Friday Coffee with PJ

It's Friday ... so thanks for joining me for Friday Coffee with PJ! Pour yourself a cup of your favorite coffee (just a reminder, mine is San Francisco Bay Fog Chaser ... and it does indeed chase away that early morning fog that so many of us have when we awaken (and looking at its "Best Seller" status on Amazon, I am guessing a lot of other people have discovered that there's no better way to start your day than with Folgers SF Bay Fog Chaser in your cup!).

1. With Thanksgiving Day now less than a week away, I am sure the big Thanksgiving dinner is on your mind. Hmm, I wonder if there is a recipe for "coffee stuffing?" I think I will check ... so hold on .. I will be right back. I promise I will be so quick you won't even miss me! OK .. I am back. Quick, wasn't I! I struck out looking for a stuffing recipe that included coffee. But I did find a recipe that included coffee in the glaze for the turkey. Check it out here!   Now, if you have not yet purchased your turkey for the big meal, you are probably thinking about doing so soon.  So please beware of buying one too big to handle. Take a look at this poor woman's situation!

I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did! 

2. Question: when does a parent stop being a parent? Answer: as long as one has children (no matter their age). Once a parent always a parent! Now, what that parenting happens to look like changes across the years, as it should. As my wife and I have moved into the grandparenting phase of life, our parenting has morphed into the giving of occasional advice to our adult children (and that usually when asked!) and giving ongoing encouragement, AND helping care for the grandchildren (which we LOVE to do ... within limits, of course as we are not getting any younger!). But for those of you who are still very much actively parenting children who still live under your roof, Tim Challies (my favorite Christian blogger) has some advise as he discusses 3 Parenting Myths We Are All Tempted to Believe. I only wish someone had warned me about these when I started on my parenting journey! 

3. This month, our church is on a spiritual journey: 30 Days of Praise and Thanksgiving. For the "praise" aspect of our journey, we are using an excellent tool offered by the Navigators, 30 Days of Praying the Names and Attributes of God. Sixteen days in, and I have benefited greatly by being reminded of God and all that he is! He is indeed worthy of all the praise we can offer him! As for the "thanksgiving" aspect of our journey, we have encouraged people to use a gratitude journal (or simply a list) to record at least five blessings each day for which he or she is thankful. I now have around 100 on my list (which will continue to grow!). WHY this emphasis on praise and thanksgiving? All of us live in a very noisy world. We are bombarded by a lot of voices. Many of these voices are not pointing us toward God and His Son. So ... we need to counteract the messages we are hearing with God's truth. Reminding ourselves of WHO he is (and then praising him) and spending time thanking him for his many blessings is a powerful way to keep us "on track" with God while we continue our journey on this earth. It's not too late to join us. God is indeed GREAT and GOOD ... and that makes him a God who is worthy of our praise and gratitude! 

Thanks for stopping by . . . 
pj