Just As I Am

tea leaves

I've started looking forward to Tuesdays.....that means morning tea with my friend, Bonnie.  Today was my turn to host our get together.  I usually set a casual tea right on my coffee table, so we can sit on the couch and visit.  We laugh and, sometimes,  cry and share things we want each other to pray about as we sip our tea.

Here's today's table sans biscuits, which were still in the oven, and tea pot, waiting for the water to warm.

There's just something about women and tea, isn't there?

Women around a table of cups and a pot of tea [or even a pot of hot water and tea bags]  just seem to relax and open up!

When I go home, my sister sometimes hosts a little tea party for all the girls in the family.  It has been interesting too see the dynamics of the conversation around the table change as the younger generation of women are taking the places that my sisters and I used to hold....it seems we've joined my mom in becoming...quieter... speaking less....listening more...as they banter about marriage and children and friendships and spiritual matters.  I love hearing their reflections, and it warms my heart to see them finding common ground on which to build strong family ties.

Some of my favorite tea parties were ones the girls and I used to have for my mom and dad when they came to town....I wish I had a picture to share here. We really went all out and used Let's Have a Tea Party, a book by Emily Barnes,  for ideas and recipes.  It was a fun way for the girls to learn the art of hospitality.

And they learned it well. Last  Mother's Day they had a tea party in honor of me!  Such a beautiful blessing and memory!

One of my favorite recipes for tea on a hot day is Texas Tea.  You'll have to set out the pitcher and goblets or iced tea glasses instead of the tea cups and teapot, but it still works the magic :)

Feel free to leave a comment below sharing your favorite tea party memory or favorite tea recipe.....or

Drop Me a Note

trust

"You can't trust God generally; you must trust Him specifically."  
_{Darrin Patrick}

How is it that we [I] want a personal, one-of-a-kind relationship with a non-generic God, but keep trying to trust Him in a general, generic way.

Every need, every circumstance, every challenge, every battle He has orchestrated or allowed and set before us [me] is strategically designed with this very thought in mind:

This is an opportunity to experience the great

I AM

Hearing those words in the quote I shared above as  I listened to This Sermon about Worry, reminded me that, as long as I don't identify my specific need and find out Who God IS in regard to that need and purpose to trust Him to be specifically Who He says HE IS in regard to that need, I will continue to stumble in the wilderness trying to know and serve a nebulous shadow of who the true, almighty God is.

I will ever know about Him, but I will never know Him.

It would seem that when we trust Him generally, we will have the capacity to praise Him only generally, too.

 

Trusting God and praising Him, specifically, in private and family prayer and worship reminds of us His faithfulness and teaches us and our children that with every specific test, there is a testimony.

God help us....help me....to trust You specifically!

Drop Me a Note

blessed

to be the mom of these beautiful girls [and one not pictured]

who graciously honored me with a tea party....
have I mentioned that I like tea parties?

The table was set with these beautiful flowers

and this lovely platter of candles




All of the food was scrumptious... including this yummy trifle


Isn't the strawberry heart delightful?


The menu included:

Texas Tea
Chicken Salad
Fruit Slush
Scones
Devonshire Cream
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Spinach Salad
Trifle





As if the tea party wasn't gift enough, this pretty little package sat close beside the table..




something totally unexpected, but longed for, was inside...


an Ipod

: )

 

I am blessed by the kind and gracious love my Heavenly Father displays to me
through each of my little women.



thank you
 Jenna, Katy & Leah!

The Art of Living

All three of my daughters are amazing.  Each, in her own way, challenges and inspires me to buck the status quo and become the unique person I am meant to be.

During dinner the other night, Leah asked John and I if, looking back, life was all that what we had thought it would be.

I answered, "No"

and then I said, "But maybe, back then, I didn't know what life really is."

Then she asked what we would, yet, like to do/have in our lifetime.

Today I've been pondering what I want my LIFE to look like this year.

A line from the movie Shawshank Redemption really says it all: 
"Get busy living, or get busy dying."

And, to me, here's the difference.

Living means savoring the beauty of ordinary day duties; not just throwing things together to get it done.

Living means reading a book or watching a movie or TV show that makes me consider timeless truths or leads me to the accomplishment of my goals instead of frittering away time reading or watching things that do nothing to exhort me to excellence.

Living means taking time to listen to the Holy Spirit's still, small voice encouraging me to act on His suggestion of how I can minister to others, instead of fulfilling the obligatory expectations of the traditions of man bereft of any semblance of His love for that person because I'm too busy running the world's maze to consider his plan.

Living means throwing off the insecurity that holds me back from doing what I want  or feel called to do....getting "me" out of the way...instead of thinking "I can't possibly do that, because it's too risky."

Living means believing TRUTH instead of what seems to be true.

Living means being myself and ceasing to emulate others or what I think others expect me to be.

Living means getting rid of the material and mental clutter in my life instead of hoarding decaying things.

Living means thriving with purpose and not just coping with circumstances.

Living means trusting that God knows all of my needs and is faithful to meet them instead of thinking I am missing out.

I want to get busy living
and share with you the practical ways I'm doing it
as the year unfolds.
 
How about you
What's on your list?

{surprise surprise}

This is a real bona fide blog post!  Imagine that!

Truth is, I've missed blogging so much that I can't stand it another minute....I've got to write something!

There's just something about this little space like none other ...I've tried to write a bit about my days on my  photography blog, but it just isn't the same...I think I need to post just pictures there now and then...but this is my REAL blog home...the place I come to when I want to really share the details of my life and my heart.

I doubt that there are any committed readers anymore, and that is okay....I have to do this for me as much as for anyone else that might happen to drop in.

So, with that said....I am hoping to do some consistent writing here.

If you do want to "converse" I would love it...just leave a comment and instead of my usual email back to you, I think I'll try to answer comments right in the comment section of the blog...I've done it both ways, and I think I like the conversation right on the  page  for everyone to enjoy best :)

fun stuff

I love surprise packages, don't you?
So when the mailman dropped a box at my door and rang the bell a few days ago, I wondered what I had ordered and forgotten about.
Well, I didn't order this, but it was for me:

Isn't it the cutest little bag and paper?  I love those bright spring-y colors, and this is what was inside:

a birthday card and this note:

[click on picture to enlarge]

with...........this

Isn't it cute?  We haven't ever exchanged birthday gifts...so this was a fun surprise!
Oh yes, and that is Leah modeling the apron....kind of hard to take a picture of yourself in it : )
Gotta learn that self-portrait stuff.....
Thanks, sister sister....I love you!

And for others of you who called, sent cards, and emails to wish me happy birthday...like this one from Julie...

....thanks...you made my day!

today

John, and Leah, and I got up very early and drove 2.5 hours to see my nephew, Daniel, who travels throughout the US with Life Action Ministries.  It was a great day....hearing Truth from Ezekiel 37...

eating lunch at Carrabba's Italian Grill, and catching up on Daniel's life on the road, as he manages the 20 member team.

daring to lose

Here is today's story from The Story People , little thought provoking stories written by artist and storyteller Brian Andreas, I found awaiting me when I opened my inbox this morning:

"Can I count on you to be there, no matter what? she said & I said no & she said what kind of friend are you? & I said the kind who won't lie to you any time you want & I think she kept me around as a curiosity after that"

My thoughts:

Sometimes we're afraid we will lose something....esteem, relationship, respect, favor if we step out of responding to people according to their felt needs and into responding to them according to how the Holy Spirit is directing us...being a vessel pointing them to Truth...

Of course, one must know Truth in order to introduce Him to others...

And to be honest, some people don't keep you or Him around as a curiosity; some keep you as far away as they can...preferring to put Truth on a cross and bludgeon Him to death...

"I am the way the Truth the life, no man comes to the Father but through me."  John 14.6

May you and I always have the courage to say "no" when we need to....whether people keep us around after that or not.