As we start on our trek today, picture with me sitting around a campfire sipping on a large mug of coffee. We hear the crackling of the firewood and watch the smoke wisp into the air until is no longer visible. The flames mesmerize us as they continually dance, reaching for the sky. As I sip another drink from my coffee it brings to mind how life is like brewing a good pot of coffee.
Each day of your life is part of your story. Just like the coffee we are drinking, life is fluid with people and events moving around us, much like the coffee swirls around in our mugs. You don’t know with certainty how your story will end, but the choices that you make each day and the attitude that you keep will certainly impact the outcome of your story. Today let us learn how to both create a great pot of coffee and how to create a great life story.
1. Buy fresh beans.
Always fill your life with fresh, pertinent learning and information. Don’t allow your knowledge and significance to become stale and outdated. You need to invest in yourself by improving your body, mind, and soul.
2. Keep coffee beans fresh.
Keep yourself relevant. Once you invest in self-improvement in any or all areas of life, continue using this information. Don’t stop improving. If it is knowledge, continue to stay fresh by updating yourself as it changes. If it is eating wholesome foods, don’t fall back into unhealthy habits. If it is exercise, continue to exercise regularly. If it is spiritual study and mediation, continue to learn. Stay fresh.
3. Choose good coffee.
Invest in good books and audio study programs, wholesome foods, good exercise equipment, and sound meditation and Bible study materials from wise individuals that live by what they teach. Choose quality over quantity.
4. Grind your own coffee.
Think and do for yourself. Don’t take shortcuts just for the sake of convenience. Don’t just take someone else’s conclusion as always right and true. Always compare it to what you know to be right and wise. Especially compare what you are learning with what the Bible says is correct. Using mentors is wise, but make sure you are using wise mentors. In eating and exercising, take the time to prepare properly for the maximum benefit. The church in Berea was commended for this in Acts 17:11, “And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.”
5. Use good water.
Even with good coffee beans, the flavor is best when it is brewed with filtered, purified water. Make sure that in all areas of life you are supplementing with pure thoughts and motives. As Zig Ziglar would say, “We all need a daily check up from the neck up to avoid stinkin’ thinkin’ which ultimately leads to hardening of the attitudes.” Always purify your thoughts for maximum benefit.
6. Avoid cheap filters.
Related to Rule #5, make sure you are using good filters in your life to avoid hampering your progress. I am not a proponent of watching or listening to most media outlets today. Regardless if they are conservative or liberal, they primarily spew sensational vomit at you to get you wound up and coming back for more. It is so easy to get worked up about those issues we have little or no control over. It will warp your mind, and take your focus off what is really important in life. As the Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Philippi Chapter 4 verses 8-9, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me — everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”
7. Don’t skimp on the coffee.
When you are consuming what is good for you in body, mind, and soul, don’t skimp by thinking that there won’t be enough to last. Have an abundance mindset, not a scarcity mindset. I am not referring to money here but true wealth in all areas of life. Enjoy that which is good. In Jesus’s parable about the seed and various types of soil, He tells us about the good soil in Luke 8:15 saying, “And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.” Be good soil, so you will produce a huge harvest.
8. Beware of the heat.
To brew an excellent cup of coffee, the water cannot be too cool nor should it be too hot. The ideal temperature for good coffee is 190°- 200°. In the same way, we will be at our best when we have some “heat and pressure” on us to succeed, but too much becomes detrimental and can damage us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Make sure that you keep in the correct heat zone for you, which may vary for different people.
9. Keep your equipment clean.
Stay pure and full of integrity. Don’t allow the temptations for shortcuts in life to damage you. You will only perform at your peak when you don’t have any baggage that is dragging you down, as it indicates in these verses.
Psalms 119:1, “Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord.”
Proverbs 2:7, “He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.”
In this note, we have learned the best way to brew an excellent pot of coffee and also learned how to become a more excellent individual. Use these tips to move forward into confidence and success in your life.
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