home roasting
i’ve been toying with the idea of building a home coffee roaster for a while now. i’ve gotten considerable feedback, especially from Smock. last week i came one step closer by scoring a free hot air popcorn popper (in new condition) in the church basement. love it. now i just have to mod it & try it out.
anyone have any experience roasting coffee beans at home?
what can the church learn from Starbucks?
unless you live under a rock, you should know to go vote tomorrow. if you really needed more incentive, check this out.
there are some statements in that video that are a straight up call to action. i wish the Church as a whole would be as no-nonesense as this when it comes to impacting our community & world. for Starbucks “it’s bigger than coffee”. when it comes to our mission, it’s also bigger than coffee – why don’t you go do something about then?
in one sitting
today was landmark – i finished an entire book in one sitting. i popped on over to starbucks with The 7 Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley. 3 hours, 4 pages of notes, and 2 cups of komodo dragon later i was done. this was a big deal. i don’t know if i’ve ever read a whole book at once before. i’m also now one book closer to my personal goal of 10 for the year on my list of 2008 goals.
but most importantly, it was huge for me in personal ministry ways. i’m wrestling a lot with just what does/should/can the middle school & college ministry @ first church look like. this really got me going today – i literally couldn’t read this book fast enough. it was a good morning.
how do you take it – pt.II
a follow-up to part I. if you have not, go now and leave your mark. then watch this – with your favorite coffee.
how do you take it?
it began with a questions from Carlos @ Ragamuffin Soul. so i will answer AND pass it on.
coffee. how do you take it? me:
regular coffee:
black, brewed in a press pot or a melitta. my current favorites are Tanzanian Teaberry and Mocha Java. Jamaican Blue Mountain is hands down the best I’ve ever had, but is ridiculously expensive here.
flavored coffee:
with a little sugar to bring out the flavor, but still brewed in a press pot. the only time our drip coffee make sees any action is for a big party. however, if i could find a gallon sized press pot, it would be on my counter.
espresso:
don’t make it @ home, yet i yearn for a legit espresso machine. my drink of choice is either an iced americano or a breve mocha. what’s breve mean? it uses half-and-half instead of regular milk. i believe that can be followed up with a boo-yah.
how do you take it?
timing creativity
i’m spending this afternoon at one of my favorite places – Grigg’s Coffee. not only do they have killer coffee roasted on site, but also free wi-fi, a fantastic atmosphere, and butter toffee cashews (so good). the past few months i’ve been trying to be more intentional about setting aside uninterrupted creative time, which is kind of weird since i do think of myself as a pretty creative person. one of the huge things i’ve been learning though, is that creativity is best when it’s not rushed. sure, being under the gun can birth inspiration, but creativity is best when it has a chance to actually develop from the original inspiration.
so here i am, armed with my myndology disc notebook, macbook, and coffee – and working out the creative elements for the last FUSE[midweek] series for the spring. starting tomorrow, our last series will be a five weeker called 5enses. we’ll be looking at a different human sense each week and see how we can experience Jesus specifically through each. it kicks off tomorrow with :sound:
breakfast
bethany was helping lead a middle school girls overnighter. dang, she’s awesome. when I brought her home, we realized there was nothing that could qualify for breakfast, and she had to be at work in half an hour. there was no food and more importantly, no coffee (gasp). so the local st. arbucks we were off to. for those of you that want to take me out I’m a grande breve mocha kind of guy.
anyhow, the chocolate chip banana coffee cake caught my eye. when I took the first bite of that 2lb hunk of goodness my life was changed somewhat. do you owe yourself a little something? yeah, go get it…
tax day perk
Hollar at your local D&D:
At participating stores nationwide, the Canton coffee-and-baked-goods
chain is offering a free doughnut with the purchase of any size cup of
Dunkin’ Donuts hot coffee, but the complimentary sinker deal is good
for one day only – April 15, Tax Day.
Check the whole thing here. I may have taken them up on it if I hadn’t already had two cups this morning and am making another mug full with the melitta.
creative chaos
I just recently began reading Carlos Whittaker’s blog. I first saw him on L.A. Ink of all places – kind of funny. Anyhow, every Thursday there’s a creativity roundup. For today -
I want us to post on where it is that we go to find our personal creativity.
And it HAS to be outside the office.
And Tell Us Why…
My first stop for creative time is the Coffee & Tea Room here in Williamsport. Coffee shops are probably the thing, but this place kicks. It’s really got the art vibe – rotating art shows on the walls, sculpture, mismatched tables and plush chairs, lamps, books everywhere – you get the idea. I love it. Because it’s a naturally artistic and creative environment, it really helps kick me into gear.
The second is totally different – the Penn College library. I’m around music/talk/noise so much, sometimes I just need to really disconnect from all the distractions around me and grab a college study table by myself. It all just depends on my mood.
Where do you go when you need to kick it into creative gear?
edit: this got me in the mood, so as of 10:33am I’ve moved from the office to Coffee & Tea Room. nothing beats a killer mocha…
