Why This Title?

Why a cup of coffee with God? Does that seem a bit informal? Let me explain it from the perspective of my life story.

From the time I was small, I remember watching my father take his first cup of strong, black coffee out to the back porch. He would sit there in the early morning hours, quietly watching the world come to life. I asked him once why he did this. His answer was simply, "Well Nudnik (his private pet name for me), I just like to have my first cup of coffee with God."

Somehow that made sense to me. I was eleven at the time and since I had started school, the nuns had been teaching us that we could have a personal relationship with God. They taught us that God loved us and wanted to be a friend to us. At the same time, we were learning to confess our sins, which were offending to God, and we were also learning the structured prayers. In my young mind, this seemed like a very strange way to be friends.

But a cup of coffee got me thinking. I watched my parents take their after-dinner coffee outside on the porch or at the dining room table, hold hands and quietly talk about what had happened during the day. That was an image I could understand and relate to very well. As I grew older and found close adult friendships myself, it was an image I cherished.

Thus the beginning of the most beautiful friendship began to unfold before me. This was not only THE GREAT I AM but the same Father that calls me his Beloved Daughter. I am so overflowing with His love for me that I have to share it with the world.