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