Whipped Cream / Chocolate Syrup

I confess--I love Lattes. I even have my own little (cheap) cappacino maker. I grind my own coffee, I have the syrups, I froth the milk. I still prefer to buy Star Bucks, or almost any little coffee house's lattes. But not because my aren't good--my husband says they're excellent and that he prefers them--but he also doesn't have to make them!! *Grin* But I digress from what I was actually going to write about....

Here it is April 29. In Kansas, at this late date, we are usually enjoying weather in the 70's. I think today's high was in the 40's!! Brrrrrr. Hard to believe, but we actually have a fire in our fireplace tonight. After going out to supper, we came home, I watered the plants in my breeze-way that haven't been planted yet, and took the most tender ones into the garage. I watered everything and pulled it far enough into the breeze-way that I think the inevitable frost won't get them.

By the time I got inside, my hands were like ice. Emerson didn't seem to be keen on letting me warm them on his neck, so I stood in front of the fireplace for a bit. Then....I started think about how nice a hot, frothy latte would be.

So, I got everything out. Packed the coffee down into the metal filter. Poured in the water. Turned on the machine. Preheated the milk in the microwave. Frothed the milk. Added the syrup---ummmmmm, carmel (sugar-free mind you)--my favorite flavor. Then, I thought I would make them a little extra special tonight. So I added some choclate syrup AND......
Whipped Cream!!! You know, the kind that you squirt out of the can. (I personally like to eat it just like that--right out of the can! *Blush*) Then drizzled a little more chocolate over the top. MMMMmmmmMMMM!

But.....what I didn't count on was the choclate syrup and whipped cream cooling off the coffee so much. Yuck. How disappointing. It looked so good--but tasted so.....blech. I heated them up in the microwave and at least rescued them to the point of drinkable. But still, they weren't nearly as good as what I had anticipated.

And as I drank it, in front of the nice warm fire, I began to think. We are pleasing to God when we are hot like a really good Latte. But He is not pleased when we are lukewarm. "But since you are like lukewarm water, I will spit you out of my mouth!" (Rev. 3:6 NLT)

What is it that can make us lukewarm? What is the "whipped cream and chocolate syrup" that we add to our lives? It looks so good, and tastes so yummy. Isn't that the way of the world? The way of sin? It looks so tempting--and by itself, it may "taste" yummy. But what does it do to our spiritual lives? It cools us off and makes us lukewarm. We all have our "whipped cream and chocolate syrup". I don't think I have to list what that might be....I know what kind of things it is my life.

I'll not be adding whipped cream and chocolate syrup to my lattes anymore. And I certainly want to be aware of cooling off my spiritual life with things of the world and stop doing that as well. I want to stay "hot" for Him and be pleasing to Him.

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice--the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worhip him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you inot a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

And then if I might continue with Joyce's version....."Becasue of the privilege and authoirty God has given me (well not me, really), I give each of you this warning--stop with the whipped cream and chocolate!!" Rom. 12:1-2 and a loose version of vs. 3

Hey! Let's meet for coffee sometime! :0)