Archive for the 'Personal' Category

Provision, Praise, & Prattle

Published on July 19, 2011 by Chris Bean in Celebration, Faith, Family, Finances and Personal.

My love for alliteration is no secret to many of you. Those who have ever tracked with my facebook statuses, tweets, or blogging realize that it’s simply something you’ll have to endure if you want to hang out with me…especially in the virtual realm.

Now let me reverse the order and begin with “prattle.” Since this word means: to talk or chatter idly, it might not be the perfect word for what I’m going to share. Today’s “prattle” is all about my little boy, Josiah. He is just over 7 months old now and bringing even more joy to our lives than we might have expected (if that is possible). Here’s a little video of a recent feeding.

Josiah squeals from Chris Bean on Vimeo.

On to Praise. God is good, right?! Generally speaking, I would say that I’m coming out of a season of life (the past 2 to 5 years) in which ‘praise’ has not been my default setting. Cynicism, critique, questioning, complaining, etc  These have been words that come to mind more naturally than praise. But over the past year, I sense that God has been rewiring my brain a bit…and giving me a new appreciation for Who, How, Why, and Where HE is. Psalm 103 is coming to mind as my default setting: Praise the Lord, oh my soul!

Provision may have something to do with my increased tendencies towards praise. As we continue to live out our new faith-stretching call to campus ministry…and daily depend on God’s provision, we are increasingly amazed at how God meets our needs. Just this morning, I made the painful and scary decision to approve $600 in repairs to my Ford Focus. Having just had a baby (in the past 7 months) and bought a house in the past month, our financial margin has all but disappeared. Within minutes of telling the mechanic to move forward with the repairs, we heard from one of our monthly ministry supporters who wanted to cover that expense for us. God’s ability to PROVIDE far exceeds my ability to gather resources. So we continue to trust and live in this exciting space of gratitude.

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Tipping A Barista

Published on October 19, 2010 by Chris Bean in Coffee and Third Place, Finances and Personal.

Someone recently asked me what the expectation is for tipping at a coffee shop.

Unlike many in the food service industry, baristas are paid at least minimum wage. So there’s usually not an “expectation” to tip. However, having worked at a few coffee shops (Starbucks and otherwise), I know that baristas count on and hope for an additional $1 or $2 per hour in tips.

I usually try to tip baristas around 10% personally. On my $2 coffee though, that only amounts to 20 cents, so I usually throw in anywhere from a quarter to .50.

If I get exceptional service and customer interaction from the barista (and the register employee) I’ll tip up to $1 per beverage.

There’s my $.02 worth on the subject. Anyone else have any tips on the subject?
;-)

Here’s a helpful article I found on the subject if you want a more thorough guide to coffee shop tipping etiquett.

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Memorable Moments

Published on October 4, 2010 by Chris Bean in discipleship, Faith, Family and Personal.

I have been to many weddings, but I had never officiated a wedding until this past weekend. Friday, we let the girls play hooky and made the 7-hour drive down to eastern Tennessee until we found a little community called Mountain City. As you can imagine from the name, it was a beautiful backdrop…especially for an outdoor wedding.

This little old Presbyterian Chapel had been built by the bride’s great grandfather back in the 1800′s. The outdoor wedding was staged on the front steps of the church.

Justin Chappelear has been one of those kids that goes from youth groupie to friend to soul-friend over the course of about a dozen years. Of course, his whole family has been incredibly special to us since we first met them back in 1997 when we accepted a call to youth ministry at the church there in Westerville. Steve quickly became a good friend, accountability partner, youth leader, etc. Joy watched Jessica when she was a baby and has always been a good friend to Deb over the years. So it was a great honor when Justin asked me to perform the wedding ceremony.

For several months, we only knew Aubree through Facebook, but several weeks ago we were able to get together with her, her parents, and her sister and realized that Justin was marrying into a terrific family. Often I’m a little nervous for young couples as they begin a life together, knowing how many challenges await. But Justin & Aubree have a solid foundation in their faith. They both have super strong and healthy family relationships. And I’m quite certain they’re way ahead of the game compared to many couples in several respects. It was a great privilege to be part of their wedding celebration and I can’t wait to see how God continues to bless their lives and use them to impact many others.

In addition to sharing this special weekend with Justin & Aubree and their families, it was a special treat to catch up with another guy who shared some youth group history with us. Preston (on the left) and his wife Whitney were in town from Arizona. Preston was Justin’s best man and as we spent a little time together, I was blessed to hear and see how he has become a solid dude not just because he’s been hitting the gym so much). Both of these guys have put a high priority on their faith over the years and have decided to give their lives in service to others. I’m really proud to have been a part of both of their stories and thank God for them and their beautiful wives who we can proudly count as friends.

 

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