Your coffee should be strong and your love should be genuine.

I firmly believe the first cup of coffee has the power to dictate how the rest of your day is going to go. So according to that theory my day was supposed to be weak and messy.

Matthew and I recently switched up the flavor of coffee we buy. We were "French roast" people but now we've moved up to "Black Silk" (yes, we buy Folgers. I'm a coffee sleeze not a coffee snob). But it's been a challenge trying to figure out how many "scoops" makes just the right cup of coffee. First day Matthew said it was too strong today it was too weak. I went to enjoy my hot, delicious cup of coffee and all I could taste was disappointment.

So instead of wasting a full pot, I decided to dust off the French press. That didn't go so well either, I won't bore you with details but lets just say I think I have coffee burns on my arms and my dog is acting especially energetic.

So, as if bad coffee wasn't enough then I spent 2 hours in a hot office where my boss wouldn't say a word to me until 11:55. A whole 5 minutes before I was supposed to clock out with a list of things for me to do. Then, once I came home it looked like my dog had tried to shed enough fur to clone a mini-her. The pile of laundry was staring at me with one of the 3 heads it's developed, you would think one of them would remind me to go get quarters, but it doesn't. There is a mystery leak in my sink that literally only appears when Matthew is not home, or asleep. Now that the laundry has judged me, the floor is mopped up, the dog hair is vacuumed and I'm finally done with my "to do" list from my boss, I look at the time and realize it's 12:50, I'm supposed to be somewhere at 1 and I'm still in yoga pants.

I was frustrated.

Then, my phone flashed reminding me that it had gone off 45 minutes ago and I hadn't taken the time to check it. I almost didn't, after all wasn't I supposed to go phone-less for a week for this exact reason? I'm so glad I did.

It was a text from my pastor, and it didn't say much. Just a few simple lines of encouragement.

But it totally changed my attitude. In the larger scheme of things it doesn't matter what my coffee tasted like, what chores did (or in this case, didn't) get done. What others expected from me. I could complain about my day until I'm blue in the face to someone and chances are, they won't care. Not because they're heartless but because it just doesn't matter. What does matter is to encourage them. To show sincerity. Romans 12:9-11 puts it this way "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil. Hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdoing one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit serving the Lord"

That text was genuine. It did show honor. It reminded me of what is good but most importantly it reminded me of what actually matters. So I hope these words can encourage you to go out and encourage someone else because you never know what kind of "coffee" day their having. ;)