Starbucks and the Church

Some of you know how much I enjoy Starbucks. I know it has its detractors – from taste gurus to locals to why-is-it-on-every-corner-fatigue. But I love it. And I’m sure you’ve heard the news lately over Howard’s "transformation agenda" to refocus the store on its original mission and first things: taste, experience, community, etc. So when I picked up a free cup of the Pike Place Roast two weeks ago Wednesday, I couldn’t help but notice the original brown logo and new cup. But what really caught my attention was the wording on the cup under the jacket:

This is what we know to be true: We opened our very first store in Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington, in 1971. We still roast our coffee ourselves. Less than 3% of the coffee in the world is good enough for Starbucks. We served the best cup of coffee 37 years ago, and we still do today. Introducing our new daily brew: Starbucks® Pike Place Roast.

It immediately made me think of Jesus and the church. Why? Because of these words:

Let me pass on to you what is of first importance. Christ died for our sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. Once we were no-family: now we are the family of God. And the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead nearly 2000 years ago is still calling women, men, and children to wake up to new life here. Now. Taste for yourself and see: the Lord is good!

Sure, it’s not all Scripture (I took a few liberties), but it rings true. And in an age where we pass so many churches with catchy slogans trying to reinvent themselves, wouldn’t it be refreshing and bracing to see, to experience, the essentials themselves?

calling my fellow Florida homeowners

Y'all, I just got the call from my insurance agent (who is officially on my "A" list just for this whole thing) to deliver some good news to me. I couldn't keep it to myself and decided to celebrate by telling y'all about it and putting up this, my 100th post on this blog. Hooray!

Last summer or fall, the state of Florida launched a program called My Safe Florida Home. I don't know much about it, except that it is supposed to help and reward homeowners who make their homes more hurricane proof and verify it by having a wind inspection done. At the time, our agent sent out letters to everyone recommending that we have it done and gave us the names of some inspection companies. We didn't do anything about it because the inspection cost $150 and "might" save us "some" money. I have better ways to spend $150 than on a "might", honestly.

A couple months ago, I realized that I needed to insure my camera and equipment, since I take it all over the place with me, run out into the ocean carrying it, and do other hazardous activities with it (it's pretty active). My agent asked if we had done the wind inspection. When I sheepishly said that we hadn't, he told me about a company called WB Sanders which will do the inspection for free (don't ask me how they get paid because I don't know). He also said that he thought we would save a bit of money because our roof is pretty new (same age as Elanor, in fact, as I recall having water pour into the house during a rainstorm while our roof was essentially naked and I had just come home from the hospital... certainly not in any emotional shape to yell at the roofers on that one). I filled out the form, set up an appointment with the company, and waited. I've told a few friends about the inspection because, hey, it's free, right?

Charlie (my agent, whom I adore right now) just called. Our premiums went down by just about 60%. Which, at our current rate, is a truly phenomenal amount of money. It's going to seriously affect our escrow payment. I am completely bowled over. Charlie is my hero.

It made me realize, you know, I think most companies insure homes more or less blind, right? So we are all probably paying more than we really need to, because they have to charge based on a house that might just fall over in a hurricane. Having the wind inspection just gives us a chance to show that our house is actually in pretty good shape. (Yes, our roof is new but our windows are original to the house--pretty bad, actually.)

What I'm saying is that if you live in Fort Myers, call this WB Sanders company (239.931.3880) and get your wind inspection done. Even if you only save a little bit, with your rates being as high as I'm sure they are, it's totally worth the 30 minutes it takes to have the inspection done.

If you've been wondering why I haven't posted in so long, it's because I've had two significant projects on my plate: 1) the church website, and 2) the MOPS spring fundraiser. The website is up and now all I need to do is fill in the content as I get it, and I am going to put the pictures up for the MOPS moms today!