As I’ve gotten to move around more in the Christian book world, I’ve had the opportunity to meet wonderful human beings like Tessa Emily Hall. She clearly has a passion for books and teenagers. Not only does she spend a lot of her time working with books and authors, she writes as well and enjoys teaching teenagers more about writing.
I’m excited to have Tessa Emily Hall on my little bit of internet today to share about how coffee has spiritual parallels. 🙂
Meet Tessa Emily Hall
Tessa Emily Hall writes inspirational yet authentic books to show teens they’re not alone. Her passion for shedding light on clean entertainment and media for teens lead her to a career as an Associate Agent at Hartline Literary Agency, YA Acquisitions Editor for Illuminate YA (LPC Imprint), and Founder/Editor of PursueMagazine.net. Tessa’s first teen devotional, COFFEE SHOP DEVOS, releases with Bethany House September 2018. She’s guilty of making way too many lattes and never finishing her to-read list. When her fingers aren’t flying 116 WPM across the keyboard, she can be found speaking to teens, decorating art journals, and acting in Christian films. Her favorite way to procrastinate is by connecting with readers on her blog, mailing list, social media (@tessaemilyhall), and website: http://www.tessaemilyhall.com.
Author Links:
tessaemilyhall.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/tessaemilyhall
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tessaemilyhall
Facebook: www.facebook.com/tessaemilyhall
Sign up for her mailing list!
About Coffee Shop Devos: Daily Pick-Me-Ups for Teen Girls
There’s something special about spending time at a coffee shop with a friend–engaging in a meaningful conversation, then leaving refueled and ready to tackle the rest of the day. What if your quiet times with God energized you the same way?
Coffee Shop Devos offers a warm atmosphere that will inspire you to discover your God-given purpose and live to your greatest potential. Choose your devo flavor in the Menu of Contents based on your current need. Then lean into deeper intimacy with Christ through reflection and prayer. Along the way, you’ll pick up tips and recipes for making your own coffee-shop beverage–regular or decaf–to enjoy while you read. And don’t forget to share your journey with your friends!
#CoffeeShopDevos
Every challenging and motivational devotional will leave you feeling refreshed and reinvigorated–like you’ve just shared a steaming pot of brew at a coffee shop with your Creator.
Book Links:
Pre-order on Amazon
Mark “to read” on Goodreads
Pre-order on B&N
Does Coffee Have Spiritual Parallels?
It’s no doubt that coffee has risen in popularity over the past couple of decades. Which isn’t a problem for me. I first fell in love with this bean juice at first sip—when I was a kid. Don’t worry, I didn’t start drinking coffee until I was a teenager. But when I was little, it was a treat every time my parents would allow me to have a sip of their coffee or cappuccino.
My love for this drink has only grown throughout the years. So those who are close with me weren’t surprised to find out that I had written a devotional for teen girls, titled COFFEE SHOP DEVOS.
No, I didn’t write this in effort to promote coffee addiction amongst teenagers. I wrote it to emphasize the spiritual parallels I’ve discovered with having an addiction to coffee versus having an addiction to Jesus. The “coffee shop” theme of this book is to emphasize the book’s spiritual theme—which is intimacy, connection, and friendship with Christ.
It might sound silly to say that coffee has spiritual allegories; however, there are several parallels I’ve discovered and have woven them throughout this book. If you, too, are a fan of coffee, you might find interesting the following parallels…
- Coffee helps to pull us out of our slumber and “prepares” us to face the day with energy. | Spending time with Jesus and reading His Word can give us renewed spiritual energy and joy. When we spend time with Him, He can prepare us for the day because only He knows what’s ahead.
- We can easily become hooked to coffee because of the effects it gives us. | Once we “have a taste of Jesus”, we can’t help but become hooked—especially when we experience the side effects of His presence, which include peace, joy, and love.
- A cup of coffee that’s half caf, half decaf isn’t the same as the real stuff. | We can’t live halfway for God and halfway for the world. It’s either all or nothing.
- When we drink a watered-down brew of coffee, we can’t experience the same effects as bold coffee. | When we have a watered down version of Christianity, we’ll miss out on the life God intended us to enjoy in rich intimacy with Him.
- People might recognize our caffeine addiction because of our constant alertness and hyperactivity. | People might recognize our Jesus addiction because of the peace, joy, and love that overflows from us and into the lives of those around us.
- Coffee has been scientifically proven to promote creativity. | When we spend time with our Creator, we behold His image. Our creative well can be filled as we immerse ourselves in Scripture and in His presence.
- Coffee shops are warm, inviting, inspiring, and focused on building community and having conversation. | Churches should also be warm, inviting, inspiring, and focused on building community and having spiritual discussions.
- Coffee can promote productivity. | When we live life in obedience to God and His Word, we spend our lives doing the work that He wants us to do.
- An addiction to caffeine can bring withdrawals that are evident to those around us. | When we neglect to spend daily time with Jesus and in His Word, those around us might take notice because of our crankiness.
Of course, coffee is only a drink. It’s earthly and not something we can carry with us into heaven. (Although it’d be awesome if God had coffee shops in eternity!) Sure, it’s fun to sip lattes and enjoy a daily caffeine intake; however, it’s not something we should idolize or put in place of our relationship with Christ.
But isn’t it cool how God can use something that our culture is so familiar with to help us understand more about how He works? So we can learn the benefits that come from having a true relationship with Him?
So if you’re like I am and enjoy sipping on cup of java, go ahead—brew yourself a pot. Indulge. However, you might want to stop after cup number two if you’d like to prevent developing a bad caffeine habit.
But spiritual caffeine? Feel free to indulge in the entire pot of that one—guilt free! And yes, daily habits are encouraged. 😉
Interesting parallels, Tessa! I had not thought about that too much before but can see those!
I particularly found the following intriguing:
“A cup of coffee that’s half caf, half decaf isn’t the same as the real stuff. | We can’t live halfway for God and halfway for the world. It’s either all or nothing.”
“When we drink a watered-down brew of coffee, we can’t experience the same effects as bold coffee. | When we have a watered down version of Christianity, we’ll miss out on the life God intended us to enjoy in rich intimacy with Him.”
Thank you for imparting creativity and wisdom in this post!
Hi, Theron! I’m glad you enjoyed the post! Thanks for commenting!
Theron, thanks for stopping by and highlighting those two points. I think it’s neat to see the spiritual parallels that Tessa came up with for coffee. As a non-coffee drinker, (is it awful to admit that?) I don’t spend much time contemplating coffee!
Definitely thankful for Tessa’s insights.
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It is really great to know places that will really make you better. And it would be great as well if we are going to be very observant when we are on great places. Nice work.
–Jeff Morgan–