Melissa’s Cozy Teacup

We are having a bit of a heat wave this year. It hit 101 yesterday which is a bit unusual for our city. Last year, we had so much wonderful rain. Not this year.

Here is a picture of what it looks like where Tech Hubby and I spent the 4th of July. It was so very beautiful. I’d love to have a home there some day, maybe. Sometimes the idea of something is better than the reality.

One of the things that makes our trip to the lodge every year so enjoyable is the wonderful people there with whom we get to visit. I get to watch, ‘J’ grow up. Her birthday is two days before mine. This year, I brought my Anne of Green Gables book for her as a gift. She is doing her best to hide herself in a big ball cap and jacket, despite the heat.

Our hosts are delightful as well. You know those kind of people, kind to everyone, generous and loving. Many things are discussed during the few days we visit. Our topics of discussion range from string theory, to ancient ruins to conspiracy theories. We quite enjoy ourselves.

One thing I’ve noticed though that is not enjoyable to hear is the mixing of Christianity with other religions.

Christianity is and always has been different and able to stand on its own without needing to be ‘padded’ with other, false doctrines. Jesus himself said, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’ John 14:6

There is no other path to eternal salvation. There is no other doctrine, no other ‘truth’ no other anything that will get you into heaven and enjoying eternity with God than through the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. If you are believing something else, with or in place of the gospel, you are in for a nasty surprise one day. You cannot worship the earth and God. You cannot worship any other deity and God. Only God. It is high time Christians stopped trying to please everyone and focused only on pleasing God. We cannot accommodate every other spiritual belief and still call ourselves Christians. To be a Christian means to be a follower of Christ. That’s it. Christ. Nothing else.

Here are quotes from some of our founding fathers on the Fourth of July, independence, and thanksgiving. For all of you who beat the drum of separation of church and state (which is NOT in the constitution so stop calling the constitutional separation of church and state!) Please take note of all the references to God Almighty. The One, the only, God of America.

In 1776, John Adams declared, “The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epocha in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore.”

The Council has thought meet to appoint and set apart the 29th day of this instant June, as a day of Solemn Thanksgiving and praise to God for such his Goodness and Favour, many Particulars of which mercy might be Instanced, but we doubt not those who are sensible of God’s Afflictions, have been as diligent to espy him returning to us; and that the Lord may behold us as a People offering Praise and thereby glorifying Him; the Council doth commend it to the Respective Ministers, Elders and people of this Jurisdiction; Solemnly and seriously to keep the same Beseeching that being perswaded by the mercies of God we may all, even this whole people offer up our bodies and soulds as a living and acceptable Service unto God by Jesus Christ.”-George Washington.

“We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We’ve staked the future of all our political institutions upon our capacity…to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”
James Madison, 1778 to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia

America was built on the ten commandments, not forced diversity, tolerance and political correctness.- Melissa Bishop

“ The Law given from Sinai [The Ten Commandments] was a civil and municipal as well as a moral and religious code.”
John Quincy Adams. Letters to his son. p. 61

“All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery
and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible.”
Noah Webster. History. p. 339

William Bradford
• wrote that they [the Pilgrims] were seeking:
• 1) “a better, and easier place of living”; and that “the children of the group were being drawn away by evil examples into extravagance and dangerous courses [in Holland]“
• 2) “The great hope, and for the propagating and advancing the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world”
The Mayflower Compact (authored by William Bradford) 1620 | Signing of the Mayflower painting | Picture of Compact
“Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God, and one of another, covenant and combine our selves together…”

(The children of the group were being drawn away by evil examples into extravagance and dangerous courses…)

This sounds a great deal like what we are going through today. How many times must history repeat itself before we get it right?

John Adams and John Hancock:
We Recognize No Sovereign but God, and no King but Jesus! [April 18, 1775]

John Adams:
“ The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”
• “[July 4th] ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”
–John Adams in a letter written to Abigail on the day the Declaration was approved by Congress

“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” –October 11, 1798

“I have examined all religions, as well as my narrow sphere, my straightened means, and my busy life, would allow; and the result is that the Bible is the best Book in the world. It contains more philosophy than all the libraries I have seen.” December 25, 1813 letter to Thomas Jefferson

“Without Religion this World would be Something not fit to be mentioned in polite Company, I mean Hell.” [John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, April 19, 1817] |

Samuel Adams: | Portrait of Sam Adams |

John, John Quincy, and Sam Adams
“ He who made all men hath made the truths necessary to human happiness obvious to all… Our forefathers opened the Bible to all.” [ "American Independence," August 1, 1776. Speech delivered at the State House in Philadelphia]

“ Let divines and philosophers, statesmen and patriots, unite their endeavors to renovate the age by impressing the minds of men with the importance of educating their little boys and girls, inculcating in the minds of youth the fear and love of the Deity… and leading them in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system.” [October 4, 1790]

This one especially rings true.

John Quincy Adams:
• “Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the world, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day [the Fourth of July]?” “Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? That it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth? That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity”?
–1837, at the age of 69, when he delivered a Fourth of July speech at Newburyport, Massachusetts.

This is the most interested I have ever been about a presidential campaign. Usually, I vote Republican and that’s that. this year, though, I feel compelled to do more than just show up at the polls. Yes, I’m getting political. I appreciate all those who have visited my blog to discuss tea. I hope you will stay or at least come back after the elections in November. There is no guarantee, though, that after November the political commentary will die down. Depending on who ends up being president, things could really heat up, that is, if freedom of speech is still allowed.  I also want to encourage you, if you have a blog, to let your voice be heard. Familiarize yourself with issues about which you feel strongly and then comment on them in your posts. There are so many blogs out there that talk about nothing. They are not used to improve anything in our world nor do they advance awareness of issues. I’m not suggesting that every single post must be politically or socially centered. At Alkemie (I think it was Alkemie or All Things Bright and Beautiful) the owner of the blog posted a photo of a piece of art depicting a single Chines girl’s face, made up of multiple Chinese girl’s faces. The point of the photo collage? It was designed to bring awareness to the thousands of baby girls aborted each year under China’s one child law. It was simple but powerful. I love all the blogs that I read about crating and tea and hospitality and hearing about how people live in different parts of the country and the world. Once and a while, with all the readers these blogs touch, please consider bringing attention to an issue that needs awareness. Once a week, once a month, whatever.

Don’t let your voice stay silent.

How very rare it is for me to read a book where each chapter I read amazes more than the one I read before. Perhaps the books I normally read, just are not old enough to entertain.

Before I get too far into this week’s review, I wanted to encourage you to listen to Pastor Mike’s podcast on Sunday’s sermon. We are on a journey through Leviticus. I enjoyed the sermon, not just because of the frog story, but because of it’s relevancy , not only in our lives in general, but because of the heart the Lord has given me for hospitality and bringing women together. One thing in particular he talked about was that heaven is community, hell is isolation. Are you living a hell on earth or a heaven? PODCAST

There is so much in this chapter, chapter four, that reached out and grabbed a hold of me, bringing to light, in my mind, recent headlines where good is called evil and evil is called good. This is scriptural but it doesn’t make it easier to see.

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

I believe this quote from chapter four:

-the power of pretending, even when backed by a huge majority, that he has his back to the wall. For all mobs are so far chivalrous that their heroes must make some show of misfortune-

can be so easily applied to many who are fighting on the side of darkness, for the right to live in darkness. ‘Oh, woe to us who want to sin, it is those who would keep us from sinning and keep us from tearing down a nation and breaking covenants with our actions that are the villains, not we.’

Another quote form chapter four-

Until we realize that things might not be we cannot realize that things are. Until we see the background of darkness we cannot admire the light as a single and created thing. As soon as we have seen that darkness, all light is lightening, sudden, blinding, and divine. Until we picture nonentity we underrate the victory of God, and can realize none of the trophies of His ancient war. It is one of the million wild jests of truth that we know nothing until we know nothing,

And last, but not least.-

When Christ at a symbolic moment was establishing His great society, He chose for its comer-stone neither the brilliant Paul nor the mystic John, but a shuffler, a snob a coward–in a word, a man. And upon this rock He has built His Church, and the gates of Hell have not prevailed against it. All the empires and the kingdoms have failed, because of this inherent and continual weakness, that they were founded by strong men and upon strong men. But this one thing, the historic Christian Church, was founded on a weak man, and for that reason it is indestructible. For no chain is stronger than its weakest link.

I know this week’s post is quote heavy, but why gild the lily? I’d like to leave you with this video

and encourage you today, if you have never accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and savior, here is what is means to do so.

• We acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God; that He came to earth as a man in order to live the sinless life that we cannot live; that He died in our place, so that we would not have to pay the penalty we deserve.
• We confess our past life of sin — living for ourselves and not obeying God.
• We admit we are ready to trust Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.
• We ask Jesus to come into our heart, take up residence there, and begin living through us.

And this is a prayer you can pray that will change your life.

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

Thsi prayer of salvation and the explanations above it provided by All About God.

The art museum is partially responsible for redeeming Denver. Art and a strong pot of tea can help a gal get over almost any trauma if it’s not too severe.

Remember, clicking on an image will enlarge it for better viewing.

Please remember to copy the badge and use it as a link back to my site if you are following alone with the book club and write about it on your blog.

Reading Chesterton has been surprisingly difficult. I’m not merely talking about the differences in past writing styles to today’s writing styles or the references to people and things of Chesterton’s time that I keep having to research like a term paper. I rather enjoy reading Chesterton in the ‘original Klingon’ as my husband would say about such writings, and I also have enjoyed looking up the things and people he mentions. I can almost feel my brain cells expanding. No, none of that is really what is weighing heavily upon my heart.

What troubles me the most, is that, we are not learning from our mistakes. We are repeating history, to our detriment. It is not surprising so much as it is disheartening. Christians know who the god of this earth is. His reign is limited as is the time he has left. Those who do not know this, continue living as if their lives have no eternity, no consequence. They believe they are, ‘lining large’ in their sin and that those who follow Christ are small. Small minded, small hearted, tiny in their understanding of worldly things. Oh, they could not be further from the truth.

Insights to chapter three.

1. Enjoy the small things. They really are what make life worth living. Assignment? Romanticize something that you would normally view as mundane. Read chapter three and figure it out for yourself.

2. I cannot say it better than he, so here is a quote from Chesterton from chapter three,‘The evil of militarism is not that it shows certain men to be fierce and haughty and excessively warlike. The evil of militarism is that it shows most men to be tame and timid and excessively peaceable. The professional soldier gains more and more power as the general courage of a community declines. Thus the Pretorian guard became more and more important in Rome as Rome became more and more luxurious and feeble. The military man gains the civil power in proportion as the civilian loses the military virtues. And as it was in ancient Rome so it is in contemporary Europe. There never was a time when nations were more militarist. There never was a time when men were less brave. All ages and all epics have sung of arms and the man; but we have effected simultaneously the deterioration of the man and the fantastic perfection of the arms. Militarism demonstrated the decadence of Rome, and it demonstrates the decadence of Prussia.’

The word, America, could very easily replace some of the other references to countries.

3. How large, or small, is your world?

The Sultan’s Elephant, originally uploaded by Simon Crubellier.

Better than 4 wheel drive. I need this. Seriously. It even has compartments so that if you get tired and hungry on your way home from work, you can just ease it on over to the side of the road and make a snack and take a nap. I’d take this over and suv ANY day of the week!

My but Mr. Chesterton was all over the map in Chapter Two. I am going to touch on some of the things he wrote about that impacted me. In Chapter Two, Chesterton mentions a pamphlet written by Mr. G. W. Foote in which Mr. Foote said, ‘ a picture of a drunkard’s liver would be more efficacious in the matter of temperance than any prayer of praise.’ Do you remember those living lung displays they would bring into school every year to show us what a diseased smoker’s lung looked like? I do. It worked on me, that is, until the memory of it faded and my friend’s influence took hold. We do have pictures now a days of things that are bad for us, and people protest them and are offended, as usual, by the truth. Posters in subways of the effects of abortion on a woman’s body are considered religious propaganda even though the science is there to back it up.

In Chapter two, Chesterton goes on to write about how some influential writer’s of his time went to great lengths to muddle things and in one example, Ibsen wrote two particular plays that Chesterton mentions. In, The Wild Duck, when the truth is revealed, it destroys the lives of the family that had previously been ‘enjoying’ life living their lie. In, Pillars of Society, it is falsehoods, or telling lies, that brings the family to ruin. Oh,how often we see this in our modern society, where people embrace whatever, ‘truth’, “works for them”.

The truth is not like a litter of puppies, you can’t just walk up to the one that best suits you and take it home and nurture it until it becomes your reality. Sometimes, the truth bites us, that is called conviction.

Finally, Chesterton writes about all the things we do and talk about to avoid talking about what is good. Is it because if we discuss that there is something good then there must also be something bad to balance the good? ‘Good’, has become the new elephant in the room. It has to be since all other dirty laundry has not only been exposed, but hung up to be bowed down to as being normal and laws are being passed to protect abhorrent behavior. Calling, a spade a spade, is now considered, ‘hate speech’. You cannot keep your modesty and propriety without being ‘phobic’. The ‘rights’ of less than 3% of the population have been protected while the other 97% must suffer and have their rights stripped from them, shockingly unprotected by those they placed in office.

Here is a quote from Chesterton’s Heretics, Chapter Two on what is good:

Every one of the popular modern phrases and ideals is a dodge in order to shirk the problem of what is good. We are fond of talking about “liberty”; that, as we talk of it, is a dodge to avoid discussing what is good. We are fond of talking about “progress”; that is a dodge to avoid discussing what is good. We are fond of talking about “education”; that is a dodge to avoid discussing what is good. The modern man says, “Let us leave all these arbitrary standards and embrace liberty.” This is, logically rendered, “Let us not decide what is good, but let it be considered good not to decide it.” He says, “Away with your old moral formulae; I am for progress.” This, logically stated, means, “Let us not settle what is good; but let us settle whether we are getting more of it.” He says, “Neither in religion nor morality, my friend, lie the hopes of the race, but in education.” This, clearly expressed, means, “We cannot decide what is good, but let us give it to our children.”

So, I boldly declare what I know is good.

WHAT IS GOOD: marriage between a man and a woman, respecting men (especially husbands being respected by their wives), getting to know our neighbors, praying, standing up for the rights of Christians, opening our houses up to others, forgiving our enemies, waiting until marriage to have sex, keeping the body clean of drugs and chemicals, looking nice, speaking to others with respect, being polite, using good manners, speaking softly in public, not letting children run crazy in public, driving the speed limit and obeying traffic laws, repenting and turning away from sin, fighting against those who would try and tear down society in favor of fashionable immorality. That is not the end of the list, but I will stop there as I think you get my point. There is good and there is bad. There is right and there is wrong. How could this even be arguable?
Don’t forget Mr. Linky.

geisha 2 bento, originally uploaded by Sakurako Kitsa.

Go to Flickr to read the notes about what all was done to create this mini master piece.

Too Beautiful to Eat?, originally uploaded by moriza.

I’m looking for these to try the next time I enjoy my green or oolong tea. These are consumed during tea ceremonies instead of putting sugar in your tea.