What’s up Kairos Fans,
It has been a fun week here at Kairos Kafe. Our plans for the Gardendale location are picking up momentum and it is so refreshing to finally be past the planning and approval stage… we have some really unique and fun things that we are doing that will make this new Kairos an awesome addition to the North of Town community!
The Special this week is one of my all time favorite sandwiches… The Kairos Pork Chop Sandwich… I love this recipe, and I noticed the look of joy on the faces of my some of my staff when I said that was going to be the Special… It starts with a hand-cut pork chop that is marinated and then grilled to perfection. Then we top it with a grilled green tomato and our signature slaw recipe that is slathered in bbq-honeymustard sauce… This is one that you are gonna want to sink your teeth into… The Fish is fresh salmon glazed in our Honeymustard, the veggie is a new and unique recipe for Baked Beans that I picked up from our very own Branden McIntosh… and the Soup is a new concoction that I have come up with that I am calling Pepper Stew. It is Good! This recipe originally came to me from my friend Tonya Sauder and I added the Peppers to it because I am trying to eat peppers everyday… I found out that any kind of pepper is really good for you… loaded with Vitamin C and a bunch of other vitamins that I won’t try to pronounce… but the neatest thing I learned is that peppers actually increase your metabolism and help you lose those extra pounds (which I need) and if you eat a lot of them they help decrease the cravings for sweets (which I need even more!) so I say “Bring on them peppers and let me eat them!!!” That’s how I made up this recipe… to eat for myself at home, but when I let some other folks try it they said “That is GOOD!” so I decided to make it for you guys.
Now, don’t be afraid of peppers if you don’t like spicy foods… for this recipe I add in Jalapenos, Ahaheim, Poblano, and Green Peppers but we take out the seeds and that little white vein. It actually gives you the flavors of the peppers without the heat. Most of us think that the heat is in the seeds, but it’s actually in that little white vein… That’s not all that’s in this stew though… it’s loaded with ground chuck, corn, tomatoes, and three different beans… I hope you enjoy it!
My thoughts the last few weeks have been about the power of silence. I personally am not a fan of sitting around being quiet (even in my thoughts) but it seems like that is something that Jesus is teaching me to do, on purpose…
Have you ever tried to carry on a conversation with someone and it’s one sided? Like, they want to talk, talk, talk about themselves or their problems and won’t let you get a word in? That drives me crazy… and after a few of those kinds of conversations I will run from that person if I see them (I know that sounds awful) but it really bothers me… I think “Why do you even want to chat with me if I don’t get any input…”Well, some time ago I felt like God said that I do that with Him when I pray… Ouch … I spend time with him talking about all my problems, etc. but I don’t let Him get a word in… I finally came to the place where I decided that what HE has to say about any given situation is much more important than what I have to say… so I’m learning to listen…even though sometimes it’s tough.
We are doing a series at Grace & Truth called the “Good & Beautiful God, Life, and Community” on Wednesday nights and the author challenges us at the end of each chapter to do something he calls a “Soul Training Exercise” … one of them was what he calls the discipline of Silence. He challenges us to sit in total silence for five minutes… and its hard… you are supposed to be silent even in your mind… the first couple of times I hated it… then I started seeing that when I am silent that God can speak things to me that I can’t hear in my everyday life… and what He has to say is what I want and need to hear…
Most recently I have been praying about trying to lose some weight… I am eating healthier, eating breakfast, watching my portions, and refraining from eating late at night… but I’m not making much progress… so I fret and say, “What’s going on!”…
Every morning though when I wake up and make coffee I hear this little voice saying “Coffee Creamer.” So I don’t pay any attention and add a cup of sweetened vanilla creamer to my coffee (sometimes five or six times a day) and then complain about not being able to get rid of these unwanted pounds… this went on for about a month before I finally gave up and listened. I started drinking milk in my coffee and I realized that I was going through about a gallon of vanilla creamer a week… and now I’ve lost 5 pounds in two weeks…
I know that is a small thing but it teaches me something about the bigger realities of following Jesus… I have to be still, and be quiet long enough to get what He is saying to me… I have heard preachers say that God doesn’t hear our prayers when we are worried, fretting, and anxious… I think that God hears every prayer I ever pray as well as every thought that goes through my brain… but when I am worried and anxious I think what happens is that I can’t hear HIM….
May we all be a people who will train ourselves to hear what Jesus has to say in the Silence… God Bless you, thank you for supporting Kairos, and have a wonderful week!
James K Jones
“… And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a sound of gentle stillness and] a still, small voice…” 1 Kings 19:11-12 Amplified Bible
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