Sip All About It

I can't believe the last time wrote a post it was President's Day. The end of the school year is always busy and with both my wife and I working it is hard to find time to think, let alone put anything down in intelligible sentences.

I was prompted to post something new because I happened upon a new coffee shop today. I am unashamedly going to give them a plug here. It is a relatively new local business called Blue Line Coffee. They had, by far, the best caramel latte I have had in quite some time. I would almost go so far to say it might be the best I've ever had. Not only was the coffee itself yummy, but the ambiance was perfect. It was cozy, yet I didn't feel as if I was sitting on anyone's lap. The walls were posted with various ads promoting local events. The best part of all was that the price was reasonable. I had a huge mug full to the brim that cost me less than $3! I would have paid at least $4 at most of the other local spots for the same thing. If a simple cup of brewed coffee is your thing than you can partake for less than $1.

As I sat reveling in my new-found treasure, I had a strong desire to put together a coffee-based book. Now, I am not much of a writer, and the coffee-based novel has yet to become a best-seller, but I think I could put together a pretty good coffee-table book the brewed bean. Another thought I had was a coffee-lover's guide to local coffee establishments in the U.S. or region. I can envision visiting local cafes to test the wares and get the back story from the owners. Each entry need not be lengthy. An address and simple map, a rundown of their house specialties, a quick bio of the shop and proprietors, and several pics to give the reader a sense of what to expect. If Apple ever comes up with a Scratch-and-Sniff app for the new iphone, we could add an aroma section for the on-line version.

I wouldn't expect to make millions on a book of this type. It would be appreciated by the small demographic of true javaphiles, and thus would probably go straight to paperback. The reward of an endeavor like this would be the process of experiencing coffee in all its various locales and forms and getting to know the artists that ply their trade in this business.

President's Day

Ah, President's Day!

There is no school, so I do not have to go in to work. Just think of all the possibilities open to me today! What should I do?

The real question, though, is what am I doing? What I am doing is sitting in a coffee shop waiting for the place across the street put new tires on my car. Yeah, this is turning out to be a bang-up President's Day already. Of all the things I could be doing this is about 1,679th on my list.

Now that I think about it, this might just be what President's Day is all about. Today we commemorate two of our great Presidents-- Washington and Lincoln. More widely, we celebrate all the Presidents of our great country and the great office that they held. I know it is a stretch, but stick with me. If all of those Presidents had not done what they did in upholding their office and protecting the Constitution of our United States, then I may not have the freedom to sit here in a coffee shop right now and randomly pound out my uninteresting thoughts. In fact, I might not even have the option of picking which tire place to get ripped off by this morning.

The freedoms we continue to enjoy as American citizens are, in part, due to the determination and choices made by our Presidents. Yes, there have been bad decisions made along the way. And, there have been many policies that, after history has judged, were probably a setback rather than a help. All-in-all though, our country has upheld personal freedom and great opportunity for its citizens. For that I am thankful.

I will not devolve here into a prophetical warning about what the new administration will do to undermine all of that. While I definitely have my reservations (as do many others), I find it hard to believe that a 4- or 8-year span of time will undo over 200 years of this nation's history.

No, today I will enjoy the small, everyday freedoms that are mine. Freedom to spend my hard-earned money on car maintenance. Freedom to splurge for a large latte. Freedom to sully the already-full internet with my ramblings. Freedom to, in about an hour, go home and surprise my wife and kids who assumed I left early this morning to go to work. (Yeah, I forgot to mention last night that I don't have to work today.) That is how I will spend this President's Day, and, hopefully, that will honor the memory of those great men in some small way.

Psalm 45

More of a comment than a full-blown blog posting.

My Sunday School class studied Psalm 45 this week. I have to admit that this was a great psalm for my reformed friends. You can't but help reading this psalm and seeing Christ at every turn. This psalm is a like a flashing neon sign pointing to Christ. As far as I'm concerned, it might as well have been placed in the New Testament (OK, maybe that is stretching it a little.)

I did have to admit to those in my class that it was a struggle to study this in the same way as I had studied the preceding psalms. The other psalms had a direct interpretation and application to the historical context in which they were written. I told the members of my class that, as a dispensationalist, this psalm was a mind-bender. This psalm can only be completely fulfilled in Christ. At least that's how I see it.

Christmas 2008 -- Part 2

Christmas 2008

Just a brief rundown of our Christmas Day.

The kids slept in until 8AM this morning. What a great way to start off this special day! Celane and I were actually awake before they were. We have definitely reared our children properly.

Kids then had a bath and then their special Christmas breakfast of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. This has become a family tradition.

With breakfast out of the way, the kids opened their presents. Christopher had a slow start, but he finally got the hang of it. Sofia helped him along the way-- sometimes a little too much.

We did a short clean-up and then got ready to head over to La Casa de Rivera for Christmas dinner. Excellent as always! There was more than I could eat.

The kids then opened more presents with their cousins. Of course, this was a continuous photo session from multiple angles. Then, on to dessert! Apple pie, chocolate cake, cheesecake, and Christmas cookies. I limited myself to a small piece of apple pie and a couple of Christmas cookies. I may try a slice of cheesecake later on.

Now, I am just uploading photos so others can view and keep up-to-date.

The Kids

This is not a commentary. More of a pictorial review of the kids from the past couple months.

Consider the Poor

This week's Bible study will be from Psalm 41. As I have taken some time to read over and try to understand this psalm, I have been struck by the first verse. The first phrase of this psalm says, "Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble."

What does it mean to consider the poor? Does it mean to simple be aware of the poor in society? I decided that I needed to have a better understanding. After all, the first three verses of this psalm proclaim some promises for the one that "considers" the poor.

I did a short word study on the word "considereth". I found that this Hebrew word was used quite a bit in the Old Testament. This same word was often translated "wise" or "wisdom", "skill" or "skillful", "prudent", "understanding", "teach", "instruct", and "prosper". The vast majority of the time this word was translated "wise", "wisdom", and "understand", or some derivation of these. It became obvious to me that in order to "consider" the poor I must do better than simply be aware of them. I must understand, learn, and use wisdom in regards to those who are poor.

Now I must ask myself some other questions. Do I understand the poor? Do I know what it is that they struggle with on a daily basis? Do I have a grasp of what it means to be unable to meet my own physical needs, and to have to rely upon another? Before I can expect the blessings mentioned in Psalm 41 I must have an understanding of the poor -- who they are and the circumstances of their condition.

How well have I learned about the condition of the poor? Do I understand the larger picture of poverty-- its root causes and societal patterns? What are the major issues that the poor around me face? Obviously one issue is financial, but poverty often is interconnected with other issues that must also be understood and addressed.

What does it mean to be wise toward the poor? Does this mean that I need to put some thought into my charitable giving? Is it not enough to simply give some food or money? Is giving food or money always the best thing to do? If I fail to understand and learn the true state of those in poverty I can never expect to make wise choices in my interactions with them.

Needless to say, I did not make it much past the beginning of Psalm 41 this week. Thankfully, my fellow classmates will have spent some time on other parts of the psalm and can help me tomorrow as we study together.