Saturday morning coffee

As my wife sleeps and half of my kids-the early risers-watch cartoons, the coffee tastes a little different this morning. Quite possibly the changing weather has affected my sinuses and taste buds in such a way that different flavor notes are more prominent. And as I was thinking of the different cups of coffee you get from different places, I was struck by a couple of truths. 1.) what you put into it and how consistent you are with that input greatly influences the flavor. Whether it is going to my in-laws and using their coffee supplies or their coffee proportions or a different local coffee shop that clearly filters it's water differently, those changes make a world of difference. 2.) the environment where you receive coffee doesn't change the actual flavor of the coffee but probably your perception and memory of it. Maybe it's the music or lighting at a coffee shop or the sound of my kids playing and laughing or maybe just the cold, dark house that speaks to my need and desire in those early morning hours. As I drink my 3rd cup I know that this can be very proverbial in life. 1.) Maintaining a consistently joyful relationship with God and others means you need to faithfully put in the best of what you have in each. We can often complain about how deficiencies in both vertical and horizontal relationships while not actively seeking to make them better. We need consistent application and fresh practices. The good news of the Gospel in these relationships is that God Himself is actively involved in pouring in and pouring us out. So many times our mood or energy is less than desirable and yet God is still working and calling and His Word is still powerful and always accomplishes what He intends. 2.) We can all consider how the relationships and events in our lives affect its "flavor". Just as the sounds of Mickey Mouse or Phineas and Ferb and my kids enjoyment of them stirs a simple joy and thankfulness so can many other environments stir or assault our affections. It may be the work environment that is less than desirable. If work is merely a means to an end and we are working to please ourselves and others and not God, we will miss the enjoyment of God's provision. But as with many things, it may mean that something needs to change . It could be the environment but it could also be you. What are the elements of life that help you enjoy the grace of the day, whatever it looks like? What are your Saturday morning spaces that allow you to think, pray and evaluate things that really matter? If you don't have that type of time or environment, seriously consider making it happen. I am consumed with fighting for joy, but not just for joy as end. While it takes effort to grow and enter the rest God has provided Jesus, joy flows when I consider the perfectly obedient life of Jesus that I get credit for instead of my messed up, sinful choices. Joy is sustained by the truth of the cross and Jesus dying in my place. I can't make myself right and I don't have too-the cross has paid for all my sin. And as I face the scary things in life I know that Jesus is alive and my life is safe with him as he intercedes for me daily.

So as you travel or visit people and places and seek to enjoy coffee in those different places, remember the varied magnificent grace that is yours in Jesus Christ. Seek to enjoy each situation with the knowledge that he is with you and loves you no matter what if you have entered into a relationship with him through repentance and faith.
Grace and peace

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Savoring every sip

There are some mornings that are just amazing. I get to slowly wake up and drink coffee sip by delicious sip. To just savor the moment and the mysteries of life and God. But then, there are those other mornings. The ones where you wake up feeling as though you were beaten with rods and possibly slipped a rufie. All you can do is slug back mug after mug in the hopes of being moderately awake by lunchtime. Or maybe it's like Monday of this week: sick and weak from being sick, fearful and cautious about all consumption, especially coffee. This led to sluggishness and a headache. These are not times of enjoyment. But they are real and most everyone has dealt with those days. If we stop always fixating on the busy day ahead or the mistakes of yesterday, we might start to see renewed joy, peace and hope. Even when days are hard.
Now I love when coffee is really hot. This makes me have to slow down. If I don't I get burned and I don't really take the time to enjoy what's before me. I truly believe that if we all would remind ourselves each day to slow down a bit and enjoy whatever is before us, we would be better spouses, parents, friends and workers. This is especially true if God is before us. If we take time to soak in the life, breath and diverse new mercy that God has bestowed on us, our perspective and our activity can be markedly improved. By opening up a Bible (I'm currently reading through Leviticus-seeing how great a sacrifice was needed and how a Holy God demands holiness in His people) we get great reminders and challenges for our hearts and what we treasure. What we slow down and gaze at each day starts to change us. If it's the tv or the internet predominantly, what we are viewing will impact our hearts and what we value in some negative ways. We are also drawn into the ultra busy, no rest for the weary mindset that keeps us pushing through nap time or bed time to be more...fill in the blank. But if we can fix our hearts and minds on things above, what we will treasure is Christ. Oftentimes when life is really busy or difficult is when we most need to slow down and enjoy our kids, our spouse,friends and family.
I am seeking to be a man who understands how to enjoy the moment better than I have been. I don't want to find what's wrong with situations or people all the time. I wanted to remember the sovereign goodness of God towards His children. I need to remember that God is at work in, through and for me to accomplish His Glory and deepen my joy in Him.
So the next time you have the chance, drink your coffee a little more slowly and enjoy what is going on around you.You might be surprised at all the joy that awaits.


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Refining

You know good coffee shops know when and what to change. They recognize that change is a part of life and growth. They also recognize that changing the right things at the right time leads to improvement over time. I love when different coffees are made available or products or environments fazed out or restructured. This keeps discovery ongoing and guards against complacency. The opposite is also true. Some coffee shops and many people, don't think any change is good or necessary. I myself often settle into comfortable patterns of life and faith. My schedule is full but predictable. If anything gets moved or changed it is seemingly catastrophic. But in the midst of all the superficial change, God has been reminding me that there are deep, heart level changes that He still needs to make in me. I am thankful for the grace of God that covers me through the substitutionary life and death of His Son. I know that I can't outs sin the grace of God. But I also know that that same grace appears to teach me, over and over again to say "no" to ungodliness. I still have much to learn and much to change. Thankfully, my hope is in His faithfulness not my own. My grandmother, who turned 98 today, has trusted God for the long haul and been a huge example of God's transformative plans for our lives. I'm thankful for all that I've learned from her and look forward to being example for others to trust in God's faithfulness even when we're in the midst of our brokenness.
Grace and peace

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Simplicity

After spending a week in Ecuador with some fabulous people, I thought I should reflect a bit on the joys of going and coming home. One thing I especially love about being home is having strong, dark coffee ready when I wake up. In Ecuador just getting clean water for coffee is a challenge. Each morning I would get up to read and pray and usually drink iced coffee made with bottled water. The hot coffee wasn't made till close to breakfast time-@ 8 o'clock. This is part of going on mission but the return also makes me very thankful. I really seem to value the simple goodness of many things after not having them for a week. Being at home, talking to people face to face in a language I understand are huge blessings to me now. Seeing my wife and kids and holding them close is very sweet and precious. All people need refuge and friendship and some purpose to wake up to. Mission always refines what our list of true needs actually are. So I stand in awe of the grace given me this day to know Christ and be known by him. On top of that is all grace, even the uncomfortable stuff. And because of this grace I will seek to make him known in my home, at work and in the world. Pretty challenging, but just like finding good coffee, worth it if I keep it simple.
Grace and peace


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Location:Home

One who is full loathes honey,
    but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.-Proverbs 27:7
     When I get together with people drinking coffee, it is always interesting to see what people put in theirs. Maybe they like it really sweet or with lots of cream. Maybe just a little or somewhere in the middle. Then there are folks like me who don't want anything but coffee in their coffee. My wife and so many others always comment on how bitter and unpleasant black coffee seems. But I contend that if your palate is trained to taste just the coffee, you start to see it as good.
     I worked at Starbucks my first year of seminary. I did not like coffee. I just needed a job and it seemed like a good deal. Each shift I worked I was supposed to (and I did most of them) make a French Press of a particular coffee and then sample it and record what I noticed, liked and disliked about it. At first, they were all just different flavors of dirt. This one was a stronger dirt than that one. But over time a subtle shift began to happen. The coffee didn't change, I did. My perspective, enjoyment, evaluation and consumption all began to be transformed. This was no longer just hot, bitter, dirty water. I could begin to find things I liked about certain coffees. I began to drink it sometimes at work and eventually at home. This didn't happen over night. It took repeated exposure and thoughtful contemplation. But I didn't just make up my mind to start liking it. The change happened to my taste buds  What had changed was what I thought tasted "good".
     I truly believe that this growth also occurs for those that follow Jesus. When we are new believers we only see "blessing" (financial, familial or otherwise) as good. As we grow and our knowledge of God is more real and deep, we began to see life through His eyes. We learn that He has promised to only do good to those that belong to Jesus. This doesn't mean that bad stuff doesn't happen. It means that in the faithfulness and power of God even the worst, most bitter things in life are used for our good. Our character is developed as well as our trust and dependence on Christ. We no longer need just the sugary sweet life all the time. We can now embrace the joys and refining goodness of darkness and loss. This does not mean that we look for difficulty but we certainly are not to avoid that or suffering either. The verse that I mentioned at the beginning is full of amazing truth about how what we are full of changes what we hunger for and enjoy. In the ancient world, honey was an amazing and precious thing. If you wanted sweetness that was your primary source for it. And when you are full, it's not that you don't just say "no thanks". The verse says that you loathe the sweetness. But the opposite is true too. When we are hungry even bitter things seem sweet. This is exactly what God wants to grow in all of us. I need this truth now as much as I did when I first started drinking coffee or having kids or struggling in ministry. When we are truly hungry for God and so thankful for all that He gives us, we can rightly understand the hard things that we have to persevere through. We can find joy in the face of sorrow or harsh treatment for God is our joy and our portion forever.
So as you encounter difficulty or bitter things, remember that God is seeking to create a new taste for Himself in you. For if He is sweet and good to you, you will not need the temporary sweetness of this life. When you do get them you will be thankful but not make it an idol. I hope that you find greater hunger for God and His grace each and every day. I hope that for me too.

The best part of waking up is...

The old Folger's commercials and jingle probably still ring in all our minds a little too loudly. But for many of us, while that may not be our brand, morning coffee is the best or at least one of the best parts of waking up. There is something so amazing in my house about time before my kids get up to just read, pray and drink coffee. It has to be strong so that it wakens my taste buds up and so that deep need for energy and vitality is met as well. After a long night with kids or just busy schedules, I can feel like "death warmed over." This overused cliche is probably more true than I like to admit. Life, with all of its busyness and condemnation and pouring out for others can really empty the soul. Those mornings with coffee I am reminded of how desperately I needed and still need resurrection power. We are all confronted by those kinds of days or even just those desperate feelings. I believe that these God given reminders are there to point us to much bigger truths than coffee or snooze buttons will provide. While I know that I will be resurrected at the end of this world, I need daily resurrection power even more than coffee or more sleep or sex or money or relationships. While I know that Jesus is king and that I was made alive in Christ many years ago, I still need Him. That is what is so amazing about Easter. God defeated death and sin and offers that freedom, confidence and forgiveness to all who repent of their sin and trust His finished work. But God also gives us His Holy Spirit to empower us and give us that resurrection power each day. In Ephesians 1:18-21 Paul referencing his prayers for the Ephesian church says it like this: " 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come." The same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in me! So when I feel dead inside or far from God or bound up in sin or whatever is bringing death instead of life, the Spirit of God floods me with fresh power for the day. Truly His mercies are new and fresh every morning. So if you have heard that Christ is risen and it has become no big deal to you, may you be empowered this day to fight sin and enjoy Christ and walk by faith in the one who loves you. May each morning from here on out that you would remember the resurrection power you have been given and that you so desperately need to walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel. We all need the strength of the Holy Spirit to awaken our taste for God again to see that He is good and we need God to work and will in us to accomplish His good pleasure. Coffee only hints at that glory. Truly the best part of waking up is the presence and power of God still working and changing us in the midst of all of life's trials and troubles.

The Power of One Cup (or conversation)

So there has been a lot of research going into finding out what is good and/or bad for you. For years people have been told that many things in moderation can be very helpful for you. They have looked at red wine, dark chocolate and others but now great interest in being shown to coffee. While coffee is a huge business and so many consume it in large amounts daily, science (and coffee companies) wanted to see what good a cup of coffee can do for you. It turns out that the amount I drink exceeds their recommendations for purely healthful benefits. But while I enjoy coffee to its fullest it is interesting to think about how a single cup may be so important that it can change your health or even your life. And what God has been showing me lately is that it is not only single cups of coffee that are helpful and life changing, it is also single conversations with individuals that seem to have the same helpful results. When we engage one another in conversation, it can be lighthearted and fun or serious and challenging. But in those moments we find connection with another human being and truth is able to be shared or a challenge or invitation to be offered. I have seen this time and time again in working with students that what is huge for them is really knowing we want them to be a part. We want to hear their story and seek to share life with them so that God might connect them to His great story. Whether inviting someone new to join our leadership team or asking a student that attends regularly but doesn't really "plug in" to key events, it is amazing how following the leadership of the Holy Spirit in those small ways can be life giving and encouraging. The benefit is for both the one initiating and the one responding and that is one of the greatest mysteries of how God uses simple, broken vessels to display His worth and glory. He is usually working both in and through us at the same time. And it is often the most "normal" or mundane events and activities that point best to His greatness when He works through them, like conversation. So I encourage to take some initiative and have a conversation that matters. Get to heart stuff and laugh and cry or encourage or whatever. But don't settle for just the surface conversation at least once today. We never know what that one conversation might mean for us or them.

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29

Caffeine Motivation

As much coffee as I drink, I have been thinking lately that there are days when I consume too much. Most of you who know me understand that can be a genuine concern. It may not be the best evaluation tool to monitor how "shaky" I feel. I have learned that while I enjoy the effects of the caffeine, coffee is much more about that. I enjoy the warmth and flavor. But many days I can find myself thinking, I "need" some coffee! What I mean is that I need some caffeine. This has made me really think about what I truly need.
Do I need facebook or twitter? How many friends do I need? How much food do I need each day? each meal? There are so many things that our brokenness clings to as needs. In the second chapter of Jeremiah, verses 11-13, we see a great word picture of confusing what you want and what you need.

11 Has a nation changed its gods,
    even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
    for that which does not profit.
12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
    be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the Lord,
13 for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
    the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
    broken cisterns that can hold no water.
There are two key things that are amazing and convicting to me in this passage. One is the way God views this false understanding. He calls all creation to be shocked because this is so evil. God calls this evil! Which means...it's evil! The more I read the Bible the more I see this idea of satisfaction in God. He is meant to satisfy our deepest needs and fill our greatest longings. What are those? To be loved by someone greater than ourselves; to be forgiven completely; to be known, no secrets, and to still be cherished and pursued and  embraced forever. This is what we get with Jesus in the here and now and for all time. The second thing that is amazing is that here we see that in God we are offered a fountain of living waters and we settle for a broken tank that can't hold even dirty water. When Jesus talks to the woman at the well in John 4, he tells her that the only water that will truly satisfy her soul is from him. Yet she is looking for it in relationships and pleasure. How quickly do we forsake the living waters for broken cisterns.
While it all seems amazing that anyone could goof this up, we all do. It is awful and foolish and life-sucking, but it seems to be our natural inclination. What we need is the Spirit of God to do his work and make much of Jesus to us. This is one of the key reasons God gives us the Holy Spirit: to glorify Jesus. And we need this work to remind us that he is what we truly need. May that be the gift that God gives us this very moment and each day.
So as you enjoy the good things in life, remember what you really need and be super thankful for all the rest. Even when it feels like you need more coffee.
Grace and peace