I love coffee. Specifically, I love Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. As far as I’m concerned their coffee beats Starbucks or Caribou hands down. Every chance I get I’ll make use of the local Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru and get myself a large coffee with cream and three sugars. That’s what I get every time. Not a hard order by any means. I never order donuts (which is ironic, since it IS Dunkin’ Donuts) or anything else, just coffee. Normally, at the Dunkin’ Donuts right by my house they’re really good about getting my order right. They’re usually very fast and friendly too. But lately I’ve been going to a new store that opened up by the church I serve at. Every single time I go through their drive-thru I have problems with the person hearing me correctly. Maybe I mumble, maybe it’s just their inexperience since it’s a new store, I don’t know. Regardless, a typical conversation usually sounds like this:
Them – “Hi, can I take your order?”
Me – “Yes, I’d like a large coffee with cream and three sugars.”
Them – “You want a coffee?”
Me – “Yeah, a large coffee with cream and three sugars.”
Them – “You want three sugars?”
Me – “Yes. And cream.”
Them – “So, you want a medium coffee with cream and sugar.”
Me – “No, a large coffee.”
Them – “You want a large coffee with sugar?”
This could go on for a few days, but eventually they get my order right and say those three magical and liberating words, “Pull forward please.” It’s amazing what I’ll put up with for a good cup of coffee, and I do put up with it. Day after day after day. I never complain to their faces. I just give them the benefit of the doubt and politely say, “Thanks” while handing them a $1.60.
It’s that time of the year again. Is everyone ready for the shopping frenzy, cold weather and mandatory fruitcake? I know I am. But what are the holidays without holiday movies? I have a set of holiday movies that I absolutely must watch between November and January. Here they are in no particular order:
I got a call from my wife today while I was at the office. She and I were discussing this and that when all of a sudden she said fairly loudly, “NO, 
Regardless, I love the way that 
Thomas has just learned how to say, “daddy!” Well, it’s more like, baaadaaa but hey, he’s only 18 months old. What’s important is that I am the only baaadaaa in the world. I am his baaadaaa. 
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Let me say it again, God cannot do anything. Many people think that God can do absolutely anything, anything at all, and will cite Matthew 19:26, “…with God all things are possible” as their proof-text. Well, aside from the fact that proof-texting is a horrible way to locate truth in Scripture, that verse is taken completely out of context when it’s used in that way. Contextually it’s referring to the salvation a person. Without God it would be impossible for anyone to be saved but with Him it is possible. But I’m not here to refute bad hermeneutics because regardless of the meaning of this verse many people will still erroneously believe that God can do anything. The fact is, He can’t.
It’s my second favorite day of the year! This is somewhat due to the fact that food is involved but mostly it’s because I get to spend the day with my family. Football has nothing to do with it ;). I was talking with my brother-in-law today and we got to discussing our relationship with God. We talked about how so many Christians today have a tendency to view their faith as a past experience with God and a future hope of spending eternity with Him. But we often forget that an essential part of being a Christian is having a vital, day to day relationship with Him. Christianity is not just about a past experience, nor is it only about a future hope. It is about worshipping God and relating to Him today, this minute, this second. In that respect it’s not too dissimilar from why we are celebrating Thanksgiving. Even though we are thankful for what God has brought us through and we are thankful for the assurance of Heaven when we die, we should most of all be thankful that we can walk and talk with Him today, right now. That He is providing for our needs this very minute. Today as we sit with our families around the table let’s be mindful of the past, conscious of the future but keep our focus on the present and be thankful for where God has us right now.
One of the most endearing things about being a dad is watching my son play. Seeing the smile on his cute little face as he accomplishes some new feat can’t be topped. But you know what quenches that feeling a little? Knowing that I’ve bought him hundreds of dollars worth of toys and he chooses to play with a dish and his high chair. I mean, I’ve bought all those “smart baby” toys, you know the ones. They’re supposed to make your kid smarter, smarter and well, smarter. Some good they do when kids don’t want to play with ‘em. I think for Christmas I’m going to get him a box and a bucket. In all seriousness though, I really don’t mind that he chooses to play with simple objects as opposed to complex gadgets. What that says to me is that he has a vivid imagination and prefers to not be told how to play.
