Tea With Thee aka PB&J

Thanks to Kristen T. for a *new perspective, encouraging me in searching Scripture (Acts:17:11) praying for me, praying with me and on Thursday serving me tea.

Times with the Lord for me are usually accompanied by a cup of tea. Location rarely varies. Times can vary. Accoutrements vary. (different tea blends, different Bible translations, different journal, different devotional books, different colored pens)

But.....Kristen *cuts to the chase with her simple PB & J. Sarah Young espouses the same simplicity, which she used when writing Jesus Calling.

P (pen) B (Bible) & J (journal) So simple. So palatable.

A daily P B & J----it's good for the soul. I'll take mine with a cup of tea, please. 

FERVENT

Fervency in one's prayer life is marked by great intensity, along with the ardor of a loving heart.
For me, nothing "ups" the fervency of prayer petitions like the needs of a loved one, especially when they are unable to pray for themselves. That's when Roman 12:12 returns to my prayer radar.

I pray that the suffering saint, undergoing a lengthy surgery, has the strength to be patient in the midst of intense pain with rehab to follow----a time of great affliction. Prayers that she and all of their family can count on the "hope within" to bring them joy.
I, and other prayer warriors, then can step up to the plate and fervently petition the God of the universe for mercy and the continuance of that goodness as He works out His plan on the loved one's behalf.

Be patient in affliction, joyful in hope, fervent in prayer. (Romans 12:12)

Fervent prayer! What a responsibility. What a privilege!

mIStake

BIG mIStake made by Sprite. The company now advertises with the "the world IS yours" quote.

But God's word says, "The earth's is the LORD'S and the fulness there of, the world and they that dwell therein. (Psalm 24:1)
Coca Cola's thinking is mISconstrued and a common mIStake in the world's thinking.

WAR ROOM

"War Room" is not a compartment in my mind but a movie with tiered seating at local theaters. Elnora and I went to see it on "our" day.

Otis Sanford's title of his recent Commercial Appeal article "Some Folks can Benefit From Seeing War Room" said it well. War Room, "a commercial film about repentance, forgiveness and devout Christianity speaks volumes about our deep desire for harmony and racial reconciliation at a time when both are sorely missing in our society." (O. Sanford) As the lights came up, Mr. Sanford spontaneously hugged total strangers sitting in front of him, & they hugged back----because as he stated, "it seemed the right thing to do."

Mr. Sanford hugged a stranger. I hugged Elnora---it seemed the right thing to do because regardless of our skin color, "we be family" as Ashley Bryan says.

War Room, a huggin' kind of movie for both family and strangers!

MELTDOWNS

How can one FINALLY sleep through the night, without a single sleep aid, wake up refreshed for the first time in recent memory and then.....have 3 meltdowns before 10am?

IMPOSSIBLE. It should be impossible for one seeking to serve the Lord.....but it's what happened.

It's also embarrassing. To make matters worse, as I printed off my grocery list and my "teaching" list, I lost them in the computer room as I was looking for another list. I sat and literally "cried" out to the LORD---the tearful kind of crying out.

Answering friend JoLynn's phone call, I acknowledged that I was heading out the door for the grocery (prep for said trip was a BIG part of meltdown #3) and that I was in such a pitiful state that I hoped I wouldn't have a meltdown on aisle 7. BTW---In "my" Kroger, aisle 7 is the "tea aisle."
Who knew? I didn't......but for sure it's a hangout aisle for me.

I could just hear it over the Kroger intercom. Meltdown on Aisle 7---Clean-up needed!"

That was it----clean-up was needed. So.....back to the prayer chair before I walked out the door. 

After all, Wednesdays, on my weekly schedule, have always been "Weeping Wednesdays," a time of confession. 

Create in me a clean heart O Lord and renew a right spirit within me.
(Psalm 51:10, ESV)

Faithful spirit. (GWT) Loyal spirit. (NLT) Resolute spirit. (NET) Right attitude. Right spirit. (KJV)(ISV) Steadfast spirit. (NASB) 

Right spirit is the antithesis of a meltdown.

"S" Word

At our home, there are two "S" words we work hard to avoid.

The first S, is shut-up. Tho I addressed shut-up in a previous blog, it was not quite in the same context. 

We try to avoid this  S word by substituting a more acceptable "hush."

The second  S,  "stupid" seems totally out of place as a noun, especially when referencing a human being with such a moniker.

Other "bad" S words that come to mind are sucker (as in gullible) and sin---yet, sin is ever present and needs to be labeled for what it is. 

BUT....two recent quotes have me realize that even S words with bad inferences can be necessary for emphasizing truth, especially to ones with "dull" hearing (aka not having ears to hear) as a way of getting their attention.

For believers....."Sin does NOT make things more interesting; sin makes us lose heart."(2 Corinthians 4:1 & 16) (C. Huffman)

A sinner can repent, but STUPID is forever; . (Billy Sunday)

So.....listen up----I certainly did.

Hum-m-m-m......sin (the unrepentant variety) and stupid----maybe those two S words go hand-in-hand.

18 ways....

.....18 ways to quick start start a day.....

5 --USPS cards
3 --text messages
2 --email messages
2 --on-line cards
1 --singing card
1 --surprise google message *
1 --bag w/ cheesestraws & poundcake
1 --yummy cupcake *
1 --tray of lemon squares
1/2 --salted caramel
1/2 --handcrafted chocolate heart

18 ways to remind one to number her days and be "grateful for each day the good Lord gives." (Daddy aka Grandaddy Brud) (Psalms 90:12)

* Google --"How do it know?"

** my fave white cupcake with buttercream frosting--design by Molly in a "Dotsy" liner 

Second Day!

When man works, man works; when man prays, God works. (Angus Buchan)

He certainly did that for sweet Lucy today as she  was reassigned to the preschool just around the corner from her home.......and went shopping with Daddy for the new school uniform.

Answered prayer that blessed her grandmother's heart----God's best in His timing.

FIRST DAYS!

A joyful heart is good medicine...(Proverbs 17:22) For a grandmother that includes first day of school pix from pre-school to 8th grade.

Pre-school Lucy

Pre-K Andrew

1st Grade John Parker

2nd Grade Owen

l-r 8th Grade Nathan, 4th Grade Caleb, 6th Grade Noah

INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY

Today's the day......guess where I am headed today? To the Collierville Library for a writers' conference.

.........and the  Mid-South Book Festival begins tomorrow. Body wearying fun for a bibliophile!

Be still my heart......the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body. (Ecclesiastes 12:12)