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Jeff Randleman

Jeff Randleman is a husband of one, a father of six, a minister and a writer. He spends most of his days working with the church or spending time with his family.

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Making The Perfect Cup Of Coffee – Selecting Good Beans

Making the perfect cup of coffee isn’t as difficult as it may seem. A large part of the process is centered around having the right ingredients, and then putting them all together. The first thing you have to consider is the quality of the coffee bean you plan to use.

Making the Perfect Cup of Coffee - Selecting The Right Beans

There are only two varieties of coffee beans available, Arabica and Robusta. Arabica beans are considered a higher grade bean than Robusta, but that can also be a matter of your own taste and opinion. Arabica beans generally are grown at higher elevations and have a smoother consistence. Robusta coffee beans are generally stronger and more bitter. Which you choose is largely up to you, but most of the specialty roasters will suggest Arabica beans because of their quality.

The first thing to consider when selecting a bean is deciding what you like. Do you like a stronger flavor? More acidic? Lighter and smoother consistency? Fruity or nutty overtones? Each of these characteristics, and more, are things to keep in mind as you look for a good coffee bean.

Too often, people will ask you how dark or light you want your beans to be, but that question can wait for now. The roasting process can create a whole range of flavors and tastes all on its own. First of all, consider the flavor of the bean you like the best.

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Coffee Break – 11.10.2014

Coffee Break Banner

The Caffeine Causality Loop – This is reality some days. Most days, I don’t drink more than a cup, maybe two. But other days, pots and post aren’t enough to help me out. And then this happens.

Stop Motion Bookcase – This is one of the coolest stop motion videos I have ever seen. The bookcases look pretty awesome. The concept is great. And the book he reads at the end to the children is perfect.

17 Years Later, LEGOs Wash Ashore – In 1997, a container ship lost a massive amount of the cargo it was carrying. One of those containers contained 4.8 million LEGO pieces. These pieces have been washing up on the beaches near Cornwall, UK, ever since. This is a simply fascinating article.

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Memorize Scripture: Titus 1:15-16

As Paul finishes the first chapter of this letter to Titus, he adds a final comment to his description of the false teachers active in Crete. And his opinion is not a good one in the slightest.

You can read his remarks in Titus 1:15-16:

Titus 1:15-16

Paul does regard the false teachers very highly at all, and that is apparent as he finishes his description of them to Titus in this chapter. We must remember, the context for this passage is the false teachers. But others have used this passage to justify sinful behavior by ripping it out of its proper context.

Much of the false teachers’ doctrines apparently were centered around the ideas of Jewish ceremonial cleanliness. In the context in which Paul writes this, Paul seems to connect this back to the human commands and Jewish myths mentioned in verse 14. What Paul is definitely not saying is that those who have been purified can engage in sinful behavior and justify it. This is not a license to sin.

In fact, Paul’s point is in the next portion of the very same sentence: “To those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.” Here Paul is making a clear distinction between those who have allowed Jesus to make them pure and those who claim to have purity through the Jewish rituals, but actually live sinful and disbelieving lives. This includes both the false teachers and those who have been led astray by their teachings.

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Making The Perfect Cup Of Coffee

One of my favorite things in the world to simply enjoy is a good cup of coffee. Over the years, I’ve developed a process by which I get the perfect cup of coffee. And although this is outside of my normal content around here, I thought it would be fun to take a bit of a different approach for a short series, and share my routine for making the perfect cup of coffee.

Making the Perfect Cup of Coffee

Making the perfect cup of coffee isn’t simple, but it is a whole lot easier than most people realize. And, once you taste an excellent coffee, and see just how quickly and inexpensively you can create one, you’ll never settle for grocery store coffee again.

As a kid, and all the way through into my early adulthood, I really didn’t enjoy coffee much at all. It was bitter, and it gave me an upset stomach most of the time. As I grew older, though, I acquired more and more of a taste for coffee, enjoying the benefits for my alertness, and for the simple enjoyment of a cup. But for a long time, I wasn’t experiencing coffee to the fullest.

Most often, I would brew a pot of some cheap store brand coffee that I made in a free coffee maker from a mail order coffee supply. And I got a mediocre cup of coffee. I just didn’t know it was so bland. Occasionally, I splurged, and bought a cup of something better from Starbucks or some other coffee house. But I continued to settle for second rate coffee.

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The Value Of Reading Biographies For A Leader

As a leader, I find some of the most incredible resources in some of the most unlikely places. Most of the time, I find encouragement and new ideas in a variety of the usual ways: conferences, books on leadership, discussions with other leaders. But over the past several months, I’ve discovered a whole new treasure trove of leadership resources.

Reading Biographies

Biographies.

That’s right. The stories of other people and their lives. I am amassing quite a collection of biographical resources in my personal library.

Several years ago, one of the ministers at a church I worked with in Indiana encouraged me to read biographies. He specifically encouraged me to take a look at a certain biography of Thomas Jefferson. I can’t remember which one, or who it was by. I shrugged off his suggestion, wondering what I could possibly learn by reading about the life of someone else, other than a new perspective on history.

I wish I had paid a little more attention to his suggestion. I would be ahead by several years.

Since I stumbled into reading biographies a few years ago, my pace has picked up, and I read a half a dozen a year now, easily. I could probably state that biographies are quickly becoming my favorite genre of book to read as a leader.

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ICR’s Days Of Praise Daily Devotional

A major key component of my daily rituals includes some significant devotional reading. The vast majority of this is from my Bible, utilizing a pretty comprehensive reading plan. I then narrow my study down to a specific portion of the Bible, using what I call the Nugget Approach to Bible study. But a third part of my daily devotional time is focused on something much lighter.

ICR Days of Praise

I have switched up this third component over the years to include several different items. Sometimes it’s a devotional book, like Today Is Your Best Day. More recently, I used the Ancient Christian Devotional, which includes several key passages from the Early Church Fathers, paired with a yearly lectionary reading cycle.

But even as those resources cycle in and out of my daily routine, one item has remained steady throughout the past several years. That is ICR’s Days Of Praise daily devotional email.

The Institute for Creation Research has long been a strong voice in the discussion about Genesis and Creation. As explained on their website, “For over four decades, the Institute for Creation Research has equipped believers with evidence of the Bible’s accuracy and authority through scientific research, educational programs, and media presentations, all conducted within a thoroughly biblical framework.”