What God has in common with Juan Valdez

When we went to drop the baby off in the nursery at church on Sunday it was quite a scene. It was the whole heartbreaking scenario: handing him over and having him throw his arms out towards us crying and calling “Mommy!” “Daggy!” (yeah, the daggy thing is darn cute!) As I’m about ready to burst into tears myself hubby tells me it will be ok (baby only cries for a few moments and then has fun playing) and then he reminds me we should make our trip out to the coffee cart before services start. I've got to say, the whole coffee cart at church thing; brilliant! I know it’s pretty standard to have the complimentary coffee available in the lobby, but I’m talking about the fully stocked coffee cart where you can purchase (for a reasonable cost) a good coffee drink. I’m a firm believer in the simple joys in life and coffee at church is one of them. [insert obligatory joke about staying awake for the sermon here] I’m sure it's also another thing to bring folks in that perhaps otherwise might not be so inclined; kind of like the whole casual dressing thing and modern music. I think it’s great that churches are doing things to encourage attendance. I guess the come as you are/casual dressing thing is a big one nowadays. Personally, our family is pretty traditional and I have never in my life not worn a dress or skirt to church—I just can’t do it! I relaxed my standards on what teenager wears (cotton pants, button up or polo shirt and loafers) and apparently this is even considered dressy to most! Then there’s the music; today’s Christian churches with the full on “rock” style bands are a little hard for me to get used to and honestly I'm not a huge fan. But, it’s popular with a lot of people and if it gets them out then I suppose that is point. And really, who am I to argue? After all, I get to enjoy my cappuccino during services and I’ll tell you what folks, that I consider a little gift from God.