I knew I liked breakfast...

Anyone who works with me knows that I have developed a great love for breakfast. We have a cafeteria at the hospital where I (with several of my coworkers) make a daily visit for biscuits and gravy and eggs, or a breakfast quesadilla, or a breakfast burrito, or a breakfast sandwich on texas toast (see below). Semi-regularly, I'll throw in a donut for extra sustenance (or if I know it's going to be an especially busy day requiring extra sugar). Washed down with a cup of coffee, I'm ready to tackle the day.

(hospital breakfast sandwich- sausage and cheese with egg mixed with spinach/tomato, along with a pico de gallo/mayo dipping sauce...)

I've also made a point of seeking out local eating establishments that specialize in 'the most important meal of the day.' Some of my favorites around Denver include Toast (smoked salmon Benedict), Sam's #3 (omelets and pumpkin pancakes- the french dip is also amazing for non-breakfast fare), Jelly (peanut butter and sriracha donut bite), and Breakfast on Broadway (I can't remember what I had, but it was good). Check out their menus, or better yet, come to breakfast with me next time you're in Denver!

While those are all good, breakfast connoisseurs around Denver can't speak on this topic without mentioning Snooze. Check out their site and you'll see a picture of a packed restaurant that is only too common, not only on the weekends, but weekdays. It's a popular and trendy place to say the least. But even beyond it's aesthetics, people go there for the grub, and then rave about it on Facebook and in blogs (as I'm about to do).

I made my maiden voyage a week or so ago. It was a Monday morning about 10 a.m., and there was still a 20 minute wait, no thanks to spring breakers. I led the charge into the heated patio, avoiding the cramped breakfast bar. I had a hard choice between the breakfast tacos, sweet potato pancakes, breakfast burrito, and the breakfast pot pie. After taking recommendations from the wait staff, I opted for a staple- the breakfast pot pie, a rendition of biscuits and gravy with puff pastry. And because I'm training for another 1/2 marathon, I subbed a peanut butter cup pancake for hash browns and toast. (the 1/2 marathon had nothing to do with it-who am I kidding. I just have a mouth full of sweet teeth).

Needless to say, the wait was worth it.

Also, needless to say, I didn't eat lunch that day. And I drank several cups of coffee in an effort to fight back the sweet richness of that pancake...

But my motivation for this post isn't really about food, believe it or not.

One of my favorite teaching pastors at Red Rocks Church spoke last week in preparation of Easter, and shared a sermon entitled 'The Last Breakfast.' Being the breakfast aficionado that I am, I was intrigued. Actually, I was a bit annoyed that they interrupted the current sermon series with a random sermon. But I wasn't annoyed after hearing it.

I won't go into too much analysis or personal application at this point. Suffice it to say that I was floored anew by the implications of serving a redemptive and restorative God, who brings hope in the midst of despair, and restores the most undeserving of people to places of influence in order to carry out His purposes.

I've never heard the Last Supper and 'The Last Breakfast' contrasted as Pastor Chad did in this sermon. But it seems to make sense. The cross was the workbench of redemption, and the empty tomb was the evidence that that work was completed. And, as Pastor Chad shared, now that the work is finished, it is left to us to live a life of worship. And that's what Jesus was reminding the disciples of that morning as He served them breakfast on the beach.

I love breakfast even more, especially now that it reminds me of more deeply significant things than biscuits and gravy, or omelets. It's another evidence of new mercies and joy available to us at the start of each new day. Each day that the sun rises is evidence that God's purposes for me and for creation have not run their course yet. While the work is finished, the worship and testimony that we live out daily is still meant to bear fruit and shed light into this world.

And as long as I'm here, I might as well worship well by enjoying 'the best meal of the day.'