OKC Festival of the Arts

OKC Festival of the Arts

Yum...Strawberry Newburg.

Benjamin eating giant turkey leg....

Blake, Brock, Benjamin & Eric trying out different foods in the food court.

Our friend David Canavesio from our church had a booth....and he was painting.

He does beautiful work...it was a nice surprise for the boys to watch him paint.

Blake, Benjamin, Brock & Tammy looking at art.

Perfect bliss...laying in the green grass.

Eric & Tammy hanging out.

My boys taking it all in.

Downtown OKC in spring....perfect evening!

The children were having fun with string art sculpture.

Eric's favorite part...listening to live music.

We strolled through the gardens and watched the ducks.

We listened to the Rexal Rangers...on stage.

Sunset by the botanical gardens.

It ends at 9:00pm and we are wrapping up a wonderful time.

Part of living a romantic, creative life is allowing yourself permission to play.

Doing something that simply delights you...I love going to the Arts Festival.

What we love is nutritious for us.

Children learn at a prodigious rate.
If you see a child learning, you see that he will move from interest to interest, hungrily grazing among multiple appetites: blocks, crayons,Legos, this way and that, experimenting. We need to be more like children and just enjoy.

Jerusalem Is Walking In This World

By Julia Cameron

This is a great happiness.

The air is silk.

There is milk in the looks

That comes from strangers.

I could not be happier

If I were bread and you could eat me.

Joy is dangereous.

It fills me with secrets.

"Yes" hisses in my veins.

The pains I take to hide myself

Are sheer as glass.

Surely this will pass,

The wind like kisses,

The music in the soup,

The group of trees,

Laughing as I say their names.

It is all hosannah.

It is all prayer.

Jerusalem is walking in the world.

Jerusalem is walking in the world.

Heart Story by Mary Belle Johnson

Mary Belle Johnson

This Heart Story was submitted for Summer 2006 Newsletter

I want to say thank you for sending the newsletter, Tea Party Talk, to me. It is so refreshing to read and is a reminder of my days of residence in Oklahoma City, 1997-2001.

Those were great years, and we made many new friends, among them, the owner of A Spot For Tea. She was such a gracious lady, and she shared with me, her love for her family, her Christian involvement, and her dreams for a tearoom where everyone felt the joys and comforts found only in an atmosphere such as this, over a warm cup of tea.

Last summer we visited the city, and my one request to my husband was that we visit A Spot For Tea. It was during this time that I was greeted by the manager. After inquiring about the owner, I was told she was in the tearoom. It wasn't long before she appeared at our table. It was great seeing her again, and unbelievable she still remembered me. It seemed our conversation began where it had ended four years ago. She was the perfect hostess again. She gave us a tour of the beautiful and elaborate rooms, explaining each one in detail. I was taken back in time. It was a day that embellished my life, just as her tea room was so elegant and touched with her embellishments.

"A tea cup is not a teacup without warm tea. So, over a cup of tea, we talked my friend and me."

Mary Belle Johnson was the Executive Director for Women's Ministries of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church while in OKC. Her business card that she had given to Tammy four years earlier stated, "God is looking for women who will answer His call and dare to be different."

Heart Story by Terry O'Neil

Terry O'Neil is a wonderful muralist painter. She has painted all of the Rose Cottage area.

Heart Story by Terry O'Neil

Have you ever noticed how a relationship between two people can suddenly be intensified and brought to a new level with great benefit to both parties?

It's a God thing.

I have no doubt that the friendship between Tammy Seibert and myself was foreseen by God long before Tammy's dad decided to become a minster of the Gospel; or my son, John DeVere, decided to come back to Oklahoma; or Robin Hopper DeVere, Tammy's cousin, met John at a youth meeting. Within three months of that meeting John and Robin were married. A few years later Tammy's parents merged churches with our church. All our paths crossed and came together for God's purpose all under one roof.

Tammy and I sang many times together. Many people that know Tammy have not heard her beautiful singing voice. It's a pure, sweet soprano. very true, and I have never heard her hit an off note. All her boys were born while she and Eric were attending Liberty Chapel. In between the births of her three boys, she and Eric began her children's tea parties that they took to individual homes.

Then came the Rose Cottage at the Antique Mall. Tammy called and asked if I would paint murals on the outside of the little pink house. Eventually it became the Rose Cottage that is upstairs in the present location. I was thankful for the job and Tammy saw it as a fulfillment of her dreams. The next step on the journey was the large mural on the back wall of the Antique Mall. when tammy "inherited" the Tea Room in front of the mall, that wall was moved. Then, when she moved to the new location the wall was moved again! It has become known as The Miracle Wall because it moved twice and didn't break apart. I've been working on and off on the upstairs walls ever since.

It is so nice to have a lovely place to take your friends; to have a delicious meal with excellent tea in such beautiful surroundings. I've never brought anyone here that wasn't impressed with the food and the atmosphere.

Once in a while Tammy and I get to spend time talking about the Lord, His miracles and His blessings to us. We are so grateful for all He has done.

It's a God thing.

Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Easter 2009 Memories

Eric and the boys (Eric's nephew Michael visiting for the weekend)

Easter baskets filled with eggs stuffed with candy.

We had Easter at my cousin Valerie's house in Ft. Worth, Texas.

My dad's family is big and lots of cousins for the egg hunt.

This is Madeleine holding her sweet pink basket.

All the kids lined up with their finds.

Opening eggs....money was hidden in some.

$10.00 was the big find....Brock found it.

Brock and Cache looking through their eggs.

Girls all smiles...cute.

Brock riding "Shorty"...a Texas kind of Easter day.

"He is not here, but has risen! Luke 24:6

Good Friday Thoughts

Spring Flowers

Easter eggs in basket

Spring at the tearoom.

Thinking of our Jesus on Good Friday.
From our heart to yours
Have a Blessed Easter.

What's Your Cup of Tea?

Tea Cupping Sets

A Spot For Tea has 51 varieties of tea.

Black Tea

If you are a black tea drinker, you're a forward looking, intense person. Your thoughts are always directed toward the future. You have a fertile and active mind that is aways churning.

Green Tea

If you are a green tea drinker, you're a connoisseur of the finer things in life. You know what you're talking about and are a specialist - a visionary - in your field.

Oolong Tea

If you are an oolong tea drinker, you face the world with joy and see the hidden potential in everyone you meet. You thrive on challenge and can achieve much in this life through hard work and discipline. There's a part of you that loves excitement and freedom from routine.

White Tea

If you are a white tea drinker, you are calm and serene. You don't get ruffled easy and others look to you for guidance in a storm. You are pure and look for the good in others.

Iced Tea

If you are an iced tea drinker, all things are possible. You're full of ideas, and won't be bound by rules unless you made them. You're always striving for things to be better and looking ahead with exciement.

Blended Tea

If you are a blended tea drinker, the power of the universe is behind you if only you knew what you wanted in life. All options are open, but which one will you take?

Herbal Tea

If you're an herbal tea drinker, you're flexible and can fit into any situation, anytime, anywhere. You have an all-around knowledge of all walks of life and can move with the times.

Flavored Tea

If you are a flavored tea drinker, you live in the past, emotionally. You love that sweet, smooth feeling - the pure essence of childhood when things were simple and straightforward.

So what's in your cup? Try out different ones from our tea menu and taste which one appeals to you...at least its fun going through our 51 flavors on finding your favorite.

Happy 6th Birthday A Spot For Tea

Never Give Up by Joyce Meyer

"Everything we undertake in life has a beginning and an end. Typically, we are excited at the beginning of an opportunity, a relationship, or a venture; we're also happy when we can celebrate our achievement and have the satisfaction of a fulfilled desire. But between the beginning and the end, every situation or pursuit has a 'middle' - and the middle is where we often face our greatest challenges, hurdles, roadblocks, obstacles, detours and tests. People who are easily led by their emotions rarely finish what they start. They give up when the project is no longer exciting and all they see in front of them is hard work. God wants us to be people who finish what we begin, and He will help us if we let Him."

I was thinking today about last year at our 5 year anniversary benchmark and how this year is completely different. This year I am at home because I had out-patient surgery yesterday and my doctor told me I needed a couple of days to recover and gain strength. Today I was calling the tearoom to check in how everyone was doing. I rarely take a day off and to be off on our 6th year birthday was reflective to say the least.

Joyce Meyer goes on to say people who finish well in life are the ones with strong character. They have "staying power". Jesus did not quit when His circumstances were hard. God wants us to finish the race set before us and finish them with joy.

"Those who do good work of any kind always seem to be seeking that next mountain to climb, the next challenge that takes them to another creative level. But it is crucial to find satisfaction in your work at this time and at this stage of your development. Be gentle and generous with yourself. Give credit where credit is due. Do not let that inner voice of censorship overwhelm you with self-defeating criticism. Be thankful that you have completed the work and then move on. Recognize that this is one step in a long process. You do not stand or fall by one project, one performance, one public appearance. This is not "make or break" - this is a signpost, a landmark on a long journey. If you look at successful people, you'll see that the majority work patiently at what they do over the long term. You'll find that everyone has their ups and downs, but it's the ones who keep going that get somewhere. Trust the process" The Art of Encouragement - Candy Paull

As I've driven down Memorial Road around the Quail Springs Mall area and taken stock of all the chain restaurants that have closed I am enouraged that we have made it six years in this business where most people fail within the first year. I also don't want to take any moment for granted in these hard economic times. I am very thankful to God and to those people who have helped us get this far in our journey. It is the middle ground that we find ourselves in now and it is imperative to keep looking to the future for more good days ahead.

"Do you see what this means - all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running - and never quit!" Hebrews 12:1-2 The Message Bible