So, that job at the coffee shop, the one where I get to serve people wonderful java brews and take notes on “life”?  Well, I’m still doing it. But somewhere in the middle of everything, I let myself get disenchanted.

And I came up with a list of reasons to quit:

• My co-workers are all so young.
• I feel so old.
• There are other things I could be doing with my time.
• Serving coffee isn’t really my calling.

Looking at October’s full calendar (moving my parents, a couple of conferences and a road trip), I told my boss I would have to take the month off. And maybe I wouldn’t come back in November.

“I’ll pray about it,” I said.

I prayed and I fussed. I talked to friends and I added to my list of reasons to quit. Then, in the midst of all that, I made this “observation”:

Satisfaction is 90 percent attitude, 10 percent circumstance. Share on X

My circumstances hadn’t changed, but my attitude had and I was dangerously close to giving up a good thing because I was letting negative thoughts creep in.

I love the energy of my coffee shop and of the girls I work alongside. I enjoy meeting people and handing them a cup of something that makes them happy, if only for the moment. And I like challenging myself to do something outside my normal routine.

So, I’m staying put. God didn’t exactly tell me to hang in there. He just let me figure it out for myself — which is often the best way to learn any lesson.

Stay tuned for more “Observations from the Coffee Shop”.

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It’s almost October and I’m doing it again — committing to write a blog post every day for 31 days. Call me crazy, but I like deadlines and goals. Writing every day is great “exercise” and I love meeting other bloggers this way.

This year, my theme is “31 Days of Selah — Pause, Reflect and Praise”. God has called me to a season of intentional living, of slowing down, pondering scripture and returning praise to Him (and, yes, working in a coffee shop). Each day in October I hope to offer inspiration to others who are drawn to intentional living by challenging them to contemplate and celebrate truths from scripture. I hope you’ll join me.