On this thankful Thursday I thought I would share one of my favorite previous post.  I pray it blesses you my dear friends and that on this Thankful Thursday that you find much in your life to be Thankful for.  God is so could and we are so blessed.  May these encourage you as you seek to continue to be faithful to God’s call on your life!

I relish having tea, hot tea, that is.  I also have so much fun serving it in one of my beautiful tea sets.

I love to have tea with friends and with the Sons of Thunder. Now truth be told, it can get a bit wild with the Sons, but it is always a memorable experience and the result is indeed very special. I am certain my future daughters in-law will thank me one day for raising men who appreciate the art of afternoon tea.

I have several tea sets thanks to Winters’  mother and mine.  When my mom passed away, I inherited lots of tea cups in all shapes and sizes.  I also have the porcelain teapots mom hand-painted.  These are a treasure to me, and precious works of art.

Years ago, one of my dearest friends, dropped by when we lived in Nebraska. I suggested we have tea and I pulled out one of my favorite silver tea sets to use. It was easy and fun.  Even now she tells me how much that meant to her and she has recounted the story of our tea party to others, for many years. It doesn’t take much to make something a little extra special for yourself and others.

Here is my philosophy about using my “good stuff”, things like tea sets, china and crystal.  We can’t take it with us and in the end it is just stuff anyway.  And if you leave it for others to enjoy, it may well end up at goodwill anyway or an estate sale. Trust me, I am living proof of that.  So I say use it and enjoy and if it gets broken, then it gets broken. Yes you may cry, but at least you were able to enjoy it.  I promise it is a lot better than staring at it.

There were many times I questioned keeping so many of those tea cups of my mom’s and then soon after she died I had tea with a close friends in Oklahoma. Just about then she pulled out her own stash of  tea cups.  Wow! It made me so glad I had kept my mom’s for those special tea parties.

Right before Christmas I bought a beautiful little tea set.  I thought it would be perfect to add to my collection, as well as use at my Godly Gals Gatherings. It was pretty and functional.  At least that is what I thought.

As I went to wash the tea set and prepared to use it, I read on the bottom in bold print:

CAUTION –  For Decorative use Only. NOT SAFE FOR FOOD.

Really, I thought to myself, you have got to be kidding.  All these beautiful tea cups, saucers and a teapot and all I can do is look at them.

Well, there was no doubt this was a life lesson staring me in the face – right on the bottom of this beautiful for “decoration only” tea set.  What a great life application lesson.

Dear friends, God did not make us for decorative use only.   We are not to just sit on the shelf of life to look pretty. We are to be used. We are not decorations of  God’s divine creations.  No, on the contrary, we are to get dirty and be used by Him.

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We are not born with a caution sticker or warning sign that says do not use. If anything, when we are “born again” the  instructions say to “use generously” for anything God deems fit.

And yes, we will probably get broken, chipped and even worn out.  But we were designed to be used that way.  Much like the precious skin horse in the timeless classic book,  The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, the skin horse reminds us what it is like to be used and to be real.  “It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept.

“Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

Believers have to be tough.  They have to be strong and trust God that He can use them well.  I love to feel put together and get dressed up.  It makes me feel good. I hate to admit it, but I don’t really like to get dirty unless I am digging in the flower beds.  But I love to be used for Christ and as a Christian, we must be willing to be real and if that means get dirty then dirty it is. And that may mean we do not always look good to others.  In fact, sometimes you may simply look goofy.

We must put aside our insecurities and our “what would people think” mentality and get real!

Jesus was friends with a wide-range of people – sinners, prostitutes, tax collectors,and the “unclean.”  Jesus was used! Jesus got dirty. How about you?

We must be willing to walk the journey of life, but like real tea pots, not the decorative ones. We must be willing to be poured out in this life if we wish to make a difference.

We are given just one life to live.

And we have only one opportunity to be used by God. It is true we  may look a bit worn out at the end of our life’s journey, just like the skin horse.  But praise God we can say I got my hands dirty and I was used by God.   Then we will be real, really real, and those we lead to Jesus will be changed for ever.

The Lord of the universe wants to use you in a mighty way to change the world for Christ forever. But you my sweet friend will have to be willing to be used.  But I say go for it!

I promise it is much better than being a decorative Christian

Be blessed and encouraged abundantly today and why not say to the Lord, here am I, use me!