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Coffee with a Story

We had a great evening with some close friends at The Melting Pot. I tried to pass myself off as a Master "Fonduer", but I'm not sure  I convinced anyone. What a great time and a great meal.

Tim and Kim gave us The Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee as a Gift. The sale of this coffee makes a difference for some of the people in Rwanda. I hope you check it out. As the Coffee with a Story people say - Drink Coffee. Do Good!

"Weight" Just a Minute

A couple of weeks ago I heard on the radio that the world now has more obese people than starving people. Then a couple of days ago I read that religion makes us fat! Do you agree?

Now my point here is not to criticize people who struggle with weight issues, or even take some cheap shots at Baptist or Jerry Falwell. But I do wonder how the the church is contributing to the problem and/or the solution. What should the role of the church be? After all, most preventable diseases are associated with being overweight. Is our silence deadly?

I don't really have the answer unless it is somewhere in the following questions:

1. Is the article true? Do we as Christians substitute food in place of other addictions?
2. The Church is quick to point out the "sin" of drinking, smoking, pornography, etc..., but we usually do not speak out about eating too much or too little. What would it take for the church to address this issue? Does it matter?
3. By it's silence, the church typically gives a green light to the addictions of sports, TV, shopping, busyness, and appearance modification. Is this just grace?
4. Is it a holiness code issue?
5. For many Christians smoking a cigar would be considered a sin, but eating this is OK?
6. Is weight the real issue? (I don't think so!) Some people eat healthy and battle weight, while some people eat anything and everything and always remain thin. Is it more of being wise and a good steward of our bodies and eating in a way that is healthy?
7. Should the teaching from the church deal with us being at our best physically (spiritually, physically, emotionally, all the "allys") and doing so is part of living out this?

What most resonates with me in my initial thoughts about all of this is that I really should strive to be at my physical best for God. I am not saying that I or anyone needs to be a workout maven, or eat only organic food that is 100% good for you. In fact I would argue that ice cream is one of God's greatest creations. Enjoy!

Through eating, working out, reading, in everything we should honor God. I am not suggesting some legalistic code to follow. No! NO! No!Just an approach to life that makes our primary consumption the creator, not the creation.

My personal application? It means that I should be more intentional about getting more sleep. I know that I do not get enough and I have a bunch of really good excuses why. (Probably a pride issue when you get right down to it). However, not getting enough sleep keeps me from being at my best and it is no less out of bounds than the person who overeats.

I am still thinking all of this through. Interested to know your thoughts.

Lesson from Starbucks

A couple of days ago, my oldest daughter and I went to Starbucks for a beverage. This is somewhat commonplace for a Kelly, but on this day we learned a valuable lesson.

The cafe was busy with a steady stream of customers. One customer caught my attention because he was loud, he talked a lot, acted as if the Starbuck employees were his best friend, and he spoke with a slur. Quickly I realized that he was someone that would typically be labeled as lesser, unfortunate, mentally challenged, handicapped, etc...

One of his arms did not work quite right and he walked with a limp. Most of his belongings appeared to be safely stored in his backpack, and he viewed the world through a pair of outdated, scratched, and crooked glasses.

However it was obvious that he was amongst friends. His drink order was given and taken and then he moved to the pick-up counter where he waited behind Mr. OCD. Mr. OCD's drink order consisted of two and a half pumps of something, a temperature of exactly 106 degrees, no foam, 1 % milk or something like that, and ... two cups.

Well the guy with the slur, limp, backpack and glasses heard the two cup part and yelled out that he would also like two cups with his beverage. He said something about it being cold outside to no one in particular. Mr. OCD carefully picked up his order with two napkins in his hand and walked away.

A few moments later the drink came up for the friendly guy with the slur - two cups and all. His drink.................... WATER!

It was so cool to see this non-paying, "not quite right" customer treated with such importance. Just as much in fact as Mr. OCD. It was a good reminder to live out this.