E2 Coffe House

I read an artilce this evening called East Atlanta Blog. I have no idea if he's going to keep my comment there. Well, most likely a 'he' (but I suppose it 'could' be a she). I'm only going by the content of his blog. I've learned by experience that sometimes I can spend an entire twenty to thirty minutes on a comment only to have the moderator of the blog take no value in the freedom of opinion. I've had the most average of my thoughts deleted off of someone's blogs before.

The beginning of his post definitely had me grinning. It was 'so' funny to read of how truly of a coffee connoisseur this guy was. Unlike anyone that I have ever know enough about to know if they were anywhere near the connoisseur that he is. Wow, green (unroasted) coffee beans? You have to read his post to understand. California suppliers, roasting green coffee beans and monitoring air conditions? Weeeee! And Wow! He is 'really' the mother of all coffee drinkers. And as a once upon a time one hundred percent computer geek I think I can recognize the same kind of passion that made me a that. Except his passion is what makes him a coffee geek(freak?).

However, not being the coffee aficionado that he, I commented on his blog to disagree with him on a few points. I normally don't comment on another person's blog, but this is something I was simply led to do. I agreed with one point he made about the paper cups at E2's. Yes I would prefer to get a cup of coffee in a nice cup or mug as the default unless I am asked if it is to-go. On a few occasions, depending on who is working, I 'have' gotten a real cup and it's nice. Not to mention the better feel a good ceramic mug has. And I also know it's better to wash a ceramic cup than to recycle a paper cup. Errr, I'm a bit of an environmental greeny; something else for me to admit.

Now, to compare my experience with the rest of of his experience. I think the atmosphere at E2's Coffee House is great. I love the bright colors and the comfortable surroundings. The quality of the five or six people that are rotated throughout the week at the counter are very good as well. Well, there is one guy who is nice enough, but he just needs to be more sociable. But I'll give him a break, he's new and he's only about twenty if I had to guess. He simply needs a few more experiences in life. He's a kind enough fellow, but just isn't "out of himself". We'll have to give him a few years to develop that side of himself.

I'm a 'regular' there at E2, and I'm there about two to three times a week. I would say that the couches are really comfy, and I also enjoy the free Internet. Also the coffee is quite tasty. I'll use Mr ODB's reference of Starbucks bad coffee in a paper cup to E2's drinkable coffee in a paper cup. Though I will go a little further than him and say the coffee is 'good'. But, as someone will read in Mr. ODB's entry, every friend has a coffee freak, and 'boy' does he ever qualify! … Me?, I drink less coffee these days so even my weak aficionado status is waning. However I too used to be a coffee disciple that sucked down double to triple espressos every day. And that was because I liked the taste; well, when I could do more caffeine. These days I either do a cup of the house coffee or a double espresso con leche'.

The brightness of the E2 environment is a matter of preference just as the brightness of some homes is a matter of preference. Step into the homes of some people and you just want to fall asleep because it is dimly lit and comfortable. However, the home that I prefer is the one that you step into and you immediately want to 'live' and have lively conversation. E2's coffeehouse is like that. I love the bright atmosphere, especially in the morning and in the evening. Though they could use some shades or awning for the middle of the day :-)

Out of the Closet

BnF is having a few problems these last few weeks. Here's where I continue with my "nutty to say" things that I don't tell everyone, but I do tell some. A few people are close enough to me and still continue to communicate with me, despite the increasingly outlandish things that might come out of my mouth (or my journal) at times.

Nearly two years ago BnF was fine. And during that time, that same "loud thought" that I hear gave me a message to give to them that I really did 'not' want to give them. And yes it seems weird, and yes I even feel weird about talking about it now. It said "I have heard the people that desire to worship me here; inside the walls of BnF and outside the walls of BnF. And if you do not stop imposing your rules and laws on them, you yourself will become subject to those same rules and laws." This "message" was told to me with that same "coaxing" that has led me to do several things over the last couple of years. The coaxing this time was pushing me to deliver that message to the leaders at BnF, and to others as well.

Philippine Adventures (Part I)

A Summary of my Adventures
Part I of II (Oct 2005 to Apr 2006)

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This is a picture of the view screen that was on the plane on my way to the Philippines. I had never been on a trip outside of the U.S. before and it had also been quite sometime since I had been on even a domestic flight. On this view screen we would get periodic updates of our speed, direction, and other details of the flight.

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Though every country or city has something like this on your way into it, this is the first thing that I saw when I arrived in the Philippines. Though this is a very simply introduction to the Philippines it was very beautiful to me at the time.

The Da Vinci Code

Ok, I’m not going to jump up and down in arms like most of the world is. I’ll only quote the Author from his own home page .

- Quote from Dan Brown’s Website -
HOW MUCH OF THIS NOVEL IS TRUE?
The Da Vinci Code is a novel and therefore a work of fiction. While the book’s characters and their actions are obviously not real, the artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals depicted in this novel all exist (for example, Leonardo Da Vinci’s paintings, the Gnostic Gospels, Hieros Gamos, etc.). These real elements are interpreted and debated by fictional characters. While it is my belief that some of the theories discussed by these characters may have merit, each individual reader must explore these characters’ viewpoints and come to his or her own interpretations. My hope in writing this novel was that the story would serve as a catalyst and a springboard for people to discuss the important topics of faith, religion, and history.
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - –

Calm down everyone :-)

Darn, Knit, Sew, and Patch

One more thing that I love about the Philippines. I was just chatting with Malu online and she updated me on a car repair that they had to do about a week and a half ago. In the U.S. we would just replace the starter. But there in the Philippines, well just replace the carbon in the starter, that’s all.

In the Philippines every repair shop that does every repair will do things that no one in the US would reasonbly do. The starter for her car is about Php2,500 which is about $49US (There is roughly fifty-one filipino pesos per US dollar). So what do you do; well you just get the carbon in the starter replaced. I had never heard of such a thing.

I didn’t even know that my starter had carbon in it. I never had to think about it. Even when I had an old car and did the repairs myself, all I did was pick up a starter from the junk yard and put it in myself. And the cost of the total repair of putting carbon into a starter? Parts plus labor in the Philippines cost a grand total of P600. That’s only $11.76U.S.

And that’s not the only thing. Shoes, bags, clothing, whatever you can think of is darned, knitted, sewed, patched. And doing this kind of thing is not only at a reasonable price for their economy, but it provided a fair livelyhood for those that do it as well. I am grateful that they don’t have the throw away society that we have in the U.S.

But hmm, I suppose if we keep working on it we’ll get the recycling matter taken care of here. I just pray that we seek the benefit of others first before we look to benefit ourselves. Though my main objective isn’t trying to save the world anymore, I’m not so foolish as to not give my personal time and effort to the matter. After all, planet earth is where God put me :-)

Dream 051806

I had another dream last night. This time I was able to semi float/almost fly, as I jumped and leaped from rock to rock, from wall to wall, and from ground to sometimes a hundred feet or more away.

I also met a young black woman in my dream that was a professional athlete. She was amazed by what I could do and asked me if it had to do with martial arts or meditation. But I told her that I wasn’t able to do it until after I believed in God. (It wasn’t until God gave me the ability. The ability was disconnected from any request that I had made; I hadn’t asked to learn how to fly).

Then she was disheartened. She thought if other people learned how to do it then what she did wouldn’t be impressive. And then she would not be able to get the four million dollars a year that she was currently getting. I told her that she was disheartened because her God was money. At that point I felt unsure as to whether I should have said what I did.

I’ve had similar dreams like this many times. Where I am jumping, leaping, and flying sometimes. This one had a odd piece in it where I actually used something that looked like a large single bladed snow ski, and started navigating down a river in the middle of the summer with it. I pushed back and forth down the rapids with a high degree of proficiency. I was even amazed at what I was able to do on it.

The Spirit Leads

Now comes the challenge; for those of us who see. And the question is not “what are we going to do about it?” .. No, that question is for those that rely on themselves, that question is for the self-righteous.

The true questions are “Is God leading you to do something about it?” and “What is God leading you to do?” … Those are personal questions for each and every one of us that have been given eyes to see and ears to hear. “Where is God leading us?” And I am sure you know just as well as I know, that the Spirit is not silent if we give ourselves over each day to the one that gave His life as a ransom for ours.

For me, God leads me to go on the streets and answer the poor. To say yes and to listen to those that say “they need” when other people are ignoring them. God calls me to visit the sick (something I have not done enough of), and to deny what I want so I can give myself to His wants, His desires, His Spirit. And I am also led to write. For what purpose I don’t know yet.

Why I Write, Why I Blog

When I was younger I wrote for several reasons. I wanted to learn how to express myself better with words, I wanted to understand myself better, and I wanted to have something to look back on when I was older so I could see what I used to think.

My reasons for creating a blog were similar. However a blog specifically was because I have found myself often away from my home or work computer but still wanting to remember things that I was thinking or feeling; I needed to be mobile. So, I initially created a private online journal that no one could find. But then as I wrote, I began to consider things that others might be able to find useful. Perhaps my self reflection could help them understand themselves better. After all, I’ve been doing this off and on for several years. And I’ve had people comment that I seem to know myself better than many people that they meet. And here is another reason. A blog I thought,would also be a useful way of telling people about me.

I initially didn’t think that that part would be very long of a story. I ‘thought’ that there was a short list of maybe thirty to fifty things that I had definitive opinions about, and those opinions shaped who I am. However as time goes by I have continued to think of things to write about that aren’t in my online journal and I haven’t kept locally on my computer. I am surprised sometimes to find there are things that I have said to others so many times before, but I can’t seem to find anywhere I have written about them. I also find it convenient to copy and paste from my journal when someone says something in an email that I already know I have quite a bit to say about.

But It Hurts!

There was a child that cut their finger and came running in to their mother crying. With sincere concern the mother consoled the child; “oh, what’s the matter Johnny. Let me take a look at that. Are you ok? It’s ah’right, it’s ah’right. How did it happen? Oh, you’ll be ok. It’s just a little cut. Come over here to the sink and we’ll wash it off and get you cleaned right up.”.

But the child could hardly be consoled. The cut was such a devastating thing to the child even though the mother knew it was small. But to the child it was a breach in the very layer of their life. It was a penetration into the body that held who they were. Well, perhaps a child doesn’t think about it that deeply but this stands as best as can be told to describe the trauma that such a little cut is to such a little child.

As adults we know so much more than children. Because we’ve lived through so much, we’ve been wounded so many times, we’ve experienced pain, and the healing that always comes after that pain. At least in small matters. Some of us have experienced larger matters and so we have an even broader more experienced understanding of pain and healing.

And then there is God. God understands more than we could possibly understand. To us, a small scratch is nothing now that we are older. And to God, life and death is nothing; they are but small cuts. He has consoled us by sending us a way of eternal life. But instead of accepting that way, we question it. We deny the truth for the excuse of “interpretation”. When we hear several dozen men and women saying that this group is wrong or this group has the wrong idea, we use that as a way to excuse the consolation that God has given us.

We say to ourselves “If so many smart people can’t agree, then there must only be interpretations.” But that little voice is telling you that there is no interpretation, and that little voice is telling you what to do. “If that’s true.” you say, “then what is the truth that the quiet little voice is telling me?”. To that all I can tell you is what the quiet little voice has told me. If you tell me that you don’t understand, then that’s ok. There are plenty of times that I don’t understand as well. But you must strive to understand, this is too important of a matter. And God will give you the answer that you are looking for; eventually. However if you tell me that I am wrong then I already know that you are listening to the wrong voice. Because God’s Spirit does not lead us to accuse anyone.

There ‘are’ two voices that are battling it out inside of us. Quite often there is one that is pointing fingers, getting angry, and accusing others. But there is another voice that is forgiving others, blaming itself, and taking responsible for every action that the body has done, and every thought the mind has had. For the blame, there is a simple solution. A solution of Grace, a payment for the wrong that has already been made. And all that has to be done is a sincere acceptance of that payment. A gift, an acceptance that if focused on every day will lead to a heart that is grateful. Then and only then is the blame shifted to what it should be.

But the moment that you consider a thought that says so and so has done such and such to me, then you can no longer consider the thought of the gift that has so unconditionally been given to you.

Life and death, freedom and pain, joy and sadness. Do not be fooled. God is the master of both of them. The fool says that he is suffering because the devil is doing this to him. The wise man endures hardship as discipline (1) . It is good to know that pain and hardship are good. No one who listens to the Spirit of God can blame any other man, woman, ‘or’ spirit for their suffering. Contrary to blame, the man with the Spirit of God considers it a joy when he suffers. (2) And it is good to be “at the end of your rope” (3)

(1) Heb 12:7
(2) James 1:2-4
(3) 2 Cor 12:9

Just a Joke

Years ago, I think it was during one of those long periods that I didn’t believe in God, I heard a professional comedian talk about what made comedy funny. Two of the points that he made (which I have heard again since then) were; 1) Making fun of things that have hurt us in the past is funny. and 2) There is a little truth in all humor.

I had those things in mind when I first started to learn what the scriptures said about humor and joking. And I also think about how important it is for us to be careful what we say. It ‘is’ still possible to have plenty of joking and plenting of fun (I love to be maquelette) even if you pay careful attention to everything you say and do.

In considering this I remember something I said a few weeks ago. As Joe Dean and several us us were driving by several pigs I joked and said “Hey Mike, there goes you uncle”. I was going to laugh but then Eph 4:29 went through my mind. I’ve learned to take everything seriously; even in my laughter :-)

Eph 5:4 is something else I look at on this topic. And one last thought on this subject. If we were made in the likeness of God, and God spoke and created the heavens and the earth. Then how seriously should we take the words that come out of our mouths? Once more however, don’t let this sway you from laughing and enjoying everything that God has made. There is still ‘much’ fun to be had!