What's up guys,
I find myself this week in an awesome spot... being able to plan a new restaurant, a new and exciting menu, a new look for an outdated space, and the possibilities of growing a small bakery and coffee shop in a bustling Kairos Kafe set in the heart of Gardendale, a city that I am growing to love more and more each day... I guess you can say that I am more than excited!
The Kwick Hitter Menu was a huge success last week, and I think we may have found our niche with the ability to provide an outstanding, high quality lunch for those who have the time to linger, and at the same time be able to support those of you who are in a hurry but still want a lunch that is filled with delicious goodness...
The Special this week was asked for by Wendy, one of our customers who has grown to be a dear friend over the past several years... Its the Kairos "Hot Brown" an open faced sandwich with our very own oven roasted turkey, cheese sauce, diced tomatoes, and bacon! This hearty sandwich is one of my absolute favorites. The Veggie is also a special request from one of our UAB students... Sweet Potato Fries, made from scratch and sprinkled with some very special seasonings. The Soup is also one of my favorites...Buffalo Chicken Chili topped with crumbled blue cheese... the dessert is the Lemon Dream Kobbler concocted by my lovely assistant, Miss Corinna Bass... and the Kwick Hitter Menu includes Cheesy Chicken Baked Ziti, Marian's Meat Baked Ziti (our version of the classic Lasagna) and a new recipe that I recently dreamed up...smothered Chili Cheese Burritos... There is something for everyone to enjoy, so I look forward to seeing you in Kairos Kafe this week!
As I was thinking about what to reflect on this week, the thought struck me of how special this time is each week to be abke to share my thoughts with you along with some of my struggles, and lessons learned. It is very humbling when I receive an e-mail or a comment from you guys, and it also amazes me that you continue to read my reflections week in and week out. I truly appreciate each and every one of you!
When I was a young man I thought I knew a whole lot about a whole lot of stuff. I was prideful, rebellious, and arrogant. many of you know my story... how going down the path of life with that attitude led to a place that I would never have imagined being... prison. I had an old-timer tell me right before I went that my experience with the Department of Corrections would either make me a better person or a worse person...the choice was up to me. In the beginning it made me a bitter person, mad at the world! My first few years I learned alot that made me a worse person... but ... eventually I came to a point where I realized that I obviously didn't know as much as I thought I did...If I did, then how did I wind up there in that dark place? Reality set in.
It was at this point that I surrendered my life to Jesus. I picked up a bible that had the cover ripped off and the words just jumped out at me ... "Come unto Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest..." Well, I thought "I sure am weary and burdened" so I began to read, and right there in that dark and stanky place Jesus changed my heart. I didn't pick up on some new philosophy, or religion, or a new set of rules or ideals... I found myself face to face with Jesus Christ Himself, and for the first time I realized that He is still a Person! And right there he changed my heart, I know when that happened, but on the other hand, it wasn't magic... it was, and still is, a process of Him changing me internally, from the inside out, instead of the other way around. And for me it all started when I gave up thinking that I know everything.
The years went by, and God seemed to Rock and Roll in my life... then, as I began to enjoy His rich blessings I seemed to get back into that same attitude that I had when I was young... an attitude of thinking that I knew it all... Prideful...Arrogant...even Rebellious...except now I was doing it in a "Christian" way... Well, guess what happened?? The Rocking and Rolling seemed to stop... and it was about this time that we opened Kairos Kafe. Here I was, a young Chef full of ideas and with many years of experience in the restaurant business. I thought I knew it all! Boy was I ever wrong! So again, through this process I cam again to that same place where I realized that if I knew everything that I thought I knew then Kairos would be a multi million dollar enterprise... again, I humbled myself and took my weary and burdened self to Jesus, and when I gave up that attitude, he began to Rock and Roll...
Finally, I understand what the Apostle Paul meant when he said "I am determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ..."
I want God to always be able to Rock and Roll in my life, in the lives of my friends, my family, and every sphere of infuence in my life... but it's impossible for Him to do that when I get into a good spot and say... "It's okay Jesus, I've got it from here!" It's actually getting easier to experience rough patches in my life because it reminds me that I need Jesus just as much today as I did way back then in that dark prison cell... maybe even more.
May we all be a people who will give up what we think we know, and allow the God who created the Stars to Rock and Roll! God Bless You. Thanks for supporting Kairos, and have a wonderful week!
James K Jones
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