Day 288- A Barista First

I was in Dothan today visiting a friend who had surgery.  On the way home, I stopped at a coffee shop and got a latte on the way home. I had an idea for a "first" while I was there.  A sweet-looking young lady that looked to be about 16 or so took my coffee order.  Nobody was in line behind me.  I asked her, "Would you like to help me with something?  She said, "Let's hear it."  I told her that I would like to give her $5 to buy the next customer that came in a cup of coffee. I then asked her if she would help me by saying God bless you to the next customer that came in and that someone had bought their coffee for them.  She said that she would love to do that.

As I started walking out the door, it hit me that maybe I should leave her a tip.  I did ask her to help me out.  I'm not a big fan of tipping coffee baristas because they fix coffee and hand it to you. They are not waiting tables or something.  Today, I did tip my barista for being my co-conspirator in blessing someone.

Here is what I thought about today.  This was fun for me.  The young lady looked surprised and happy to help me try to bring a smile to someone else.  I'm sure she's heard complaints from customers before, but I want to bring joy to people's lives.  It's really fun when you can include someone else in the giving. Most people that I've asked about that enjoy getting in on blessing someone else.  Jesus said in Luke 6:38, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." 

Not long after I got my coffee, I saw a church sign that said, "Always be kinder than necessary." That's not a bad thought to remember and put into practice.  It would probably be a great witness to always be kinder than necessary and I believe our important relationships would improve greatly. It would be very cool if every follower of Jesus woke up tomorrow with a heart that said, "I'm going to look for someone to give to and I'm going to be kinder than necessary."  Every follower of Jesus probably won't do that, but you and I could.  We could also go get another cup of coffee.

Drinking in the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Helpful baristas
2. Paper
3. Luke 6:38 which helps cut against my greed and materialism