Ministering

I have learned that we all make mistakes and sometimes God will use those mistakes to help others.  I am reading a book titled Love, Sex and Happily Ever After by Craig Groeschel.  As I am reading this book I am wondering if God is wanting me to share this book with youth, college students over tea.  I feel God has been speaking to me as I have been reading this book.  I have not done that well with relationships and marriage and God has showed me through this book that we all make mistakes and if we ask for God's forgiveness and keep the faith and trust He will bless us.  He has helped me to understand something I did not know before is that you need to have that relationship with Him first before any relationship, dating or marriage.  I would like to share this with others over tea.  I would like to share my testimony and life with others that are young and share this book.  I want to help them to know they can be strong with the Lord and not feel pressured by the world and their ideas.  Help them to want the desire to know the Lord and give their life over to Him.  As I have been reading this book I wish somebody would have reached out to me to help me understand.  I am praying to see if this is another way God wants me to minister with tea.  Reach the elderly and youth over tea with God's word. 
I had a wonderful tea with some new friends from an assisted living in Bloomington a few days ago and it was great to meet somebody who has daughter living in Houston and knew another person from town we lived in a few years ago in Texas.  I met a woman who mixes green tea, apple cider vinegar and ginger to help her arthritis.  God was present for this tea and it was another blessing. 
Praying for God's guidance. 

Tea Poem and project

My good friend gave me a gift recently and I just love it and going to be making some of these for friends and for my teas.

It is out of fabric and it is a tea pouch with a poem.  You slip the tea bag into the pouch. It has a flap you flip up to get the tea inside the pouch.  Very easy to make and great gift idea.

Green tea and weight loss

Sipping a cup of green tea with a meal that contains black pepper may help you lose weight. According to a Rutgers University study the spice improves the absorption of the EGCG in the tea as much as 30 percent. This from my favorite magazine= Whole Living.

Tea quote

Tea tempers the spirits and harmonizes the mind, dispels lassitude, and relieves fatigue, awakens thought and prevents drowsiness, lightens or refreshes the body, and clears the perceptive faculties.

 Lin Yu
Eighth century Chinese poet

The caffeine in tea can lift spirits and banish fatigue.  Tea both stimulates and soothes.

My day

It was so exciting to see people excited about tea today.  I brought a gift to a person who enjoys tea and she is also trying to lose some weight.  Of course I told her about green tea and how it helps suppress appetite and the many health benefits of green tea.  She was so excited to receive this gift of tea and cup to have her tea in.  I just love sharing gifts of tea with others and seeing them excited and thankful.  It is a blessing to me. 
Enjoy that cup of tea and hope you try some of ours someday. 
Blessings! 

Tea benefits

Another great article about tea and some remedies.   Enjoy!

http://www.doctoroz.com/blog/mao-shing-ni-lac-dom-phd/try-some-tea-therapy

If you want to check out some of our teas we offer check our site trinitea4eternitea.yolasite.com

Tea benefits

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/teas-fight-disease

Great article to read about tea.  Enjoy!

January is National Hot Tea Month

This article from TeaUsa.org

A Grateful Toast… “To Our Health!”
Recent research findings have reported that drinking black tea may improve the body’s defenses and quicken the response to bacteria and viruses – giving people more of a reason to brew themselves a hot cup of tea this January in celebration of National Hot Tea Month – and possibly ward off pesky germs.

The study, published in the May 13, 2003 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that participants who drank 20 ounces (the equivalent of x cups) of black tea per day produced five times the amount of certain germ-fighting immune cells as those who drank the same amount of coffee. Researchers predict that these findings suggest that tea drinkers may have a better chance of fighting off an infection than non-tea drinkers because of this increased immune response, though further research will be needed to confirm their predictions.

In addition to this research, volumes have been published about the potential health benefits of tea, which contains flavonoids, substances that may act as antioxidants to reduce oxidative damage in the body and help maintain healthy cells and tissues. A multitude of research studies point to drinking tea as a way to promote health and potentially reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease and certain types of cancer.

This body of credible research grows every day. Here are a few recent findings about the potential health benefits of tea:

• New clinical research published in the October 2003 Journal of Nutrition found that consuming 30 oz. of black tea daily – the fluid equivalent of 2.5 cans of soda – reduced Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL, or “bad”) cholesterol levels by more than 10 percent in mildly hypercholesterolemic adult study participants.
  
• According to a recent study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, study participants who drank four cups of tea per day had significantly lower risk of death following a heart attack – a decrease of up to 44 percent.
• A Dutch study published in the May 2002 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) found that the incidence of myocardial infarction or heart attack decreased by 43 percent in the study participants who drank more than three cups of black tea per day.
  
• More good news on the protection of heavy smokers from oxidative damage by tea drinking was published in the October 2003 Journal of Nutrition. The clinical intervention study found that heavy smokers who consumed four servings per day of green tea had 31percent lower levels of 8-OHdG (a biomarker for oxidative damage to DNA) in white blood cells. Oxidative damage to DNA is one factor which increases cancer risk and the researches suggest that a significant reduction of DNA damage found with green tea drinking may help reduce cancer risk in smokers.
  
• Another study, published in the July 2003 issue of Annals of Epidemiology, examining the protective nature of black tea against rectal cancer found that women who drank the equivalent of 2.5 cups of tea per day or more had a 60 percent drop in rectal cancer risk, as compared to women who drank less than 1.2 cups of tea per day.

“Research continually illustrates the potential for flavonoid-rich tea to contribute to healthful dietary patterns in a significant way,” said Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, Professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and Chief, Antioxidants Research Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston.

“Tea is an ideal beverage -- delicious, refreshing, soothing and healthful,” said Joe Simrany, president of the Tea Council of the USA. “This January, for National Hot Tea Month, we can all feel extra good about lifting a tea-filled glass and toasting to our health.”

God is good all the time

God is such an amazing God and when you know He is speaking to you all the more. Our message today at church was in Job and read Job 1:1-22 and how he suffered but did not blame God . We are to remember suffering gets us stronger. What was amazing in all of this was that this quote from C. S. Lewis I posted yesterday on my facebook was a quote our Pastor used for his message today. I know for a fact God was speaking to me and I was in awe. Giving God all the glory today and I pray that you find time for Him each day to thank Him for the good and the bad. They both are blessings but we may not see that right away. God has his reason and this is His world. I pray you will get to know Him more and more each day. It is worth your time. When your world crashes in on you grieve honestly, worship God through your pain and refuse to play the blame game. Jesus Christ never lets go. Knowing God is better than knowing the answers. Speak His truth and He will not be disappointed. God bless you all this Christmas season.
Here is the quote- "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Enjoy your cup of tea and His word today!

Christmas Tea Poem with pine cone

Glue a pine cone to a block of wood, coaster, or even a recycled spray can lid.
Decorate the tree with white snow paint to make it look like a winter tree. Alternatively you could add wire and beads to look like Christmas tree lights.
Print out the poem and attach it to the pine cone.
---Poem---
On Christmas Day
At half past three
make your self a cup of tea
I'll think of you
You think of me
underneath the Christmas tree
-----

Twelfth Tea of Christmas

From The Twelve Teas of Christmas - A Celebration of Stillness

Come for tea, just you and me, and the stillness of the season.

Make this tea restful and simple.  Invite a couple of people and take time to sip tea and nibble on treats and some real heart-to-heart talk. Make time to just sit with friends.  Use this time to foster an atmosphere of caring and sharing.  Quiet conversation and a time of praying are wonderful.

Did you know that tea can be used for beauty treatments?  Add a handful of rose petals to a pot of black tea. Let the roses and tea steep for about 15 minutes, then strain the tea and store the liquid in the refrigerator.  Splash rose-scented tea on your face for an instant pick-me-up.

Eggnog Holiday Bread- 3 cups flour, sifted
                                       3/4 cup sugar
                                       1 tablespoon baking powder
                                       1 tsp salt
                                       1/2 tsp nutmeg
                                       1 1/2 cups dairy eggnog
                                       1 egg, beaten
                                       1/4 cup butter, melted
                                       3/4 cup pecans, chopped
                                       3/4 cup candied fruit
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.  In separate bowl, mix eggnog, egg, and butter.  Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring well.  Add pecans and fruit.  Bake in greased loaf pan at 350 degrees for 60-70 minutes.  Cool.

Enjoy this recipe with a couple of friends over a cup of tea

    

Tea around the world

As I have been thinking about my talk on Tea Around the World I realize so much more to know about tea and so interesting.  I received a call this past week about doing another tea talk to women in Coon Rapids for their tea.  I am thankful to God for his guidance in all of this and for a wonderful woman who has been letting others know about what I have been doing. I met this woman about a year ago when I did a tea at the community center where she works.  She is a blessing in my life.  It is wonderful for me to meet others over tea and new friendships.  I thank God for each one He brings into my life.
Here is a great recipe from the book The World in your Teacup by Lisa Richardson.  I made it today and it was good.
http://www.amazon.com/World-Your-Teacup-Celebrating-Traditions/dp/0736925805/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322959212&sr=8-1
Apple Tart-  2/3 cup all purpose flour
                     1/3 cup butter, chilled
                     2 tablespooons sugar
                     1 egg yolk, beaten
                     pinch of salt
Apple topping- 3 granny smith apples
                          2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
                          3 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat 400 degrees.  Sift flour into a large mixing bowl and set aside. Cut the butter into small pieces and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs.  Add the sugar. Mix in the beaten egg yolk and add warm water by the drop until the dough forms a ball.  Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.  Peel the apples and slice. Remove dough from refrigerator.  Roll dough into big circle about 1 inch thick.  Line a greased 8 inch tart pan with the pastry.  Prick it with form and trim the edges.  Arrange apple slices into circles on top of the pastry, sprinkle with sugar and dot with butter.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Allow to cool, slice and serve.
Enjoy with your friends over tea.

Christmas

http://powertochange.com/blogposts/2011/12/03/what-is-happening-to-christmas/

A devotional I thought was good to read over a cup of tea and as we go about getting ready for Christmas. 

Blessings!