Haven In A Moment

I love tea. 
With four kids and a list of endless things to do throughout the day, it's a necessity for me to take a little break from time to time. Something about tea is so soothing and therapeutic. Its simplicity has so much to offer... And I found this.

Palais des Thés

photo courtesy of Palais des Thes

Last month, my girlfriend and I went out to Soho to finally visit this place. It's a french tea boutique and they have numerous selections and yes, the French do know how to do tea as well.

I pair the tea with this, and just in a moment, my haven is created. After a long day, there's nothing like taking some time to relax and rejuvenate. 

Palais des Thés

156 Prince Street and West Broadway, New York

Daily Inspiration?

"May you arise each day with a voice of blessing whispering in your heart." 

                           -John O'Donohue

Surrender to God

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by stressors surrounding you? I had a day like that earlier this week. I had made 3 different phone calls to 3 different doctors and was waiting to hear back from them. There were issues at home with one of my children. There were several errands which needed to be done with only an hour left of my day before the girls' dismissal time from school. There was laundry waiting to be washed and laundry waiting to be folded and put away. There was dinner to be prepared. You understand the kind of day it was. Sound familiar?

Often days like this end for me with fatigue, reactive responses versus thoughtful loving responses with those I love, and a general sense of dissatisfaction with life. I want you to know my Sisters in Christ that this is not the way God intends for us to live - to spend our 90 short years here on the earth. He wants us to be happy, content, obedient to the Truth, and salt in our world.

I am not an expert at dismissing fretting and putting away anxious thoughts, but I am confident in sharing God's truth which arms us with a calliber of different responses to our daily trials. The Psalms tell us to not fear bad news but confidently trust the LORD to care for us. Proverbs 18:10 tells us, the name of the Lord is a strong fortress. The godly run to Him and are safe. What do you do when trouble, stress, and obstacles get in the way of your peace? Run to Him and learn the Word of God - bathe yourself in its healing power. My heart is confident in you, O God, my heart is confident in You. Psalm 57:7

So, getting back to my stressful day, as I began to fret and feel anxiousness creep in that day, the Word of God, His powerful Holy Spirit, and the prayers of my Sisters in Christ surrounded me and I heard an audible voice say to me, "LET IT GO!" There was nothing stopping me that day because quite frankly, I had no other options. But right there in my bathroom - as I was scrubbing my tub, (I was already on my knees), I gave God the big, the little and the in between. I felt like a weight had been lifted. I began to sing worship songs and after I was done, the stuff was still there, but I had been made new.

Give us clean hands and hearts O God so we may see you in all ways. Amen.

I Hope I'm Back

Whew.
The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind.
We've been struck with a stomach bug that got the 6 of us plus my hubby's parents sick. That was not fun. So, for a while, forget cooking and forget eating.
Did I mention, it really was not fun??
But now I'm back. I hope :)
Starting next week though.

But the good news is... the spring is almost here!
Love the spring minus the allergies.

Spring Epiphany

It was 67 degrees today.
I could almost smell the spring in the air.
There's something about nature, as we study it.
Every living thing God had created is an evidence of how amazing He is.
To think about it, how can a tree once dead through winter produce life again?
As I was glancing over the newly budding trees, I was reminded of the fact that everything in this world is run by His incredible power.

Christ often made examples of nature and growth to explain to his disciples about spiritual maturity. That he is the Tree of Life and that we are the branches. He also talked about bearing fruit as followers of Christ.

I think for the longest time, I used to think that packing Biblical knowledge as much as I could and exercising my spiritual gifts would progress my spiritual maturity. Once again was I humbly reminded  by His gentle whisper, "How are you living out your faith?"

Just as the trees need constant work and care, we need that constant work and care to strain away our "old self". Just because our eternal destiny has changed the moment we were born again, it doesn't necessarily mean that our old character or the world view has changed. God doesn't strike His magic wand on us and all of a sudden we become a perfect person. As we gain knowledge of Him and experience His power in our daily lives, we also have to work on ourselves to become the kind of person God wants us to be.

Let's talk practical ways. I had to ask myself these series of questions today. How am I living out my faith? How do I react when someone wrongs me? In my relationships with others, am I patient, kind and gentle? Do I really consider others better than myself? What do I do when someone cuts me off while I'm driving? Do I easily judge others in my heart? Do I gossip? Do I lie? Do I sometimes have ill intentions for other people? Am I proud? Do I glorify myself rather than glorifying God? Is God my priority or am I my number one priority?

I can't possibly list all the questions that ran through my head this afternoon. But I am able to say, God had given me a chance to evaluate myself today. And I wanted to share with you, my beloved Mom Inspirations readers. As I pray for you sisters, I want to challenge you to evaluate where you are right now. Let our Heavenly Father speak to you about the areas you might need some "work" on. We can start with the fruit of the Holy Spirit? Are you bearing fruit?

Galatians 5:22-23 (New International Version)

 ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control.