As I sit here at the kitchen table this fine Sunday afternoon, I will also share with you a picture of tragedy....
That my friends is a Triple Grande Nonfat Sugar-Free Vanilla Latte, which cost me $3.95. This lovely 130 calorie drink was purchased at 9:12 am on our way to church. For some odd reason, my husband and I actually shared an engaging conversation on the drive to church :), so I didn't even take one drink. I Felt kinda weird bringing a coffee into church, but did it anyway as I didn't want to waste my $4 treasure. We have been looking for a new church to call "home" for quite some time now (a strange and awkward proccess, if you've ever experienced it, you know what I'm talking about), so I was unsure of this church's "coffee rules". During church, I only took a few drinks because it made this weird, slurping-suction-type noise each time I took a drink. I am quite certain I was annoying the man next to me. (What is coffee etiquette in church anyway? Anybody know?) Oh well, "I can re-heat it when I get home", I thought. As soon as we pulled into the driveway, Olivia shouts out "I gotta go potty right now!" So I race to get her unbuckled and into the bathroom. Yep, leaving my beautiful, perfectly hand-crafted latte in the car. At precisely 3:08, I remember my lonesome coffee, waiting patiently in the car for me. I seriously considered re-heating it... Seriously! But then the voice of reason took over: That latte was made 6 hours ago!!! So yes, a true tragedy. This wonderful latte was completely wasted! It broke my heart.
What a beautiful Sunday though! As I typed out this week's schedule (I'm a serious, obsessive, compulsive list-maker), I began to feel the anxiety creep in. The older kids were outside playing baseball, Olivia was in her room playing Little People, and Jon was at work. So I seized the moment! I walked away from the computer, as well as my stressful thoughts, and with my Bible in hand, plopped down on the couch. I read a blog post today about The Romans 12 Challenge. You read Romans 12 once a day from now until Easter, and see what God impresses upon your heart. So I started today. And what a perfect time to start. Those feelings of stress and anxiety...gone!
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. ~Romans 12:9-13
Did you hear that?
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer"
Those are some words I need to put into action this week...I hope you do too!
18 comments:
Hi Liz, I LOVE Romans 12! I memorized the whole chapter with a girl from our youth group back in the day.... thank you so much for pointing me back there today~ I am encouraged and sharpened! I think I will take up the challenge to read it until Easter - Good one! and good job listening to the Lord call you to Himself today...there you go running that race well again! :-0) Good job Lizzy G!!!! Love, Lori E.
You came out!!!
Thanks for the comment, and you'll have to tell Sharon hello for me. I hope you two have a wonderful coffee date. (Word travels fast in blogland) ;)
Who knows? You might just have to start a blog of your own!
Church should be so much more about worshipping our Creator and so much less about tradition. Authenticity is one of my favorite features of a church - with that, what's a more social icebreaker than coffee? I'm lucky enough to have a church that has 30 minutes of pre-service food and coffee, which we all take into the service if we don't finish. I think fellowship and worship are key - while I know church is an unbelievable benefit to all who attend, I think that it's not about us or if someone is making slurping noises, it's about God: learning about Him, worshipping Him, and finding Him working in the abstract details in other people. Sorry for the bloglength comment.
Love it Jonathan!!! No apologies. Thank you.
After being at the same church for 9 nine years, it's been really hard walking into new places where nobody knows us or anything about us. It really makes you think about hard questions such as, "what is the church, and why do we even go? What are our expectations and why? What makes a good church, is it the pastor or the worship or the kids program or its outreach to the community and the nations?" And then you start feeling very selfish, and have to wonder what is our place in the body of Christ, how does He want to use us and where? Still don't know. But thanks for your encouragement. (See, you post a long comment, and I'll match it with a longer run. That's how I roll.) :)
That's grat Liz! I too, have really been enjoying Romans 12. So much good stuff in there that I could use some daily reminding of!
I totally bring my coffee to church, and I think I might have risked food poisoning and reheated that latte :)
(sorry....should be GREAT, not grat :)
And I meant to say your kids look so cute dressed up....what a fun school activity!
Hey friend!
Great pictures of the book characters!!!
And I drank coffee in church yesterday and I was wondering to myself is this okay????
I am sure it is fine as long as you are not slurping with your straw as I was. OOPS!
And is that is the MISS LORI THAT I THINK IT IS?!?!
HI!!!!!
Hope you are having a great day Liz!
I honestly believe God will forgive you for bringing coffee into church regardless of the coffee rules.
Sounds like an interesting challenge. I really need something like that right now, I've been struggling a little bit in being regular with reading my Bible. Prayer I've been good at, just not reading.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Since moving we are trying out a new church too. It is weird starting all over, but thankfully in this church you are kinda the odd one if you don't have your coffee. The hymnal holders have changed into cup holders!
I was having a rough time this morning, just being immature about dumb stuff, causing myself anxiety. Then I read about how you stopped what you were doing to read Romans 12 and I did the same. Now all that stuff I felt was such a huge deal is nothing. I'm taking the challenge with you and Lindsay. I think my outlook this month will be so much healthier!
If you have any insights about it, feel free to email me any time - your words always inspire me!
campkurtz@gmail.com
Liz,
We are big coffee drinkers at church. I've always wondered about it, but came to the conclusion who care. Dave brings in a coffee travel mug from time to time :)
Thanks for dinner again. It was yummy!!!
Your kids are adorable, as always. It's a shame that a coffee had to go to waste...but it happens.
I'm sorry you have to find a new church. Good luck!
Completely was nodding along to your blog thoughts here. I understand you:). And I can tell that you are a very disciplined lady - running, sugar-free, lists, etc. You inspire me!
Triple shot, huh? Maybe... one for each child you have to deal with?
(Notice how I skip over all the wonderful stuff you wrote to dwell on THIS?)
Jill
P.S. Do you ever get a Carmel Macchiato? They are my favorite.
Yes, I LOVE triple grande iced caramel macchiato's! But did you know there are only 75 mg of caffeine in one shot of espresso? And a 16 0z. coffee has 335 mg of caffeine? So I'm paying $4 for 225 mg of caffeine, when I could be paying $1.65 for 335 mg of caffeine in a grande brewed coffee.
Now you know!!!!
(I can't believe I'm up this late, I have to get up in 5 hours!)
Hey there. Love Romans 12. Good idea.
I love your blog. I started one a little while back and it's a great tool. Check ours out when you have time. munrohappenings.blogspot.com
Have a blessed day and tell Jon hello from the Munros!
Love, Stacey
My take on it is if having a cup of coffee with you allows you to enjoy your worship experience even more, then go for it! After all, the Lord did create coffee beans and would probably be pleased that they are being used in such a manner, right?
I also think that someone needs to invent a special drink warmer for us moms that is portable and WORKS. I can't tell you how many mornings have gone by this last year where I've made coffee and have been determined to drink the full cup only to take a few sips and find it stone cold several hours later on the counter.
K, I'm late to this one, but thanks so much for adding Jeremy to your blogroll! I'm sure he'll freak some of your readers out with his politics and theology...but all the better to make people think. It's challenging.
To the subject...
Don't you just love Dr. Suess Week? Check out my blog to see one of the days my boy's celebrated...too funny.
As far as this sad lost coffee, my heart breaks with you. That's the worst! Okay, so you know me and all of my opinions about the church...I won't say too much, but will say, if they won't let you bring in your well earned latte, maybe it's not the place to be!! Ha ha. Guns down clergy who are reading...I know, I know...the carpet. I used to sneak in coffee to worship practice at Salem E all of time. I'm SO rebellious...guess that's why I now go to church in an old auditorium with a cafe.
Good to read up, hope you guys are doing well. Your kids are getting so big...I remember holding Sarah when I was pregnant with Parker and dreaming about what it would be like to have a baby...now look at us with these old gradeschoolers! Where has the time gone?
Peace and Love! Jen Green
Jen,
I don't know if you'll come back and read this, but thanks for the comment. It's so good to hear from you. I just got "God's Politics" in the mail today, and am waiting for everyone to go to bed, so I can dive into it! Please tell Jeremy I love his blog, he has made a big Derek Webb fan out of me, and I have watched that John Piper video over and over again, and have even showed it to some friends. And your "Office" blog cracked me up. I wish my office was half as fun as yours. You are truly blessed!
Post a Comment