Turning the Hearts

Last words.  Often the last words we say to each other are well thought out and important.  We want to stress things that we don't want loved ones to forget.  I saw something the other day in the Bible that I had never noticed before concerning last words that I thought was worth meditating on a little bit.

The Book of Malachi is the very last book in the Old Testament.  Malachi was the last prophet and after this book was written, the 400 "silent years" occurred in which God did not speak to His people until the New Testament times.  In the last two verses of the last chapter in the last book of Malachi, God's words seem to echo out His heart:

5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.” -Malachi 4:5-6 NIV

To me, that speaks volumes.  It tells me first that God values greatly the institution of the Family.  And of course he should - He created it!  It also tells of his heart for restoration, for wrongs being righted, for walls of estrangement to be torn down.

I love my family.  We have had our share (or more than our share) of difficulties and continue to have them. I'm sure most families are the same.  I want to always ensure that my heart is turned to my children.  I want to keep the doors of communication open and I want to love unconditionally.  Our oldest two will be leaving again for college shortly and we realized Sunday during Truffle Sunday that our time with all five of our family members under the roof is numbered.  Soon it will be just Tricia, Benjamin, and me in the house.  It will be quiet in the house!  Too quiet.

Russ, Laura Lee, and Benjamin - Truffle Sunday August 10th

God's heart is evident to me in that the last words are about reconciliation of the parents to the kids and the kids to the parents.  Further evidence to that is that one of the 10 Commandments, "Honor Thy Father and Mother" is the only commandment with a promise that warns you to honor your Father and Mother so that your days will be long on the Earth.  God wants children to have respect for their parents.  But there are reciprocal admonishments for the Father as well, in Ephesians 6:4:

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Fathers are instructed to raise their kids in such a way that they treat them with gentleness and mercy, while at the same time providing structure, discipline, and rules - a delicate balance.  Sometimes this balance gets 'out of sync' and when it does relationships can be strained or be broken.  God desires that those relationships be restored. When there is right relationship, there is harmony in the family.  That makes every father happy and makes The Father happy. 

A good cup of coffee

We love a good cup of coffee.  Normally, before we head out to the barn in the morning to milk the cows, we'll turn on the coffee pot so that we have coffee made when we get back inside.  We have a regular Black & Decker "Mr. Coffee"-style drip pot that we use every morning.  It makes good coffee, but I'll tell you what.  There are several things that can take a good cup of coffee and turn it into a great one:

• The type of coffee you're using, and
• The type of coffee maker you're using.

Normally, we'll use either Community Coffee Dark Roast or CDM (Cafe du Monde) Coffee & Chicory.   Both are pretty strong and the chicory takes a little getting used to, but both are good to us.  I already discussed the drip pot that we use, but this afternoon, on our quest for the perfect cup of coffee, we're pulling out the pièce de résistance, The French Press.

The French Press is a coffee maker that uses a simple process to make an exceptional cup of coffee.  In a way it is similar to 'camp coffee', if you've ever had that on a camp-out.  Here's what you do.  Our french press holds 32 ounces of water.  I pour 5 rounded scoops of coffee into the bottom of the french press and put 32 ounces of filtered water to boil on the stove. 


5 rounded scoops of CDM coffee in the bottom of the french press

When the water has come to a boil pour it directly into the press.  

Boiling water added to the press

The lid has a circular screen that can be pushed down by a plunger on top.  What you want to do is just put the cap on top so that you block any steam from escaping.  Don't plunge it down yet.  Let it sit and steep for five minutes.  Sometimes I'll wrap a dishrag around the french press to hold the heat in.


Put the cover on to block any steam from escaping

Once five minutes has passed, press the plunger all the way down.  Doing this will keep all (well, most) of the coffee grounds down at the bottom when you pour.  One of the secrets of the french press is that there are no paper filters to draw any of the oils that provide flavor.  All the flavor is retained in the coffee for your enjoyment.  Every Sunday we have "Truffle Sunday" or 'merienda' where we have a good cup of coffee along with some decadent dark chocolate truffles and visit and plan our up-coming week.  

Coffee's on!

And here it is, quite possibly the perfect cup of coffee!


Escaping the daily grind

One word of caution, though.  There is a national brand coffee that advertises that their coffee is "good to the last drop."  You don't want to drink the last drop of this cup as the bottom of the cup will have a few coffee grinds that the screen didn't filter out.