Time for Tea

My mother encouraged me this Christmas to make the best use of my place here as "our minister's wife" and take time to exhort the women I find myself in congregation with. Most of them are many years my senior and it is daunting to think about teaching my elders. She suggested something a little more subtle. And so begins my next spiritual discipline: tea parties!

For Christmas Mom gave me three tea-party-as-ministry books. I've always wanted these and they have provided me with the motivation to get started. I am hoping to do one tea party a month, inviting only a handful of women to each. We'll enjoy each other's company, share stories, and, I hope, I'll have a time to give a devotion or share something the Lord has put on my heart. I'd like to have a hostess' gift or party favor for each woman to take home along with some sort of reminder of the time.

For this first tea, I've invited four of the older women of our congregation. They are all very active in the congregation and have been for many years. I hope to encourage them to continue in doing the work they are already doing as well as challenging them to be mentoring younger women. I'm calling this a New Beginnings Tea and I hope to remind these seasoned members that they still have much to give to this body, even with a new young whippersnapper in the pulpit! The kids have helped me to bake an apricot ladder loaf, make fancy tuna salad for tea sandwiches and I've started making sets of quilted coasters for each woman to take home. I'm looking forward to our time together.

Please pray for this gathering as we minister to each other. Pray that it is the first of many gatherings of the women of our church to encourage one another to grow in our discipleship, and please pray for me in this strange position of leadership in which I find myself.

Blessed Assurance

I'm not usually a huge fan of the King Jame Version of the Bible.  Not for study purposes at least.  I heard too much of my husband's seminary classes to know about authoritative texts and so on.  But the KJV has one great thing going for it.  It's beautiful.  It's poetic.  And as such it touches a part of my soul that no literal, more historically accurate version can.  No wonder so many Biblical songs have used this version to set the Word of God to music. 
When I was a child my parents sang a song from 1 Timothy to me.  I only remember the one line, but it's been going through my head today.  I couldn't find it in my Bible, but at www.biblegateway.com I can search through just about every English version of the Bible there is.  (Check it out; I love it for my study times.)  Sure enough, there it is in the King James:  "For I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day."
I've been thinking about that today as I'm getting ready to meet with a young lady from church.  I'm not sure where she stands with the Lord and, worse, I'm not sure she does either.  There is such comfort and hope in those words.  I remember, too, that Paul (the older teacher) is writing to Timothy (the new, young pastor) to encourage him.  Pray for me today as I meet with this lovely young woman.  Pray that I could be a Paul to her Timothy, that God would speak words of encouragement to her, and pray that she would "know whom [she has] believed" and be persuaded of his faithfulness.  For that knowledge I am so grateful!

I'm also grateful today for:
174.  An encouraging parenting article (www.christianitytoday.com/ct/article_print.html?id=86292)
175.  A new friend
176.  Opportunities to grow
177.  Ian sleeping so well
178.  Finding and starting a quilt pattern for my New Year's Day resolution quilt
179.  A fun aquarium craft with the kids
180.  Checkbook balanced
181.  Deep time in the Word after a long dry time
182.  A great sermon at church.  Again.
183.  New phones (mixed blessing)
184.  Dinner with church friends
185.  Lettuce  (I've been craving it!)