Shannon S. McKee

musings and moments

Love in a Cup: My London Fog Recipe

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I am a lover of all things tea. My journey with it started my first year out of college when I worked for a newspaper. I was interviewing a woman from Australia for a piece that I was working on. Instead of meeting her out somewhere, she invited me to her home for… tea time! Sugar cubes and all. It reminded me of Anne of Green Gables and was totally taken in by this lovely mid-day respite.

That same year, Rick bought me my first pottery tea pot, sugar bowl, and creamer. Then, I discovered loose tea. The rest is history…. I’ve been blissfully making pots of tea ever since.

Fast forward to a few years ago when I discovered tea lattes. My favorite is the London Fog. Yum! What I’m not a fan of is paying $4 for one. Especially since I have one every day. If I make it at home, it’s more like 30-40 cents a cup.

In addition to saving money, I like to customize my homemade version. I’ve discovered that I like mine with a bit of lavender in it. Most London Fogs that you order out and about are made by combining earl grey tea with steamed milk and vanilla syrup. No lavender.

Bonus tip: Lady Grey tea from Twinnings has the lavender already in it. But, if you only have access to Earl Grey, you can always just add a pinch of lavender to your tea before you steep it. I can’t find the Lady Grey locally so I have to order it online – usually through Amazon.

Here’s my recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

 

London Fog

My homemade recipe for a London Fog tea latte - a creamy, steamy cuppa! 
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Total Time 6 minutes
Course Beverage
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tsp loose leaf Lady Grey Tea I use Twinnings
  • 8-10 oz water brought to rolling boil
  • 1 tsp sweetener I use a stevia/xylitol blend
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup half and half steamed

Instructions
 

  • Pour water over loose tea infuser basket into mug to brew a strong cup of Lady Grey tea. (If you are using Earl Grey tea instead, add a pinch of lavender to your infuser.) After 4 minutes, pull the tea infuser out. Add your sweetener and the vanilla extract. (I'm trying to avoid sugar but you can sub sugar or a simple syrup for my homemade stevia blend if you'd like.) Stir.
  •  While the tea is steeping, steam half and half. I don't have a steamer so I warm it up in the microwave or on the stove top and whip it with my Aerolatte frother. Pour frothed milk over prepared tea. 
Keyword london fog, tea

A Guest Post from Pastor Rick: Thoughts on the Gillette Ad Controversy

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Yes, I’ve heard of the controversy over this video from Gillette. It makes me sad.

First, my credentials: I’m a man. By most accounts, a very masculine man. And proud of it. Throughout my ministry, God has allowed me to gather manly men and train them up in the Lord. I tend to be conservative, both politically and theologically. I’m complementarian – embracing male leadership in the home and church as outlined in the Bible. By all accounts, I’m incredibly pro-masculinity. And I LOVED THIS VIDEO.

Hottie, Manly Pastor Dude in Ireland in 2017

In fact, one thing that totally moved me was the idea of men training boys to be men. I loved this line: “because the boys watching today will be the men of tomorrow.” That’s laden with challenge, put up or shut up, caught not taught, your example matters. Truth.

The video is against TOXIC masculinity, not masculinity per se. It seemed to focus on the mistreatment of women and on bullying. I think those are bad things, right? They do exist in our world, right? And, sometimes they are given a pass with an eye roll and a “boys will be boys.” In contrast, this video calls men to call men to a higher version of being men. I’m struggling to see why that is a bad thing.

Is there a fallen version of masculinity that plagues this fallen world? YES. It’s been around for thousands of years, and I’ve been a part of it. I still need to wrestle it out of my soul all the time. Is there a very manly version of masculinity that is God-honoring? YES. Just look at Jesus, the biggest stud of all time. He possessed the strength of God, but restrained by meekness, character and love, then channeled toward the good of others, particularly the weak and oppressed, at great sacrifice to himself. Stud.

I’m pro-masculinity that looks like Jesus. I’m anti-toxic, fallen, sinful masculinity. Of course, I could say that about almost anything – femininity, government, churches, church leadership, etc. Pro on the godly version; anti on the fallen version.

Christians, don’t adopt your reactions from shock jocks and reactionary internet personalities. We adopt our reactions from the Word of God. What God calls sin, we call sin.

If you have your knickers in a twist over this video, perhaps “thou doth protest too much.” Are you perhaps a part of the toxic masculinity, feeling convicted and defensive? That’s for you to decide. I have no idea. Maybe you’re just feeling this last thought…

There is a hint of cultural concern here. Why is a video that calls out TOXIC masculinity being met with such venom? It’s because of the assumption that all men are bad, all men are guilty. I don’t find that assumption in the video. But, it is in our culture. And I think the negative reactions to this video is an indication of that. Yes, we need to call out toxic masculinity. But, for too long our culture has bashed masculinity itself. Yes, men are different from women. Yes, we are often rough and tumble. And, so as long as masculinity is seen as a problem, good videos against toxic masculinity will be met with defensiveness.

Rick McKee is the Lead Pastor at Redemption Chapel in Stow, Ohio. And my husband. So, its OK that I called him the Hottie, Manly Pastor Dude. Perks of being the PW.

The Tensions of Planning for a New Year

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Happy New Year! I always have mixed feelings about a new year. It’s like a new journal… so much potential. Which also feels like a lot of pressure. Hence the mixed feelings. Anne of Green Gables liked to say that “Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it… Yet.” That’s sort of how I feel about a new year. 

I think planning and dreaming about a new year is really important. I mean, technically, there is nothing magical about it. It’s just the turn of another day in a string of new weeks in another 12-month saga. But, I believe there is value in rhythms and seasons. I think it’s important for the health of my soul to have this regular pause. The turn to a new year is as good a time as any to examine your life and set new intentions.

For me, this turn to the new year happens to fall after a time of thinking a lot about my mission and purpose. It comes on the heels of a year of where I’m starting to really come alive in some areas that have been waning for some time. So, I have a lot of hopes and desires for continuing that trajectory in the new year. 

2018 was also transitional year for me as we navigated family trauma while Rick was shepherding a rapidly growing church. Most of the time, I felt like I was treading water – sometimes barely keeping my head above water, other times finding a rhythm that kept me afloat. But, in either case, it was still treading water!! Which, by the way, is not a good long-term plan. 

So, as I peer over the edge of a new year along with you, I want to encourage you with a few thoughts that will be important to keep in tension. At least they are for me. 

  • First, don’t believe the lie that you’ll be worthier if you can just get better at this or that in 2019. If you are “in Christ,” there is nothing you can do to make God love you more or less in 2019. He created you, loved you first, and adopted you into His family. You’re one of His kids – He beams when He looks on you. You’re clothed in Christ and seated with Him in the heavenlies.  If you lose the weight or spend more time reading your Bible or get more organized, He won’t love you more than He did in 2018. If you’re going to get after it in 2019, do it from a place of security, in the knowledge that you are already completely loved by the One who matters most. 
  • Second, while it is true that you don’t need to earn His love, He IS committed to your sanctification and growth. He is not afraid to challenge you to live your best life – in fact, He has already prepared good works for you and wants you to walk in them. When you live with purpose and vision and use your time well, it honors Him and is also most fulfilling for you. So, yeah, go after some things in 2019. Take time to reflect on the past and look ahead into the future and ask God to lead you into 2019 with some goals and aspirations. 
  • Third, realize that any time you attempt something worthwhile, it’s going to be a mixture of failures and victories. When placed into the capable hands of your God, both the failures and the victories have value. Transformation and progress will be your rewards – not perfection. Don’t quit because you didn’t nail it perfectly the first two weeks of the year. As you look back on 2018 and, in turn, set your intentions for a new year, evaluate both the wins and the losses. Learn from both and let them shape the new year. 

I have a fresh bullet journal with lots of blank pages for 2019. As I reflect and dream and plan, I’m trying to hold these things in tension so that it doesn’t seem so scary to write something down.

Plus, washi tape – it covers a multitude of sins 😉

Evidently, the new year often induces panic in me. I just read last year’s “planning post” and had to laugh at myself a little: https://shannonsmckee.com/2017/12/30/resolutions-and-printables-and-words-oh-my/

Sitting with Grammy

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My sweet Grammy’s 95-year-old body is finally starting to really falter. Always active and self-sufficient, it hasn’t been easy for her to be forced into a position of depending on others and questioning if life still has value when you can’t DO much. Who among us doesn’t try to avoid those questions with every fiber of our beings? 

I remember clearly the first time that I realized that she wasn’t invincible. It was the day she told me she couldn’t golf anymore because of the arthritis in her hands. I remember being both saddened but also sort of pissed off by it. What was this thing called aging that was stealing away her abilities? 

I’ve watched her give up driving. Give up getting her hands in the dirt to plant flowers every Spring. Give up running her own errands and doing the laundry. Give up cleaning her own house the way she wants to. Give up getting her white hair done every other Friday. Give up seeing her pal Ella at church every Sunday. Give up writing letters to her bajillion grandchildren. Even give up being able to get her own dang glass of water. At every step it has been a mixed bag of emotions for me. Grief, joy, anger. 

She is so dear to me that I have often wondered what God is doing in this season. She has been ready to go “home” to be with Him for a couple of years now. Ready to be free and in His presence, fully known and loved without the shackles of sin. A few days ago, I sat with her in the stillness of their den. We didn’t talk much. I mostly held her hand and fed her ice chips. And I reflected on the whys of this season, asking the Lord not to tarry too much longer in taking her. 

Why does He keep letting age take things she loves from her? Why doesn’t He just come for her? Why does He wait when she is so ready? 

I don’t know His mind or pretend to understand the orchestrations of the God of the Universe. The One who is both preeminent and yet intensely personal. I don’t understand His timing. And, frankly, I don’t need to because I can trust His character. I trust what I know to be true about Him. His love and mercy and grace toward a broken and rebellious world. His tenderness toward the weak and forgotten ones. His creative attention to detail. His ability to always judge rightly. 

So, I’ll leave being God to Him. But, even in the midst of my questions, I will certainly admit that I can see some of the beautiful things He has been doing since my Grammy started getting more frail – little clues to remind me that He’s got this. 

  • I can see it my grandparents’ marriage. My Grandad has always been an impressive man, worthy of respect and admiration. But, my love of him has grown exponentially over the last couple of years. The way he is serving my Grammy in this season … it’s breathtaking. He is being so like his Lord right now. I think maybe even moreso than when he was teaching church history and reading Sproul (though he does those things well too). As for her part, she is reveling in his care for her.
  • I can see it when I slow down to sit and just hold her hand. In the stillness. The other day, I was sharing with her about my advent readings from that week – about how Christmas is just the beginning and that Jesus will come back as our Bridegroom. How He’ll scoop up His Bride and have a great feast for her. Grammy hadn’t spoken much that visit. But, the smile that played across her face in that moment… well, I would have missed it in my usual busyness. But, today, I was still and quiet and reflective. And I joined her in a powerful moment of anticipation. 
  • I can see it in the way my aunts who live in the area have taken to caring for her so that she can have her wish of staying at home as long as possible. It’s been something I have treasured as I have watched it play out. A WW2 nurse, wife, mom, grandma and great-grandma, she has spent a good bit of her life caring for others… now, her children rise up to call her blessed and spend their hours caring for her. 
  • I can see it in the way she prays. A year or so ago, she told me that she couldn’t do much anymore, so she’d turn her attention to praying more. I know she prays faithfully for all of us and that her prayers are like incense to our Lord. How He must delight in hearing from her as she cares for all of her people! 

I’m sure there are other things. Things that God is doing at this very moment to bring beauty to this phase of our story as we all prepare to send her home. Things unseen that He is working. But I will take these few things and ponder them, rolling them over in my mind until they are like a smooth stone that I can use to raise my own Ebenezer. All the while trusting the One whose promises are always Yes and Amen.