A little puzzle for you...

If you can't figure it out, ask Setto, he might be able to figure it out.

Another one to add to the list

So, I went over to my friends house tonight and hung out for a while. The coffee shop inevitably comes up in nearly every conversation I have about real life. And she told me about her church's affiliated coffee shop in Santa Cruz, just another one I think we could add to the list as a short spring break trip.

I also want to take this time to thank, appreciate, affirm, and celebrate you guys for journeying this earthly life with me as we anticipate our heavenly existences. Yesterday night I was cleaning my room, doing laundry, and doing general tidying when I came across a letter that had fallen out of my stack of letters. It was one that Alyssa had written me on the very last weekend trip of the summer. In it she (you) detailed that her alarm clock was likely to die during the night and asked if I would wake her in the morning. She (you) then proceeded to add gushy stuff about how ridiculously blessed we are to be friends. Needless to say, I ended up reading through every letter I have as my laundry was cycling and ended up nearly (more like practically) weeping on my roommates bed because I felt so loved.
I think so highly of you two, individually and as a pair.

Pearl (Kristen), I appreciate you more than I could ever write down. When I think about "consistency of spiritual life", I think "Pearl". I don't know if I ever told you this, but senior year of high school I told my mom that I wished we had been close friends way earlier because I began to see the woman of God you had always been. When others will understand and sympathize with lies I tell myself about who I am and what my relationship with Yahweh looks like, you speak truth, you see beyond the lie and speak concise truth that penetrates and changes hearts. The spirit is alive and well in you, hearing and discerning truth for the purpose of your own personal growth and sharing it with others. You have the most tangible relationship with your "abba" out of anyone I know. You laugh at jokes that I say for your benefit. You are brilliant, beautiful, and worthy of love. If there's anyone in the world I could count to be on the same page as me on something, it's you. I am blessed to have had you in my life during the most intense and spiritually moving moments of my life. I am jealous for those that will work with you this summer, they won't know what a blessing it is until they leave. I phileo you.

Bar-High (Alyssa), I'm not really sure when it was we became such close friends, it sort of just happened after knowing each other for one week on Shasta. You're a hoot, I absolutely love every moment I get to spend with you because we're either laughing or drawing nearer to the throneroom. I'm not sure I know anyone that more thoroughly emits radiant joy in everything that they do than you do. You have such a raw passion for the things of Yahweh that you either are compelled to share it with the world or are otherwise incapable of hiding it from the world. I find myself drawn to you (...all the time, but also) when I am in need of a refreshing drink of how our Lord loves us. When He seems distant or the road seems dark/narrow, I see Him working, molding, and shaping you always. I see in you the abandon for Jesus that the woman who anoints His feet with perfume, kisses them, and dries them with her hair, nothing will get in the way of you giving Jesus all the worship He is worthy of. I am truly blessed to have you in my life. I phileo you, as well.

There is literally nobody else on the face of the earth I would rather see this vision Yahweh has given us come to fruition with than you two. Nobody else would understand me at the core of who I am as well, or understand what sacrificial, servant love looks like as do you two. Yahweh, you are too good to me.

Some light reading... peruse at your convenience

I stumbled upon this guy's blog, CoffeeSnobDavis, and found it really interesting. This guy is a hoot. I don't know if I agree with him on everything, but I love that something like this exists.

This is an excerpt from his 'about" page:
"I moved to Davis, CA and found too many cafes. Reviews on the Davis Wiki were cruel, always promising the best coffee¹ ever but only delivering heartbreak. If only there were more coffee snobs reviewing these cafes, I wouldn’t have to waste my time and money testing their bad coffee…"

He also includes some links to some really great sites:

This one links to a ton of blogs and various websites on everything you ever wanted to know about making coffee at home: Brew Methods

Yes. Love this site: Coffee Geeks. So good. I've only had a chance to skim the site, but the first article I found made it worth it to post: Less Throw Downs, More Spro Downs Please!. Go ahead and read it for yourselves if you get the chance, but it's enough to inspire me to check out this site some more. I mean... let's be honest- any of the three of us could easily be sucked into being a coffee geek.

His other links are good too.

"Our deeds emerge from our hearts revealing our true allegiance"

"What will be of uppermost importance: the success of my business (or ministry) or the vitality of my relationship with Him?"

-Darrell Johnson (D on the E, pg. 90)

Bringing Heaven Down Goes Public?

So first things first, Alyssa and I talked to our friend and fellow coffee-enthusiast Jenny, and - like Kurty - she's now in on the plan that she's been kind of a part of for a long time, and she's definitely down. So be excited. She's got some awesome ideas and she's stoked on ministry via coffee.

Second of all, as we were talking to her and sharing a little about the fact that we've already been blogging to share ideas and keep each other updated, it occurred to me that it might be a good idea to make this blog public. That way, as we start to bring more and more people into this plan, we can keep them updated as well. Obviously, we would still be the only ones to actually post - at least for now - but that way we could send people links and let them know what's been going on and what we're thinking/planning.

Thoughts?

Life is like a cup of coffee.

There are so many things I would like to say to preface this video, but I don't want to spoil the experience for you, so without further ado:

Life is like a Cup of Coffee:

Random, but awesome, idea

So, as I was driving back to SLO today, slightly jealous that the two of you get to hang out at least 9 months out of the year, I had a pretty great thought.

I was thinking we could write little hand-written notes for our regulars and put them under their cups so they could find/read them when they came in. Just another way to let them know that we think/care about how they're doing, as well as would be a pretty compelling incentive to have people become regulars and come more often.

Love ya'all, miss ya'all