So, I’m a tea drinker. I have a cup of tea in the morning when I read my Bible and talk with God. My mom was a tea drinker; she drank non-sweet iced tea. I learned to like tea from her example. I have been fascinated to watch the ritual of tea drinking in Morocco – they pour their tea from a pot really far away from the cup; it’s a quite a show as well as smooth tea. And, I’ve had tea many times in West and East Africa. Their tea seems to be strong on the milk and sweetener – but I say that comment as a non-sweet tea drinker. Just black for me; but definitely loose tea leaves.
But…not black tea necessarily. I like flavored teas...blackberry, blueberry, vanilla rooibos tea…YUM. I’m on a ginger peach tea kick right now.
You may be an ice cream or coffee connoisseur. What’s your favorite flavor?
Ice Cream, Tea, coffee...they all have different flavors and sometimes you want one taste and at other times you might choose another variety.
Likewise, there are times when you want to praise God using different “flavors” – sometimes with reflective singing; or other times when you want to dance and shout like David and Israelites when the Ark of the Covenant was brought back into Jerusalem. Praising God might take the form of bowing before Him in awe or you might want to bust out with a huge clap. There are lots of ways to say, “Yes God; You are Great” and clapping is one way to praise God. Psalm 47:1 says, “Clap your hands all you nations…”.
Below is a free PDF, Clap Your Praise, is a worksheet you might use with your family or class to learn that clapping is one way to praise God. You might even want to work on it together with a cup of tea!