Bread & Wine

Let me take the opportunity to tell you about one of my favourite authors and her newest book. Shauna Niequist is the daughter of Bill Hybels and is a rare talent when it comes to writing. A friend of mine bought me one of her books a few years ago called Bittersweet. I instantly fell in love with the book as well as Shauna's tell all, not too fluffy, but descriptive and genuine writing style; so much so that I even went onto her blog and told her how much she had inspired me to start writing! Yeah, I am one of those people! Now you may be asking how does this tie into a blog about our wee coffee shop The Press? Well I will tell you.

Another friend of mine gave me a tip that Shauna's long awaited next book Bread & Wine could be received for free with an early release addition if I agreed to write about it on my own blog. I sent the email requesting an early copy on the last day that it was offered with my fingers crossed that I wasn't too late and thankfully I wasn't because about a week and a half ago my copy arrived! So that's exactly what I am doing here. I am writing about her new book and my first experience using it.  p.s. here's a link to her website, go check her out! http://www.shaunaniequist.com

I have flipped through her new book and have of course fallen in love with the short stories that are held within it's pages. I haven't had a chance to read all of it yet but have read the stories attached to the recipes I have decided to try first. My initial thought was to try out a soup recipe in The Press. Then I realized testing it at home first might be a better option and this is what happened and how it happened.

It was a Friday night. I already had a full day of work behind me, teen girls small group, came home and showered, then went back into Lava (our youth club) to work on plans for our first teen girls conference. I wrapped that meeting up, went to Tesco to get groceries before the weekend so we could enjoy the extra day off on Monday thanks to St. Patrick and then came home. We arrived home and unpacked the groceries and that was the moment I decided I would try out one of Shauna's recipes, the clock showed it was 11:45pm, seemed like a sensible time to start cooking right?

I opened up the book, picked out Magical White Bean Soup and started chopping. First the shallots, then the celery. I moved onto peeling the carrots while the shallots slowly softened in my huge wok. As I was chopping up the carrots I heard skype ringing on our laptop. Normally I would ignore a call that  late at night because I'd usually be in bed, but on this occasion I was hoping it was our good friends Will and Leanne who have recently moved to Canada. Sure enough it was them calling so I quickly accepted the call and fell into the easy rhythm of chatting that comes when you have known people for quite a long time and done a lot of life together. All sorts of questions were being asked to fill in the gaps of the past month since they have moved and we quickly shared our hearts and where we are at in life. And while the conversation flowed I poured myself a glass of wine and kept chopping, adding the ingredients as they were needed, mashing the beans once they had cooked for long enough, tasting as I went and my husband joined the conversation and the taste testing.

So my first Bread & Wine cooking experience felt like one of the chapters in the book. Cooking at midnight, talking with great friends, being with my hubby and tasting the goods I had just produced. Overall the soup is tasty and that's before the extra dressing and toppings were even added. But more than the soup were the little events surrounding the soup. I think I will be trying this in The Press one of these days and hopefully our faithful customers will enjoy the soup but also enjoy the experience of coming into our little coffee shop in our lovely town and feel nourished and loved while they eat.

Thanks Shauna for the opportunity to get your book early and for free but also for the stories that it will help me tell! I have also tried the Dark Chocolate Sea Salted Toffee and it is exquisite however slightly dangerous too but great for sharing at a dinner party as suggested!

A safe place...

I needed a few days before I wrote this blog to gather my thoughts and feelings and try to express them in a way that could be sensitive to the situation that I am writing about.

A week ago a young man that I had personally never met, but that my husband Bryan had and that numerous teens we work with were friends with, committed suicide. He was 17, the son of a Baptist pastor, well liked, fun-loving and by the way people have described him this list could continue.

My husband is the youth pastor at Vineyard Church in Dungannon and as soon as the news of this tragedy broke his mobile was buzzing and ringing non-stop with texts and calls from devastated teens. There seemingly perfect and beautiful worlds had just experienced their first 'earthquake'. The ground felt like it was sinking beneath them, their minds and hearts full of questions, their spirits breaking.

So Friday came as it always does, I went to work, tears filling my eyes as I worked along side of my volunteers to open for the day. My heart was overwhelmed with grief for this family who had just lost one of their most precious possessions, their son. My heart was breaking for the teens who were left reeling from this horrific death. Still we were opening and life in many ways was the same as always.

When I first had the dream to open this coffee shop ages ago, it was filled with happy thoughts and all the happy things that would take place. I couldn't have foreseen what this past Friday would look like, and to be honest I didn't want to. I want life to be full of just that, life. For the sun to always shine, for people to always walk in wearing a smile. But last Friday something different happened. Teens, many whom I have known for a good number of years, walked in with faces melting in deep felt emotion. They walked in with tears streaming down their cheeks. They walked in and immediately were embracing each other in their joined sorrow and confusion as to how this could happen. In those moments I saw The Press as something I have said it was before, but in a new way...The Press was a safe place. These teens felt safe here, they felt they could open up and express their raw emotions no matter who walked in the door. The Press had maybe even become a little like the way I think church should be, where you come as you are, all your crap and faults, hurts and brokenness on display, not trying to hide it from the world. And those moments last Friday were precious. Precious because I was able to hug some of those teens, cry with some of those teens, share in their grief. I am still sharing in their grief as I imagine what the family must be experiencing each day that their son is not with them.

The Press is an extension of our church and I am delighted with that fact. In the past we have shown that we can rejoice with those who rejoice. This last Friday however, showed me that The Press can also mourn with those who mourn. That is a priceless treasure. I am thankful for the privilege to be a part of The Press, to have been there for these teens as a person but also as a safe place for them to come and be real. Last Friday, I think we did what Jesus talked about in the Beatitudes Matthew 5:4: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." That was the beautiful picture I saw last Friday amidst the sorrow. Those who were mourning found comfort and they found it in the safe place of The Press Coffee Shop.

Thank you Jesus for the privilege to be there for these teens who are grieving the loss of their dear friend Matthew. May You be their comfort and may You use us to help. Thank you that You are present in the midst of our troubles. You are acquainted with grief. Our thoughts and prayers are going out to Matthew's family as they move forward from this tragedy. Be with them Jesus. Amen.