Tea Talk -- As I Do Today

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!
Click on Ruth's button above to participate with me.

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

I'm having...it's time for a cup of Trader Joe's sipping chocolate!  So rich and creamy and chocolatey.  Mmm...

I'm feeling...fine and dandy.   I resist the urge to share all my aches and pains with you.  It's a simple fact of aging, and I won't dwell on it.  My heart is happy, and that's all that matters for Tea Time.  :)

On my mind...is helping my parents get ready to move!  They've listed their house on the market and there's still lots to do helping them pack things up.  I love logistics, and I love helping my parents!

I leave you with...a passage of Scripture I literally just came across as I was reading.

It is the living who give thanks to You,

as I do today;

A father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.

The LORD will surely save me;

So we will play my songs  on stringed instruments

All the days of our life at the house of the LORD.

Isaiah 38:29-20 NASB

Spring flowers in the woods

Back to life,
Christine

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Tea Talk -- Be On The Alert

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!
Click on Ruth's button above to participate with me.

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

I'm having...a cup of Trader Joe's Irish breakfast tea in my Polish pottery.  The below is a picture of one of Lori's teacups.  Isn't it pretty?

I'm feeling...healthy and well.  Thank you for asking!

On my mind...I'm helping Jacob with some issues he's having with the community college he is attending.  He is receiving the "run-around" from various people, so I'm helping him put together a strategy and plan of action which will help him obtain what he is seeking, and which at the same time is God-honoring and respectful.  It's so hard when I have been wronged; I just want to charge in and demand my rights.  It's even harder when my young men are wronged!  Even though they're older, they still don't have the skill (which is built through experience) to negotiate and figure out what to do.  We're praying that the Lord would be glorified through this situation.  I'll definitely keep you posted!

I leave you with...the end of a passage of Scripture we read in family devotions last night.

Be on the alert then,

for you do not know the day or the hour.

Matthew 25:13 NASB

• alert:  formed from the Greek word to awaken, to raise up.  Meaning to be awake, to watch.

Jesus spoke these words after He shared the parable of the ten virgins.  All ten took their lamps.  All ten fell asleep.  But only five were prepared for the bridegroom to come.  They stayed the course and were faithful til the end.  Jesus admonishes me to be on the alert, to be aware of Him in all things--in my own personal life and in world events.  It is not physical sleep that is at issue here--it is my spiritual alertness to Him in my life.  My constant surrender to and focus on Him keeps me alert and awake in Christ!

The DuPage River in winter

Back to life,
Christine

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Tea talk -- He Who Trusts in the Lord

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

I'm having...a cup of Trader Joe's sipping chocolate in my Gibson china.  What a treat!

I'm feeling...just fine, thank you!

On my mind...is my visit with my dear sister in Christ this afternoon.  She hasn't been feeling well (back issues, I can so easily relate!), and I pray that I will be a blessing to her.  This morning, I'm finalizing plans for my portion of our state convention--that has to be done by today!  I'm in the last stages of getting information together and emailed to the appropriate people.  Whew!

I leave you with...a Proverb that I read today:

The fear of man brings a snare,

But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.

Proverbs 29:25 NASB

• fear of man:  Getting (or desiring) man's approval, swayed by man's opinion.  Doing this constitutes idolatry.
• snare:  I am taken prisoner by this snare; the more I struggle, the tighter I am caught.  (Proverbs 5:22 says, "His own iniquities will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his sin.")
• trusts:  This is in the present tense.  I am to leave my care with the Lord, in the present, over and over again.  Trust = dependence on and confidence in.  (Psalm 118:6, Proverbs 18:10, Luke 12:4-5).

If I live as if I were approved unto God, I will live in the absence of the fear of man.

Aren't winter trees starkly beautiful?

Back to life,
Christine

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Tea Talk -- His Name

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

I'm having...a cup of Trader Joe's sipping chocolate.  (I actually had this last night.)  Very rich, very chocolatey.  :)

Hot chocolate in my Gibson china teacup

I'm feeling...just dandy this morning, though still a bit sleepy.

On my mind...is how to calculate the radius of a curved roadway, how to use the triangulation method to place evidence in a field sketch, the length of a yaw skid mark...  Yeah, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me, either.  These past few days, I have been typing up an outline of a "Traffic Accident Investigation" field manual for Jacob.  I have learned more about parts of cars, skid marks, flares, and evidence-gathering than I ever wanted to know.  And today will be the final push to complete the outline.  I'm nearing 80 pages of typed material!

I leave you with...any Scripture should take my mind off traffic accidents and evidence, lol.  I leave you with this particular passage as my mind and heart look toward this Christmas season:

For a child will be born to us,

a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called

Wonderful Counselor, 

Mighty God,

Eternal Father, 

Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 NASB

O Come, O Come Emmanuel!

Back to life,
Christine

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Tea Talk -- Till Your Land!

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

To participate, click on Ruth's button above.

I'm having...a cup of Trader Joe's sipping chocolate in my Gibson white china cup.

I'm feeling...speechless.  (I know--huh?)  For those who have spoken to me in the last five days, you know that I have laryngitis.  I'm just starting to get my voice back again, so it's scratchy, low, and husky.  (My husband keeps asking me to say something in French.  *wink*)  I feel fine otherwise, except for a little scratch in my throat every now and then, and I get tired in the afternoons.  Not too bad for a cold, I guess!

On my mind...hmm.  I just finished editing images from a photo shoot several days ago.  I've gotten a lot of little things done lately, and today seems like a day to check off more items from my list.  Thursdays are my stay-home days, when I don't have to go anywhere, take anyone anywhere, or step out of the house.  And that's a very nice thing as the weather turns colder.  I do have to run out this afternoon--non-driving boys have dentist appointments--but I'm hoping to just plug away at my to-do list and get things done!

I leave you with...a Proverb I read yesterday that impacted me:

He who tills his land will have plenty of food,

But he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty.

Proverbs 28:19 NASB

After having canned much of my garden produce throughout autumn, this verse is especially meaningful to me.  No wonder I feel satisfied about having stocked my shelves for my family's benefit!  But more deeply than that, I think this verse is talking about being diligent about the work that the Lord has given me.  It's so easy to become distracted with computer games, reading (pleasure) books, Facebook, and even blogging (!), that I neglect the area over which the Lord has given me jurisdiction--my home.  Maybe this is a not-so-light post for Tea Talk today, but I hope that these words encourage you--as I am encouraged--to be about the Lord's work today!

Sunset on Lake Bonaparte

Back to life,
Christine

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TT--A Calmer Week

A hot, but lovely, day on which to share a cup of tea!  If you'd like to participate, and to find out more, click on Ruth's button above!!

I'm having...a rare cup of coffee today.  My ds Jacob sells Organo Gold coffee and I'm having a cup.  It's pretty much a lot of sugar and cream, with a little coffee.  (That's why I rarely drink it!)

My teacup is new!  Long story short, I bought some Gibson "everyday" china, and ended up getting a whole set free.  I love using the teacups when I have company for tea.  Being a practical homemaker, I love the fact that I can use the teacups--and the dishes--whenever I want to go fancy.  Plus, white goes with everything!

A quick "funny"--I've already sipped some coffee out of the above cup!  I have a habit of filling my cup literally to the brim.  I then bend down and delicately slurp out enough until I can safely carry my cup to my seat.  :)

I'm feeling...much calmer this week.  I think we're starting to settle into a comfortable routine with homeschooling and housework.  I'm still trying to fit exercise into a workable routine, hopefully over the next few weeks.

On my mind...I'm always making mental lists, some of which get transferred to paper.  My list of to-do things is growing, but I keep plugging away.  I know that the Lord will allow me to do those things that fit appropriately into my day.  And on the days when I feel like I haven't accomplished anything on my list, I know the Lord had His list for me!

Leaving you with...a quote I found by Martin Luther.

Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace,

so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it

a thousand times.

Be sure to visit Ruth's blog to stay for a cup of tea!!

Back to life,
Christine

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captured by Christine Anne