Tuesday, August 16, 2011

This is just one of my many issues...

12 years ago when I first began in youth ministry, I refused coffee. I HATED that everytime I went to a meeting, it was between coffee (decaf) and water. OK - except for our men's ministry meetings when we would sit outside prior to the Bible study and share some Miller Light (it was Milwaukee after all).


Anyway, it wasn't until while I was at Ewalu and visiting with different Lutheran Brotherhood and AAL groups that I began to force myself to drink coffee. At many of the meetings it was the only thing offered with their meals. I should point out that this was "church style" coffee, which meant water downed, poorly brewed, etc.
Anyway, this began my addiction to coffee.

When we moved to Decorah, my wife went and bought a coffee grinder. I will admit, my first reaction was "you spent money on a coffee grinder?" I wasn't impressed. I don't like like spending money. Then I started to use it. The aroma (yes, I used the term aroma) was awesome. taking the lid off of the grinder and smelling those beans is a very spiritual experience for me. Suddenly, not only was I a coffee drinker, but I found myself becoming a coffee snob. I found myself actually judging different types of coffee. (Whole Bean, Dunkin Donuts is my coffee of choice, btw). It is the point where if I am making coffee at home, when the coffe gets to the 4, I take it out of the coffee maker. The first cup made tastes the best. Its scientific fact.

Tragically, 2 nights ago, my wife dropped the lid on the floor. Yes, I should have put the lid back on when I was done, but it was still her that dropped it.

This means I am currently w/o a grinder. I came to work this morning w/o my mug of coffee or w/o having a couple of cups prior to coming to work. I'll admit, it doesn't feel the same. I miss the roar that grinder made and especially the smell of the ground beans.

I now have three choices laid in front of me. 1) go to Ace and pick up a new grinder. 2) Complain to my wife about not having a working grinder until she goes and gets one. 3) Suffer from withdrawl and began the process of ending my addiction.

Here are the problems with each...
  1. I hate shopping. I don't know if I could pull the trigger on that purchase. I prefer to have my wife do it so I can complain about how much it cost w/o actually have spent the money myself while at the same time getting the benefit of my Dunkin Donuts coffee in the morning.
  2. My wife began getting ready for school this week. For the most part, I try to keep my head down the first couple of weeks of school as she is adjusting as to not add any more stress to her life. I say "try" b/c I usually do a poor job of it. I do realize at some point I will push her off the edge. Honestly, I'm surprised I haven't yet, and it probably doesn't have to be done over a coffee grinder.
  3. I can say I am going to go w/o, but the reality is I will end up just going to Java John's or Magpie that much more often and buying a cup of coffee. I do it already, and probably don't need to add to the amount I am already spending on coffee..
Anyway, such is my life..luckily this song brings me hope in a time of darkness....
 

Other quick notes...
  • Just when I had quit reading or watching anything Twins related, Thome hit is 600th, which was probably the lone bright spot of being a Twins fan this year. I was going to put the video of it on here, but MLB has blocked all video of it on Youtube.
  • We are in the process of hiring a new Pastor. I am both excited and very anxious about this prospect.
  • Clayfire is a new website that helps with worship development. about 30 minutes into the webinar, I began to think to myself "what am I doing on here" while at the same time thinking to myself how this could really trasnform what we are doing with our contemporary (or "conemporary" as my friend Ben would say) worship service.
  • Luke is officially  Jedi. After spending a week at Ewalu (which he thought was "star wars camp") he claims to have been knighted as a Jedi. I did some checking, they did talk about Jesus some too...
  • I thought about actually going through and proofing this post, but that seems like a lot of work...

1 comment:

  1. A.J. - you would LOVE Ethiopia for the simple fact that they do "buna" (coffee) right -- hand roasting over charcoal, mortar and pestle grinding, and then heating with water until it is perfect. Plus, they use the coffee ceremony as a way to celebrate just about every happy occasion! I don't drink coffee in the US, but I sure love my buna :)

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