Tower Coffee/Voyage Update!

Things are happening slowly but surely with things really starting to take shape. Here's the floor going in upstairs. I hope you like. If not, perhaps it will grow on you. As you can see, we kind of went for a fun feel - one that conveyed an upbeat sort of look to it. I think the colors inside the building will also convey a similar sort of feel - warm and inviting.



The downstairs is also coming along. We pretty much have the walls and ceiling prepped to paint.

We officially received clearance from the health department pending we do a couple of other things- like buy both a upright refrigerator (commercial) and an under the counter one as well. We also need to upgrade our water heater in the basement. Aside from these , we're getting closer...

Hard Work!

Why is it that things that seem so simple (like tearing out a ceiling) can turn into a far bigger project than one could ever imagine. Why is carpet hard to get up and why does wallpaper stick so well when you don't want it to and peel off when you don't want it to. These are the conundrums of life that I guess we just need to deal with. Nevertheless, it reminds me of the spiritual life a little bit.

For instance, why is being a Christian so tough? How is it that Christians still fall (sometimes over and over again)? It seems like life should be easier for us after we decide to follow after Jesus. But the reality is that it rarely works this way. Christian's still face addictions; Christians still have problems; and Christians don't have it all together. So, while we experience the wonderful adventure of Christianity, we can expect a hiccup now and then. While we might move forward spiritually, we might also take a few steps backwards at times. Nevertheless, God expects us to press on despite our challenges. After all, God promises that it's to those born of God that will in the end overcome the world.

So, whether tearing down ceilings or facing the guilt of sin, know that God calls us to get back up! This is how we overcome the world. We get back up and continue despite the resistance. Let's keep up the fight!

Need Help!

As you know, we only have about 2 more weeks of Sunday morning services at Calvin Christian Middle School before we begin to meet at our Wilson Ave. location. However, we have a lot that needs to be done. This coming Saturday, from 9 to Noon, we will be having yet another church cleanup/painting day. The first two weekends, we've spent cleaning and throwing away some items that have been around for a real long time. This weekend, however, we should be able to begin painting for the first time. So, bring your old clothes and be ready to paint. We have an Extreme Church Makeover to pull off in the basement and we can't do it in such a short time without your help!

My Day Off

I have to admit, one of the things that's hardest for me to do is take a FULL day off from church related stuff. I like to be busy but being busy about the right kind of stuff can often be a challenge. Too often I find myself spending time on the mundane and rather unimportant matters and too little time on the things that do matter. So, in light of that, yesterday I attempted to take the whole day off. And it mostly went really well. I had a few small moments when church stuff tried to work itself back into my day but mostly I was able to stay out of it. So, you ask, what does a pastor do on a day off? Here's what I did:

I took my three boys (Mitch, Josh, and Zach) to school like I normally do. After this, I went home and sat down with a cup of coffee and my Bible for a few minutes. Normally I do this, but not usually back at home. After this, I think I read for a while, talked with my wife, and played with my daughter Hope until she fell asleep. When she fell asleep, I decided to listen to a little music which I often love to do. This is how I wind down and get out of the muck and mud of life. I lose myself in the music. I wrote a review for Marc Broussard's latest album (overall really good) and began to listen to a band from New Orleans called The Iguana's whom I am also planning on writing a review for. Not really my style, but not bad either. Later that afternoon, I picked up my son Mitch from soccer practice. He plays or practices 4 days a week now. After this, we all sat down to eat some leftovers that my Mom gave us from the night before (Thanks Mom!) The roast tasted almost as good as the day before when we ate at my Mom and Dad's after church. After this, it was on to homework with the kids. After bedtime, Cara and I sat down and watched a little TV - Dancing with the Stars. Not my favorite but still somewhat enjoyable to watch. So, in a nutshell, that was my day off. Not real fancy, but that's okay. I probably should have done more around the house but that would be work, right! Oh well, maybe I'll do better next week.

Standard Operating Procedures

This week as been crazy busy with not a lot of downtime to say the least. All of the paperwork for the Kent County Health Department was completed and finally turned in. It feels like Graduate School all over again with the sudden relief of turning in a semester ending research paper. Despite our best efforts to keep the Health Department out of things, we had to bite the bullet and go this route. I honestly didn't know that there was so many standard operating procedures from everything to washing one's hands to dealing with sick employees and volunteers. The Health Dept. will make a final inspection on the coffee end of things before we can officially open as Tower Coffee. We are hoping for the 1st or 2nd week in November for this.

Last week, we found the Espresso Machine and some other items we needed including a cash register and credit card machine. Unfortunately, The Lodge Coffeehouse (on 4 mile just off of Alpine) is no longer in business, but they have truly blessed us with some great equipment at a really reasonable price. So, now we have essentially everything we need to make any and all kinds of coffee. We're still looking for another grinder for our coffee but as far as equipment goes, we could pretty much open tomorrow if we had the go ahead.

Lastly, the logo is almost done. I'll post this as it comes to completion in the next day or so. Thanks for all your input, suggestions, etc... when it comes to this.

Until next time....