Posts filed under 'The Heart of Tea'
Last night I listened to a powerful speaker, Steve Chalke, and learned about Stop the Traffik; an organization committed to the abolishment of human trafficking, the second most lucrative crime worldwide.
Chalke reminded me that when people asked William Wilberforce what they could do to help move Parliament’s hand to abolish the slave trade in England, he told them to stop taking sugar in their tea. In other words, government listens when consumers affect the economic balances of our societies and in the early 1800s, the slaves worked on the sugar plantations. But if no one bought the sugar…they wouldn’t need the slaves.
Forty-three percent of the world’s chocolate comes from cocoa beans harvested in Cote D’Ivoire (the Ivory Coast) of Africa. An estimated 12,000 children have been trafficked to harvest these cocoa beans. No candy bar is worth eating if I know one child has been separated from Mom and forced to work.
Thanks to the Internet and our access to information, we can make knowledgeable consumer decisions relatively easily. Websites and companies like Equal Exchange allow us to learn how to purchase our daily pleasures that are not grown in the United States–mainly coffee, tea, and chocolate. Some tea companies deal exclusively with fair trade teas such as Rishi and Fair Trade Teas. But many tea companies offer some fair trade teas in their selections, and it’s always worth asking.
It’s been said ignorance is bliss and I say, it’s true. Life is easier when I don’t know that the small decisions I’m making affect the lives of others in dramatic ways. But my bliss cannot be my goal. I sang, “Jesus loves the little children…All the children of the world” to my daughter tonight with new understanding. Her innocence and safety has been protected through deep sacrifices on my part. Does that mean my anthropology professors in college were right and I do this because I’m programmed to protect my genes? What a sad testimony to the human spirit that would be! No, I may not be able to take every child under my roof, but if by asking a few questions, spending some extra pennies, and sharing what I know I can help protect another child’s innocence and safety, I will.
I hope you will, too.
June 9th, 2008
“The human soul needs actual beauty more than bread.” –D.H. Lawrence
Do you believe it? Will you make time for it? Does it surround you or slip into your peripheral vision while you plow through the to-do list? Can you take just a minute and appreciate it?
Google searches on beauty bring up countless options for improving the physical beauty of the female and all the products and ways to accomplish it. But the gift of beauty that heals and revives the soul is not found in the make-up aisle or in the fashion magazines. It’s rarely something one needs to pay for.
Beauty. Simplicity. Classically. What do these three words bring to YOUR mind?
February 22nd, 2008
Does your to-do list keep you up at night? Do you fall into the comparison trap on a regular basis? Do you fight habits only known to you and feel discouraged at your lack of progress? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you and I hold something in common.
I think it’s easy to fall into the trap that our successes and failures are all dependent on us. In fact, in my opinion it’s the dark secret no one talks about in the self-help books and mindset of the age that tells us we can be anything we want to be. Do anything we want to do. That our destiny lies in our own hands and with enough education, determination, and American dreamism, we can build our lives to look like we want them to look.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am incredibly grateful to live in America. I loved going to college. And my days are marked by getting up and tackling the same hurdles day after day in order to build something of value. But how do we deal with the failures? By berating ourselves? Turning into a neurotic and driven individuals ostracizing the people around us? Just work harder?
I worked really hard in 2007. I started this blog, welcomed my youngest child into full-time homeschooling, and worked on remodeling projects around my home. I nurtured family and friendships, kept up our strict diet because of food allergies (as if feeding a family of five day-in and day-out wasn’t enough), and hosted numerous events. I read for knowledge, walked for fitness, and visited dentists, doctors, and numerous sports events. Shall I go on?
And I’m guessing like many of you, the grayness of January wants to taunt our failures. Yes, I still weigh more than I did when I got married. My boys still love video games despite my best efforts to steer them different directions. I ate spoonfuls of whipped cream today, despite the dairy allergy. And I’m sure someone, somewhere is mad that they haven’t received that call back or thank you card. It’s enough to make one watch American Idol and laugh at others’ failures instead!
However, after recovering from the immediate sense of exhaustion I struggled with during the beginning of this month, three words are beginning to break through the fog.
“Grace and peace”
“Grace and peace”
“Grace and peace”
I am a first-born raised by a first-born. I expect I will always focus on productivity and achievement naturally. Oh how I need help to remember that:
- I was created by a Creator who has not abandoned me. The same brilliance that made my circulatory system and soul guides my life today.
- I was made for relationships that are symbiotic, interdependent, and mutual. I am not meant to live without needing others.
- I need love that says, “There is nothing you can do to make me love you more and there is nothing you can do to make me love you less.” That, my friends, is my new definition of grace.
So today, whatever circumstance you face, take time to brew yourself a cup of tea. Sit and look out your window. Yes, the gray is there…the answer is not to ignore it. But breathe deep and remember, despite the gray…
“Grace and peace”
“Grace and peace”
“Grace and peace” to you and yours, dear friends.
January 23rd, 2008
Breathe, Jenny, Breathe.
Breathe, Readers, Breathe.
Seriously. Take a minute and breathe deeply from your gut. Six times if you can. I’ve been going strong for the last nine hours and that’s what I’m doing as I sit down to write to you.
‘Tis the Season. And the pressure’s mounting. Can you feel it? Even if you work hard to keep the holidays low-key, it’s in the traffic, the stores, and the calendars of others you might want to please.
Let’s see. In the last nine hours I talked on the phone, emailed, welcomed into my home, and loved on about fifteen different people. I bought Christmas presents and laundry detergent, visiting the neighborhood grocery for the third time in as many days. I negotiated with, disciplined, and nurtured four different children. I chauffeured in the pouring rain, washed the sheets, and cleaned one of our three toilets. I set aside my agenda and served tea to my neighbor, listening to her adoption stories. I wrote a card to a friend who just miscarried and prayed about another friend’s myriad of symptoms thanks to chemo. Breathe, Jenny, Breathe. Yep, I have to remember to breathe, but the nurturing didn’t receive a second thought.
I am in awe of the feminine gender. It amazes me what we do, accomplish, feel, and fight for. And we do it with hearts that easily break and bodies that go through so much because we are the ones who bear the children. And many of us, when all is said and done, feel guilty because we need a little break once in awhile. Or at the end of the day, look at what wasn’t accomplished and feel we didn’t get enough done. Say what?
And yet, I enjoy being a girl. Don’t you? I love being the gender that most naturally nurtures hearts and lives. That I’ve planned the majority of the surprises hidden away for next week’s special morning, awaiting the glee of children. I can live life by my heart more than my wits, but my wits can kick into gear when needed. And somehow I just know what will bring life and beauty to situations and encourage those who need it. Is there a better way to spend the day?
So, my dear friends, watch over your powerful heart over the next few days as you work hard as only women can. Be sure to take some time to nurture you. Because I can almost bet you’re already nurturing others. Pick one or more of your five senses and take some time. Brew the tea, put on some music, turn on the Christmas tree lights and REST in the reality of a Silent Night.
Do you enjoy being a girl? Do you struggle to nurture yourself in the midst of nurturing others? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
I’m submitting today’s post to Scribbit for the December Write-Away contest. There’s still a few days to place your entry. She always offers great prizes, so be sure to check it out if your interested! This month it’s these adorable Alaskan-style Christmas ornaments.
December 18th, 2007
Do you have a home where people stop by unexpected?
How do you feel about that? Do you wish people stopped by more or does it really fluster you when they do? Are you limited geographically or do others now know you do not want unannounced visits? If it bothers you when people stop by unannounced, why is that?
Let me ask you one more question. If you enjoy your home and it’s a place you want to be, are you prepared for the opportunity to welcome others to it? Sometimes that opportunity provides plenty of time to plan and sometimes it presents itself spur-of-the-moment. Are you prepared when it is more last minute? Do you want to be?
I remember back to my lifestyle in college. Granted, funds and privacy were low and youthful ambition high. But I remember how easy it was to welcome others into our living situation. “Come join the fun, we’re glad you’re here! We’re having tomato soup and grilled cheese for dinner! Join us!” Great conversations happened around the dinner table nightly with everyone from our Shakespeare professor to some future husbands. We decorated with whatever we had and cleaned college style. Life was good; hospitality easy.
But more than that, because my roommates and I were “family” at the time and creating a home with each other, it spilled over to others. In college, this meant many meals, study-time, and long talks together. Now, in this life season, it means creating a home where children can flourish safely and hard-working parents can take a break. And because I work hard on this for the five of us, it’s much easier to extend it to others.
There are many tangible ways to extend hospitality to others spontaneously. I’ve written before about How To Build Your Tea Party Pantry, describing what you need for the impromptu afternoon tea with a few friends. I am also further inspired this Christmas by one of Allison’s suggestions:
Organize a vintage hospitality table. Choose a sideboard and pile it with vintage saucers holding candy canes, tiny teaspoon’s and fir-cones. Put baubles and those scrumptiously wrapped amoretti on three tiered cake stands. Wrap linen napkins in velvet ribbon and lay them on a stack of your favorite plates, next to a small plate of sugar dusted mince pies. Fill jars with mini gingerbread men, biscotti and star shaped biscuits. Add glasses, a choice bottle of something Christmassy, a few emergency wrapped bottles or gifts, some kids Christmas chocolate, and a few whimsical decorations, some fruit, dried fruit and nuts- and voila you have a table of scrumptious offerings for everyone from your milk man to your next-door neighbor…
Like my tea corner, it’s in process. I’ve started by wrapping up a few simple gifts and polishing the silver. Can’t lay out treats early so the children aren’t too tempted to sneak or bug me for snitches. But this morning, when we attended our last co-op class for this semester, I told my daughter she could go pick out presents for her teachers as a thank-you. She delights in giving gifts, and I loved being prepared.
What helps you practice hospitality at the spur-of-the-moment? Do you enjoy it? Why or why not? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
December 5th, 2007
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