(This originally appeared on mightymocoffee.com's Runaway Blog February 15, 2013)
Awhile ago,
I sat down for coffee with a good friend. We talked about this crazy idea I had, this big plan that wouldn't leave my head. It was a brand of coffee, handcrafted and quality roasted in the heart of the prairie... something that would reflect the spirit of adventure in North Dakota and the warm personalities of the people who live here.
Funny thing about adventure -- it's usually not comfortable. If I were to pursue this, it would come with big changes: changes in lifestyle... changes in security.
But adventure is also the product of doing what you were made to do. Whether your adventure is fishing, hockey, wakeboarding, or birdwatching, there is a reason you're out there.
Mighty Missouri Coffee Company has grown from that conversation, and it continues to grow with the construction of a facility and setting up all the equipment. Soon, the product will be out, and I hope you love it, and I hope it's a part of your next adventure.
So this is my adventure. Thank you for taking it with me. Please stay in touch, and please check back often. Exciting things are happening all the time!
-Brian Jackson
Founder, CEO Mighty Missouri Coffee Company
This is what my friend Aaron Schuler had to say about adventure, from his blog:
My son Isaac turned four yesterday. It is insane that it has been four years already. He looks so, well, older. Time flies when your having fun.
I went this morning to watch him at swimming lessons at the YMCA. Yes, I was one of those parents sitting on the bleachers exchanging waves from his kid in the pool. It was fun to watch him too!
He did the back float and bobbed his head underwater; really becoming a stronger swimmer. But then the teacher had him head "out to sea". Armed with only his small blue flotation device strapped to his back, he flapped his way into the deep end of the pool with the instructor at arms length. I was actually a little nervous as he almost fully submerged underwater. But his little head stayed above the plain as he paddled his way to the deep end.
At that moment I thought of my own life. I felt like God was challenging me and asking me,
"When was the last time you released your grip from the safety and comfort of the edge and allowed Me to take you deeper? Do you still want Me to take you into new areas, places, and situations that stretch you, cause you to really trust Me?"
I saw that when I take these risks God is right there to never let my head fall underwater. It is amazing. Even times when I feel my mouth straining forward for the last air before going completely under, God comes through and lifts me. He teaches me more at the deep end that I can learn at edge.
So I am challenged again today to not give in or get too comfortable. I am challenged again that I won't grow unless I let go. It really isn't rocket science or a magic formula to growth, but it's simple letting go, going into the deep end and allowing God to teach me again how to swim.
Just as my son, Isaac, who has a smile on his face and is giving it all he has; I, as his father, sit back and watch my son in awe. I sit back and am so proud that he's going for it. I sit back and root him on.
The best thing about our Father is that He takes great delight in us, all the while, being right there to lift us up when we are in need. Praise be to God!