Get addicted...to obedience!

Well, I did it! One whole week without coffee, and in fact, I didn't even drink any on Sunday either, so 1 week plus a day! Go me, right?! The kids were ALL shocked, and I can see why...

Now that the week is done, I want to share with my readers some things I have learned from this venture:

1. I am A LOT stronger in will power than I thought;
2. Despite past fears of dying without it, or just stopping in mid-sentence and shutting down at any given moment, coffee doesn't seem to be what keeps me going every day;
3. My breath stays fresher longer...Aquafresh, those stripes are really working for you when the arch-nemesis is put out of business!
4. I really miss everyone at Starbucks, because they know my name, my drink, and probably my whole life story. I feel like we are friends lost...
5. "I don't miss it at all" she says as she sips the piping hot java from her over sized coffee mug;
6. and finally, it's okay to drink coffee, but in moderation. I have learned that I was becoming too dependent on coffee, when I certainly don't need any help for energy (hello, have you met me?!) haha
7. There will be at least one teen from St. Charles at daily mass all Summer in 2011! Awesome!!

So, for all of you out there that don't think you can do it... you never know unless you try! If I can do it, I KNOW that anyone can. I mean, I was drinking a pot a day to myself (that's not including my trips to Starbucks). After all is said and done, I realize, I don't want to give up coffee entirely, I mean, I am NOT a quitter, so it's just not in me! But, I do need to take it back a notch. And, I know that when I am having one cup, while reading the Bible, or sitting with great friends, is NOT a distraction from God. So, that's my limit. I have found it!

Here's a dose of Catholic coffee for those of you without the caffeine itch:  We all have things that we are "addicted" to. Some of our addictions are much more than a cup of coffee. So, examine your life today and offer up those things to God, submitting to him in complete obedience. He can help you get through anything, but you must first decide to be obedient to the call he has for you, in walking away from those addictions that do not glorify him, or distract you from his love. In the words of a great Saint, specifically St. Gregory the Great, "Obedience is the only virtue that implants the other virtues in the heart and preserves them after they have been so implanted."
Blessed week all...