Felici-TEA

Let every individual be obedient to those who rule over him; for no one is a ruler except by God's permission, and our present rulers have had their rank and power assigned to them by Him. (Romans 13:1, Weymouth)

Happy 88th Birthday to Queen Elizabeth II. Hoping this has been a day of felicity for her.

Those Brits love their royalty.......so much so, that a second birthday will be celebrated in June when the weather is more likely to cooperate for her BIG "official" birthday parade. 

I KNOW she started her day with a cuppa. It's the British way. According to the BBC, the rest of her day was marked with gun salutes. (41 gun salute in Hyde Park, a 21 gun salute in Windsor Great Park and a 62 gun salute at the Tower of London) 

Gunfire-----not exactly calming to me, but I had a British blend cuppa felici-TEA, just to commemorate her day and to praise the Lord for assigning her to this monarch because of her stated fundamental beliefs and commitment to the Lord. Such awareness certainly brought me real felicity.

For me, the teachings of Christ, and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ's words and example. (Queen Elizabeth II, 12/25/2000)

SABBATH SNAPSHOT : stories of "des-TEA-ny"

We all have a story. We all have a destiny.

The Presbyterian pastor at today's Memphis Botanic Garden's sunrise service told the story of two men who lived a lesser story. 

One man gave himself to a zealous story of athletic pursuit, naming his daughter Crimson Tide and poisoning the iconic oak trees at Auburn University, a rival university. The pursuit of his story ended in capture. His destiny was prison.

In 2008, another man gave himself to the pursuit of money only to lose it in the plummeting stock market. The pursuit of his story ended in death. Broken down emotionally and financially, he shot his wife, three sons and mother-in-law. His destiny was suicide.

Then there is the great story. HIS story. The Bible story. A life not jaded by sin. A life freely given on behalf of all sinful men. Jesus Christ died for all; that we who live, may not now live to self, but live for Him and should make Christ, the end of our living and actions----for He died and rose again on our behalf. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) His destiny---an on-going heavenly destiny, eternity.
Resurrection. The Easter reminder that there is no end to His story.

The timely dogwood blossoms continue to remind us of HIS story.

Jesus's story fulfilled his earthly destiny for our sake.

That's the des-TEA-ny cuppa I want---an eterni-TEA filled with Him.

Frivoli-TEA & Gaie-TEA

Each of us will be a blessing to the other. (Romans 1:12, TLB)

Today's the day! Lauren and Spencer's wedding.

Many scriptures come to mind on this day when two godly young folks will stand before the Lord and others and declare their vows. "Equally yoked" in true communion. (2 Corinthians 6:14) 

The invitation verse offered hope of both a ceremony and a marriage that will glorify the Lord as the bride and groom continue to be a blessing to each other.

Truly a sacred time--a time of mutual encouragement. 

A time for merriment----for believers to raise a cuppa of frivoli-TEA and gaie-TEA in celebration!

"par-TEA"

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, (Ephesians 4:32, NKJV)

Many outlandish thoughts can can come to mind when someone says, "Let's party!" 

But, friend Mimi told me of a simple invitation she had last week from a dear friend and neighbor. 
"Can you stop by for a cup of tea around 2:00?" 
An invitation of kindness.

When Mimi arrived, she was served "party fare" in the sunroom, replete with candlelight, and yummy sweets and savories, accompanied by delightful tea. The perfect setting for a time of sharing both self and food over steaming cuppas.  

The pleasantry and conversation lasted for over two hours.

Friends......content to sit and chat----not outlandish or raucous but a par-TEA all the same. 

A party of the genteel variety.

"Identi-TEA" : a re-brew

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22, NIV)

"I" is for Identi-TEA was the 12/23/09 blog title. Info given is still  a part of my identity fabric. Alphabetical order is a part of who I am and how I organize---sometimes to a fault. The entry was a bit of a walk down memory lane for me.

These days a cuppa of my identi-TEA would be filled with these words---a book lovin’ tea drinker with a burnt toast nametag, 

This was not a staged burn---tho I did scrape it and "tried" to eat some of it---because I don't like to "waste."

----a gal who loves to write for the Lord but who lacks the gene given to poets who are able to say the MOST with the fewest words. Not so with me. Words string forth. A cuppa Verbosi-TEA---is that a word??

That entry from 4 1/2 years ago also dealt with "I" words in scripture. "I" words that identify the Lord.

For this entry, my word choices will identify who I am in the Lord......because that's the identity that counts.

My "in Christ" identity "SHIELD"---

Blessed. (Luke 11:28) Created. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Forgiven. (Ephesians 1:7) Healed. (Isaiah 53:5) Justified. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Loved. (Romans 8:38-39) Redeemed. (Titus 2:14) Sanctified. (1 Corinthians 1:2) Saved (Psalm 3:8)

These participles might not all start with the same letter but they are in alphabetical order and express the continuous action aspect of my life's identity.

Prayer "Directionali-TEA"

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request. (1 Chronicles 4:10, NIV)

The "Prayer of Jabez"  is a great example of the horizontal direction of one's petitions. It also shows a prayer-answering God. This "Chronicler" clearly shows his belief in the efficacy of prayer as he documents the positive answer Jabez received.

Lately I have sensed the direction of my prayer as tending toward the horizontal. So many (outward) petitions for family and others. But God.....in this verse shows that He can certainly answer the petitions of a pray-ers heart.

Yet, prayers also need to be vertical---(upward) in praise and thanksgiving to the glory of God. Focusing on who God is.

Prayers also need to be continual---moving onward in both directions---always God-honoring.

Horizontal. Vertical. On-ward. God-ward.

When any, or all, of these prayers are an application of one's heart to God, one is praying in the right direction. 

May I direct my prayers daily (Psalm 5:3) in all those "right" directions. Heartfelt prayers all end up in God's hands.

"Du-TEA" of the heart

....by love serve one another. (Galatians 5:13, KJV)

Uptick seems to be the "buzz word" of the investment world. A transaction's improvement indicates an uptick. Stock market ratings measure it carefully.

Even in the field of education, it's all about the test scores known as value added assessment. Teachers are rated by the upticks of their students. If the teacher has done his duty, one should notice an uptick in those scores. Growth is the evidence.

What about one's spiritual duty? Can one's spiritual duty be rated on a spiritual scale. Can matters of the heart be rated by an uptick? 

Certainly serving others is an investment in relationship and a pretty clear indicator of spiritual growth.

Those who love the Lord, serve others----it's just part of the continuum. Spiritual matters of the heart don't feel like a cuppa du-TEA or an uptick to be scored. Merely Spirit-fed and Spirit-led overflows of the heart. Duties of the heart are just blessings to be shared. Investing in others counts whether anyone is measuring or not.

In the end, it's the ultimate uptick. An eternal investment.

"Invincibili-TEA

"....the joy of the Lord is your strength." (Nehemiah 8:10, KJV)

How grateful I am to Oswald Chambers for serving up a cuppa invincibili-TEA for me today in his My Utmost For His Highest entry. His reminder that the only way to know the strength of God is to give up complaining and take up the yoke of Jesus and "learn from Him." (Matthew 11:29)

We are "burden bearers" with Him. Hopefully others see peace and the joy of the Lord in our lives, for those two emotions are proof positive that a burden is there as well.

The burden that God places on us squeezes the grapes in our lives and produces the wine, but most of us see only the wine and not the burden. .....the Spirit of God within the human spirit, creates that inner invincibility! (My Utmost, 4/14)

Chambers goes on to say, "If your life is producing only a whine, instead of the wine, then ruthlessly kick it out." (My Utmost, 4/14) What a great pithy grabber that is!

Don't you love it?  No whine, just wine.

Want to find the perfect cuppa to begin your day with Him??? Expore your options---you have a choice of accepting "God-placed burden bearing" that will produce the best wine in your life.

A cuppa inner invincibili-TEA is just what one needs to "sip" during a "Tea With Thee" morning time.

SABBATH SNAPSHOT: li-TEA-rary musings

Works of historical fiction have taken up a good bit of my bookshelf space lately.  From the Civil War to Lindbergh's flight. Recently, I read Stella Bain, which took place during World War I, and I felt the gripping horror of that war from the inside of a field hospital tent. Some have made the blog, others have not----mainly because parts of the book might cause a check in my spirit for an all out positive recommendation. 

Literary musings compiled below are from works, that did not make a full review--

1.  King’s Mountain, (© 2013) a historical fiction account of the the American Revolution by Sharyn McCrumb. 

Maybe I wasn't sure about the book in it's entirety, though the accuracy of her research was well documented and she's a NYT best-selling author.

But.......I had taken notes as if some phrases with spiritual meanings for me just jumped off the pages and seem worthy of sharing---

“Your faith will be your armor.” A sentence repeated often to the reluctant ones (mountain men) who were not Tory sympathizers and were willing to fight the British. Yet, setting out for the task of a war, a war they believed in, was still difficult. (p.123) 
(in spiritual warfare, believers need to be clad with the full armor of faith in the Lord. Ephesians 6:11)

The Whigs and the Tory sympathizers did not battle a faceless enemy but their own neighbors in the backwater counties known as home. 

John Sevier who embodied the American pioneer Spirit wanted his “recruits” to know, “There’s a lot of trust in soldiering. Your life depends on them and theirs on yours.” (p.139) 
(Trust, among members in the community of faith, is essential to battle against the "mighty unseen powers of this dark world." Ephesians 6:12)

"But politics is even more troublesome than war, because most of it is done while you’re your back is turned, and the enemy isn’t always easy to spot." (p. 321) 
(Our enemy "prowls around seeking to devour" (1 Peter 5:8) and can take on many forms in order to destroy those who love the Lord. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.)

2.  A realistic fiction set in England is always a draw for me, especially when there's a map on the frontispiece.

"For years they had been in a place where language had no significance" describes, in a nut shell, the relationship of an Englishman's marriage in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. (© 2012)  Fry's pilgrimage often became a life changing exercise of "just putting one foot in front of the other." But, while on his journey to see an old friend/acquaintance, Fry learns much ----about others and himself. "Harold could no longer pass a stranger without acknowledging the truth that everyone was the same, and also unique; and that this was the dilemma of being human." 

One goodreads review called it a "story of one man's faith in his feet." An old man, at that, so some readers might not appreciate a book about one of medicare age who becomes a hero....as the book becomes somewhat predictable, until the end.

Steeped in Excellence

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8, NLT)

Regardless of what cuppa life serves us, each of us should steep it in excellence. Whether circumstances of disturbing dispari-TEA, unfamiliari-TEA, unclear directionali-TEA, lack of sereni-TEA or frivoli-TEA and gaie-TEA are poured out, one must measure these "thought" events by today's verse. 

As Kay Arthur taught me years ago, if you can to know if a thought is excellent and praiseworthy.....just "Philippians 4:8 it!" If one's thoughts don't t measure up to the excellence put forth in that verse; true, honest, just, pure, lovely and of good repute, don't dwell there. Don't "brew" unwholesome thoughts in your mind. Steep goodness----it might take time, but it's the key to allowing God to make any cuppa (circumstance) palatable. Similar to looking for beauty.

Hm-m....covering a cuppa when steeping tea can keep the flavor in and the "bugs" out--
just like in our thought life when we steep it by covering it in the excellence of God's Word.

Keep those good thoughts brewing. Steep all thoughts in excellence. Cover them with God's word.

Steeping releases flavor for us and favor to God from us. A worthy cuppa.