Isn’t it Time for a Coffee Break? Doing Life Together in an All-about-me Kind of World
By Amelia Rhodes (reviewed by Peter DeHaan
In her new book, Isn’t it Time for a Coffee Break?, Amelia Rhodes shares her journey of connecting with others, to form community and provide encouragement.
Amelia six chapters, cleverly build on coffee metaphors—the aroma of relationships, brew a strong cup, the variety of blends, and so forth, using narrative to show the value of pursuing deeper friendships.
Her personal experiences add delightful flavor, while her ample use of scripture provides valuable external support. Life is better when shared.
Although written from a female perspective, Coffee Break, offers application for both women and men. While perhaps more accessible to women, the message may be needed more by men to combat a tendency towards isolation.
Even more so, the lessons of Coffee Break are ideal for couples desiring to work together to form a meaningful faith community with others.
One engaging story is her husband’s desire to use his past pizzeria experience to host monthly homemade pizza parties for their growing network of friends. He plans to make the crust (his specialty) and supply the sauce and cheese.
Everyone else brings his or her favorite toppings. They will make homemade pizzas, share food, spend time in community, and connect their friends.
The first event is “mayhem,” but everyone returns the next month and continues to do so for the next few years until Amelia and her family move.
With 25 to 40 people present, half under the age of six, it’s organized confusion, but with the intent of providing hospitality to friends rather than entertaining guests, it’s hugely successful.
Though Isn’t it Time for a Coffee Break? is of practical application to both genders, it’s unfortunately marketed to women.
[Isn’t It Time for a Coffee Break?: Doing Life Together in an All-About-Me Kind of World (Circle of Friends), by Amelia Rhodes. Published by Barbour Publishing Inc. 2012; ISBN: 978-1-61626-887-9; Kindle, advanced reader copy.]
Read more book reviews by Peter DeHaan.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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