By Quiet Waters | Embracing the Full, Hard and Good Life, While Pausing Often by Quiet Waters

Exploring the Local Coffee Shops: The Coffee Exchange

March 20, 2017 By Michelle

Exploring the Local Coffee Shops: The Coffee Exchange

We are on a quest find the local cafes and coffee shops, tea rooms and diners, in search of delicious coffee, tea and local flare.

As I partner with my daughter, Maizy, we’ll each share our experiences and individual thoughts. This week, we’re talking about The Coffee Exchange, located at 526 S Tejon, in downtown Colorado Springs.

Overview:
The Coffee Exchange is located downtown at Cimarron and Tejon. There are a variety of tables and plenty of space for a energetic downtown atmosphere, while still being cozy. The walls were covered in local art, and there was good reading material on the coffee tables near the back of the shop. That is where we settled in for about an hour, on the sofas at the back of the cafe. That gave us a wonderful view of the entire shop. The Coffee Exchange hosts several types of community get together including open mic, game nights and Cuban night. If you are in the Colorado Springs area, CHECK them Out! The shop hours are:

Monday-Friday: 7am-7pm

Saturday: 7am-5pm

Sunday: 8am-7pm

The baristas are very friendly and helpful. During our first visit, Amy’s order was wrong and the barista was actually the first one to notice, as she passed our table. She took it, and quickly fixed a new drink. The coffee is Fair Trade certified. And, while you can get disposable cups if you aren’t planning to stay in the shop they serve drinks in reusable mugs if you want to stay and hang out or work while you enjoy your drink.

Coffee, Mom:
The White Zombie is delicious. I did change up the drink just a bit, as I truly dislike white chocolate. Milk chocolate was added instead. The drink was smooth and delicious. The white coffee has a full body, yet mild taste. The atmosphere of this shop is the best we’ve visited so far. While there is plenty of space for people to gather, it is easy to have a conversation and enjoy savoring a quiet cup of something delicious. Or grab a book and start reading!

Tea, Maizy:
During my two visits I tried the White Zombie (with white chocolate) and an English breakfast latte with a pump of lavender. White espresso might just be my new favorite thing because it doesn’t taste like coffee and has a ton of caffeine. I don’t depend on caffeine usually to help me stay awake but there are times when I appreciate the boost. While there is a good selection of teas, tea lattes (not including chai lattes) are not technically on the menu. They were happy to make the English breakfast latte for me though and it was delicious. When the drink originally came out it was just the tea without any milk but the barista who originally took my order noticed the mistake and fixed it right away. The lavender was faint but added a nice element to the overall flavor without being overpowering.

Reading in February, 2017

March 5, 2017 By Michelle

February passed so quickly, it always does. Two of my daughters have birthdays in this month, one at the beginning and another at the end. I think that is a fantastic was for months to begin and end. Some of our kids are prolific readers, and others not so much. That is the case in the February birthdays. So for one of these celebrations, enough books to nearly fill a shelf were gifted. Her to be read pile is very tall right now.

One to what I read this month. Again, audiobooks were how I took in the most “pages.

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown. This book is in my top 5 most influencial books list. As a woman who grew up with shame and then passed shame onto my own children, I am excited to have more information and encouragement to continue to learn to live differently. This was an audiobook narrated by Karen White.

Project Mnemosyne (When No One was Looking Book 1) by Kim Frauli. (Book dying to read, MMD Read for Fun) This is a book I was sent for review. Can I say, I loved this book for the masterful use of suspense while remaining family friendly.

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson, narrated by the author. (Newbery Award winner MMD Read for Growth)Another audiobook. This one, I feel priviledged to have had the opportunity to read this book. During this time of so much unrest, and division in our country, cities and communities, it is very important to seek to understand others.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, read by Rachel McAdams. An old favorite. (Set somewhere I’ve never been, but would love to MMD Read for Fun)

The Essence of Courage by Lynn U Watson. (A genre I typically avoid, MMD Read for Growth) An interesting journey with women of the Bible, essential oils and a community of women who are learning through them.

Birthbond: Reunions Between Birthparents and Adoptees– by Judith S Gedimen. For anyone involved in post adoption reunions, this book offers a wealth of information. Just remember that each journey is unique and cant be defined by anyone else’s journey.

Forgotten God by Francis Chan, read by the author. (3 books by same author, MMD Read for Growth) I am reading and re reading the books by Francis Chan this winter, finding them once again full of Biblical encouragement.

The Gentle Art of Discipling Women: Nurturing Authentic Faith in Ourselves and Others by Dana Yeakley. This book helped me fill in blanks in my spiritual journey, and gave me the push I needed to get into a mentoring relationship with another woman in our congregation. Game changing.

Overall I completed 4 audiobooks, 2 paper and ink books and 2 books on my Kindle.

As March begins I am reading The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom, Crazy Love by Francis Chan, What Really Happened in the Garden?: The Reality and Ramifications of the Creation and Fall of Man, His Word in my Heart by Janet Pope, and Full: Food, Jesus, and the Battle for Satisfaction by Asheritah Ciuciu.

What are you reading these days? Do you have any book suggestions for me?

February Fringe Hours

February 21, 2017 By Michelle

February fringe hours have been spent mostly in the laundry/sewing room this month. After all the Christmas quilt creating in the fall, I set aside the red and green for awhile. There are more Christmas quilts to be made, but that will likely start back up in the summer. I might run out of daughters and grandchildren to give these too, before the fabric is all sewn up!

For now beautiful sunshine yellows are making their way into a quilt for my youngest. My youngest daughter says she will decorate her entire home in yellow when she is grown. Now I cannot picture that, but making her bedroom a warm sunny yellow retreat is in progress. Cutting this quilt is taking more time than any of my other endeavors, this will be my most complicated quilt so far. I am pretty excited about it, but when Valentine’s was approaching I got an idea for some quick projects that would give some instant gratification.

First I made these darling Valentine pockets. I filled each of them with a couple of gift cards and a little candy, then hung them on the bedroom doors of each of the kids. The live action Beauty and the Beast is coming out in March so we gave each of the kids theater gift cards and a gift card for lunch or dinner.

While making those pretty little pockets, I started a Valentine’s table runner. It wasn’t finished in time for this year, but it will be a lot of fun to pull it out of the tub next January! Kind of like the placemats I made last winter, and got to enjoy all Christmas season in December.

Now I am a little ahead of myself, with this St Patrick’s table runner that is nearly completed. I should have it on the table by March 1, to enjoy all month long. This is a French braid pattern, that instead of making blocks, I just made into a long braid. It will be backed with the green cross fabric, and the binding will be the black with shamrocks.

Having these little and big projects to work on has helped this month just fly by. Spring is just around the corner, right?

What have you been enjoying in the fringe hours?

Your Magnificent Chooser

February 14, 2017 By Michelle

Your Magnificent Chooser

Your Magnificent Chooser, by John Ortberg, a Tyndale Kids Title.

This book is a precious, delightful story introducing children to the concept of choosing, and also to feeling and thinking. The concept of choosing is linked directly to the WILL, which even the smallest child has!

“God gave you two eyes, two ears, and one nose, ten wiggly fingers and ten useful toes. But of all of those parts, the big and the small, your chooser just might be the best part of all.” And so the story begins. It is a tremendous job, to share the will of a child and train them to choose, and to choose wisely, of all the abundant relational, material, temporal opportunities in life. The choices we make in life are limitless!

“Will you wake with a smile or start with a frown?” The Chooser, the will, wields a lot of power, yet each one of us must train ourselves, and practice choosing right. This wonderful story, with cheerful and gentle illustrations is a fantastic and enjoyable book to have on the shelf, for the choosing. And I am choosing to do just that!

I received this complimentary book from the Tyndale Blog Network, in exchange for the thoughts and opinions shared here.

Go and Make Disciples

February 13, 2017 By Michelle

Most Christians have heard those last few verses of Matthew,

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

But I have been wondering, how many of us know how to make disciples. Over the years I have seen and heard many demonstrations on sharing the Gospel, but the idea of making disciples has been a vague one. Jesus spent three years with His disciples, teaching them in their small group, and also while teaching the masses. But I’ve often wondered what did He specifically teach them and how were they prepared to go out and do all that they did, taking the Gospel throughout Israel and the world.

It’s been a roadblock to me, until now. The Gentle Art of Discipling Women by Dana Yeakley is the first book I finished reading this month (February 2017). I’ve been working through the book for a couple of months, as I found that I wanted to dig deep with this one. The subtitle summed up what I’ve been missing in my own life…nurturing authentic faith in myself and others.

Recently I was with a small group, and we were asked if any of us have ever been “discipled,” taken systematically through Scripture in a small group or one to one. It was a thought provoking question and most of us answered NO! Besides solid Biblical teaching from the pulpit most of us have not been taught the systematic basics of new life in Christ, and further, in a one to one or small group. And most of us were unsure on just how to “make disciples.” Yet discipleship is a responsibility of every Christ follower.

This book, The Gentle Art of Discipling Women is a strong introduction to what discipleship looks like, and how to do it. As is the case so often, I found in the first half of the book, Be a Disciple, that I needed to grow and find the bridge between discipled and ready to disciple. According to the book, there are four key building blocks to being well grounded and ready to minister to other women. It was good to take the time to go through each, to look for gaps in my understanding and to also formulate questions for further study.

We are Forgiven – Christ died for sins, once and for all. Once we have accepted this gift of grace, it is done. We are forgiven.

We are Safe – Through faith you are kept safe by God’s power. In Him our future is secure, and day to day we can trust Him.

We have Access – It is through Him that we both (whether far off or near) now have access by one Spirit to the Father so that we are able to approach Him.

We are Becoming – Christ has begun a good work in us, and will continue that work in us until we see Him in glory.

Each of these topics, or keys are explored deeply with characters in Scripture and thought provoking questions, while keeping things simple.

The second half of the book, Make a Disciple, covered everything from the how to the what in making disciples. It is my plan to pair what I’ve learned with this book with meeting an older woman from our congregation to further prepare in this most important endeavor.

It’s pretty early in the year to say this, but this might have been the most important book I read this year. It’s life changing for me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Tyndale Blog Network, in exchange for my review. All thoughts expressed in this post are mine.

Reading in January 2017

February 7, 2017 By Michelle

Well into February and I am just taking a look at what I read last month. Both of the Modern Mrs Darcy 2017 Reading Challenges are taped into my bullet journal, but it’s the next page of that journal that I’m enjoying filling in.

First of all, audiobooks. During busy seasons, it is the audiobooks that are getting completed becuase I can listen while driving and waiting for kids. Just last night knitting was what I wanted to do, but I felt like I should be reading. That is when I realized, an audibook and knitting would be fantastic! Here are the audiobooks I completed in January:

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith – (a book published before you were born, MMD Reading for Growth challenge)this classic “coming of age” story is the best story I’ve read recently. It may stay on top as my best read of this year, it is that good. Originally published in 1943, it fits the “classic” category that I am wanting to read more of, but it is the story that makes it truly worth reading. The audible narration was very well done by Kate Burton. This is a story that my daughters need to read!

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne – (a book you’ve already read, MMD Reading for Fun challenge) another classic, a reread for me. Builder and I took a short road trip at the beginning of January with a couple of our kids. This was the book we choose to listen to. He hadn’t ever read the, and the rest of us were happy to hear it again.

You and Me Forever by Francis and Lisa Chan – (Three books by the Same Author, MMD Reading for Fun) this is the first marriage book I’ve read in quite awhile. This book is more about being a Christ-follower first, and letting that express itself within marriage. Very encouraging, and it will be downloaded onto Builder’s phone the next time he travels!

Gifted Hands by Ben Carson – (book recommended by someone with great taste,MMD Reading for Fun) My youngest daughter has medical school dreams and reads many books that are beyond me. But this one she asked me to read, is simply good. Overdrive had it available quickly, and it is a short book, so I think I finished it in a week.

Using my Kindle and the Kindle app is another way I’m getting reading in. Now that I’ve learned how to turn on the night time light filter, I read ebooks at night, so that I can turn out the light for my hubby, and still get in a little reading. Lines at the grocery store don’t bother me any more, it’s a chance to get a few more paragraphs, or even pages read! The is how I read Chasing Mona Lisa (a topic I already love MMD R4Fun) and Horse in the Wilderness in January.

While I am thankful for Kindle and Audiobooks, Paper and Ink books are still my favorite way to read. It is so satisfying to hold the book in my hands, and to see the bookmark moving from day to day. I read, or completed reading, You Carried Me, (genre that addresses current events MMD Read for Growth) and The 30 Day Praise Challenge.

That is eight books this month, thanks to audible, Christian Audio and Kindle! In February I am hoping balance out my reading a little more and tackle a couple more books in our family library bookshelves.

What did you read in January? My stack is tall for February, but do you have any recommendations for reading in March?