Strawberry Kobbler... fresh ground black angus beef...and an 88 year old Miracle

What's Up Guys,

It has been a great first week of the New Year and it is always incredible to see how much you guys miss us after we were closed for a week. We are moving right along with the Gardendale Kairos Kafe. We can’t wait to get the doors opened on that bad boy so that we can Rock and Roll up there with a great group of people. If you think about us this week please remember us in your prayers. We need the rest of the process to go smoothly, and we don’t anticipate any more hurdles, but the stress of the process is wearing on all of us and we want our opening to be smooth as possible.

The Special this week is Hightower’s “Sassy-Berry” Steaks. We have gotten rave reviews this week so I decided to run it on Special again. The Pimento Cheeseburger though continues to top my list though as the all time greatest burger I have ever eaten. There is just something about the flavor of fresh ground black angus beef grilled to perfection and sprinkled with our “special” seasonings...and then to top off that big juicy burger with the crisp outside layer and the juicy delicious inner layer with our made from scratch pimento cheese...I don’t even know how to explain it... it’s indescribable... but it is definitely the best burger I’ve ever eaten. The Double BBQ Bacon Cheddar Burger is a close second for me, and it is delicious in it’s own way with the same juicy burger slathered in our made from scratch BBQ Sauce, cheddar, bacon, and onion strings... The Kwick Hitter Menu this week features Momma’s Cheesy Chicken Baked Ziti (a taste sensation), Marian’s Meat Baked Ziti (my version of the classic Lasagna) and Mee-Maw’s Chicken and Dressing (which already has gathered a following at The Southside Location) The Dessert is our Strawberry Kobbler, a delicious way to end any meal. I look forward to seeing you in the Kafe this week, and remember that we also offer full Katering Services for your Office Crowd on those day when you can’t get away. The best part about that is we also Deliver.

Last week I went and spent the day with my Granny, Sara Jones, the Author of Granny’s Rolls. Let me preface this by saying I love my Granny with all my heart, and she has been one of those people who was and is very influential in my and now in my business. She’s actually the first one who encouraged me to cook. In every family, and in every relationship we will encounter people who have various issues and things that they deal with and things that we have to deal with. This has been the case with my Grandmother. I love her, but there have been several areas where I have had to draw some boundaries with her over the years.

Doing that with Granny was always hard for me because she has spent so much of her life caring for me and the rest of my family. She has always been there, through thick and thin, no matter what. But now that she has gotten older and we all have our own families, and my Grandfather has passed away, a lot of times she’s just not happy. Several years ago we decided that she could no longer live by herself because she was becoming increasingly unaware of her surroundings and basically just couldn’t take care of herself anymore. This led to a time of her moving in with my Aunt, her youngest daughter, and her family. It was good for her to be there but it was a strain on all of us. It seemed like it was always something and my phone would ring all hours of the day and night. Last year we decided that maybe an assisted living place might be more suitable for her. We kind of eased up on the subject but she didn’t like that idea one bit. She thought we were trying to “put her away”. Well, my Aunt did a lot of research and found an awesome place for us to look at. I encouraged my Granny to just look, and keep her mind open. The trip to that place was rough, but after she walked through the doors and met all the people and saw the set-up she was ready to sign the lease in about 10 minutes. Good Stuff.

For the last 9 months she has lived there and it’s pretty much been one thing after another that she complains about even though she liked it initially. I finally got to the place where I only went over to see her out of obligation because it seemed like there was always something. A few months ago though my Granny had a brush with death. She had to go to the hospital and her heart stopped. She made a recovery but continued to be very ill, and at that point I began to worry about her because she never has went to Church (even though she sent all of us) and when I try to talk to her about Jesus its like I’m talking to a stone wall. Well, I consulted with my Pastor and Mentor about how I could approach the idea of getting her to pray with me. The next time I was over there I said “Granny, I want you to pray with me because I am worried about you...” She said okay and as we were praying I got this strong sense that something had happened to her in a Church Setting. So I explained to her that for most of my life I hated Church and most of the rituals, but when I came face to face with Jesus I found out that he wasn’t like that at all. He was a pretty cool dude, and He is not an idea or a teaching. He is a Person, and he cares about her deeply. She prayed with me and I went home. After that it seemed as if she went from bad to worse, and I have really been concerned and have spent a lot of time praying for her...that was several months ago.

This past week when I went to see her I committed my first Cardinal Sin as a Grandson by being late. (She wants you to spend the whole day when you come) Well, I was bracing for an attitude but when I got there she was just genuinely gald to see me. That was the first odd thing. The next thing I noticed was that she didn’t complain about anything. She also didn’t try to make me feel guilty about anything. As we were preparing to leave I got out her wheelchair that she has been using for the past year when she goes out and about. She told me to put it back in the closet. She said she didn’t want. Okay, I thought, so I went and grabbed her walker. She didn’t want that either. She said she wanted to walk and that she would just hold on to my arm.

Well, the rest of the day was pretty amazing. We went all over the place and there was just something different about her, and several times I was tempted to call some of my family and ask them what was going on with Granny. We had a fantastic day!

When we got back to her place we talked for a long time, and she started getting sleepy so I was preparing to go. She said “J.J. I need to tell you something before you go...” so I said okay. “I just want you to know that I’ve been going to Church and asking Jesus for his Presence. There is a very nice man that comes in and teaches us up in the Chapel, and I have been going, and I am learning a lot, and I just want you to know that it has really made a difference in my life. I thought you would want to know that...”

I was speechless. I told her that was great and I encouraged her to keep on doing that. When I left there that night it was one of the first times I remember leaving her and she did not cry. She always cries. But not this night. She actually floored me with her parting words “Tell Corinna that I am so happy that she is going to be my Granddaughter...” Wow.

I left there kind of stunned and amazed at the same time. My Granny is 88 years old. And she is experiencing Jesus for the first time in her life. How cool is that? It just drove home for me the awesome fact that God is always Faithful, and He can and He will do way above and beyond what we ask Him to do. All we have to do is Trust Him.

This week let’s all go out and Love Real Big while we are learning to Trust Real Big! God bless you. Thank You for supporting Kairos, and have a wonderful week!

James K Jones