Three completely unrelated thoughts are on my mind right now.

COFFEE

This morning after I piddled with some administrative stuff (the bane of my existence) I decided that I would indulge myself in something I’ve not had the time to do in a while, which is write the sermon while at Starbucks sipping yummy coffee.  This is something that helps me think in terms of people and where they are at in their lives as I write the sermon.  Thursday is sermon writing day, so off I went.  But, alas, there was no place for me to sit!  Every last chair in the coffee house was taken.  That has never happened to me before.  I pondered what can it mean?  I format it in a multiple choice.

A)  The economy is getting better and people have more disposable income to buy designer coffee.

B)  The economy is getting worse and all these people are unemployed and killing time at Starbucks.

C)  Starbucks is doing a lot better as a corporation and reclaiming a larger portion of the market share.

D)  I have an annoying habit of over analyzing random and unrelated events.

Before you write off choice (C) you better read this.

PLANE

It saddened me to hear this morning that Alaska Airlines will no longer be putting Scripture cards in their meals.  I am not going to punish or say I am upset with Alaska for this; after all, no one else has ever done that kind of thing but it does make me sad.  Why?  I do not know, but it is that it is further proof that we are losing something in our culture.  What is it that we are losing?  No, it is not faith in God–the strength of our faith does not hinge on corporations and their actions–what we are losing is anything unique or distinctive.  The prayer cards were one thing that made Alaska Airlines stand out.  Now they will, to me, just be another bland corporation that bends the knee to an angry minority.

CHICKEN

Last night I fried chicken for our small group and I experimented a bit with the recipe, and I’ve come to a conclusion.  The secret to great fried chicken is buttermilk, paprika and a cast iron skillet.  Nothing else really matters.  It doesn’t matter what else happens to the chicken or how much time is involved, if those three elements are present the fried chicken will be great.  Case in point–last night I didn’t have time to soak the chicken in buttermilk for 24 hours, so I just marinated it for about 15 minutes.  That 15 minutes was sufficient for taste buds exploding with joy.