Welcome, loves, to the Pâosies Cafe Series, a new gathering for lovers of language and narrative. Our name, a playful blend of âPoetryâ and âStories,â perfectly captures the essence of what weâre about. In this series, my best friend and fellow writer will join me at our writersâ cafe with our laptops, pens and paper, and a couple of iced mochas or chai lattes. Weâll be sharing our own workâfrom whispered verse to sprawling talesâand we invite you to listen, reflect, and get lost in the power of storytelling.
Mr. Daniels and His Cup of Coffee Pt 4
(c) 2025
Written by Tannika Nikeya
[Flashback from pt 3: Just then zzzz, zap could be heard and then a pop.
Gregory jumped back from one of the major coffee machines, with his eyes wide and his head leaned back.]
It had sat comfortably for years on the cafe’s counter turning one cup of coffee or chai tea at a time. The cafe crews had done their best to keep this old machine alive and lately it had been so temperamental. Gregory touched the machine, an idea he knew he shouldn’t have accepted into his mind, but it was instinctive. âItâs cool,â he said as everyone behind the counter watched.
Mr. Daniels was also watching. Gregory sat a long cup under one of the openings of the machine and pressed a button. Out flowed brown liquid whose scent pleasingly filled the air of the little cafe.
As Lesliana left the cash register, Jacob, another daytime crew member, stepped up with a warm smile to ring up the next customer. It was a quick break for Lesliana. She often sat down at one of the little tables to check her emails and eat and drink a little something, a blueberry muffin and hot Chai tea, her usual in the morning. She scoured her emails and then checked her student portal anxiously as she sipped her tea. She had submitted her research paper a couple of days ago to her psychology professor and was awaiting her grade.
In the midst of the morning, song after song played in the cafe adding to the cozy vibes and morning pace that had picked up. Mr. Daniels took another sip of his cup of coffee. This time no steam greeted him.
Kimberly just then rushed from the back with a cell phone on her ear propped up by her shoulder and a bunch of pastries in her hand all concealed in their individual wraps. She dropped them down on the small counter next to the pastries display. She would put a couple of them in the display to show their delectableness and store the rest for customers to purchase. When her hands were clear, she grabbed her cell phone to hold it, her face filled with concern.
We see Lesliana anxiously checking her student portal while trying to enjoy her break. What’s one time you had to wait for important news (like a grade, a job offer, or a diagnosis) while trying to carry on with your normal daily routine? How did you manage that stress?
Yesterday was another Saturday at home, resting and healing from my recent accident. I also had to watch my youngest nephew for a few hours. Thankfully, I managed to keep him still for a little whileâwe watched movies, he snacked, had lunch, and then finally took a nap. Thank God, because that little guy is one busy toddler, lol!
But it was really just one movie that I watchedâwell, more like I watched itâthat gave me another eye-opener. Iâve seen this movie several times before, but this time, I felt a clear ping from the Holy Spirit!
Spoiler Alert below.
I was watching The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, where a pregnant mom gets molested by her doctor. She comes forward to expose him, he takes his life, and his widow realizes not only is his life over but hers is collapsing also. The widow goes into labor prematurely, and the baby doesn’t survive. She is in the hospital recovering after such loss of her child, and I believe she also had an emergency hysterectomy done. She sees the victim of her husband on tv, and this is where the grief and anger surfaces. The evil wheels get to spinning.
Six months later, the lady, Claire, who was molested by the doctor has given birth to her second child and he is now three months. The widow of the doctor, Peyton, meets Claire. She is applying for the nanny job and Claire and her husband approves of her. Peyton moves in with them to begin her duties. They do not know who she is and she is not going to reveal it.
After Peyton moves in, all hell breaks loose. I am not going to tell you all the things that happened, but Peyton was behind them all. And it was how she did everything. The light bulb went on, and I’m like man, “this lady is crazy and evil,” and her schemes were working at first.
Peyton caused chaos, confusion and strife. And how did she? By sowing seeds of doubt. Sowing seeds of doubt about Claire’s family handyman’s interaction with her daughter who was totally innocent. By sowing seeds of doubt about her husband and his faithfulness. By sowing seeds of doubt about her competency as a mother. She did more stuff but you have to watch or rewatch the movie if you have seen it before.
And that is what the enemy does. He sows seeds of doubt. According to the Idioms – Free Dictionary.com, sowing seeds of doubt is To cause someone to have doubts, worries, or concerns (about something); to introduce someone to a doubtful or worrisome idea. He plants seeds of doubt and causes strife and confusion and everything in between.
Now Peyton came in the door winning everyone over. She was supportive and a great help to the family but slowly turning the household upside down. Sounds familiar?
What helped them realize at first something was wrong although they couldn’t put their finger on it fully? There was too much disorder and confusion. Claire was falling apart at the seams. She couldn’t as she said go on like that. There was no peace or little peace.
And Peyton seemed to be at the source of it all.
Peyton even tries to seduce Claire’s husband. But love was stronger, boundaries were set. He looked like he may have been wrestling a bit in his head, but he clearly respected his wife and marriage and didn’t take the bait.
So, realize the enemy comes into sow seeds of doubt. He may not send a Peyton, but he may send something or someone else and in a different way. And we must do the following to overcome:
Be alert. Know the spiritual climate of your home and when something is off, seek God’s wisdom and address it. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8) Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.â Mark 14:38
Guard your heart. Guard it with the Truth of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. Saturate in the Word of God. Ask God to cleanse it and to heal any areas of it that need healing. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life (Proverbs 4:23) Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7) Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me (Psalm 51:10).
Ask God for wisdom to discern the enemy’s lies. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him (James 1:5).
Set boundaries and enforce them.Set standards and keep them. Setting boundaries protects you and others. It enforces self control and it draws the line with disrespect, unhealthy or ungodly intrusion. It show people how to respect you and treat you. For scriptures regarding boundaries, I will just include the link here. https://www.openbible.info/topics/boundaries
Know your enemy. Even if he disguises himself, we should be able to recognize his tactics, his M.O, his ways, etc. And remember we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:12). For knowing your enemy, I will include more scriptures regarding such here. https://www.openbible.info/topics/knowing_your_enemy
Trust God and know that His love is unfailing. He will win and help you overcome. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses (Proverbs 10:12). So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10).
Claire and her husband’s love won and in the end they trusted one another and came together to protect their family.
Whew, we don’t always see the enemy coming nor realize that he has been either invited in, has crept in, or finessed his way in, but I pray we realize more and more his tactics and lies. And I pray we replace his lies with the Truth of the Lord. That is what Jesus did. He fought the enemy with the Word of God, the Truth, and His commitment to the Father didn’t wane. Sidebar: He also knew His own identity and He knew His opponent. Knowing who we are as well as knowing and receiving God’s love and purpose for us are crucial in our walk of life and continual fight for our destinies, souls, and families. We are in this fight whether we want to be in it or not.
Moreover, be alert as best as you can. Allow God to remove the distractions, heal you where needed, and to see things the way He does. We need His insight, wisdom like never before in these times. I pray peace for all over our homes, the kind of peace that surpasses all understanding and that peace only comes from Jesus.
Tannika Nikeya 