Just say yes

Customer: “Can I please get a Triple Grande 3 pumps mocha 2 pumps white mocha Non-fat Extra Hot No foam easy whip Mocha?”

Me: “Sure, can I please get a shortish caucasian, God-fearing, blonde hair blue eyes kids loving Proverbs 31 fitting British accent wife please?”

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You really don’t know how much grief one of those Asian customers can cause you when they come into the store and order 4 Green Tea frappucinoes at the same time.

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I am having so much fun with my OB course at BCIT right now.  Everything I learn every class I apply to my own situation or workplace or ministry right away.  It’s THAT relevant.

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In response to the comments for my last post, yes, I in fact did get the chance to talk to the customer for quite a bit, even about faith and prayer as well.  So praise God for that.

Heavy heart

Oh my.

Tonight a client walked into my workplace.

He used to be a regular.  But I haven’t seen him in a while.

So I asked, “haven’t seen you in a while!  How have you been?”

He says, “Yeah, it’s because I have been sick.  I have cancer.”

………

This is the second time in my life I have felt this way after a conversation.

The last time when was a guy told me how his summer sucked because his wife left him.

Million Dollar question

The million dollar question is: can a guy and a girl be really really close friends?

Ricky Pak says: Yes, so long as you keep the friendship in a group setting.

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Man, did I have a great week or what?

Thank you Jesus.

Hardened hearts are a joke.

Bearer of bad news

Do you personally have collections of songs that you once really really liked, but because during that spell of listening to them something horrible happened to your life, you can no longer go back because it would bring back the horrible feelings every time?  As in, you have developed some sort of an aversion to the songs psychologically.

I have a good number of those, and I mean they are great songs but I can never sit through them anymore.

Interestingly enough, a good chunk of those songs are in fact Hillsong United songs.  I think I had a horrible time in 2nd or was it 3rd year.

I bring this up because the past week I have been listening to that Rosie Thomas song for about 5, 10 times a day, I just really love it, but I am also not exactly too happy with things right now and I worry that I might never be able to go back to the song the same way.

30 is new 20

You know yesterday marked my first month working at SBUX and you know what I learned?  That I am really just a big fat fricking cry baby.  The number of times I complained in my head must be more times than going up Grouse Grind ten times in a row.

Today I got some headache-causing e-mails and I was just about ready to rant some more here when I realized what a big fat cry baby I am and stopped.

I am supposed to be a leader for crying out loud.  And leaders take it up the arse.  Just look at the apostle Paul!  Or better yet, Jesus in flesh!

So I ran out and biked into the sunset while listening to the Rosie Thomas song and wow, what a beautiful feeling it was.  Indescribable.

What’s better was that today I got a phone call from the special one.  HAHA.

“Much Farther To Go”

Oh my goodness, most beautiful song I have heard in ages.

Rosie Thomas and Sufjan Stevens’ duet – Much Farther To Go.

Absolutely beautiful beautiful beautiful.

Go buy it off iTunes, I don’t care, do something!  Get it!

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New York is lovely in the winter time
All the sidewalks are white as snow
The buildings, all the people that pass me by
How the smile on his face says he’s in love

I took the train all the way to Brooklyn Heights
I remember when you took it there with me
We sat side by side and held hands for some time
We saluted the Statue of Liberty

I have much farther to go
Everything is new and so unpredictable
I should just kick my heels together and go home
But I’m not sure where that is anymore

Oh how I wish I could go back in time
To the night when I heard my mother cry
She held me in her arms and we talked for some time
And I sang a song her mother sang to her
And it goes something about paper dolls and what men prefer
Something about the cross and how her Jesus died for her
Something about love and how it’s worth living for
I wonder does love like that exist anymore?

I have much farther to go
I’m so confused I know
I should just kick my heels together and go home
But I lost my way when I lost you

Sometimes I cry when it’s late at night
And you’re not there to lay next to me
Morning breaks and the sun warms my face
How I wish it was you warming me

Church Music

Church music is really such a strange, strange ministry.

It just seems to me that in most other ministries, only people who are particularly gifted in that specific area actually get appointed to serve.

But somehow, in so many places and events I have been to, church music becomes one of those little ministries where as long as you have the heart, you can become a part of the team.

Of course, I do know of churches like Willingdon where only those who have gone through some pretty intense auditions actually get to be a part of the band, but at most places it isn’t like that.

You see, lots of us can play music – myself included – but I really believe that there’s a big difference between mere music players and actual musicians.

I have had my fair share of playing time with some talented people, and I have to say, there’s a big difference between people like me who can perhaps play some stuff that I have heard before, and actual musicians who breath and live music.

If worship is about giving our best to God then why aren’t Christians taking our music (since we always refer to it as worship) more seriously?

There is this hilarious quote I got from a young Christian the other day.

We were jamming at his place and then we went on youTube to check out some cool videos of MuteMath.  And then, he says this: “They are really good, you know, especially when you consider the fact that they are Christians”. (or a different and perhaps better translation is: “As Christians, these guys are actually pretty good.”)

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Connect Discover Respond

A conversation about marriage sparked out of a “Starbucks Experience” conversation with a friend of mine.

You see, I had given her a pack of the Tazo Earl Grey tea I took out as my weekly markout a couple of weeks ago.  And so we were talking about her experience with the tea and how she is too impatient with steeping the tea (it is the barista’s job to inform our customers and friends that they are supposed to steep black tea for about 5 minutes, other teas for about 3 minutes).

Connect, discover, respond.  Very nicely done.

And then we moved onto talking about marriage and how God is preparing me for that lucky lady (oh how lucky she will be) and preparing that lucky lady for me, etc.  And I just gotta wait.

And so, it all made sense to me.

“Just gotta let that tea steep”.