You know the feeling. The day is dragging on, your eyes are having trouble focusing, and all you can think about is the slow plodding of the clock.  It is between 2 and 3 in the afternoon — the “pit in the pm” in the words of biorhythm experts. The urge to grab a cat-nap becomes overwhelming and our blinks become longer and longer each time. God invented coffee for this time of day. A little jump start both mentally and physically, to finish the day well.  Now imagine it’s mid-way through your life and you’re dragging both emotionally and spiritually. The enthusiasm that was there at the beginning is fading, the passion has evaporated and the dream is still somewhere out there in the distance.  You’re tired of life, exhausted by the routine and confined by the rut that has become your life. We all need some spiritual caffeine to revive, rejuvenate, and refresh our souls for the second half of our lives.  Spiritual caffeine may come in the form of a quote, a story or an idea that stimulates our thinking in a new area, challenges long held assumptions, or excites new possibilities. We all need a Brewed Awakening for the second half of life.

• The second half of high school.
• The second half of college.
• The second half of our career path.
• The second half of our family’s life.
• The second half our retirement.
• The second half our marriage?

 The most basic law of life is that “things change” and “nothing stays the same.” But the most challenging aspect of life is how we deal with this “law of life.” Things change. In the words of my kids, “Deal with it. Get over it. Or get help for it.”  The purpose of Brewed Awakening Posts is to do just that, to supply you with a bit of spiritual caffeine to stimulate your thinking about life and culture so you can "Deal with It", to be more intentional in the choices you make so you can "Get Over It" and to live with more clarity and awareness of the spiritual life all around you for the help we all need. I hope you'll join us, share your thoughts and ideas and invite other to participate.

"Understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed." Romans 13:11

What does Paul mean "understand the present time"? How can you not understand the present? What part of life are most people sleeping through? What does Paul mean by saying "our salvation is nearer"?