How to Get More Out of That Exquisite Cup

How to get more out of that exquisite cup…

I have this cartoon character of a friend.

Arlene is half my height and a bundle of spunk. She has a fabulous South African accent and an adorable adoration for tea parties.

If you are invited to gather at her table you will be stunned by her mismatched collection of exquisite cups. Delicate saucers, fancy pots, petite spoons, lovely scones, jams, jellies, whipped cream, and butter are neatly placed on pressed linen table clothes.  Often she will tell you the reason she picked the cup at your setting just for you. She’ll explain how it specifically reminded her of you for this reason or that.

If you are seated at Arlene’s table, about to partake in high tea, she gives direction on how to best enjoy your pekoe.  Instructions and steeping are detailed.

On one fancy occasion, several of us gathered for fellowship and tea. Arlene pointed out that the conversation had gone from “proper tea conversation to pizza and beer conversation.”  We laughed/snorted and redirected the chit-chat to the Queen and her latest hat. After, I think we went out for pizza and beer.

[clickToTweet tweet=”It wasn’t proper tea conversation but #pizza and #beer conversation” quote=”It wasn’t proper tea conversation but #pizza and #beer conversation”]

But at the core of Arlene’s tea parties is the heart of the revelry.  The sights, sounds, and smells are delightful. But the heart of the guests is the totality of the event.

I have a favorite coffee cup. It is lovely, like the way it looks and feels.  And I love to wrap my hands around it to warm them and breathe deep of the luxurious creamy java.  This is my morning routine. However, as much as I love the cup if you put chocolate milk or apple juice in it… I wouldn’t want it.  It would not matter to me that it was in my favorite mug, I wouldn’t enjoy what was inside.

The contents matter.

The outside definitely impacts the inside, but if the inside is perfect it makes a huge difference.  If I dropped one of Arlene’s exquisite cups, she would graciously find me another and put the same preferential brew inside.

What is on the inside matters.

Do you understand the depths of He who dwells inside you?  Can you fathom the love?

I confess, I only recently have discovered the effectiveness of loving the real Jesus Christ.  In the process I have been set free of many strongholds; my grief has been turned into dancing.  I am walking in a newfound freedom.

Freedom is yours for the taking.

You are invited to the most lavish of parties.  You are welcome to the table as daughter.

The conversation will be outstanding.

The setting will be stunning.

You can come in your jammies or your finest dress, but what you will find is that the content of your heart is beyond what you might have imagined.

It’s not about the cup, it’s about the content. 

May your floors be sticky and your calling ordained. Love, Jami

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You might love some banana bread to go with your tea! 

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8