The Angry Catfish

I can now say that I have a list of favorite places named after angry fish.

1. The Angry Trout (a hippy-dippy, we made the mustard and the toilet paper today out of recycled bio-organic vegan after market coop goods restaurant in northern Minnesota)
2. The Angry Catfish (a half Intelligencia, half bike shop serving awesome coffee and expensive bicycles in south Minneapolis)

First, if you live in Minneapolis you should visit the Angry Catfish. It is large, unique, quiet, and they have a Synesso, siphons, and pour-overs. It is a great 3rd wave shop to add to our collection in the Cities. You have Black Sheep in South St. Paul (for those of you visiting your Grandma), Rustica on Lake Calhoun (a coffee snob playground), Kopplin's in St. Paul (for those who love to sit in the laps of strangers bonded by the fact that you both now have slightly thinner wallets), and now The Angry Catfish (for hipsters with pants that match their super skinny custom bicycles).

Someone should organize a tour.

I had a ton of time to chat with the baristas, write, read, and be human. I am so glad that Jesus said that sabbath was made for man, not the other way around. Otherwise a day of cross-town biking and coffee chat would make me feel like I was wasting time. But it isn't wasting time. In fact, whatever you need to do in order to realize (or remember) who you are is more than worth the time.

Rob Bell once said that very few people have done the long hard work of the soul, and I understand why. We are good at the world's variety of hard work--busyness, rushed schedules, merciless efficiency. But we are novices at the slow, introspective and contemplative work that can make you whole.

Whatever slows you down, do it. Find a way to build that routine into the rhythm of your life. Set aside time to do whatever it takes to simmer enough to hear that quiet and fleeting voice of God. It will be worth it.