Starbucks and Me

As you may can tell I like to read and on occasion I do read books other than religious ones.  I read George W. Bush's book, Decision Points, as well as his wife's, Spoken From The Heart.  I enjoyed them both.  They broadened my view of the office of the President and First Lady.

According to the book's web site, "Decision Points is the extraordinary account of America's 43rd president. Shattering the conventions of political autobiography, George W. Bush offers a strikingly candid journey through the defining decisions of his life."  I found that to be true.  I particularly liked President Bush's references to God's guiding in his life and presidency.

The publisher describes Spoken From the Heart like this, "In this brave, beautiful, and deeply personal memoir, Laura Bush, one of our most beloved and private first ladies, tells her own extraordinary story."  I realize Laura Bush's faith may be a quieter version than her husband's, but as I read I longed to hear more specifics of God at work in her life.

What started all this reading about the presidency was my reading of Sarah Palin's book, Going Rogue.  Wikipedia tells us that "Going Rogue: An American Life is a personal and political memoir of Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican candidate for U.S. Vice President. The book became a New York Times #1 bestseller in its first week of release, and remained there for six weeks.^[1] It is one of four recent political memoirs to sell more than two million copies."  I was one of those intrigued millions.  But, boy was her book a long one; however, I gained insight into the presidential election process as well as how smart our leaders must be.

Talking about long books, I also read Billy Graham's autobiography, Just As I Am.  The publisher says, "In this account of his life, Billy Graham shares how he came from ordinary beginnings to have an extraordinary life of prestige and influence - all derived from his unshakable belief in Christ."  I learned how smart our religious leaders need to be to stay pure in our society.  His insight into that so many years ago struck a chord with me.  Today he is still such an icon for both our political and religious worlds.  That was a winter time read by the fireplace many, many moons ago. 

I read on the beach this past summer Howard Schultz's book Onward.  Here is the book's description from Amazon.

"In 2008, Howard Schultz, the president and chairman of Starbucks, made the unprecedented decision to return as the CEO eight years after he stepped down from daily oversight of the company and became chairman. Concerned that Starbucks had lost its way, Schultz was determined to help it return to its core values and restore not only its financial health, but also its soul. In Onward, he shares the remarkable story of his return and the company's ongoing transformation under his leadership, revealing how, during one of the most tumultuous economic times in history, Starbucks again achieved profitability and sustainability without sacrificing humanity."

The book feed my interest in how businesses are run.  However, there was never (not one that I remember anyway) a reference to God.  He is the giver of every good gift (James 1:17), and I so wanted him to receive the credit for what was happening for Starbucks.

I have my own story about Starbucks.  I love.  Did I say love?  I love their Cafe Mocha.  I like other things as well but that is my treat for me.  My sister gives me a Starbucks gift card every Christmas because I love it so much.  Just about a month ago while sitting in Bible study, the Holy Spirit convicted me about the amount of sugar in my diet.  You see I had been loosely following the Atkins Diet, the low carbohydrate diet.  I had cut out carbs but my go to food was sugar.  I was not eating french fries, but I would drink hot chocolate.  Sitting in front of me was my fave - a Cafe Mocha.  The Holy Spirit said to cut out sugar.  "This cost me money,"  I thought. "I'll finish this and then." I clearly heard the Holy Spirit quietly say, "You would choose that over me?"  I wanted to weep.  After class was complete, I could not get to the bathroom fast enough to pour that thing out.


I could not believe what I had done.  I had chosen sugar over my God.  It rattled me.  I came home and told my husband.  I needed his comfort.  I had done the right thing the second time around.  That day and the next I felt weak.  Was I going through a form of withdrawal?  I had read in the Atkins book, The New Atkins For A New You, (Oh yeah, there is another book I read, well almost all of it.) that sugar is an addiction.  It sure was for me.  I also remembered a speech I heard many years ago by a futurist that Starbucks would be an addiction for our country.  I had never heard of Starbucks back then.  Now I knew them.  No, Starbucks is not an addition for me.  It was the sugar.  I am still choosing to fast sugar. And God in his grace showed me Starbucks' New Skinny Cafe Mocha.  It has no sugar.  It tastes almost the same, and I still can have a chocolaty treat.

When will the fast end?  I don't know.  Some people say you don't start a fast without an end in mind.  God has done this before in my life.  Several years before I met my husband and had my family, I did a juice and water fast for 35 days.  The Lord called me to it without giving me an ending date.  My mother, father and sister were very concerned for me, but God was clear when it was over.  They were relieved.  I can trust him now as well.

Talking about long ones....  This entry has been that.  Thank you for your diligence to read on!