How Hot is Your Coffee?

The morning began in the kitchen at work making a carafe of coffee for my team members. As I was standing there Luke walked in with a pre-coffee look on his face. Jokingly I let him know what his face was saying about how his morning appeared to be starting. His response was great!

As he proceeded to fill his mug up with boiling hot water from that little red tap on the coffee machine he said, “You know… if you fill up your mug with hot water and let the mug warm up before you fill it with your coffee, the coffee will stay hot for hours!” He then added that the credit for that tip actually goes to Debbie.

Wow! That really got me thinking about how vital that tip really is—not just for keeping coffee hot though. I couldn't help but think of the implications for leadership, character, and our spiritual lives.

Whether we are leaders or followers our days can be exhausting. From the time you arrive at work to the moment you leave there are things to be accomplished and goals to be achieved. I believe that in order to maintain a sense of calm haste we need to be filled before we can pour out something refreshing and energizing into our work and the lives we come in contact with.

Here are a few suggestions for charging yourself up before pouring yourself out:

- Have a daily devotional time

- Put down the electronic devices for an hour

- Take an hour to simply think

- Workout

- Begin your week with by setting a strategy for the upcoming tasks

- Take a walk outside

- Take a nap

- Brainstorm with a close friend

So, what are you filling your mug up with? How do you stay hot for hours?

I invite you to leave a comment below.