There's More To Life Than Pumpkin Spice!

You are probably surprised to read that heading. Everyone knows I LOVE Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice, but right now I'm all about tea. I'm happily receiving deliveries daily of teas, tea accessories and supplies to create all things TEA for the boutique on November 27th....Oh yes, we have Christmas things, angels, jewelery and plenty more...do not worry if you don't drink tea! (Although someone you know drinks tea and we have great things you can give as gifts!)

Today it brought back a wonderful memory as I had a cup of a new TERRIFIC Pomegranate Green Tea that I have found for the boutique. It's my favorite taste of tea ever!

My Grandmother, Mary Thompson Houston from Scotland, drank a lot of tea! My mother and I lived with she and my Grandpa James Houston when my dad was in France during WWII. After that we lived a block away from her for many years. I've had a lot of tea and scones over the years; my grandpa had a bakery! I loved their kitchen. It had a Murphy table (yes, like a Murphy bed) open the doors, down came the table. This was too much trouble for my grandparent's last tea of the day. She would pull out the BREAD BOARD and cover it with a white tablecloth (must have been folded many times, eh?) Then the scones, butter, tea pot and cups. The three of us would sit and enjoy a bit of time together. This must have been after my dad was back from the war as I have no memory of my mother sitting there with us. I know I spent many a night at their home.

The memory rushed at me as I was sipping my tea. She never used a tea strainer in her pots of tea....so the tea leaves fell into the cup and you had to drink very carefully. When we were done with our cups of tea she would read my tea leaves! Yes, she went to church (High Street Presbyterian Church in Oakland, California which I hear is still going strong!)

This was a harmless activity and had no spiritual new age/old age twist to it. I read my tea leaves to myself the other day and had fun doing so. I'd say it has been approximately at least sixty years since I had tea leaves in my cup!

Then many memories flooded me of all the wonderful times I spent with my grandmother. I had another wonderful grandmother (Elizabeth Lyons) and I have a story to tell about she and I at another time. (That's for my Uncle Mike who will remind me that indeed I had another grandmother, his mother).

-oOo-

This is neither of my grandmothers but I thought it was the funniest picture of someone drinking tea that I might ever see and just had to share it with you.

I'm also into being frugal for the past four years and end up with lots and lots of very good bargains -- so many of them from The Frugal Find on Facebook!! When I was able to purchase tickets through Fandango with the code from Frugal Find for only $3.75 each and NO fee to Fandango I was happy I didn't have to go to the senior citizen day on Monday to get a $6 ticket!! Recently I paid $10 for $20 worth of products from soap.com with shipping included. Today...$16 for $35 worth of groceries from another source she shared. I only buy what I would use normally, of course!

So this little picture is for those who are frugal and want to save some pennies. Tea is NOT cheap; it's pretty pricey these days...get some little clothes pins (on sale of course) and have a second cup!

Sip, sip

K

A BEE IN MY BONNET

A bee in my bonnet definition: a creative buzzing in my head trying to get out.

OH YEAH, I've got that goin' on!!

One idea is leading to another

and another

and another..

Frightening, really...unusual for sure...but very exciting!

So much is already put to paper in the middle of the night.

Can't wait to reign it all in and see the end result...prepared for a long haul on this one!

Cute...oh can it be true??

This was on Chachaneen's blog and it made me laugh.

It did make me think about our blogs and how they really do represent the way we talk our walk , don't they.

Everyone watches Christians closely. They either see a good representation of an honest walk with the Lord or one that is fraught with a misrepresentation of how He would have us live as disciples.

We need to be real in our struggles so the world knows we all live real lives, not some super spiritual hyper-religious act that makes others feel so inadequate as to think they can never approach God. My own opinion is that there is a fine line in doing so. Let us not flaunt our sin as though they have no affect on us or others, or in fact did not put Christ on the cross, but be humble in sharing our own failures with people as well as the joys we experience.

And let us be full of mercy and grace to those who know no better (or do) and are looking and watching us all the time. Our own pet peeves or rants can be kept to ourselves as they might serve no good purpose really. Let's not give anyone a reason to call us hypocrites who say we love God but are ripping others to shreds with our words or actions.

Christ even washed the feet of Judas ...knowing he would later betray him....this is the kind of love we experience from the Lord every day. Let's go love others as He did.

--ooOoo-

Closed Doors

Praising God For Closed Doors

(from Daily Encourager)

We need to learn to praise the Lord as much for a closed door as we do for an open door. The reason God closes doors is because He has not prepared anything over there for us. If he didn't close the wrong door, we would never find the right door. God directs our path through the closing and opening of doors. Once a door closes, it forces you to change your course. When another door closes, it forces you to change your course again. Then, finally, you find the open door and you walk right into your blessing.

The Lord directs our paths through the opening and closing of doors, but instead of praising him for the closed door (which keeps us out of trouble); we get upset because we "judge by the appearances." You have an ever-present help in the time of trouble that is always standing guard. Because He walks ahead of you, He can spot trouble down the road and set up a roadblock or detour accordingly.

But through our lack of wisdom, we try to tear down the roadblocks or push aside the detour sign. Then, the minute we get into trouble, we start crying, "Lord, how could You have done this to me?" We have got to realize that the closed door can be a blessing. Didn't He say that no good thing would He withhold from them that love Him? If you get terminated from your job, praise God for the new opportunities that will manifest themselves: it might be another job, it might be school. If that man or woman won't return your call, it might not be them, it might be the Lord setting up a roadblock (just let it go).

One time, a person had a bank they had been in business with for many years tell them "No!" to a $10,000 loan. The Lord put in their spirit to call another bank. That bank gave them $40,000 at a lower interest rate than the first bank was offering. We can sometimes trap ourselves in doubt and discouragement through judging by appearances.

Be grateful for the many times our Father has closed doors to us just to open them in the most unexpected places. The Lord won't always say in spoken words: "Go to the left, now to the right" ...sometimes He will just close the doors that are wrong for you.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him

and He will direct your paths.

(Prov. 3:5-6)

Trust

In what do you put your trust?

Family
Friends
Career
Money
Health
Talent
Beauty
Government
Instinct

You can peruse this list and think about each one and come to realize that they all can or have failed you in one way or another.

People come and go, family members pass on or move on, careers end abruptly, money is lost, illness debilitates, beauty fades, governments fail, talents dim and instincts are often wrong.

There is One in whom you can trust.

Christ Jesus

Name above All Names

If you seek Him you will find him and He alone will satisfy. As your foundation of faith you are secure and your life in Christ will prepare you for any times of trouble. He is your help. He is the author and finisher of your faith and there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. You will have contentment and confidence as well as Joy from within in spite of circumstances. Your priorities will become those of love and service to others. He is trustworthy and His love for you will set you free.*

*It's all in the Bible :)

There will come a time Jesus said:

Romans 14:11 For it is written, "AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD.

Be blessed beginning today to live a life in Christ.

He's waiting - He's calling

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,

there's just something about that Name,

Master, Savior, Jesus

like the fragrance after the rain.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus

Let all heaven and earth proclaim

Kings & Kingdoms shall all pass away

but there's something about that Name.

DELIGHT!!

Delight yourself in the Lord;

and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

What does it mean to delight in the Lord? What does it look like to delight in the Lord? What does it feel like to you...and to Him?

The dictionary says: to thrive in, thrilled, to please, to give joy, reap.

From our women's bible study this week (Cynthia Heald: Becoming a Woman of Prayer) I learned: To delight is to REVERE, MEDITATE UPON, be HAPPY TO DO GOD's WILL, HAVE THE WORD IN MY HEART, HAVE AN APPETITE TO STUDY THE WORD, and being ONE WHO IS CALLED BY GOD.

Matthew Henry wrote: What is the desire of the heart of a good (wo)man?

It is this, to know, and love, and live to God, to please him and to be pleased in him.

This past Monday Patti's daughter and family came over for a barbecue...One handsome husband, and four little ones under 7. It was nice to be around little ones who are so well-behaved and I watched them play all day without whining or fighting. Jacob and Michael had some adventures up on the hill in the trees for hours..coming and going. Owen, 8 months, let us do tricks for him to make him laugh. He is so dang sweet with the best duck hair ever! Clara is three and she is who I want to share about with regard to DELIGHT.

Clara loves her Pa 'best.' (GrandPa) He taught her that at a very early age...Who do you like best, Clara? PA is her only answer. She obviously does adore him. She delights in him..and I must say he in her as well.

They spent about an hour in the hammock....making faces, she holding her Pa's face, talking with him, saying she loved him, best even!! They chatted back and forth and we heard much laughter and saw the joy! She was totally in tune to him and no one else. She was looking at him and no one else. She was totally focused on him. It's really hard to explain without a video or even a picture of the two of them in the hammock, but when I did my bible study lesson on Monday I was reminded that I had seen DELIGHT between Clara and Pa.

I shared that with the ladies at the bible study on Tuesday morning..it really brought tears to my eyes. Oh, that I would delight in the Lord the way little Clara was with her Pa. A good lesson--up close and personal. May it be so.

Whom have I in heaven but You?

and I have no delight or desire on earth beside You.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the rock

and firm strength of my heart, and my portion forever

Psalm 73:25-26

Pa & Clara in quieter times...

The Queen of England & Other Fans of mine...

Repost from August 2008--taking me a bit longer to do today's blog than I thot...so enjoy this one in the meantime. :) Thanks

Yes, my friend the Queen of England in a wonderful pose that she reserves only for her best friends! She writes to me quite often but for someone of her influence and stature, she somehow ends up in my SPAM folder!!!!! You would think she might have a technology servant who could somehow find a way to get right into my genuine email. I've written her to let her know I really appreciate her emails and have put her into my best buddy list.

Why the fellow in the UK can't get to my acceptable email recipients is beyond me as well; I am very open to cashing in on the lotteries I have won and would be happy to travel to England to negotiate with the attorneys for big businessmen who need my help by setting up an account here in the US. Best deal ever! They promise people will begin to send me large checks and all I have to do is deposit them, take my percentage cut, and then send the rest of the money back to the UK!

At 65 years of age I am receiving many opportunities to get my degree on line. I think I want to be a neurologist and hope they send me the online link soon so I can get my M.D. degree within 18 months! I have no interest in becoming a forensic specialist or a bookkeeper at this late date. I need to garner funds quickly and am pretty sure Kaiser Permanente would hire me with my 18-month degree in a fast minute!You can imagine my glee when my SPAM mail shocked me with the information that i could lose 6 inches in my thighs in just a week! Let me buy a gross of that as I have more than six inches to lose! And to think they haven't teamed up with the people who say I can trim my tummy in only one month if I would just buy their product with a 30-day money back guarantee!

Bank of America, Wells Fargo all want me to call them immediately because there are problems with my accounts!!! I dont bank at either bank!!! Wait, maybe that is the problem!

These scams must be working or we would not receive them daily, right? People are bilked everyday; we need to warn them! Some people are just getting started on the Internet and have no idea that people are out to scam them. Early on in terms of computer savvy, one friend told me this: "I got locked up in a box with someone I didn't know and I couldn't get out." (This was an IM on AOL). Today that friend locked in the IM Box can perform a function on comast email that alludes me to this day...cut and paste! She has come a long way!

I'm a sucker for things to buy at 3 am which appear on TV, however ...

“Laughter is the closest thing to

the grace of God”

Karl Barth ** Swiss Theologian