My Love Language is Coffee

 

If my cupboards are any indication, my love language is definitely coffee (the picture below shows about 24 mugs – a fraction of the coffee cups we own). I suppose coffee would fall under Gary Chapman's described language of quality time. I want to savor a good cup of coffee in the company of someone close to me.

Over the last month-and-a-half, I have been leading a Wednesday night class at my church on the topic of hospitality. We are following the SheReadsTruth study and each week I have asked different women to share personal experiences. In addition I also include supplemental content that I run across – mostly from the blogs I read.

Last night I shared a little from the blog Fellowship Kitchen. The author, Alyssa Passage, writes about the faux pas of sharing personal pain during the holiday season, and that in keeping those struggles to ourselves we do a disservice to those who might be able to love on us.

She says:

Silence costs us…

The silence, about what effects our hearts, leads to loneliness and isolation even while we sit at packed holiday tables, elbow in the mashed potatoes.

Silence costs listening ears, comfort, camaraderie, and the plethora of hugs you need. No, gestures like that won’t cure the hurt but at least we’ll be surrounded by love and the voice of truth, “You’re not alone.”

And as a final thought — let’s dually hold sadness and peace in our hearts, not because everything is alright, but because Jesus is a bringer of gifts. And those gifts often arrive in the arms of friends and family. - See more at: http://kitchenfellowship.com/if-the-holidays-hurt-your-heart/#sthash.dRDnvKiO.dpuf

 

So if you are hurting in some way this holiday season, whether from anxiety, difficulty parenting, aging parents, infertility, miscarriage, death, job situations, or whatever your heartache is, I hope you will chose to share that burden with someone close to you, perhaps over coffee. 

 

And if you know someone who may be having a difficult time right now, I hope you will choose to show hospitality to that person by offering a listening ear, a hug, or a note to let that person know they are not alone. In this season we are reminded that Jesus was the ultimate gift giver and those gifts can arrive in the form of friends and loved ones.

Books I Read in February (#3-5)

In the month of February, I finished three books and continued with my reading of The Story {which I am reading throughout the year in conjunction with our church}. Be sure to read the last section of this post as there is a BOOK GIVEAWAY that you might be interested in.

The first book I finished this month was Song of Redemption – the second book in the Chronicles of the Kings series by Lynn Austin. I find this series to be fascinating. It gives me new incite into what it might have been like for Hezekiah to become king in the time period that he did and how difficult it might have been for him to choose to follow God and remove all of the other worship of gods at this time. As I have said before, I love historical fiction and this really gave me a new perspective on a biblical event. I gave this book 4/5 stars on Goodreads.

The second book I read this month was another historical novel – The Contessa's Vendetta by Mirella Sichirollo Patzer. I read this book because it was a free Kindle download for Amazon prime readers. This story is a retelling of a classic novel Vendetta by Marie Corelli. In this novel, the Contessa is thought to die from a plague and is buried. But she is not actually dead... she escapes from her tomb to discover that she has been duped by her husband and best friend. The story is her first hand account of her revenge. It was an intriguing story that I enjoyed. I gave this book 4/5 stars on Goodreads.

"Marriages either grow or they regress; they never stand still." 

The third book I read is The 4 Seasons of Marriage: Secrets to a Lasting Marriage by Gary Chapman, author of The 5 Love Languages (this book was another FREE Kindle download). I read The 5 Love Languages when Daniel and I were engaged. It is a great tool for any relationship in helping you to understand how you are different from your spouse and how to relate to and understand each other's needs. The 4 Seasons of Marriage is a follow-up to this first book and talks about how every marriage goes through the seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. Ideally we want to keep our relationships in the Spring and Summer phase, but inevitably, Fall and Winter will play a part in every relationship. The book offers advice on how to move out of these more difficult phases as well as how to maintain the good phases. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in bettering their relationship, regardless of what season you are currently experiencing. I gave this book 4/5 stars on Goodreads.

As I continue to read The Story I find that I am enjoying reading this particular format of the biblical stories that I have grown up with. I have read through Moses leading the Israelite's out of Egypt and they are currently wandering in the dessert. 

FREE GIVEAWAY

In conjunction to reading The Story, I am looking forward to watching the History Channel's new miniseries on the Bible that will begin airing on March 3rd in the 8:00-10:00pm time slot.

From Executive Producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett comes The Bible — an epic 10-part miniseries retelling stories from the Scriptures for a whole new generation. Breathtaking in scope and scale, The Bible features powerful performances, exotic locales and dazzling visual effects that breathe spectacular life into the dramatic tales of faith and courage from Genesis through Revelation. This historic television event is sure to entertain and inspire the whole family!

I am participating in a giveaway through the History Channel to promote this miniseries. If you are interested in winning the companion book to the miniseries, A Story of God and All of Us, please leave your name and favorite Bible story in the comments section (anonymous comments won't be chose. One winner will be chosen at random on March 7.