Spilling Sweet Tea Giveaway!!!

Wednesday Update: Please forgive my lack of a new post here. (And if you haven’t commented on this one below to enter the giveaway, you still can ’til Friday morning at 6:00 a.m.) The story is I have come down with the coughin’, creepin’ crud and I am, unfortunately, severely allergic to cold medicine. So, I am spending quality time with my saline sinus rinse bottle, slathering on the Vicks and trying to get school done with my boys. Not much energy left for anything else.

However—tune back in Friday when we’ll have a guest post and a giveaway. I noticed when I asked a few weeks ago what your biggest procrastination project was, many of you said ‘scrapbooking’. So, since I have ZERO skill on that topic, I’ve asked my friend Heather Vanderlaan, the scrapbooking diva to hop on over and give out some tips—and offer a cool giveaway. See you then!

Also Note: If you are a Weight Loss Wednesday gal, please click here to locate our cyber accountability group now called His Weigh Wednesdays and lead by Lindsey Feldpausch.New comers always welcome! See ya over there! __________________________________________________________________________________

A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. Luke 6:45 (NLT)

”She is a big-city Southern gal who just happened to be born in a tiny town in the Midwest.”

Those are the words I use to answer people who question why our 19-year-old daughter chose to move from our little Michigan village and take up residence in Charlotte, NC to attend cosmetology school. Ever the adventurous type, she opted for moving in with gracious friends and attending school where she knew no one over staying home and playing it safe at a nearby, salon school where  girls she knew studied.

Ever since the first time Mackenzie traveled with me as a pre-teen to a speaking engagement in the south, she was hooked. She loved the food (especially Chic-Fil-A which we sadly don’t have in Michigan), the weather, the big hairstyles, (usually the weather results in the big hairstyles!) the ocean being nearby, and the regional accent (Yes, she now refers to our family as “ya’ll”). But most of all, Kenz couldn’t get enough sweet tea!

Today, when she is cruising around Charlotte in her tan 1999 Buick, she often has a glass of her beloved beverage nestled in her cup-holder. She can sip her tea at long red lights or while waiting in the carpool line to pick up the kids she is watching for the afternoon. However, when she is driving and has to turn a sharp corner, she must hold onto her beverage cup. Even though it sports a travel lid, her car’s cup-holders sometimes malfunction, sending the glass flying off on the floor.

Now, let me ask you a simple question: When she forgets to secure her cup at a corner, or if she were ever suddenly bumped from behind, what would spill out of her travel mug?

Yep. Sweet tea.

It wouldn’t be old, cold, bitter coffee leftover from three days ago.

Nor would it be nasty, sticky and syrupy Mountain Dew with a fly stuck in it that one of her brothers forgot to dump out the last time he road in her car.

It would be sweet tea; it could only be what is already inside the glass.

When I am “suddenly bumped”, the above verse illustrates this very concept. What is inside of me will spill out.

If I react to my husband with harsh words when he disappoints me; if I snap at a co-worker for no reason apparent to her; or if I answer my kids’ calling “Mom!!” for the 27th time with a harsh, angry and witch-like “Whaaaaaaat!!!!”….. I am simply spilling out what is already inside.

Read the verse again slowly, allowing its words to penetrate your soul. “A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

“The treasury of a good heart”.

One definition of treasury is “A place where valuables are collected, managed and disbursed”. Does that not perfectly describe our hearts!? We collect thoughts, manage our emotions and disburse reactions all through the treasury of our heart.

While I may make excuses for my hideous behavior, reasoning that my pestering kids “made” me snap at them with ugly words and a caustic tone, really my response to their question or their conduct just reveals what is already in me.

A glass of sweet tea, no matter how abruptly it gets bumped, is incapable of spilling out anything but the sugary, delightful drink.

Let’s purpose today to fill our heart’s treasury to the brim with the sweet, not the bitter; to store up God’s words to us in this verse, asking Him to bring them to our minds BEFORE we answer with our mouths in a way that might be awfully ugly.

When we are suddenly or perpetually bumped, jarred or shaken, let’s all transform into Southern gals and spill ourselves some good ole’ sweet tea.

Sound good, y’all?

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Okay ladies…in honor of this last holiday of summer, I am giving away this “tea-themed” gift. It includes:

~A box of tea-to-go mix ins for bottles of water. The flavor is sugar-free green tea with honey. It is sweetened with Splenda.

~A fun and funky travel mug, so you won’t spill your sweet tea!

~A green tea & white pear candle from Bath & Body works. I LOVE the fresh smell of this candle!!!

Leave a comment on this post to be entered in the random giveaway. Either comment on any aspect of this post or tell us what your favorite cold drink is.

Mine is Diet Cheerwine soda–which also sadly :-( I CANNOT get in Michigan!! So, I only drink it about twice a year.

Oh…and I almost forgot! The winner of the giveaway from over the weekend of the two Target Card bundles is…….Michelle Kelly; timestamp Sept. 4 at 5:18 a.m. NOW…you must report to us what happened when you gave away the second bundle to a stranger, okay?

See you Wednesday, everyone!

89 Comments

  1. I love sweet tea.. but I actually sweeten mine with Splenda to save the calories…. try that Kenzie! What a great post, as always Karen! I, too am guilty of answering my boys in that scratchy, irritating voice, but will try to remember and pray to let only the “sweet” spill out. Isn’t that what our parents taught us…. if you don’t have something nice to say….thanks for the reminders!

  2. Me too, I love sweet tea!!! And….I too am guilty of answering in that awful tone after my kids have called mom for the 100th time. Praying this verse will help me to be more pleasant.

  3. Kenz, living less than 2 hours from you in Western North Carolina, I can tell you the next best thing to your sugary (fattening) sweet tea is unsweetend tea with a few packs of splenda thrown in. To make it even better, throw in a pack of True Lemon and you’ll be balancing your travel mug again in no time! Unsweetened tea for me!

  4. Very well thought out analogy!
    I am ashamed of what might spill out, somedays!
    I get aggrevated or stressed and yuck might be what spills!

    I had to giggle at all your southern love. I’m a GRITS girl and we wouldn’t have anything BUT sweet tea in our home!
    And yes….ChicFilA is the best!

  5. I’m a southern sweet tea girl myself! Sadly, that is not what always spills from me when I am jarred. This has been an issue in my home just lately due to all kinds of stresses, but my babies cannot help any of it and I so thank you for the reminder to be careful what is inside:)

  6. Karen! Mine is Diet Cheerwine as well. I grew up on Cheerwine and it is just oh so wonderful :-) I’m convinced that it will definitely be in a soda fountain in Heaven :-) Did you know that you can order it and have it delivered????

    Thanks for your post – it really resonated with me today!!!!

  7. It’s so easy for those nasty-sounding words to spill out.
    My more northern unbringing shows in my drink of choice – unsweet iced tea. I can drink it all day long.

  8. Oh me…this one is awesome I so needed this….I have to remind myself to “be slow to anger” ….but, I’m so human and find that sometimes it so hard to do. Thanks so much for all you do!

  9. My favorite cold drink is sweet tea! But after reading Kenzie’s comment above, I may have to start looking for a new one! :)

  10. I live in North Carolina….and I gotta say; Sweet Tea is really one of the best!!! And I’m sure Kenz has informed you that Chick-Fil-A has awesome sweet tea!!!! :)

  11. Karen,
    What a great lesson! It is so hard as a mom not to answer in “that tone” when we have heard “Mom” called numerous times in a day!
    As for my favorite drink – I’m right there with your daughter – sweet tea all the way! I picked up a gallon from Chick-fil-a this morning on my way to work! It should last a couple of days : )

  12. Hey Karen,
    I love this example. I went through counselor training at my church. One of the Tripp brothers was the leader (by video). He used this same type of example with a class of water. I’ve never forgotten it.
    And yes, I too have had the bad response to my children. Waaaaaaaaay too many times. I never win any of these random drawings, but enter me anyway.
    And since moving to the sounth two months ago, I am a big fan of the sweet tea to!!!

  13. Oh my—this is timely! My ‘witch-like’ reply of “Whaaaaaattt?!?!” when my kids yell my name for the 100th time comes out WAY too much. I jokingly call myself the “Evil Queen” from Snow White b/c I feel like I yell too much. More time with God equals more of the fruit of self-control. **sighs** I’ll get it one day! Thanks for the great reminder and the story. (And great blessings to Kenzie on her new adventure! :0)

  14. I must learn this bible verse. I do want the sweet words to flow out from my heart. My favorite drink is iced tea with a slice of lemon, unsweet though. It is so cool and refreshing!

  15. Very inspiring message! Many factors seem to regularly contribute to a lot of tension and frustration in my home of two young boys and my husband and I. I prayed today that the peace would start with me and would “spill out” onto my kids and husband. Thank you for sharing this!
    My favorite sweet drink (other than some good sweet tea from here in AL) is an iced mocha from Starbucks!

  16. My favorite cold drink is a root beer in a real glass bottle. Reminds me of summers and fishing with my dad. =)

  17. My favorite cold drink: “Shirley Temples”–I order them when we go out to eat–My husband secretly loves them, too(he is too embarassed to order them,but tries to sip mine).

  18. This message really hit home with me. My husband and I have been having a hard time financially for sometime now, the economy has affected my husbands business big time. I woke up this morning feeling very down about our situation and some ugly comments started spilling out of my mouth. He did call me on it and I went out for a walk in the beautuful sunshine and came back thinking better thoughts! My favorite drink is lemonade.

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