I am a confessed coffee addict and coffee connoisseur (and even after living in France for 2.5 years I still had to spell check that word). My morning routine involves boiling water, grinding beans, waiting some minutes, taking a sip of a local roast, and then waking up.

A few years ago, while on one of our longer stays in the US I bought a mug from Ikea that I really liked. I used it every morning for over a year and it became a part of my routine. I packed it in my suitcase when we moved to Barcelona in 2009. Shortly after our move, one fateful morning, I dropped the mug whilst trying to escape the fog that follows me around before coffee (yes, a real addict). I was without this trusty companion for the first time in years.

So I did what any normal human being would do when they break an inanimate, replaceable object: I bought another one.

This one was a big beautiful, more artsy looking, mug from Starbucks. It was also a huge mug and only made my coffee intake in the morning more intense. (With a downside of the coffee at the bottom of the mug ending up cold.) During our first 2 years in Barcelona I used this mug every morning. In truth most mornings during our first two years were pretty tough. It saw me through some tough times for sure…It’s dark blue tones were maybe a bit too appropriate for my emotional state though.

But just like two years before, one fateful morning this mug too took the plunge to the tile floor and ended it’s reign over my delicious morning coffee. It seemed like things were happening in slow motion as the mug slipped from my wet hands to the dry floor. This mug represented more to me than just an inanimate object…this mug was an icon of a chapter of my life; the most challenging and difficult chapter of my life.

So Jen and Maisie went out and bought me a new mug…a cheery yellow mug. Maybe it’s a prophetic sign of the good to come, or in the way that we’ve found the sun through the intense shaded of blue. But regardless, I really like it. It’s smaller…so that will maybe help me cut back on my problem.

But through this reflection I’ve realized that I’ve had one mug for each of the past three chapters of life:

Preparing for Barcelona -> Settling in Barcelona -> ???? in Barcelona

I am hopeful that the chapter marked by my yellow mug will be about:

New Beginnings, Further Growth, Living well in Community, Strong Faith and Love, and Stepping into Giftedness.

Am I the only one with distinct chapters in life? Anyone else have obscure, random, inanimate markers of these times?

You can read this article first if you want to see what inspired this post: Colombian Cyclists Dream Of Racing Out Of Poverty : NPR

I originally wrote this post a couple of days ago, but it got deleted for nerd reasons I won’t go into. But here’s my second try…

I just read the article above and a line in it hit me,

“If you can’t suffer,” Johan says, “what good are you?”

We just got back from our annual Christian Associates conference called connect. This year, our main sessions were taught by other church-planters within CA. The main text we were being taught was Hebrews 11. As each of my friends taught through this, one theme resounded from the lives of the people of faith in Hebrews: their faith lead each of them to some sort of significant suffering that resulted in their character being developed. Because of who they became through their suffering they were able to live lives of faith that made a difference in the world around them…and subsequently be considered by the writer of Hebrews some of the most noteworthy followers of God in history.

I like to ride my bikes. I like to work on my bikes. I use my bikes to get around town faster or take my daughter to school on. Basically, I use them for convenience. But I really don’t set out on my bike to suffer because I’m not competing for anything like the Columbian young men in the story, or like the riders in the Tour de France.

I watched the Tour de France a lot this year…mostly because of my newfound passion for bikes (which is evident in my last three posts). In the stages in the mountains I couldn’t get over the effort that there were exerting. They were riding 100′s of miles within a few days in incredible heat, altitude, and mental strain. For a rider in the Tour, winning a leg is pretty remarkable. Winning the whole thing is incredible. But the agony on their faces proves that they must suffer to get there. They are suffering for a prize.

In the story of Johan above, it’s not just him suffering on a bike. His mom has opened a new business, his parents sold their home, his dad is working construction as an older man. They are suffering together…but not just for the sake of suffering or riding a bike. They are suffering and sacrificing because they hope that cycling will take them out of the poverty they were living in.

This reminds me of a line in the Bible: (Hebrews 12:2)

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

It’s clear to me that there is something significant with suffering in the Christian journey. I think that there is a transformation that takes place within in us that enables us to become the type of people that God can use to join him in his good intentions on earth.

I think that the quote rings true:

“If you can’t suffer, what good are you?”

I think that I need to come to terms with something spiritually. Am I a casual bike rider when it comes to suffering? Do I just want faith for convenience? Or do I want to ride like I’m competing for a prize? (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) Do I want to push on in the face of difficulty? (2 Corinthians 4:7-10) Do I believe that partnership and relationship with God is worth it? (Philippians 3:7-14)

I think I do…

I came across this article via twitter (@hopefulskeptic) and thought that it was interesting thing to think about. It’s an atheist father explaining in a letter to his 11 year old daughter why he doesn’t pray. I obviously don’t agree with the conclusions of the author, but I do think his perceptions of what Christians pray for and who the God we pray to are worth reflecting on.

I also think that it’s worth receiving the criticism that praying for things that only benefit ourselves or our desires is selfish…I don’t think this because I don’t believe that God answers small prayers. I say this because I think that it’s worth us really being thoughtful about what we pray for. I would hope that my prayers more reflect what God desires on earth, not the way that they may reflect my desires on earth…

Enjoy…(tongue in cheek)

Without a prayer | Psychology Today

“Let the just rejoice,for their justifier is born.
Let the sick and infirm rejoice,For their saviour is born.
Let the captives rejoice,For their Redeemer is born.
Let slaves rejoice,for their Master is born.
Let free men rejoice,For their Liberator is born.
Let All Christians rejoice,For Jesus Christ is born.”

- St. Augustine of Hippo

Thanks to my friend Tim Bower for posting this earlier.

My friend Dennis sent me this article and I really resonated with it:

A Different Kind of Christian Demonstration at Gay Pride | TimSchraeder.com

Reconciliation is at the heart of the Gospel. Reconciliation between once-opposed enemies is truly good news for all people. (What the angels spoke of to the shepherds in Luke’s gospel)

Even as a kid we are taught to say we are sorry. Even if we believe that we are 100% right, we were taught to learn that there must be something that we need to apologize for. That we at least have 1% of the problem to own…but honestly only arrogant people would claim a measly 1%!

Being able to say sorry first is a humble expression to move towards the issue or the people. I think that what our brothers in Chicago did is a great example of moving toward an issue that needs reconciliation.

May God give us all the courage to reconcile the ‘wars’ that wage in our lives. When we do, we model His movement towards us as humanity. When we don’t, we miss out…We miss out on the Gospel coming alive in our lives.

When you think of reconciling an issue in your life, what comes to mind? What issues might have you been too afraid of to move towards?

May God’s grace be with you as move towards these things…