deliberate decision would at least give a person control over one aspect of the world's influence in his/her life. Just having the TV "on" can draw someone in. Certainly a TV program can blindside anyone---planting a word, idea or picture that can be difficult to get off one's mind. 

 TV ads can influence a person's actions. This is no surprise when one considers that a 2014 Super Bowl commercial is $5m for a 30 second spot or a heftier $10m for a 60 sec spot. A captive audience for their product is pricey. I admit to watching the ads as much, if not more, than the game but I don't tend to retain enough info to warrant companies opting to pay that kind of money.

I love having "NO TV" friends. They inspire me to choose"peace and tranquility." Friends who have chosen to decide what controls, not only their minds but also their time. Living "out" from our city limits in a 100+ yr. old home, filled with overflowing book shelves, Bibles on side tables and a wrap around porch, offers positive options. 

Result = Peace. Tranquility in living. 

This morning, with the TV off and no extraneous noise,  I picked the tea I wanted to "brew."
 It added to the tranquilty of my "Tea With Thee" time. 

J & MJ understand that they get to pick what they "brew" in their minds. 

Cuppa of choice---tranquili-TEA. 

SABBATH SNAPSHOTS : LITEA

1/19/14 

"Litea." A Hungarian word. Teaching English as a Second language for a couple of weeks for CRM had me in Budapest the summer of 1997. That's where I first encountered the word, litea. It was a sign outside a store on the Buda side of Budapest. (Castle District area, as I recall.) 

Exterior inviting. Sign intriguing. Translation not fully understood. But...for one who loves both literature and tea, the suggestion was a "draw."

Inside, it was like a reader's den offering tea. Book browsing with cuppa in hand. Tökéletes! (Perfect)

It also had me with a "good book" in hand. A work of fiction. View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg.

Since Sundays seem to gravitate toward "tea" book reviews these days, I decided to share that YA book, that can be enjoyed & greatly appreciated by adults. It was the Newbery winner for that year, 1997.

Water color of "Litea" purchased Budapest, Hungary, 1997
Note---Litea orange sign bottom left corner.

REVIEW: Memorable, but shunned by peers, the characters become the "unlikely" sixth-grade interscholastic quiz bowl team, coached by a paraplegic teacher, Mrs. Olinski. Handicapped in not only body but also in spirit. 

It's been years since I've read it but  2 things still remembered are: their tea party, where they saw life and their own potential from a new perspective; and the metaphor Konigsburg used to highlight their new standing at school, as as they passed students in the hall who lifted their arms giving them a thumbs up---"the hallway "looked like a forest of apostrophes."  

Something else that resonated with e-me-- the final words when Mrs. O asks, "Did I choose you or did you choose me? The kids answered, Yes!" 

Sometimes I feel like that might be the Lord's answer to me when I ask Him the same question.

SATURDAY RE-BREWS: TEAch-able

1/18/14 Weekends are times for wandering.....so for a season, the Saturday blogs will be a re-brew. A Re-write. I hope to re-write some blogs from the last 5 years. More concise. More focused and in the same format.

TEAch-able will be the first cuppa.

But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you. (John 14:26, ASV)

Re-reading my 2/28/09 blog entry today, had me asking myself, "How teachable am I in 2014?" 

"Why do I seem to continue to need re-teaching, especially in the area of trust?" Remedial trust classes?" Or.....maybe be sent to "time-out" to see if "being still" can make a difference in my recall of God's word and all He has done in my past to prove His faithfulness.

In 2009, my classroom was a cancer diagnosis with a grim prognosis. An initial surgery could last 18-22 hours. Possibility of 8-10 surgeries spanning over a year. A good chance of losing my gums and having to rebuild my sinus cavity with titanium. Such a medical foreboding had my listening ears perked. I desired to "hear" more from the Lord, knowing that though "he slay me," as Job said, I was ready to praise HIm.
Suffering can bring one into a TEAch-able position---prostrate before the Lord.

Psalm 23 is a psalm of trust and confidence in the God for not only the moment but for all one's future moments as well. Psalms---a good place to go for re-teaching IF one has a TEAch-able spirit.

"Flexibili-TEA"

The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. 
(Proverbs 16:9, NASB)

NOTHING ----went as planned. Make that, as I planned. 

Schedules didn’t pan out to meet sweet Katya from Ukraine. Mixed signals had a lunch date postponed. Dinner downtime was a wash out. Traffic jam---of course.  One can’t leave east Memphis after 5pm and expect to arrive downtown for a pre-show dinner, when the event starts at 7pm. Green Beetle didn’t even have coconut cake available AND oreo was certainly not a choice I would consider.

Needed: A BIG cuppa flexibili-TEA. 

I, too easily, can get bent out of shape, almost to the point of breaking, when “my” goals and plans are blocked.

But God......The evening ended in “Singing His Praises” at the Orpheum with my African -American brothers and sisters, who can really “belt out” the gospel through their “spirituals!”

How sweet a cuppa  of flexibilTEA, served with song of LOUDEST praise!

"Tea"-fixes

   And there arose a great storm of wind. (Mark 4:37, KJV)

Some storms come up like great winds and blow us over. Others in the tornadic range crush us.

Storms of life were last night's H2H small group discussion. Storms that break us, if only for a season. Loss of a child or parent. Unfaithful husband. A friend who can no longer be trusted. Home invasion. Terminal diagnosis. 

Dis-may. Dis-loyalty.  Dis-honesty. Dis-ruption. Dis-appointment. Dis-ability.

Diss has been the verb of choice for teenagers in recent years---often used with a VERY negative tone and volume. I have never used it as a verb, seeing it only as a pre-fix. Recently I came to see the power of that trio of letters. That pre-fix can quickly change words in our language just as storms can quickly change our lives. I propose a "tea"-fix for those storms that "break" us or at least change our at-TEA-tude in the midst of them.

Dis-card the dregs and brew a better tea with a new perspective. Dis-appointment can remind us to keep our "early" appointment with the Lord. Allow God to show you that you are able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can imagine (Ephesians 3:20) so the disability can become an abili-TEA, when empowered with His strength. Even an honest look at one's own sin might enable us to be more forgiving of another.

Acceptabili-TEA of the new norm in our life, brought on by the storm, might be the re-brew for that disruption of life. Life as we knew it before the breach.

A new cuppa. a A re-brew. A "tea"-fix.

familiari-TEA

...whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:26, NIV)

Driving to Jones Clinic this morning to deliver some cookies, my mind started spinning. A knot in my stomach began to tighten. The cookies were a simple thank you to those who had been so caring to my friend Claudia for the last  2+ years.

Yet, this was the first time I had been to the clinic since her death 6 weeks ago. Re-entry fear was real. I had never been in the chemo room without her. Would it hold bad memories for me? Would I have an old-fashioned "come apart?"

Instead, I was overwhelmed by the contentment I experienced as I saw the familiar IV poles, big computers, disposable products and trays, the basket of handmade quilts and blankets. Even the Bigelow "tea" station.

My original fear took a back seat to the welcoming familiar smiles of the in-take staff, the lab techs, the nurses, pharmacist and the social worker. Patients filled the recliners. Many were sleeping peacefully as their latest chemotherapy protocol dripped into their veins----a very familiar scene. All still with hope for remission. No finali-TEA for them---not yet. They still have hope for a better tomorrow, this side of heaven. It was Claudia's chair that was unfilled. It's emptiness brought a catch in my throat.

But God....took over in my thoughts. Acceptance of that empty chair came with the reminder that Claudia knew her final destination. How often she reminded me and many at Jones Clinic the truth of John 11:26.

The familiarit-TEA of her voice, with her words of trust, brought the real comfort.
Familiari-TEA such a comfort cuppa.

visibili-TEA

This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand......But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. (Matthew 13: 13 & 16, NASB)

What does it take for one to see clearly?  For me, it's a prescription for bifocals. But even with my spectacles, there are times, especially when reading, that extra light is needed for me to truly see.

Beyond physical sight there is also spiritual "seeing." In a world of opaqueness, there no longer seems to be clear lines when it comes to truth and morality. Our minds are blurred with cultural myths. Not easy to see through the teachings of the media. Our visibility and understanding are skewed.

 More "light" is required. Jesus realized that as He taught both His disciples and the multitudes. The "light" of understanding was needed to see truth and nurture a heart of understanding. Why couldn't they see? Why did the One who is the "Light" have to tell stories? Illumination was required. Spiritual illumination. 

True visibili-TEA comes from eyes and heart opened by the Spirit of the Lord. 

I can see clearly now as I sip from the cuppa of visibili-TEA with my Bible open to the parables in Matthew 13.