Coffee and Me pt 2

☕ Coffee and Me – Wednesday Excerpt

Every Wednesday, I'll be sharing a short excerpt from my upcoming book, Coffee and Me, scheduled for release on January 5, 2027. Coffee may begin each story, but the real journey is about the thoughts, memories, faith, and everyday moments that seem to appear with every cup. Below is an entry I wrote on 7/26/26

A few weeks ago, I reserved tickets for The Odyssey in 70mm IMAX at 7:00 a.m. Of course, that meant I had to order coffee at the movies instead of my usual Zero Sugar Orange Fanta. Despite costing $6.52, the Costa Coffee with a splash of oat milk wasn't bad at all. It was worth it just to see the Trojan Horse used in the movie and the cast costumes on display.

Leaving the theater, I decided to stop for some empanadas and grab a second cup of coffee. That coffee, however, was too strong for me, so it seems the Costa Coffee from AMC was the winner that day.

Sunday Morning

Last night I made the decision to simply brew coffee at home. Of course, I had the usual wrestling match with myself about whether I should go to The Cow's End or Philz Coffee. In the end, I decided to stick with my original plan and stay home.

Brewing coffee at home always begins with the search for the right mug.

I'll admit one of my quirks.

I didn't want to use a mug I had already used earlier in the week.

Why?

I have no idea.

Maybe some part of me believed something bad would happen if I used the same mug twice in one week.

I searched through the cabinet and came across a mug that said "World's Best Boss." My teaching staff at my previous school gave it to me before I left ten years ago. For whatever reason, I wasn't in the mood to look at that mug.

Next were the Christmas mugs.

Too early.

Even though it's July, I'm just not into the whole "Christmas in July" vibe.

Then I spotted a gray mug with white lettering featuring Joshua 1:9:

"Be strong and courageous..."

Suddenly I remembered.

Today is my thirty-fourth spiritual birthday.

Joshua 1 has always been one of my favorite passages of Scripture.

I found this mug at Ross, tucked among dozens of other mugs. Ross doesn't have a spiritual mug section—they just have mugs. My Joshua mug could have been sitting next to a Friends mug, which sat next to a Harry Potter mug, which sat next to a Powerpuff Girls mug.

So, naturally...

This had to be divine intervention.

At least that's the story I told myself.

That settled it.

This was the mug I was supposed to use today.

I brewed my White Coffee from the Dollar Tree bag and noticed I had just used my last two packets of sweetener. Since we were going out later anyway, I opened Amazon Fresh. One click showed I had twenty-five minutes to add items to my order.

Easy.

Now came the real question.

Should I dare drink my second cup without sweetener?

The coffee purists would probably prefer that I drink it black.

I even catch myself feeling a little shame when I order cream or oat milk in my coffee at a nice coffee shop. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I imagine the barista judging me.

They're probably not.

I'm pretty sure the barista has much bigger things to think about—their own hopes, dreams, aspirations, and lives.

Being judged over coffee...

That's just another cognitive distortion of mine.

Question for Reflection:

Have you ever realized that the harshest judgment you expected from others was actually coming from your own thoughts?