Tea With Jesus

 

I've often thought that a cup of tea, even more than coffee, enhances my daily time in the word. Maybe it is because porcelain tea cups and floral tea blends are so lovely and compliment the "life-giving" words of the bible so well and playing my favorite Christian music in the background makes early morning quiet time utterly perfect . I feel as though giving all of your senses something beautiful in one sitting is truly spiritual.

 

With this in my mind I've decided to begin a weekly series (Tea with Jesus) to rejuvenate my blog. I've been greatly inspired by my friend Stephanie at http://theenchantingrose.blogspot.com. Her blog, with its beautiful faith-filled content and her lovely teacup and mug exchanges, have brought a sense of beauty to my life. So, a special thanks to Stephanie!

 

Anatomy of Tea With Jesus

 

July 17, 2015

 

Tea ~ Harney & Sons Earl Grey Imperial, black, with a touch of sweetener

 

Music ~ Brokenness Aside, All Sons & Daughters

 

Scripture ~ The Book of Ephesians

Ephesians 1:7 ~ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.

 

Thoughts ~ I lay my brokenness aside to dwell in the word of God. I ponder the words "redemption" and "grace" and what they mean for me. Indeed, they mean a New Life if I am willing to accept them.

Surviving The Storm

If you survive the storm there are beautiful things on the other side.  My life was a storm. My heart, my soul, my thoughts, my words and my actions were evidence of chaos and destruction. The proverbial calm inside the storm eluded me for many, many years but something happened to me recently.  Against all odds, something bloomed inside.  It wasn't a case of sudden clarity and understanding.  It didn't happen all at once. It's been slow and calm and deliberate. It's been the beauty of raindrops settled on a flower after the storm has passed.  It is something I feel and know without being able to explain it to others. It's something that makes breath a little bit easier. It makes smiles a bit more frequent and makes contentment seem almost attainable.

I think that it is God. I think He has found a home inside my storm.  I think he has become that calm.  Why now?  Maybe it is just a readiness to except things unseen.  A readiness for faith. I love, love, love the word Grace! I have been perusing my bible daily for grace and as I'm sure you're aware... it is everywhere! My memory verse is in Ephesians 2:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Again, I can't seem to put into words what this passage from the bible means to me! I did nothing to deserve this new found calm, but God saw fit to bestow it upon me! For that I can not express enough gratitude in my daily prayers. It would seem that any expression of gratefulness would be woefully inadequate, however that doesn't stop me from saying thank you hundreds of times a day!

I can get up in the morning and not feel dread.  I can stick to a routine and try to make my home inviting, a sanctuary for my family. I can express love and admiration to my husband and my daughter.  I can sit for periods of time in the word and sincerely absorb the truths I am reading.

I want to be able to know why and express my change in demeanor but it is not something that I have words for.  It just is and that is Grace! God is filling me with a calm I have never felt. The storm that seemed to stir continuously for the 40 years I have been alive has formed a calm inside and everyday the destruction gets a little less. My heart and soul are grateful and I have found a faith that allows me to believe wholeheartedly that "This too shall pass!"


Chris Tomlin - Grace Rain Down on Me

Celtic Women - Amazing Grace

Never Too Late For Grace

Grace:
**The free an unmerited favor of God as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowal of blessings.**
More often than not I have a difficult time convincing myself that I am deserving of anything good that comes to me. I am a sinner. I identify with that label. What I’m trying to change is my acceptance of this thing called Grace that is offered to me by the Lord through Jesus Christ every day of my life. Most days I go about my routine giving no thought to the possibility of Grace. It just seems unattainable, doesn’t seem to apply to me. I feel broken and unrepairable. The overwhelming scope of what needs to be fixed and forgiven in my life is insurmountable. That knowledge keeps me stuck in “just getting by” for as long as I am here on this earth. I don’t wake up early.  I don’t put on clothes and makeup.  I don’t go outside unless I absolutely have to.  I don’t focus. I don’t fight.
Or rather… I didn’t.  Something inside of me sort of lit up a few weeks ago.  Something said “This is not who you were meant to be.” All of these traumas and mistakes and failures give you something to go on.  Something to teach.They give you something to rise above.  Something to fight against or fight for. How many people have been broken and healed and come out with a story to tell?  How many people have inspired through overwhelming odds? Who says you can’t start over at 40 years old? How many people of all ages have received God’s Grace and started over? I read and hear about it all the time.  I saturate my life with these kinds of stories.  I believe it for others. Believing it for myself is where I have remained stuck up until this point.
It is not 24 hour a day, 7 day a week transformation by any means. But it is a small whisper in my soul that is persistent; that I can hear when I get quiet and listen. I wonder how many others are out there that have to put a reminder in their calendar for a half an hour of quiet time.  I actually need to hear that alarm every day and read those words to remain steadfast. And when I get that reminder, I need to go to another room, put in my  CD’s, open my bible, and process.  This is the key, I think.  To envelope your thoughts and your words, your heart and your soul in the knowledge of Jesus and the Grace that you have not earned, but are freely given! Ephesians 2:8 brings this process into my heart.  There is nothing that I can do to earn this.  No amount of self-loathing or self-berating is going to make it more likely that I will receive this gift, for it is not my doing, but God’s.
Ephesians 2:8… For by Grace you have been saved through faith and this is not your doing; it is the gift of God.
Today I would just like to extend my appreciation and adoration to a couple of women and their blogs that have given enormous encouragement toward “staying in the Word”.  They are:
Time Warp Wife
<a href=”http://www.time-warp-wife.blogspot.com/”><img border=”0″ src=”http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v715/DarlenetSchacht/button.png?t=1290190269″></a&gt;
Rachel Wojo
http://rachelwojo.com/

Kari Jobe - Here