How to Avoid Brain Freeze (Diet for Dreamers)

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Brain freeze is the sensation you get — that feels like your head is about to explode — when you drink something really cold really fast! When it hits, all you can do is stop what you’re doing and wait for it to pass.

Please, no more brain freeze!

But there’s another kind of brain freeze, which makes you feel like your head is about to explode; and it can stop you dead in your tracks; frozen in the pursuit of your goals; with your hopes, dreams, and every creative thought struck by a glacier of loss, disappointment, and despair. Too much rejection too soon can do it. So can dead ends, closed doors, missed opportunities, setbacks, weaknesses and failures.

The solution to brain freeze is to change one’s perspective on life, problems, and failures; and to foster a CAN-DO attitude. We need to look at our adversities as the perfect environment for personal growth; at setbacks as opportunities for comebacks; at our limitations as possible strengths; our problems as invitations for innovation; and a closed door as a sign to simply try a different door. And we need to learn to think outside the box! Hey, after all, necessity is the mother of invention.

Here are two examples of creative dreamers who avoided brain freeze by following this advice; two savvy businessmen who were definitely thinking outside (above, beneath, and all around) some sad situations that might have boxed in less enthusiastic people.

At the 1904 World’s Fair, held in St. Louis, Missouri, an ice cream vendor suffered an acute attack of brain freeze after he realized he was unprepared to meet the demand for his frozen treats. Although there was a steady stream of customers who wanted his product, the hapless vendor was nevertheless about to pack up and go home — all because he had run out of the small paper containers he used to serve the ice cream.

Enter Doumar the Undaunted! Actually, our hero’s name was just Doumar; Abe Doumar, a sixteen-year-old immigrant from Damascus, Syria, who at the time was working as a traveling salesman. Doumar had been mingling with the crowd at the World’s Fair, in an attempt to sell novelty paperweights, and he needed to take a break. He decided some ice cream would really hit the spot, but the first vendor he approached was “Mr. Brain Freeze” (he who hath no serving containers).

Doumar took a quick look around, and noticed a pastry cart nearby, where a man was selling Belgian waffles topped with a dollop of whipped cream. So he walked over and purchased one served plain. As he returned to the ice cream vendor, Doumar gently rolled the soft, warm waffle into a cone. Then he asked Mr. Brain Freeze to fill the cone with a scoop of ice cream.

Voila! The ice cream cone is born!

Doumar also suggested the two vendors join forces, and soon these men found themselves swamped with requests for warm waffles with ice cream. Other vendors working the fair quickly copied the innovation — there were around 50 ice cream stands and over a dozen waffle carts in the park that day — and hence, several different vendors wanted to take the credit for inventing the waffle cone. Regardless, the treat caught on in a big way, so that by 1924 Americans were consuming an estimated 245 million ice cream cones per year.

Doumar never bothered to patent his idea, but he did design the first machine built especially to bake cones. It was a four-iron waffle machine Doumar used three years later in Virginia, where, during the Jamestown Exhibition of 1907, he and his brother sold 23,000 cones in a single day.

Afterwards, Doumar designed a semi-automated, 36-iron waffle machine capable of turning out 20 cones per minute, and in 1934 he opened Doumar’s Drive In in Norfolk, Virginia. The restaurant is still open today, and still serving fresh waffle cones baked on Abe’s original 1905 four-iron machine.

Abe’s son, the late Albert “Big Al” Doumar, circa 2010, operating the World’s First Cone Machine.

Now, don’t think for a minute that Doumar didn’t suffer through his own share of adversity. He had to weather the destructive forces of a hurricane, endure a few economic slumps, as well as the ever-changing dining habits of a more suburbanized world. Through it all, however, Doumar avoided brain freeze by thinking warm, friendly, “we shall overcome” thoughts.

The Apostle Paul similarly overcame tremendous adversity in the form of persecution, beatings, and a stoning so severe that his friends left him for dead. Paul also endured cold, hunger, and loneliness. He was shipwrecked and afterwards survived a venomous snakebite — at a time when there was no antidote. (You can read of his travails in 2 Corinthians 4:8-18; 11:16-33 and Acts 27 through 28.)

But the much put-upon apostle who took the Gospel to the gentiles never suffered from brain freeze. Even while chained in a cold, damp, and dark cell in a rat-infested Roman prison, Paul wrote this warm proclamation: “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].” (Philippians 4:13 AMPC)

In other words, “Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.” (Philippians 4:13 MSG)

This is a truth that can thaw the onslaught of brain freeze. Remember it. Confess it. Believe it. And refuse to be boxed in by your circumstances, limitations, or any adversity.

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A STIRRING MESSAGE! (Angel in the Kitchen)

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Recently we split a mug of coffee made by our pal Mr. Keurig. You remember Mr. Keurig? When we first introduced this kitchen angel, in “The Call of the Keurig,” he was “finding his voice.” On this particular day, he was making us our favorite Hazelnut Breakfast blend.

authentic-keurig-brewerThe beauty of Mr. Keurig is that we can add the creamer and our favorite sweetener to the mug, place the mug before him, and then he does all the rest: he adds the perfect amount of water, at the perfect brewing temperature, and he does it all in a quick minute with no cleanup required! This time around, however, something wasn’t quite right. We each took a sip and frowned. Our breakfast beverage was bitter!

We distinctly remembered adding stevia to the mug before handing it over to Mr. Keurig, so we were a little confused. “Hey, Mr. Keurig!” we called. “What happened?”

Our Keurig didn’t answer. He just sat there, mutely staring at us from his place on the counter. After several awkward moments of silence, one of us asked, “What did we say? Did we somehow upset him?”

Then Mr. Keurig let out a sigh of exasperation. Actually, it was more of a loud shoooosh!

“What’s he trying to tell us?” we wondered.

Translating native Keurig is more of an art than a science, and in order to grasp the full meaning of each little utterance, one must also take into consideration the circumstances in which the words are spoken. “Mr. Keurig, can you please give us another hint?” we pleaded gently.

It was at this point that we noticed the spoon resting on the counter next to our dear friend. Clearly, Mr. Keurig was also making note of it — as well as the fact that it was dry. “Didn’t you stir the mug?” we asked. Turns out none of us had stirred our breakfast blend. And upon realizing this, it wasn’t hard to catch the full meaning of Keurig’s cry.

“Come on,” he said. “Can you please give me a break here? I daily bless you with the perfect cup of coffee. But you guys need to do your part, too. You gotta stir things up! Okay?”

“Our dear Mr. Keurig,” we exclaimed. “You have so much wisdom to share!”

How could we have forgotten such an important step in all things culinary? Face it, you can’t have stir fry unless you stir the veggies, which otherwise would simply be lounging in the sauna — er, wok! And how about all those mixes in the cupboard? Clearly stated on the back of each box is the not-so-cryptic word stir. Some of these packages go even further: the instructions on the boxes of both the instant oatmeal and the hot cocoa mix admonish us to “stir and enjoy!” (The exclamation mark is even supplied by the manufacturer.)

Our “manufacturer” (that would be God, the Creator of the Universe) gives each of us exactly the same advice: “Therefore, I remind you that you stir up the gift of God, which is in you…. For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:6-7 King James 2000)

God has given us the perfect ingredients for a great slice of life. He’s given each of us unique gifts, talents, abilities, and callings. But we must do our part if we are to enjoy what God has provided: we need to stir up the treasure poured into each of us. We stir things up spiritually by using our gifts, answering our callings, and in general, exercising our faith. When we don’t, things have a way of “settling to the bottom” of our lives. As the old expression goes, “Use it or lose it!”

Don’t be shy about using your talents and pursuing the things God has called you to do. Don’t be afraid of failure — we can learn and benefit from our own mistakes. And never fear the opinions of others! Instead, expand your horizons, stretch your spiritual wings, and follow your dreams. Be the person God designed you to be!

And don’t forget to stir your relationships — in order to properly blend together: “And we should think toward stirring up one another to love and to good works, not forsaking the assembling together of ourselves as is the custom with some, but encouraging one another….” (Hebrews 10:24-25 Berean Literal) In other words, hang out with other believers, people who can encourage you; and be sure to encourage them! Become a cheerleader for those who are pursuing a dream or simply trying to achieve something meaningful in life.

Especially encourage the people on “God’s team,” the believers who often struggle to live a God-centered life in order to make a difference in the lives of others through their giving and serving. Together we can bring out the best in each other.

Stir up your faith by listening to encouraging messages such as those presented on television by TBN. Have a personal time of devotion with God — and share these times with your family. And don’t forsake the assembling of God’s spiritual family. Attend a Bible-based faith community with a loving congregation; and take part in the programs and activities there. When believers live, worship, pray, and work together, they can stir their communities to become peaceful and productive places in which to live.

Please do your part. Stir up your faith, love and special gifts. When you do, you’ll create quite a stir in the world. You’ll also have the thanks and admiration of our kitchen angel, Mr. Keurig!

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