Friday Coffee with PJ

Here are some more or less random thoughts for you to enjoy with your favorite cup of morning coffee ... and if you don't drink coffee, you should!

1. Here are a number of alleged benefits to drinking coffee: It helps to fight depression, it may be good for your liver, it may help you lose weight, it will help boost performance (especially when you are tired), it may lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's Alzheimer's, and skin cancer, and it may even make you smarter! Sounds like some good stuff to me!

2. Last week while on vacation in Erie, PA . . . my wife, Sharon had to make an unexpected trip to the local Emergency Room (poor wording there ... isn't every trip to the ER "unexpected?"). Ends up she had a kidney infection and had to be admitted so she could receive antibiotics intravenously. Now as we drove to the hospital and then spent the next four hours in the ER (from 10:30 pm to 2:30 am) ... I was obviously concerned for my wife. And then when she was admitted, I was relieved to finally have a plan of action. But as we drove on the deserted highway back to the family's home where we were staying (minus my wife) - I must admit that I found myself complaining about losing sleep, the soon to appear hospital bills, and the change this would make in our departure time later that day. God convicted me of this downright sinful attitude just this morning. I was viewing a video about the current situation in the Central African Republic. In the video, the narrator mentioned that the pediatric center in the capital of Bangui is the only operating medical facility in the entire country! And here I was complaining ... taking for granted ... that when my wife needed health care (and quality health care at that!) ... it was only a short drive away! Ouch! How I lack the gratitude I should have for how abundantly God has blessed me here in this country! How about YOU? Do you also take God's many blessings for granted?

3. Finally ... here is a very sad article that reports how the Presbyterian Church USA voted to exclude the hymn "In Christ Alone" from their hymnal. At the end of the article is a video of Kristen Getty singing the song written by her husband, Keith and Stuart Townsend. Thank you Keith and Stuart for not compromising what you believe!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj