A few weeks ago I was sick for a 24 hour period.  I could barely drink anything let alone eat anything.  Because I was in this woeful state I thought it could provide the perfect opportunityt o go ahead and break the potential addiction I may have acquired to caffeine?  I’m not saying I was addicted, but I can say that I couldn’t remember the last day I had gone without caffeine intake.  What’s worse, is that I couldn’t remember the last day that I hadn’t consumed multiple caffeinated beverages.

I enjoy tea.

I like Coke Zero.

Diet Dr. Pepper… yummm.

Oh yeah, I do like my coffee as well.

So, I went three days straight without a single ounce of caffeine.  I can honestly say that I only had a slight headache, cured by Tylenol on the 2nd of those three days, so whether or not I have an addiction or not, I am not sure, but I do know that as much caffeine as I had been consuming could not have been good for me.  So I broke the habit and am now being very conscientious of how caffeine I am taking in.

With all that said, I have experienced multiple decaffeinated coffee drinks over the last several weeks.  Some places you can really tell the difference between the drugged version and the non-addictive alternative (which still does contain some caffeine, by the way).  So, I decided to make this the subject of today’s Top 5.  The criteria, they have to be branded as “decaffeinated” coffee beverages.  They are not necessarily ones I have had just in the last 3 weeks (yes, I have had the occasional decaf before).

Without further ado, the list.

Five: Tully’s. Elisabeth and I had some Tully’s from Alki the other day, my iced decaf Americano was very good.  I am not normally a Tully’s fan, I have felt they over-sweeten with syrups and their regular brew has often felt weak to me, but the decaf espresso shots did the trick for me this time.

Four: Cutter’s Point. I know that I am influenced by the setting, I simply love the Cutter’s Point cafe settings, and I really like a place that keeps decaf for the majority of the day.  It is a fine coffee, nothing too distinct, but nothing to complain about either.

Three: Peets Coffee. We have their decaf at home, when the decaf beans are fresh I can tell little difference between this and the regular stuff.

Two: “67” at The Edgewater Hotel. We had breakfast there a couple weeks ago and I have always loved their strong brew there, well, there decaf is something to write home about as well.

One: Seattle’s Best Coffee.  Very smooth, yet still have a very full flavor.  I had to double check just to make sure they pulled it from the right brewing mechanism (what would you call those things anyway, “ginormous coffeemaker?”).  Sure enough the refill was just as good.  Nice work SBC!

Any other decaf fans out there?  Have any suggestions for a good one for me?

Oh, by the way, I wrote this from Starbucks, while enjoying a Venti Drip… FULLY CAFFEINATED, after all, it is early!

Grace,

Brian

Let me start by saying that I love my role with Youthmark.  I really like what I do and have chosen this line of work; it flows directly from my previous role of 16 years as a Youth Pastor. And I am quite happy to not be a Youth Pastor right now.

Now I’ll continue by saying that there are a few things that I miss about being a Youth Pastor.  I am reminded of these things as I meet with the variety of Youth Leaders I get to interact with very often.  So, for the top 5 today, let’s look at the things I miss the most about my old job.

The criteria:  These were all things I got to do as a Youth Pastor that I don’t necessarily have the opportunity to do right now (yes, I know I can volunteer in a church youth ministry, and do to a degree, but I am also a Young Life leader so, there is only so much time available).

Without further ado, the list.

Five: New and Innovative Retreats. Retreat for the sake of retreat has been done.  However, doing a new and exciting way of retreating became a nice challenge.  Whether it was crashing another church to save money and use their facility or doing a retreat where students led every aspect, there was always new twists to put on a retreat.  My favorite of all of the ones I made-up was the Senior Thing. It was a pre-senior-year retreat I took with just the seniors-to-be and their core-group leaders.  This retreat would focus on student leadership–not defined by being upfront, rather, being a leader is using your gift, whatever it may be.

Four: Creative & Admin Stuff. Yep, I’m a freak.  I liked putting together the calendar for the entire spring, thinking through the different events, games, skits, talks.  I actually enjoyed assigning this person for that role, emailing the chart and keeping up the general communication chain.  Like I said, I was a freak.  I miss being a freak that way.  I equally enjoyed the “Big” program events that needed creativity behind them.  Like a once-a-year big retreat where we’d pull out the stops with the program.  Because I was so non-program for the most part, doing it once a year was a lot of fun.

Three: Staff Retreat. I could categorize this one as the entire Volunteer team, because I did love and truly miss having those teams, but I REALLY loved doing our staff retreats.  I enjoyed ending the summer with a couple weeks of “down” time for the students before we started the program year.  During this time I ran the aforementioned “Senior Thing” but would also do a staff retreat during this time.  It was a time to do some training, but also bond as a team.  We’d get away to a cabin, eat well, tell lot’s of stories and play lots of games.  It was really part training and part reward for those involved.

Two: Mission (before, during & after). It should come as no surprise that THIS is one of the things I miss the most.  Though I still participate to a degree and will from time to time go on a mission, it’s not the same as when you are the shepherd of your own group.  I loved the entire process of interviewing, training, taking and following up after the mission.  It’s where this whole Mission51 concept was conceived.  On the actual missions the “family time” at night was certainly the highlight!  The highlight after was seeing students come home with a passion for their lost family members and friends and the struggle that ensued seeing that the field is really no different than the home-turf, but it sure feels different when it is loved ones you’re trying to reach.

One: Core-Group. No doubt about it, the best part of being a Youth Pastor was having my own small group of guys I discipled through their high school years.  I think I was good at it (not in a cocky way, rather I believe God gifted me in this area). The weekly interaction with a bunch of teen guys and seeing them grown through the years and continue in friendship is such a blessing.  I count it an honor that to this day I am still in contact with most of the guys I have been involved with through these groups.

I am sure there are many other things that I miss.  Church Staff meetings NOT being one of them.  Did I miss any?

Grace,
Brian