coffee

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How Fanatical Are You About Coffee?

Somebody, remind me why people are so fanatical about their coffee! I just don’t get it. 

How Fanatical are you about coffee

I can get passionate about a lot of things. I even watched a hockey game the other night from 2007. It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen it or didn’t know the outcome; I watched simply because I had a hankering for some hockey … and because right now we’d be in the thick of the playoffs – two games a night on TV.

So I do understand getting a hankering for something. 

And I do know coffee drinkers love a hot cup of joe first thing in the morning. … My daughter has a sign in her kitchen that reads, “… but first, coffee”. 

Some people go to extreme lengths to make a cup of coffee just down right difficult. 

I remember the days of the coffee maker. You put the water in the reservoir and could almost immediately see the same stream of H2O come right back out, now steaming hot and with that dark roasted lustre to it. … People like me would say it looks closer to the colour of mud but, as you can tell, I’m not a coffee drinker. I never have been.  

What I don’t get is the extremes coffee drinkers go to to get their coffee – whether it is standing over a chemistry lab-style carafe with a filter shoved in the spout, pouring small amounts of water over the coffee grinds, or whether it’s standing in line at a Starbucks for your special blend.

During the pandemic, Starbucks says they have mobile service. The only thing they have correct in that statement is “mobile”, as in you stay in your autoMOBILE. 

There is no service to what they do, even on a normal day when operating at full capacity. 

As one comedian put it, “you need a cup of coffee to be able to stand in line that long to order a coffee at Starbucks”. 

Well, the other day, my wife, Lily, had a free coffee voucher for Starbucks (for her birthday). She placed the order on her phone through an app. 

She was notified that it would be ready in 6 minutes. Now that’s fast for Starbucks! I was impressed; we hurried there. 

When we go close, we found that there was a lineup of cars that weaved through the parking lot, all of them trying to go through the drive-thru. 

… Nineteen cars ahead of us by the time we got to the back of the line! 

We hadn’t calculated that in our timing. Lily’s coffee was to be ready in 3 minutes. 

It took another 20 minutes to actually get the coffee passed to us through the drive-thru window. 

… That means Lily’s coffee sat on some counter for 17 minutes, and not under one of those heat lamps either. 

Why someone would want to go through all that just to get a taste of their favourite poison, I don’t know. 

Anyway, it’s a good gig. If you order ahead you either stay in line or you lose your week’s pay on that overpriced drink that’s already been charged to your credit card. 

Here’s the thing: When you truly love something, you will go to incredible lengths for that love – to the point where others who don’t share that same love think you are a little crazy or foolish. Well, let me ask you, how much do you love God? Would people who don’t love God think you are crazy for the lengths you go to to demonstrate your love for Him? Think on that.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How do you show your love for God? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Break The Busy With A Getaway

When you are really busy, sometimes getting away is the best thing for you. 

… I don’t mean getting away in the sense that you drop everything that is creating the busyness in your life. I mean taking all that’s making you busy with you on your getaway.

It’s that old saying, “A change is as good as a break.” 

There have been times when I’ve taken my computer and headed to a coffee shop and worked there for part of the afternoon. 

If you know me, that’s a very odd thing for me to do. 

First all all, I don’t like coffee, tea or anything mocha. I can go months without stepping inside a Tim Horton’s, and when I do, it’s for a donut, not a coffee. 

I’m never in line for a macchiato espresso grande with a shot of cream. … You get the idea; I don’t frequent coffee shops. 

But the other reason this would be strange for me is that I need quiet to study.

Coffee shops are not quiet; they are community gathering spots. People go there for coffee but also to talk, to catch up, to share coffee and conversation. 

When I study, I don’t like music in the background or I will start drumming on my desk. I don’t like noises outside my office window or I will be poking my head through the blinds to see what’s going on out there. 

I like silence or I get distracted; I lose my focus. 

But for some reason that I don’t understand, the times I’ve gone to a coffee shop to work, I’ve found that I can get things done. 

I’m able to shut out the individual voices and settle down in the hum of background noise. 

I look like I fit right in … except I’m the only one sucking back a three dollar water and nibbling on an oatmeal and raisin cookie.

I don’t do this all that often, but the break, the change of scenery, the different environment helps me to get my work done. 

Well, this week I was anticipating a very busy week, so Lily and I headed up to our cottage … you know, that “change of scenery” thing. 

I worked long mornings both days we were there, but I was working in the environment where I spend most of my vacation time. 

I worked from a sofa, with the sun breaking through the windows. I didn’t walk around; I didn’t sit looking at the scenery. It was just a different, quiet, relaxing atmosphere to work in. It was a getaway. 

I was able to get a lot of work done, while also getting a much needed break.

Maybe the incentives of the cottage helped me get more done because, along with work, I was able to get in a bike ride, a little time on the beach and take in an amazing sunset (check out my quick video here: vimeo.com/292474748 ).

All in all, this getaway helped me accomplish what I needed to set me up for what would take place from Wednesday to Sunday.

Here’s the thing: Have you ever found yourself in a rut when spending time with God, like you are going through the motions? Maybe there is no emotion when you are doing your devotions, nothing stirring your heart towards God. Well, perhaps you need a getaway, a change of scenery, a fresh place to spend that time. Try something different and see if your time with God isn’t transformed by a getaway.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How could you be refreshed by a getaway? Leave your comments below.