The Art of Relaxation

I admit it – I can be a workaholic in certain areas.

I will spend as long as it takes to get the wording of a sermon just right. I will give as much as I have to give to see ministries run. I will give, and give, and give. In fact, when I was the young adults pastor at a larger city church, I ran bible studies even on stat holidays and – surprise, surprise – we had great turnouts! I had things happening 5 nights a week, and thrived on business – taking 2 days off was a tough one for me to do. I will work myself into a tizzy and then it takes forever to come down again.

I have come to realize that a relaxed Doug means a healthier marriage, a healthier physical life, and a richer spiritual life.

I’m blogging in a hotel right now. My wife and I had to come into the city for a concert tonight and we booked a pre-marital counselling session with a young couple for tomorrow late-morning, so we decided to stay in. A few years ago I would have been adamant that we drive home and come back in. Who cares if it’s an hour drive one way, it is a necessary evil. But I’m learning. What a beautiful experience it is to be looking out the 11th floor window overlooking the city, seeing the glorious splendor the Lord has created, and not be stressed, busy, or programmed.

When I take the time to relax, I feel better, I work better during the week, and God and I tend to connect far better too. Something about being to tired to listen rings in my mind…

So today, I am thankful to God, my wife, and my good and godly friends for being patient with me and for teaching me the art of relaxation.

Now to have a nap… : )

Can Coffee Make A Difference?

Have you ever had a cup of “church” coffee?

I was struck today as I walked downstairs in my church and past the kitchen that we have a can of Folgers coffee by the coffee pot. Not that I have a hate on for Folgers, but it’s the cheapest coffee we could buy, and it tastes like hot, caffeinated sludge. It looks like coffee, smells like coffee, but tastes like yuck.

The same goes for “church juice”. If you grew up going to church or church events, no doubt you have been a witness to the weak, watered down juice. It wasn’t that Mrs. Smith had poor taste buds and didn’t realize it was weak, it was to stretch the juice crystals as far as humanly possible.

I have coffee at the restaurant in town every morning. The coffee isn’t amazing, but it does the trick. It is far above the quality of our church coffee, and it has to be. Why? Because people pay money for the coffee, and as such it must be to a certain standard. People come to the restaurant because they know the coffee is good, and their friends will be there too.

I also know that when I go to a caterered event, such as a fundraising banquet or a wedding, that if I go to get a glass of punch or juice, it will be excellent. Why? Because people have had to pay for it, and it they are paying for it, it better be good!

So why does the standard seem to go downhill for the church? I drink good coffee at home. I buy good juice to drink for breakfast at home. I know that most people who belong to churches do as well. Yet for our church events we pull out the cheapest and the quickest.

How will people EVER desire to attend our events if we present to them the mediocre? If it is just “good enough”, will it be enough? I don’t think so. I know that if I go somewhere and the food or the drink is sub-par, I seriously wonder about the quality of the organization. I think the same is true for our church events.

I think it’s time for the church to buy some Starbucks, get some good SunRype or Welch’s, and buy KoolAid. The good stuff. When we show people the best, they’ll know we strive for it. Good enough isn’t good enough anymore!

Can a cup of coffee make a difference? I’m beginning to believe it can.

Inspiration For Two?

If there was any speaker you could listen to with your wife to be refreshed, renewed, and inspired, who would it be?

The Little White Church In The Slough…

I had a conversation this morning with a man from outside my church about the fact that many people drive by our building and think it is a house. If you aren’t really looking, and you have no church background to tell you that the blue and yellow stained glass windows means a church, it is easy to miss.In fact, I have had good friends drive through town and miss it, and they were LOOKING for it!

We have no steeple, no bell tower, and we definitely don’t have the old school “churchy” look. Not that I’m complaining – we are blessed to have the facility we have, but I’m wondering if people who don’t know we are here yet miss us even though they live next door. Yes, I know, we need to be visible in more ways than just a church sign or tower or beams of light shooting into the sky – we need to be a part of the fabric of our community – but I think there is something to be said for visibility of the building as well.

The cross is a GOOD indication that it is a house of worship, and the sign does say Raymore Baptist Church, but for someone driving by, the question remains: Will they notice and stop in? We’re definitely not the little brown church in the vale – we’re the little white church in the slough (I’ve been told that the land our church was built on was actually a slough at one time… we come by our water issues in the basement quite honestly).

My prayer is that people would come to the church on 833 – 3rd Ave… and that their experience would be such that it would make an indelible imprint on them and their families, and that God would be glorified. May we be that “Little Brown Church in the Vale” for the people of this small town!

The Little Brown Church in the Vale
(Words and Music by William S. Pitts)

There’s a church in the valley by the wildwood,

no lovelier place in the dale.

No spot is so dear to my childhood

than the little brown church in the vale.

CHORUS:

O come, come, come, come,

Come to the church in the wildwood;

O come to the church in the dale.

No spot is so dear to my childhood

than the little brown church in the vale.

VERSE 2:

How sweet on a clear Sabbath morning

to list to the clear ringing bell.

Its tones so sweetly are calling,

O come to the church in the vale.

VERSE 3:

From the church in the valley by the wildwood

when day fades away into night.

I would fain from this spot of my childhood,

Wing my way to the mansions of light

REVIEW: Starbucks “Narino Supremo De Colombie” Coffee Beans

I’m quite impressed with the Starbucks “Seasonally Available” coffee beans. I’ll have to press myself a pot of the Arabian Mocha Sanani tomorrow and review it as well. But tonight, I french pressed myself 24 oz. of black gold.

The Narino Supremo De Columbia is a Medium Intensity with a bold taste. I usually drink Extra Bold, but this coffee worked quite well for me. I always find the Starbucks instructions to be WAY too strong , and my mixture looks more like 1 tbsp of coarsely ground coffee to every 12 oz. of water (basically 1/2 the recommended dose).Another key is water temperature – I need a thermal thermometer to really know the temps, but if I pour the water on the grounds just before the boil, I find the coffee turns out splendidly.

With that grind mix and water temperature, the coffee came out tasting quite smooth and not bitter at all, with a bit of a hint of nuttiness to the aftertaste (the bag says walnuts, but I couldn’t really taste a specific nut). No lingering acidity in the mouth, just a pleasant taste and a desire for more (but it’s 10: 05 PM and more means no sleep, so I will resist).

I’m definitely happy with this coffee. It’s definitely not equal to the stuff from Saskatoon’s Broadway Roastery (oh, if I only lived closer… I even could stomach the decaf beans from there!), but it is becoming my next favorite, nosing out Kicking Horse Coffee just ever so slightly.

In all, I’d give this coffee a recommendation. It’s a great cup of flavor, and you won’t pay for the enjoyment later.