Coffee Contest

If any of you know anything about me, you all know that I am an avid coffee drinker.

I do have my particular favorites though and I thought I would list my top 5 spots that I think have the best coffee in the area.

#5 - Burger King

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Burger King has the perfect blend of ground beans to wake you in the morning. There is a light aroma to their coffee and an unmistakable taste to it. They also have managed to name their coffee "BK Joe" which I think is absolutely ingenious marketing, having heard the phrase "a Cup of Joe" several times in my life.

#4 - Sonic

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Sonic has a very unique flavoring to their coffee that barely trumps Burger King's BK Joe. It is a little fuller in taste and has a richer blend of flavors to it. Plus, the little mint they serve with it gives it the added bonus it needs to beat out the "Joe."

#3 - Speedway

Rating: ★★★★☆

Usually Gas Stations and mini marts will have the worst coffee in the world. It is almost never fresh, usually tastes burnt and sometimes can give you a stomachache that lasts for days. Not so with Speedway. Their coffee is always brewing, always hot and there are multiple options as well. Not only can you get a regular or decaf coffee, but you can add creamers and flavorings, which add up to hundreds of possible combinations. Couple that with the options of lattes and cappuccinos, and you get an excellent place to go and pick up your morning cup.

#2 - Starbucks

Rating: ★★★★☆

Oh, you thought they would be number one? Well they almost were, but more on that in a second. Starbucks has almost everything a coffee fanatic could want. Flavors, extra shots of espresso, mochas, frapps, and much, much more. And I have yet to have something that I didn't like at Starbucks. They do have a couple of drawbacks however. One is the fact that the lines are always out the door and the wait which is usually five to ten minutes depending on the Barista. Also, their prices are astronomical. I know one person who refers to them as "Five"bucks. Still, you can't beat the taste, and Starbucks has a great one.

So what's number one? It's (Gasp!!!)

#1 - McDonald's

Rating: ★★★★★

Some of you just choked because you're laughing so hard, but hang on a second and hear me out. Last year at this time, I wouldn't have dreamed of putting the Golden Arches over the Mermaid, but this year, McDonald's came out with the best thing ever, the Carmel Frappe. If you haven't had one yet, go and get one. Seriously, I'll wait 'til you get back........

Enjoy it? I thought so. These things are amazing and they're addicting. Just ask any member of the ACC staff. We'll tell you. The flip side of the coin is this: the price. McDonald's proved they can compete with Starbucks because the mermaid's price is just too stinking high. And McDonald's regular coffee is great as well, and a large is only $1.25.

So there it is. My coffee list. All of the haters may now jump in because I didn't include they're favorite on this list - but hey, that's what the comments section is for. So have at it.

What's your favorite place to go get some "Joe?"

Thoughts From Jeremiah - Part Two

Here's another look into some of the things the prophet Jeremiah had to deal with. Speaking of people's hearts, God said this:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” - Jeremiah 17:9-10, ESV

God knows our hearts, our ways, and our minds. And he says that the human heart is desperately sick and that it is deceitful above ALL THINGS.

Jesus was once asked what the greatest commandment was and he replied with this:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." - Matthew 22:36-39, ESV

Love comes from the heart, and God is love, so God should be all that fills our hearts, yet here we see Jeremiah being asked by God if anyone can understand the heart because it is so deceitful.

• When was the last time you "forgot" to leave a tip for your waiter or waitress?

• When was the last time you gave someone the worst looking plate of food and took the best for yourself?

• When was the last time you told someone you would pray for them and then "forgot"?

• When was the last time you dropped an empty offering envelope in the offering tray to make it look like you actually gave money to everyone else?

Our hearts are deceitful and God knows it, but He also searches our hearts to test whether we are with Him or against Him.

More on that later....

Serious Prayer

This is Jasmine Flora, she is 6 years old. She will be 7 this July. Jasmine has Rhabdomyosarcoma cancer.

Jasmine is currently in ICU at Cincinnati Childrens Hospital.

She has had several blood transfusions, and she is running a fever of 104.

Jasmine also has a bacterial infection where the central line is.

Her Doctors have not given her more than a week to live and they are now considering doing a liver transplant.

Wherever you are right now, whatever you're doing, stop and pray for Jasmine.

God can do the impossible when His people pray.

Quote of the Day

Craig Groeschel's new book "The Christian Atheist" came out this past Tuesday. It is a book about how many people claim that they know and follow Jesus, but most of them live as if he doesn't exist at all.

I actually was able to score a free copy thanks to an awesome Twitter contest, but in reading through it, I stumbled across this golden nugget and I thought I'd share it with you today.

"Sin is fun - at least for a while. But it never fails to come back to haunt you, usually when you least expect it. Like a sneeze, sin feels good at first, but it leaves a huge mess."

Thoughts From Jeremiah Part One

So, I'm reading through the Book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament right now, and I came across this passage:

"'Return, faithless Israel, declares the LORD.I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the LORD; I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the LORD your God and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree, and that you have not obeyed my voice, declares the LORD. Return, O faithless children, declares the LORD; for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion." - Jeremiah 3:12-14, ESV

Here, God lays out his plan for the Israelites to return to him. They have been off seeking foreign gods and sacrificing to them and God has had enough and wants to redeem his people to him, but before they can return, God tells them that they must do three things:

1. Acknowledge Your Guilt
2. Acknowledge Your Disobedience
3. Return To Me

In doing this, they can become God's people again because God is merciful to those who are truly repentant.

Do you feel far from God? Ask yourself these three questions:

What guilt do I need to own up to?
How have I been disobedient towards God?
What is keeping me from returning to Him?

God is merciful and he wants you to live a full life with him, but he needs you to take a step towards him because he's waiting on you.

Album Review - Tobymac: "Tonight - Deluxe Edition"

Another music review comin' at 'cha:

This time it's Tobymac's latest offering: "Tonight"

This album is very solid, featuring the vocal and remixing talents of Toby McKeehan, formerly of dc Talk fame. The album has quite a variety of music styles and will please fans of all ages and genres.

There are quite a few nods to some former tracks that have catapulted Toby to his chart status that he has enjoyed over the past ten years of his solo career, including "Get Back Up", "Captured", and one of my personal favorites on the album, "Start Somewhere" which has a jazzy funk feel to it.

Toby also hits his regular pop genre with the songs "Tonight", "Wonderin' " and "Hold On", a song for those who have experienced difficult situations in life.

This new album also comes with a few surprises: Toby brings a fresh funk sound to the scene in the smash hit "Funky Jesus Music" and thunders our eardrums with the heavy, "ShowStopper." He also goes in a previously unexplored region with his B-52 sounding "Hey Devil"

And yes, no Tobymac album would be complete without the rhythmic vibes of his son Truett who makes another hilarious appearance with "LoudNClear".

However, none of these songs compare to my personal favorites on the album. "City on Our Knees" is a very slow moving anthem of worship to God and "Changed Forever" brings me back to everything Toby is about musically. These are the best two on the album.

The album rounds itself out with a reggae duet entitled "Break open the Sky" featuring Worship leader Israel Houghton, and a few remixes of the albums various hits, but all in all, this is a solid offering from Tobymac.

While nothing may ever top 2004's "Welcome to Diverse City," this is easily Toby's second best album to date and a must listen for any fans of his or dc Talk's.

Four and a half out of Five Stars.

Living Peas

The other night as we sat down to dinner, we had fish sticks, pasta, and steamed peas. It's your average typical dinner and tastes great...

...unless you're a seven and a half year old named Josh.

Thinking quickly, my awesome wife, Cara leaned over and attempted to coax him to eat his peas by saying, "Joshua, can't you hear them crying, 'Eat Me', 'Eat Me'?"

My son, without missing a beat, simply replied, "Please mommy, can't I let them live?"

I nearly choked.

Dross

In reading scripture, as with all literature, sometimes I come across a word that I don't recognize because it is not widely used in modern culture.

One such word that I came across the other day was the word dross.

Dross is defined in Webster's as:

• 1. waste matter; refuse.
• 2. Metallurgy. a waste product taken off molten metal during smelting, essentially metallic in character.

When a metal worker refines something, he rises it to an intense heat and all of the impurities (dross) rise to the top of the molten metal and are thrown away.

In Ezekiel 22:18, it says this: “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver." (Ezekiel 22:18, ESV)

God's people were the Israelites and yet he was referring to them as waste matter, impure, and refuse to be thrown away because of their idolatry. They had rejected his leading and followed their own wills and desires and God was having none of it.

Church, we have to be careful that we are following God and not the idols we have set up in our own lives. God took the first two of the ten commandments to tell us that we should have no other Gods before him and as a result, he expects to have first place in our lives.

Everything else is simply dross.

Song of the Day

Need a new worship song to cheer you up? Something with some teeth?

Check out Starfield's latest tune: "Declaration of Dependence" from their new album "The Saving One"

Oh, and make sure your speakers are up and your feet are stompin'.

Tough Question

As I was tucking my son into bed the other night, he asked me a question.

Now, I love to have questions from Josh. He is at an extremely inquisitive age and I want him to know that his father cares enough about him to field everyone of his questions.

As I was tucking him in, he looked at me, and asked, "Daddy, how can God be God and Jesus be God at the same time?"

I was expecting something like, "what's two plus five," or "how tall do you have to be to ride the Beast at King's Island?" But I never expected to have to explain the concept of the Trinity to my son at the age of seven and a half.

Thinking quickly on my feet, I gave him an answer and the more I look back on it, I'm not sure that I have a better answer for this question than the answer I gave to him.

The Trinity is made up of God the Father, Jesus, who is God the Son, and then God the Holy Spirit. We see these three working through the entire canon of scripture to accomplish one purpose and that is the redemption and salvation of all mankind.

The answer to Josh's question though, lies at the heart of the matter and that has to do with faith.

Faith, as Hebrews defines, "is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see." We cannot possibly wrap our finite minds around a concept as deep as the trinity. It is something that we will never understand this side of heaven.

As such, my answer to my son was this, "Josh, sometimes, you have to move beyond what you know about something and just believe that it's true because God said it was."

Faith can move mountains, including the mountains of our own unbelief and doubt. Sometimes we have to leave our doubts behind and move forward on faith.

Following

Have you ever had one of those verses in Scripture that made you stop reading?

I mean the verse that just leaps off the page in bold letters and screams, "You can't move on until you digest me."

I had such a verse smack me between the eyes in my quiet time this past week.

I am currently reading through what I consider to be the most whacked out book in all of Scripture. And if you're thinking to yourself, I've read Revelation and it is weird, it's not that book. If you're ever in the mood to be bombarded with the totally bizzare, check out the book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament.

Ezekiel was a prophet that God came to multiple times with multiple messages for his people, the Israelites. One day, Ezekiel is hanging out by a river and he looks up to see a tornado made of fire and four living creatures that had four heads and were flying coming before it. After a few minutes of watching this scene, Ezekiel makes the following observation, and I couldn't get past it for anything. Here it is:

And each went straight forward. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went. (Ezekiel 1:12, ESV)

Did you catch that they kept moving forward? They advanced. Never deviating, never turning, but following the total lead of the spirit.

Church, we have got to take a hold of the leading of the spirit and follow it.

People will come at you with every situation imaginable and try to deviate you from your course. Satan will try to get you to follow the things of this world and bog you down, but you need to stand firm and follow the leading of the spirit. Keep advancing.

Don't deviate. Don't turn right, don't turn left, and never, never go back.