Lessons for Young Women, 2 of 3 - The Tea Party

Lessons for Young Women, 2 of 3
The Tea Party
Lessons in God's Love
Print the PDF (includes the pattern for the teapot and teabags, as well as the pattern to cut out the verses to insert into the teabags)
Created July 2013. Revised February 2021

This writing can be used with the Lessons for Young Women, 1 of 3 (Steeping in His Glory) and 3 of 3 (The King's Daughter - what should she wear?)

Introduction
I love to host tea parties centered around learning about God’s character. In the 1990s in North Dayton, Ohio, both boys and girls in my neighborhood participated. I said to Colton and Dylan that they probably would not want to come, because you had to dress up. They eagerly arrived in their very-best sweatpants! The girls wore hats, and sometimes their mothers came.

Most of the parents in this neighborhood worked. My boss let me work part-time so I could be home at 3:00 p.m. when the children poured off the buses at the stop sign near the house I rented with a friend. I was there for every seasonal and nonseasonal event – tea parties, Happy Birthday Jesus parties, Bible studies, art parties and cooking classes! I will never forget those years!

After I married, graduated from Bible school, and moved to our house, I started the fun all over again with special table settings, paper teapots for name cards, and teabags filled with verses to encourage discussion and learning. It has been seven years since I hosted the last official tea party!

In July 2013, 11 women and daughters came to a tea party in our home. Decorating was never difficult with the satin pink tablecloth and my grand-mother’s dishes. Each person had a teabag with a characteristic of God on it with the corresponding verse inside. One by one we shared about His love and how we wanted to reflect Him in these 11 ways. You can use these verses and the pattern at the end of this document to create your own tea party!

11 characteristics of God we discuss at a tea party

Beauty
Tea parties are beautiful – the table, our clothes, and the food!
Psalm 90:17 
Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us.
1 Peter 3:4
Clothe yourselves with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is so precious to God.  

Listening
We learn to listen at a tea party.
Psalm 116:1-2
I love the Lord because He listens to my voice and prayers. Because He inclines His ear to me, I will call upon Him as long as I live.

Gentleness
The teacups are gentle, and the conversation is courteous.
Psalm 18:35
God’s right hand upholds me, and His gentleness makes me great.
Galatians 5:22-23
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Kindness
We learn kindness at a tea party.
Colossians 3:12-13
As those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

Love
We learn love as we patiently pass the food and think of others first.
Colossians 3:14
Beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

Unity
We learn about unity as we listen, care, and relax together.
Psalm 133:1
Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brothers and sisters to dwell together in unity!

Refreshment
We are refreshed as we sip our tea, laugh, share, and nibble on treats.
Jeremiah 31:25
The Lord says – I satisfy the weary ones and refreshes everyone who languishes.

Rest
We find rest.
Mark 6:31
Jesus said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.”

Laughter
We laugh at tea parties as we encourage each other in the Lord.
Proverbs 31:25
Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles [or laughs] at the future.

Thankfulness
We share gratitude together for each other and our hostess.
Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Lavishness
Tea parties are lavish affairs that reflect His love.
Ephesian 1:7-8
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us.

Shale Fragments™ - devotionals by Beth Ann Phifer is a division of Flower Girl Greetings, LLC. ©2020, All Rights Reserved.
Blessings and love in Him,
Beth Ann