"cov-e-TEA-ous"

For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, ........deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.  (Mark 7:21-23, NASB)

What was a gal, who doesn't know the difference between a stock and a bond, doing reading the CA's business section? Perusing. Just an "at a glance perusal," not a careful examination. 

Sam Ray's,"Business as Usual" cartoon caught my eye. Obviously, in the business world a euphemism for sin is the term "inappropriate." Sadly, the one frame cartoon reflected the truth of greed in our world. 

Individual greed....greedy man curses and spurns the LORD. (Psalm 10:3)

Corporate greed...in their greed they will exploit you with false words; (2 Peter 2:3)

Rampant greed.

"Inappropriate Prayer" Title....as executive kneels beside his desk praying, "PLEASE, LORD, I WANT MORE!

Too many folks sip from a cuppa "greed." Always wanting more. It's not only inappropriate, it's a sin. The 10th commandment reminds us of that, telling us NOT to covet. It gets to the heart of the matter of sin. It looks at our motivations showing how God wants us to think. (Deuteronomy 5:21) 

A cuppa cov-e-TEA-ous should be set aside. A cuppa generosi-TEA should be picked up instead as one remembers, "it is more blessed to give than to receive."(Acts 20:35)

elemen-TEA-ry

He has told you, O man, what is good;

    and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

    and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8, ESV)

Hubby and I are both Sherlock Holmes fans. We don't belong to the Baker Street Irregulars nor do we don deerstalker hats to celebrate His possible birthday of January 6. After all he is a fictional character. But....we appreciates both the written and television works based on his detection skills. BBC/PBS is filmed in London. The locale is familiar. The acting incredible. Even the CBS contemporary update, set primarily in NYC is enjoyable. Plus, Watson is a female. A novel approach.
Film and TV productions have used the Holmes line, which he uttered to Watson, that is recognized by anyone over 60. "Elementary, my dear Watson." 

Elementary. The obvious. The basics. Simple truths. Recognizable by those truly seeking. Foundational for deduction and spiritual understanding.

All this to say, that in the Christian faith, there are some elementary truths that all denominations hang their hats on.

My favorite "BASIC" verses (emphasis, mine):

• You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)
• Serve the Lord with gladness. (Psalm 100:2)
• You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and (love) your neighbor as yourself. (Luke 10:27)
• Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. (John 6:47)
• Serve one another in love. (Galatians 5:3)
• Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
• In everything give thanks....(1 Thessalonians 5:18)
• All scripture is given by inspiration of God...(2 Timothy 3:16)

Just the basics---elementary truths. A cuppa elemen-TEA-ry sweetened with God's truths which Christians should sip every day.

"pellucidi-TEA"

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrew 4:13, NIV)

Pellucidi-TEA. How's that for a ten-dollar word? Synonymous with transparency. Our lives and hidden motives are all transparent before God, whether we like it or not. So, why aren't we transparent before each other, especially those who are of the household of faith? Why is it so difficult to feel free to be honest, open, genuine and transparent with God and men. 

Transparency sets one up to be vulnerable and that's a "risky" place to be. Certainly if one has been "burned" by openly sharing with another, it's even more difficult.

But God, challenged me through Taylor Park's recent sermon, "A Fellowship of Fellow Strugglers" to examine the church as a fellowship of transparency. 
Transparency is sometimes necessary if one is to truly minister to the "body." Pride has to be set aside. The "I'm just a very private person" excuse must be shelved if one truly wants to help others in a similar struggle. 

"Deep Fellowship" is experienced by the sharing of believers on the same side of the struggle. The been there, done that, experience that one can choose to share in order to offer comfort and hope to another. It's the living out of 2 Corinthians 1:4.

I admit that I have trouble picking up the cuppa pellucidi-TEA, much less sipping from it. That cuppa transparency that houses the hurts and struggles of my life. I keep those very close to my chest. Afraid of the ramifications.

But God....recently allowed me a front row seat of one who shared a struggle with deep hurts. Transparent before a friend in the faith with a similar struggle and all the residual hurts from feelings of comparison and NOT measuring up. A risk taken. A transparency of heart to minister and to show love as Paul did in 2 Corinthians 2: 2:4. (Italics, mine)

For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote  (spoke) to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I (and God) have especially for you.

A love for another believer. A love which enabled one to take a risk and become transparent. A transparency that ministered the gift of hope to a struggling friend in the faith.

A cuppa "pellucidi-TEA at its best---steeped in love and overflowing to another. It's worth the risk!

SABBATH SNAPSHOT : tea-tection

From Huffington Post to Oprah, everyone seems to have a "must read" list to put in your beach bag.  Fluff. Pop sugar. Easy read. Sizzle and lurid, depressing and gruesome were words that came to my mind as I read the lists.

Why trust an unknown recommendation? Why not choose my own fluff---a story with a female sleuth, who does her own detecting? I love tea. I love Charleston. Laura Childs' "Tea Shop Mysteries" are set in the Indigo Tea Shop in that South Carolina town. I've read the first 14 so #15, Steeped in Evil, is going in my beach bag. Certainly not high-brow reading but it's a book I can read in bits and pieces. I can read it on "my watch" with the napping grands and then easily set it aside when an eagle-eye is needed at the beach.

TEA-tection, a perfect combo word---for the act of detecting by Theodosa, a tea shop owner, when the police detective, Tidwell needs her assistance, whether he admits it or not. 

TEA-tection a new genre, "coined" by me, for a book choice that meets my beach needs.

Summer's Boun-TEA

The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. (Psalm 145: 15, NKJV)

There's nothing quite like summer in the South to appreciate the produce of the earth as a free and bountiful gift of God. It's my favorite food season!

Shop Local. Wednesday Farmer's Market at the Botanic Garden. Agricenter International at the Red Barn. Windermere Farms and Apiaries.

Those "summertime" signs lure me. No additional prodding needed for this veggie lovin' sweet tea drinkin' gal.

God's bounty is available at every corner and I'm drinkin' it in---a cuppa boun-TEA that delights all my senses.

"Safe-TEA"

for the LORD will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard. (Isaiah 52:12, NIV)

How grateful I am today for the Most High God who is my Almighty Lord, my refuge, and my fortress, in whom I trust. (Psalm 91: 1-2) How grateful I am, also, to those who earn our honor and gratitude by serving in our military. May we fly our flags today in honor of our US troops (both active and veterans) who throughout the years have willingly gone forth to "protect" our country from war and terrorists.
Even the dedication and sacrifice of their families is to be honored. Last weeks' visit from hubby's friend and "Wounded Warrior" gave us both an "up close and personal" view of such a sacrifice. Joseph---wounded multiple times while serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Such events impact the entire family--wife and daughters included. What a blessing to see them coping as a team with a clear focus on the Lord as they asked His direction for their future.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23: 4) Joseph practiced that verse on the field while Christen lived it at home with their girls. A warrior and a wife---both heroes!

A celebration of our freedom should always be a day to honor our heroes, who are responsible for that liberty. We can freely sip our cuppa safet-TEA because of their willingness to give up the ease of their lives for the betterment of ours. A big salute to them all!

Creativi-TEA: a re-make

Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. (Jeremiah 18:2-4, KJV)

Recently I went  to the Potter's House at Miracle Pottery in Mentone , AL. I heard the story of his wife's art depicting the jug similar to the one that Rebekah might have used in Genesis 24: 43-45.

Though I purchased said jug, it wasn't the pottery itself that stuck with me as much as the sign. 
What a great reminder, as the prophet Jeremiah observed, that the pot in the hands of the potter was his own creation. I, too saw myself in the hands of my Creator realizing He sees the flaws that others don't notice. At His discretion, He can remake or recreate in my life that which seems good to Him. In my life, He allowed cancer to take my smile, but He remade my heart in the process.

How like our Creator, our own personal potter, to see our need for a makeover. The blemishes that are weaknesses, the cracks that need rubbing out. In His masterful hand, we can be made new each day when we choose to go to our Potter/Creator's house/sanctuary and submit to His hand shaping our lives.

What cracks I have! How desperately I need to position myself daily at the hand of my potter, that He might re-create in me a clean heart, as I allow Him to pull and prod and mold me. 

For it is He who created me----HE who "has made us and not we ourselves." (Psalm 100:3)

"Tea with Thee" time draws me to the place of quietness, (like the Potter's House); a place where the voice of the Lord can speak to my inward parts in order to bring about the change I need. As I sip from my cuppa filled with His creativi-TEA, I can trust His re-shaping.

"vi-TEA-mins"

O LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress. (Isaiah 33:2, NIV)

For physical health, my counter is lined with vitamins and supplements to be ingested daily for my well-being. Some are big and yuky but I choke them down because I "know" they are good for me.

A fatigue induced "two-cuppa" day--

Years ago, I even made sure our children had a daily dose of a multi-vitamin. Their's seemed to be tastier than mine because Josh called his Flintstone vitamins, "bi-TEA-yums." He actually "semi-overdosed" by taking more than the RDA. Such an event can be dangerous if the "chewables" contain iron. Fortunately, Josh drank almost a half a gallon of milk as he "chewed" them. The poison control center said that he would be fine because "milk binds iron. Who knew?

When asked why he did that, his reply made sense. His rationale was that if "just one bi-TEA-yum would build strong bones, the entire bottle of them would make him even stronger."

Josh had yet to learn that a vitamin's renewed strength came with only "one" daily. Spiritual vitamins dispensed from God's word are the same. One get's strength from seeking the Lord and being in His Presence daily. (Psalm 105:4) His strength--- available and renewable each day

...but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. (Isaiah 40:31)

Pour the cuppa adversi-TEA of life at His feet during your "Tea with Thee" times. 

Refill your daily cuppa with hope in the Lord. Continual sipping is needed, especially when enriched with His vi-TEA-mins which provide His strength for the storms of life. 

anonymi-TEA

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, (Matthew 6:33, NIV)

Pay it forward. Random Act of Kindness. (RAK) These contemporary terms describe unselfish giving of gifts. No thank you note required when the donor chooses to remain anonymous. 
At Hattiloo's Overton Square grand opening this past weekend, I noticed lots of "big" Memphis names and corporations who were etched into the wall of this black repertory theater's entry. But....what caught my eye was the simple one, "A Friend of Hattieloo." No fanfare. No accolade. No strings attached.

Such a gift was "downright" biblical. (Matthew 6:33) In the area of black arts, there has been a tremendous need for a platform for many Memphis actors "of color," as a former HHS student of mine shared with me.  Not just on the stage, but behind the stage expertise as well. So a "shout-out" of "Hooray" to that "friend of Hattieloo."

In the spiritual realm, anonymous giving is more than just a way to reignite one's faith in human kindness, it's a way to follow the examples set in God's word.

Certainly a cuppa anonymi-TEA in gift giving can brighten the day of the recipient or recipients, but it can brighten the "givers" day as well.

Mis-TEA Med-TEA-tation

This is my comfort in my affliction, That Your word has revived me. 
(Psalm 119:50, NASB)

Misty eyes from conviction of unworthiness. An affliction of sorts. An overwhelming need to "feel" God's love. Yet, knowing that I need to trust that He loves me, whether I "feel" it or not. 
...feelings are like the mists that cover the mountains in misty weather. The mists pass; the mountains abide.(Edges of His Ways, p. 83) I need to remind myself that my Father God abides with me. He loves me whether I feel it or not. God goes with me wherever I go, whether I feel it or not. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

The King James Version of the Bible says, "Thy Word hath quickened me." Quicken, as a transitive verb, makes alive. To revive; to cheer; to reinvigorate; to refresh by new supplies of comfort or grace.  (King James Version Dictionary) His truth revives me and becomes my feeling of comfort.
I need to sip that cuppa truth daily. Believe it. Then, pour it out to Him as I sing of His love forever.