Coffee Break – 03.03.2014

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Stovetop Roasting – As a coffee roaster, I’m always looking for new items and accouterments to experiment with. This stove top roaster looks pretty fun. My only reservation is that roasting produces very strong smells. I like it, but my family finds it a bit (okay, a lot) overbearing. Still, it would be fun to try.

The Legend Of Zelda Timeline Theory – My favorite video games of all time are found in the Legend of Zelda series. The seeming discontinuity always frustrated me. Here are a few ideas of how all the different games in this franchise can actually fit into a timeline. Now I have to go home and play…

Top Ten Reasons For Choosing A Paper Book Over An eBook – My brother is a diehard ebook guy. I’m a diehard print book guy. We have some interesting conversations. This inforgraphic gives several excellent reasons why I’m right. As usual.

Every Dream In The Bible – Dreams hold a prominent place in Scripture. God uses them several times to speak to his people. This is an interesting infographic that compares the 21 dreams found in the Bible.

Three Big Opportunities That Busy Pastors Miss – Our society is a culture of busy-ness. Often we are too busy. And that causes us to miss out on some pretty important things. Here are three big things that busy pastors miss.

Why Every Girl Longs For A Father’s Love – All too often, fathers don’t fulfill the role of Daddy. And a little girl (and boys, too) needs the love of a Daddy. This is a brief and excellent article that can help fathers be better Daddys.

Writing A Family Mission Statement – I’m not sure I’d ever go so far as to literally do this as described here. But the concept is pretty intriguing. A family needs a mission just like anything else, right? Have you ever done this? Would you?

There comes a special moment in everyone’s life, a moment for which that person was born… When he seizes it… it is his finest hour. – Winston Churchill

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.

8 thoughts on “Coffee Break – 03.03.2014

  1. Jeff, Regarding e-books, there are many reasons why I prefer e-books to paper, but let me just mention one here. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, and I can read without turning on the light and disturbing my wife.

    • That’s a good reason. I keep a book light next to my bed for the same reason, whether I read a book or from my Kindle, which isn’t lit.

  2. Feeling: I like the feel of books, but I value the accessibility of a book and the knowledge that can be gleaned from a book over an emotional attachment to paper.

    Learning: This is just a pointless argument. I routinely have several books open and being studied at the same time through my kindle, computer, phone, etc. But what’s even better is that when I take a note or highlight, it is transferred to each device and instantly available anywhere. Then my notes and highlighted passages are transferred to evernote making them searchable by key word. This is efficiency in learning.

    Sharing: This one is frustrating, but is getting better as more and more libraries are carrying ebooks.

    Seeing: If you’re buying a book that is more work of art than book, then buy the hard copy. If you’re buying a normal book, with pages, words and smaller illustrations (which comprise the vast majority of all books over all time) then pick which ever medium you prefer

    Re-selling: Why would I want to resell a book?

    Giving: I appreciate a book being gifted to me physically or digitally. Neither are impersonal.

    Shopping: I love shopping in a physical book store and do it whenever I can. St. Joe only has one and they don’t have a great selection. And there prices are horrible. I’ll peruse there and then buy digitally (I even do that if I want the hard copy). But clicking isn’t bad either. Easy, quick access has caused me to read more and broader than I would have otherwise.

    Posing: I have no interest in being perceived as clever or smart. I’m much more interested in being such. This argument is just plain silly.

    Reasons to choose ebooks: Accessibility, easy to find and buy, uniform note taking and highlighting, searchable notes (great for sermon prep), space (i have plenty of space in my office because the majority of my books are contained within an 7 inch rectangle), moving (nothing worse than moving books. heavy boxes, back pain….uggh), price (cheaper books means that I am more likely to give one a try that I might not otherwise), humility (i don’t need to rely on the appearance of knowledge through vast bookcases, instead I allow my conversations and writing to impart my knowledge or lack thereof)

  3. Jeff, great post, as always. I’m a paper, hold-it-in-my-hands book kinda girl, although I do have a Nook.

    The link to the post about girls needing their Daddy really hit home with me. If you have hung out at my blog much, or are friends with me on FB, you know that Greg and I are host parents to an international student from a local college. Bree is from Australia. The friendship began with just Bree and me. Over the course of the past year, Greg has been totally captivated.

    Bree has NEVER known her father. Her mom remarried when Bree was 2 and the stepfather never accepted Bree. She has a huge Daddy hole in her heart, although most people don’t know it. Over the past year, Greg and Bree have gotten to know one another and Greg’s heart has reached out to Bree. One evening Greg took her out to dinner and she shared her Daddy-less story with him. When I got home from work that evening, they were both crying.

    Later Greg told me that he told her that any man can father a child, but not any man can be a Daddy. He told her that he might not be able to be a Dad for all of her life, but if she wanted a Dad, he would be one for all of his life.

    She calls us her American mom and dad. She is at our house a couple of times a week. She will be spending spring break with us. She is as much a part of our family as if we had given birth to her. We love her with all our hearts. I could use more space telling you how my heart has been changed by the relationship, but I won’t. Suffice it to say, Greg has changed in huge ways. I’m not sure who has gained more from the relationship….us or Bree.

    • Wow, Leah! Thanks for sharing that! I’ve often stated the same thing that your husband told Bree. Any man can be a father, but not every father is a Daddy. That truth is so strong in my life that I am developing a “dad blog”, and have been working on it for the last year and a half, trying to encourage Dads, and give them the tools and resources that they need to be a great dad. I’m thankful that you shared this with me. It’s encouraging to see other men trying to be the best dads that they can be.

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