Tea Party Goers Learn to Fill Spiritual Cups with Love

May 07, 2004 02:59 PM EDT

When your cup gets accidentally bumped in life, fill it with God’s love, told Danae Dobson to the crowd of women and their daughters who gathered at Cornerstone Alliance Church’s third annual event.

Dobson, the daughter of Focus on the Family’s founder Dr. James Dobson, explained how people’s cups spill over when life creates a crisis that bumps that cup.

"We don't know what kind of people we are until our cups get bumped," she said. "Several things cause us to spill over.”

For Dobson, things such as losing a parking space she was waiting for or hearing disagreeable words from her spouse bump her cup. Although she described her reaction the incidents, she told the audience that while anger by itself is not necessarily a sin, letting it build up to resentment can be trouble.

She encouraged the 320 women and girls to cups spill over with love and tolerance instead of such things as envy.

One way is to unload their burdens to the Lord through prayer. Dobson gave an anecdote about her friend who went into a room to pray and “unload” after the friend’s husband said some words that hurt her.

“I let the Lord handle it and he always does," Dobson recalled her friend saying.

"She was very down to Earth, candid," one congregant member said of Dobson. "What's really inside of us, that's how we learn about ourselves. The Lord shows us what's in there and what needs cleaned up."

The message was appreciated by the women who attended the event.

"It's just a real challenge to let the Lord fill our cup so we're spilling out with the right thing," said Terri Hite, attending with her daughter Shawna.

The event featured local singers, a tea party, story time with games and doll making.

"It's important just for ladies to have an afternoon out," said Cornerstone congregation member Kristi Roush. "I think all women like to feel special."