I Love Coffee too Much to Risk Drinking a Bad Cup

I have been victimized by Consumer Reports Magazine. Whether the subject is washing machines, cars, or coffee, what they say goes in my book.

The headline of this blog is not original with me. The line is included in a coffee marketing campaign - Eight o' Clock. Consumer Reports concluded in last month's mag that for at home coffee, Eight o' Clock coffee is the best. Not Starbucks, not Dunkin' Donuts . . . Eight o' Clock. Wal-Mart or Target. Less than 4 bucks a bag. I was in before I drank my first cup.

Such a common thing in America these days . . . drinking a cup of coffee. At least 400 million times it will happen today. I have already had my first cup of Eight o' Clock at 6:49 a.m. I will likely have another before noon. I am doing my part to keep common stuff, like the wheels on the bus, moving round and round. Coffee is now the #1 adult beverage in American, passing soft drinks.

I am sure that something uncommon will happen today too, between cups of Eight o' Clock. I would hate to miss it. I don't want focus too much on the wheels . . . on the bus. I might be hypnotized into thinking it is just another day.

Manufacturing God vs. Discovering God

I work best under pressure. I have been standing on platforms and talking for God now for about 35 years. I confess I have had good days and bad days.

My friend, Craig Gilliam, from Shreveport, once gave me an article that described the pressure of the contemporary preacher/communicator. The article had a phrase in it to the effect, "The Old Testament prophets of God had the luxury of speaking only when they had a word from God. Today's preachers are required to stand up and speak weekly, no matter if they have a word from God or not."

How does it work for me? Never perfectly, let me assure you. Sometimes I consider the opportunity to process God out loud in front of people . . . whether it be a blog, an article, or a sermon, as a gift from God. I am an out loud processor. I look for God more and process Him better when I have to talk or write about Him. When I am in pain, going into a shell (my tendency) and disengaging is the worse possible option for me.

If you are not sure God is even there you may question the validity of out loud processing. But, to me, faith is not so shallow and contrived that we can talk off of pre-written scripts without some sort of tension. Answers to questions so large as Where did I come from? and Why does life happen this way? just do not fit on t-shirts and bumper stickers . . . not that there is anything wrong :) with t-shirts and bumper stickers. If God could be reduced to a plastic dashboard image then He would fit just about doggone anywhere. God is way too big for that.

God is discovered not manufactured. That makes things messy at times. For the out loud processor, God is often discovered in real time, either listening to or talking through issues. To the internal processor God is often discovered in a room alone, with a Bible, or an IPod, listening and seeking. Keep your eyes and ears open today. Resist the temptation to create God. Discover Him. The story is much better that way.

Orange Guppy Makes Senesi "Deadline" - Two Rails

I wish life always worked off the good script. Abby's orange guppy died within 14 days of purchase. We put "him" (died before we named him) in the freezer and traded him in on a new blue guppy that was actually alive. The transaction did not cost us a penny (except for travel expenses).

We often live with a situation comedy mindset. All of life's problems are really shallow and trivial in a situation comedy. Even then there should be a perfect, predictable rhythm to it. Happy. Crisis Introduced. Tension heightens. Crisis Solved. Happy.

My friend, Johnny Rumbough sent me a profound article from Rick Warren. In the article Warren addressed the rhythm of life:

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you got to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys,I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or....... you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, "which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

Problems vs. Purpose - I don't think Rick's observation is shallow or trivial. Do you? Few situations work like the orange guppy crisis. Most are much deeper and don't resolve so neatly. To me, that defines faith in our heavenly Father. We all have great faith when the orange guppy dies before the 14 day deadline. When the deadline passes real faith begins.

I Almost Quit Saturday

I am not a fast distance runner. I compete with few people except me. But the Lexington Race Against Hunger Saturday was a new challenge. I wondered, as my son-in-law David and I drove through hard rain on Saturday, Do they postpone races due to rain? Do the laws of baseball take effect? Unsafe playing surface, terrible playing conditions, bad for the fans . . . yada, yada, yada.

The runners ran in driving rain, 6.2 miles, up and down wet hills. The man in me could not walk away (because David drove). This was my first race since October. I was not in great shape.

The first 3 miles were labored but okay. Then, it happened, the 1000 lb. guerrilla jumped on my back. He has jumped me before, don't get me wrong. All 1000 lbs. hitched a ride this time. I wanted to walk so badly. Maybe not quit but walk. The muscles in my legs screamed for mercy.

Now, in honor of the late Paul Harvey, the rest of the story. David, would normally beat me by a mile in a competitive 10K. Literally, a mile . . . between 9 -10 minutes. In running, that is a long way. David, for some unknown reason came back and met me at the 3 mile mark. He escorted me, running along side, to the finish line. We ran identical crummy times. We laughed, I yelled at him, he waved me forward, I struggled.

Remember, I almost quit, but did not. Why? Because someone came back. I would not have noticed if he didn't. He could have run the race for himself. He probably should have. He would have been out of the rain 10 minutes earlier. He could have (as he often does) placed in his age bracket. He gave it up. I am not sure why, but I am glad he did. Because he did, he multiplied his effort.

Slow down for someone else today. Your bottom line results will be increased most likely. In the Saturday's race, David's results literally doubled. Many have done this for me over the years. I hope I have returned the favor, but could not possibly have done it as much. I run too many races for myself.