Granddaughter Tea Time!

My girls are so blessed to have an incredible, feminine, godly grandmother!  Today she is having her traditional grandmother tea with all her granddaughters and her mother, their great-grandmother.  

Here is a link to her recent blog article looking forward to today's event.  

And here, she tells about this favorite tradition of hers.  Thank you, Mom, for being so dedicated to making beautiful memories!

Swimming, Tea, and Worldview

We have been thoroughly loving our summer! Besides the usual summertime routine of swimming, swimming, swimming, we have been spending our time off enjoying our friends! I usually space out the kids' visits from friends, and definitely am not a big fan of sleepovers. But I believe I have been taken over by a much more accommodating alien body snatcher. We are having sleepovers in abundance around here, and I'm also saying yes to everything that I can. Could I possibly be hoping for future credit on these investments when it comes time this fall to say no and knuckle down on the school work? Maybe.

Anyway, besides the kids' friends, I have been having a great time visiting with my friends also. In fact, today I had three ladies over for a tea party. We discussed some things on our hearts about our Biblical worldview, and what we see going on around us. It was very encouraging, and was also one of those moments for me where I felt like my mother's daughter. I neglected to take a picture of the table, but one of the ladies said it reminded her of my mother's teas. Lord, don't let me get proud! But anyone who knows my mother would understand my desire to become half the hostess that she is!

I used my blue and white dishes with a simple white linen table cloth. I put just three tea lights in clear votives as the centerpiece. I served cucumber sandwiches, lemon bread with glaze, vanilla bread, orange and cranberry scones, shortbread cookies, dark chocolate covered almonds, and glazed pecans. Wish I would have taken a picture... of the table, AND of the guests!

Christian worldview and the state of the world and the church are hot topics for me lately, and I love to take any chance I get to talk with like minded friends. Today I got to be part of one of those great conversations. There are not many things better than a stimulating conversation with ladies who are bright, positive, and encouraging. Each of these homeschool mothers today knew where her help comes from! They all so wonderfully expressed their desire to be all that God has for them to be at this particular time in HIStory. God is sovereign over time and space, the universe, planet, our country, our town, and every aspect of our days... even just trying to get through teaching a math lesson!

Only one problem came out of the day. My new book wish list grew by a few more books. I already have Brannon Howse's Christian Worldview for Students, Christian Worldview for Children, and Building a Worldview Verse by Verse. Now I am excitedly adding Grave Influence and Put Your Beliefs to the Test to my wish list. Ah, now if I could only get all of that practically new, barely used curriculum sold, so I can have some extra book money!

Tea with Grandma

My girls went to Grandma's annual "Tea with the Grandma" today. Yes, my mother is one of those inspiring, Godly women who speaks with grace, lives the renewed life, and has many tea parties. Someday I want to grow up to be like my mom! Each year, for many years now, she has had a summer tea with all of her granddaughters and her mom, their great-grandmother, too. This year two more little ones joined the group since they are now 3 years old, which is official big girl tea party age. In a world full of dysfunction and broken relationships, it fills my heart with gratefulness when I realize what a blessing a godly heritage is!

To be able to be trained up in the feminine way by not only your mother, but Grandmother and Great Grandmother is so precious. I want my girls to love being girls! God made us so distinctly different from our male counterparts. And that difference is something worth noticing and celebrating. Each girl was dressed in her Sunday best today, walking to the table like little ladies after posing for a few pictures. Looking our very feminine best, getting all dressed up, and doing lovely things is so satisfying. God created us to love beautiful things.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. (Philippians 4:8)

My mother takes such care to make every sandwich, cookie, and bread with spread perfect for serving. And then she models how to serve, by caring for each of their needs at the table. Isn't pouring tea for someone you love a wonderful act of service? I know there are far more impacting ways to serve. But hostessing with your best china, in your best dress, sharing your best recipes is a beautiful picture of feminine service with grace and love. My girls may not realize until they are well into their adult years, what a treasure they had that as little girls, their grandmas had them for tea.