For love of tea

My family ancestry comes from many countries. We have the Clonch family from Ireland. The Garretson side has been traced back to France. The McComas clan hails from Scotland. And the Eden's have there roots in jolly old England.

If there is one thing that the English know, that is tea. I was raised in a family of tea drinkers. Sweet tea, sun tea, boiled tea. Nothing like a cold glass of tea with a big slice of juicy lemon. Or so they tell me. I am an oddity. I do not like tea. I have tried and tried and cannot force myself to drink it.

But the funny thing is I am a collector of tea pots, tea for one, tea sets, tea cups, tea spoons and miniature tea sets. My house is loaded with them. I have them blues and pinks and purples. I have them with roses and lilies and doves. I have them with bunny rabbits and sisters. I even have a set with cardinals and dogwood trees on it. I love my tea accessories. But do not like tea.

Every family function revolves around their being a pitcher of tea in the refrigerator. If you walk in the door at my mothers, you can expect ice cold sweet tea. Her grandchildren say she makes the best tea in the world. My oldest granddaughter is 5. When she goes to McDonald's or Wendy's or anywhere out to eat, she has to have her sweet tea with her meal.

I'm not sure how this "tea craze" passed me over. I'm not sure why I am the odd one out. I've often wondered if my love of all things tea is to compensate for my lack of addition to good old southern, iced, sweet tea?

The Guilt Trip

We all love to go on a trip. The beaches with soft sand and golden sunrises call my name. The mountains in spring as the young deer graze in the cove. A trip to West Virginia to see family. These are all trips that I love and look forward to.

But there is one trip hat nobody likes to take, yet we do it all the time. That's right. I'm talking about the Guilt Trip. How many times do you do something or NOT do something and then make yourself feel guilty? How many, I should've and I could've's take up time during your day.

I was thinking about this earlier when I didn't forward an email to eight people so I could have money in four days. Right after I deleted it, I felt guilty. It's just like those emails that if you love Jesus you will pass this on. Here is where they get you with the guilt.

If you don't pass it on, does it mean you don't love Jesus? If you do pass it on, are you taking away valuable time from something you SHOULD be doing.

It got me to thinking. If I am doing God's work and living the life He wants me to live, He already knows I love Jesus and me sending or not sending an email will not prove that love. I've read a lot in the bible in 38 years I've been saved. And I don't recall in the old or the new testaments anywhere that says "Thou shalt forward all emails that come your way."

Now, I'm not saying that there are not some good ones out there. I forward those because they have a good message or inspiring story or simply a good laugh for the day. I don't forward them because my Christianity is at stake.

I'm not sure why we feel guilty when we don't forward every email. We have so many other things in our lives that we should feel guilty for, but we don't. When I abuse my body by lifting on things that are too heavy, does it enter my mind that I should take better care of myself? No.

When I eat that extra Reese cup, knowing it's not good for me, do I feel guilty? No. When I have a chance to say or do something good and I don't take it, do I feel guilty? No. Most times we don't even realize we had an opportunity and passed it up.

So I have decided that from now on, I won't feel guilty if I don't pass on every email that comes my way. If I think the message is good or I just want to pass it on for the fun of it, I will. But I'll save my guilt for those times I really need it. Like falling asleep before I say my prayers or forgetting to read the bible that night. Or not lending a helping hand when I can. Those will be my guilt trips and hopefully they will be short trips and few and far between.

I believe in angels

I am a firm believer that we have angels all around us. Not just protecting us and guiding us, but lending a helping hand, watching over us as we go our merry way. What makes a great angel? I think some of her best qualities would be patience, understanding, a true nurturer. Consider how we act throughout the day; the predicaments we land ourselves in. When you really take a good look at human nature, we can do some crazy things that probably drive our guardian angels nuts. I think they would have to have a wonderful sense of humor. I took one of those random on-line quizzes the other day that determined "What would your job in Heaven be?" I loved my answer: Brenda's Job in Heaven is Making people spontaneously laugh at random moments.

How cool is that? To think that when I get to Heaven, I'll be the "go-to-girl" for anyone wanting a moment of laughter. It made me stop and think. If I'm that humorous now, wonder how much fun my guardian angels have when it's their day to watch over me?

He's an on time God

I have an old song I love called "He's an on time God". How true that is. I have learned if I just tell Him what I need and leave Him alone to handle it, He always come through. I've had situations lately that I would stress over and worry about and then when I put it aside and ask God to take care of it, He does. This song says it all: You can ask the children of Israel, trapped at the Red Sea by that mean old Pharaoh and his army. They had water all around them, and Pharaoh on their track, from out of nowhere, God stepped in and cut a highway just like that. Chorus

He's an on time God, yes, He is. An, on time God, yes, He is.

(Job said), He may not come when you want Him,

(but He'll) be there right on time; He's an on time God, yes, He is.

You can ask the five thousand hungry souls He fed, on the banks of the river with two fish and five loaves of bread. What a miracle, He performed for the multitude, And what He did way back then, He'll do today for me and you.

Things we never outgrow....

No matter what age you are, if you see a paddle with a red ball on a rubber band, you want to pick it up and count how many times you can hit it without missing. Hand me a slinky and I'm going to let it go back and forth for a long time before I put it away. I can't pass a hula hoop without taking it for a spin. I cannot pass up a set of Jacks. I am glad my granddaughter Alexis is old enough to play them. I'll have to give them a whirl this summer. Loved silly putty. My favorite was to put it on the comics and pull it off. Cool. And where would we be without bubbles. I love the old fashioned kind in the bottle with the little wand. I buy them every summer "for the grandkids". That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I have decided for the spring, I'm buying a hula hoop and conquering how to use it more than two spins before it falls and I'm investing in a old fashioned jump rope. I hate to exercise but love to play. What better way to do both than with hula hoop to slim the waistline and a jump rope to burn calories. So forget the fad diets and the expensive exercise equipment. I'm going for the fun. I'll keep you posted on the success.

February - the month of love

February, a time of romance. A time of showing those we love how special they are to us. We have heard it said "Love is never having to say your sorry." and "Love is blind." But what else is love? What defines those moments that create that special bond. It's not the deep abiding heart wrenching moments. It's the little things. I have given this some thought and have came up with my version of Love is....

Love is....

....when he decides to make a batch of your favorite candy, even though he doesn't like it.

....sitting on the couch watching a sit com and laughing together

....when he scrapes the ice off your car so you won't have to

....when he ALWAYS puts the toilet seat down so you won't "fall in" in the middle of the night

....when he walks on the outside when you are going down a sidewalk or road together.

....when you can vent about what is bothering you and he just lets you rant and rave, then asks "What do you want me to do?" And you realize there is nothing he can do except listen and that you feel better already.

....when he spends the whole day taking you everywhere you want to go and never complains how long you spend in each store.

Snow

If we can't have snow at Christmas, why can't we have another Christmas when it snows? I woke up to a world of white and it put me back in the Christmas spirit. But when you think about, Christmas is not just a day. It's a feeling, an emotion, a state of mind. One of my greatest joys at Christmas is giving. So when it snows, it just put me back into that frame of mind. So I think today will be craft day. I bought some discounts items last week and I think I'll spend today making a wreath for my Mom's kitchen. I have several other craft projects going that I'll finish up today. If I don't have anybody in mind for them, I'll just give myself a little gift. So enjoy the snow and find something fun to fill your day.