inside the coffee stand...

It's around 3pm on a Sunday afternoon. The usual morning runners have long since come through the line and have exited the coffee shop with gusto, a rush of color and too-tight shorts. Around here, this is the time when church-goers frequent the shop.

What is sad to me is the impatience and ineptitude with which church-goers seem to address those who would serve them with gladness. How quickly they judge those who must work of a Sunday, those who would have loved to attend service if given the opportunity to do so that morning.

Not only that, but I am astonished by the way in which such persons conduct themselves. Demanding and arrogant, they put the name of Christ to shame. Two Sundays ago, I met such a person, and it has left such an impression on me.


Setting
A coffee house somewhere in SoCal. Some time after 3pm.

Characters
ME -- Lone barista working the floor at said coffee house. Representing the black and green.
CUSTOMER -- A middle-aged woman of some class and great dignity who has recently left church and is on her way home for the evening.
CUSTOMER'S HUSBAND -- A middle-aged man, soft of voice and large of heart.

The Scene
ME -- "Hello, how is your evening going?"

CUSTOMER -- "Give me a Venti latte."

Okay, never mind...
We'll skip the pleasantries.
I get it: you need your caffeine.

"Sure! Would you like anything to eat with that? Or any other drin---"

"I'm not finished."

Wow.
I look at her expectantly, still smiling.
She's not going to get to me.

"No foam..."

She looks at me glaringly while fluffing her fur-lined jacket.
There is a chill in the air tonight, but it's not from indoor air-conditioning.

"NO .... FOAM ...."

She pauses dramatically between "no" and "foam."
I suppose she is convinced I am daydreaming.

"Hello? Are you getting this? Write it down, now!"

At this time, the customer holds up her hand to show me what I should be doing.
Pen in hand, she grabs an imaginary cup and pretends to write on it.
Her husband walks through the door and stands by her side.
Immediately aware of the situation, he begins to make apologetic / sympathetic facial expressions.
I chuckle inwardly.

"I can remember, it's okay,"
I try to reassure her.
My shift lead is in the back room, making notes on the order.

"Well, no one else seems to be able to."

Whatever, lady -- now you just sound like a fool.
I stop myself from saying anything I might regret.

Sugar-sweet (Romans 12:20-21 kept ringing in my ear), I tell her,
"Oh, it's no problem. So far, you would like a Venti no-foam latte. Anythi--"

She nods but cuts me off, neck tinged pink with slight embarrassment.

"ONLY two pumps of Chai."

"Venti 2-pump Chai, no-foam, latte..."

I'm still not writing her drink down.

"Half soy, half two-percent. And make sure it's two-percent milk. I hate nonfat. And whole milk is too rich. I can tell the difference."

Right.
Not like I didn't realize this, lady, but you're definitely high-maintenance.
Off to the side, her husband grimaces uncomfortably.
I feel his pain and smile reassuringly in his direction.

"We can definitely do that... Venti 2-pump Chai, half-soy / half two-percent, no-foam latte."

I write it on her cup.

"Oh. Make sure it's extra-hot."

"Would you like it around 170 / 180?"

"No. 200."

Check.

"Here."

She jams her Gold Card up under my nose as I'm heading over to pass off her drink to my shift lead, thankful someone else will have the pleasure of making it and not I.
Whew.

"Thank you. Would you like anything else?"

"No, just take the card. I've wasted enough time--"

Her husband, in a gentle calm voice interjects,
"If I may, I would like to have a tall cup of decaf coffee."

I smile warmly.
It is after noon, but I don't mind pulling together a pour-over for him.

"Of course. Would you like me to leave you room for cream?"

My shift lead cheerily calls out the customer's drink.

"Thank you, no."

She stomps over to the hand-off counter, skeptical of how her drink has been assembled.
He graciously drops three dollars in the tip jar -- twice the amount that his own drink costs -- walks humbly away from the register, calls for his wife, and departs into the afternoon sunshine outdoors.


What a difference. I hope, in the future, that I will have the same approach and remain gentle, calm, and understanding even if in a hurry. There is no place so important to be that one cannot practice patience and compassion. This world is a place of instant gratification. As followers of Christ, however, we are called to something higher by Someone higher. May we follow in His steps always.

i want more of you.

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.

Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.
For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7-8

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)

The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."

The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock."

Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."

John 4:7-15

I want to be a tree planted by streams of Water.

yes

the lines are bold.
they cross the page.
I am not old,
nor yet a sage.

the same page.
creased, faded
worn with age.
(never graded)

stories wended,
looking through,
lives were blended,
never an "adieu"

so much we grew
and thick and thin
faithful, true.
to where we begin.

our spirits akin,
a backwards look
through thick, thin
i love our book.


Poetry by Yerst Ruely
Picture by Samba D. Elz
(Sorry - I couldn't resist!)

appreciation.

There is this little phrase that means so much.
And never too little. It's only three words long.

When it falls from your lips, it touches my heart.

In it is life and power. In it, humility and grace.
No suspicion nor duress, nor ever cause to fear.

It causes me pain. But I'm alive, renewed, again.

a candid thank you.

True love.
I have it.

"Can she really say that?"

Oh yes. And I do.
I have it.

But it's not what you think -- I mean, it is but it's not at the same time.

Love is a being, a voice who calls my name and holds my heart in His hands. Love is forever. Love never changes. He is the same today, tomorrow, and into eternity. He was before all time. He called me His own before I ever had a chance to know Him. How great is this love?

He died for me. I can never repay this kind of love.

He accepts me as his own, despite my various and varied flaws. I have too many to list. I still don't understand how He could love me this much.

He expects much from me. What is love without devotion? What is love without service? Because of His love, I have given my life to His plan.

He gives me what I need -- not what I deserve. This is the best part of all!

Yes, I have found love. He knocked down my heart's door. And now love lives in me. Love has given me all good things. Love has given me new life .... not the type that fades slowly as the light of the setting sun, but a true and everlasting life. A life that has no beginning nor end. A life born from Love Himself.

He has given me a close-knit, loving family, without whom I would never have learned about this great love.

He has given me faithful friends, who urge me forward in my pursuit of this love.

He has given me the God-fearing man I thought I would never find in this lifetime.

That is the love I serve.

Love has a name.

Love.

Is.

JESUS.

a book comes alive.

I never read this book in high school. Actually, no. That's a lie -- I did, but I never thought I would care to open it up. I don't believe I actually even pretended to like it.

Now that I'm actually reading it -- long before the kids had a chance, I was onto my second or third time through the novel -- I LOVE it. Highly recommended for it use of rich vocabulary, description of setting, etc.

When I read through the first time, just a week ago, I did not enjoy it thoroughly. It was hard to concentrate.

Until I hit Chapter 4 and the story of Dave.

I don't believe I've cried over a character in a novel recently. Just saying. Props to Jack London. You've still got it.

no gossip shall fall.

ugliness has a definition.

gos·sip (gsp)

n.

1. Rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature.

2. A person who habitually spreads intimate or private rumors or facts.

3. Trivial, chatty talk or writing.

intr.v. gos·siped, gos·sip·ing, gos·sips

To engage in or spread gossip.

the 411 on gossip.

- God holds everyone accountable for words spoken.
- Gossip always contributes to a problem, not a solution.
- Gossip distorts and exaggerates the truth.
- Gossip is rarely reliable information.
- Gossip relies heavily on secrecy.
- Gossiping is another form of judging someone else.


gossiping.

There's something about gossip that just makes my hair stand on end. It gets to me, like a hang nail. Something that needs to be clipped, immediately. Or it will bother me enough to pick at it.

Okay, that was probably gross.

If I stopped to think about it, no matter how much it may irritate me when others do the same, I am also to blame. Honestly, I participate more than I should. Even though I know it is neither edifying nor encouraging to do so. It's an easy trap to fall into, and I do it often.

There's this verse in the Bible that cautions against trying to pick at the splinter in another person's eye when you have a telephone pole lodged in yours. (Matthew 7:3)

Okay, it doesn't say that exactly, but it might as well have.

If I want to tell someone else about a problem I have with people in general, I should examine myself first. I am not a saint in this capacity. It is a very real struggle for me to be nice to people who I know gossip about me behind my back.

There's this other verse in the Bible that says I am to love that person or persons who do not treat me with any consideration. I'm not sure how that strikes you, but it's a hard one for me to swallow!

Only God can give that kind of forgiveness to me. I am thankful for His mercy in my life. I do not deserve it, weak as I am.


what the Bible has to say.

There is much to think about and less to say after reading the following verses:

Psalm 101:5
Proverbs 11:12-13
Proverbs 16:28
Proverbs 18:8
Matthew 12:36-37
Galatians 6:7-10
James 4:11


advice.

1. I recently read this post online by a God-fearing contributor, alias Grey Tower:

"Sometimes we have to be cruel to be kind, and it may be that you need to disassociate yourself from these people, but first speak to them about their conduct, and try to help them see the error of their ways. Stand by your Christian principles and pray they might come to their senses."

2. Published author and Orthodox Jew, Naomi Alderman, writes:

"Our sages warn us often against the perils of gossip: ‘lashon hara’ which means, literally, an evil tongue. Certainly, it is forbidden to spread false tales. Is this not bearing false witness – an action forbidden in the ten utterances from Mount Sinai? And as it is forbidden to speak false tales, so it is forbidden to listen to them, for he who speaks and he who listens both sin against the name of the Lord.

"One of our sages rebuked a woman who had spread gossip. He gave her a pillow and instructed her to take it to the top of the highest building in town and shake out its feathers to the four winds. The woman did so.

"Then the sage said to her, 'Now go and gather up all of those feathers which you have scattered.' The woman cried out that the task was impossible.

" 'Ah,' said the sage, 'how much easier, though, than gathering up the tales you have spread.'

"Easier to cause a mountain to skip like a lamb than to retrieve an evil story once it has passed the guard of our lips."

3. I guess this post really is on guarding the mind. I will leave you with another quote, for whom the author is unknown:

Watch your thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions.
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your habits, they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

May the words of my heart please you, O Lord.

madness.

I have this thing I like to do.

It's thirteen letters long and...

I really can't help it.


Perfectionism.


It's bound to drive me mad.

Oh boy.

Definitely headoverheels in love with you.

bungee jumping into the classroom.

Ups?
- Good fun.

Downs?
- Migraine. Back pain. A little whiplash.

I do love my "job" right now. I'm not kidding. There is life in it! Even though my body is somewhat weak from lack of sleep / etc. But that is beside the point. The Lord provides even the strength to move forward from day to day.

I've never actually been bungee jumping but I know what it looks like!

Student teaching is a little like bungee jumping. You're prepped for the real thing in little classes that can only tell you how you must be 'prepared' (okay? This is like saying, Oh you're afraid of the dark? Okay, well the guy who jumps at you from around the dark corner isn't actually scary. Don't jump.) ... you signed the paperwork (here is my life; here's what will happen if I get dashed on the rocks in a minute) ... you're buckled in (no "out" at this point, just enjoy the ride) ... you get a final check ... and oops, your instructor just gave you a huge push (thanks, friend). You are air born for a short while, your arms flailing miserably as you attempt to gain some control. By the time you do, it's time for round 2.

Ding ding!

At least I know Who has control, ultimately. It's not quite as scary, knowing not only do I have some Supernatural support but He also loves me enough not to put me in a classroom I would be uncomfortable in.

I get videoed for an evaluation on Thursday, the 17th ... eek! Post to come.