I suppose I could reach a point in the future where I live in perfect alignment with my circadian rhythms. I would sleep when I’m tired and wake when I’m rested. But right now, I’ve got three small kids and a demanding job, so I don’t sleep as much as I should. Sometimes, I just need to power through because the people around me depend on me to get the job done.

On days like that (currently, most days ending in “y”), there’s caffeine. Right now, my main source of caffeine is dirty bean water, otherwise known as coffee.

Look, I’m not going to engage in the petty chest-thumping of “how dark and unadulterated is your coffee” because let’s face facts, y’all: sometimes coffee isn’t that enjoyable. Sometimes it doesn’t taste great. Sometimes it needs that little extra something.

As the great bon vivants known as the Beastie Boys once opined: “I like my sugar with coffee and cream.”

Rage in the comments if you must. Call me a philistine, call me a child, just don’t call me late for a fresh mug of coffee with a healthy dollop of heavy cream and some sugar sprinkled in there. I want a mug the size of a child’s sandpail, so big that I can hold it with both hands, breathe in its steamy aroma, and drown out the world for a few minutes.

Sometimes I drink too much coffee. My brother-elders have encouraged me to cut back and I’ve endeavored to do so. (The comment above about the pail-sized mug was a slight exaggeration.) But truth be told, the thing that curbs my coffee habit the most right now isn’t the health concerns of over-caffeination; it’s the cost of the doggone beans. Coffee’s gotten more expensive in this here mean-tweet-free economy, and as I am now becoming a bit of a coffee snob, I’m finding myself opting for quality over quantity. That means I need to slow down just to make sure I don’t run through my monthly stock of mid-grade coffee too quickly. (Speaking of which, if you feel so inclined and want to encourage my coffee consumption by tossing a fiver in the empty coffee can on the counter, I’d appreciate that.)

God made a good world for us to enjoy. One of the natural delights that God created in His good world is a bean that can be roasted, ground, and percolated into liquid energy. So the next time you fill your cup with some fresh-brewed joe, breathe a prayer of thanks along with me to the God who made coffee beans.