“If you don’t love
like God loves,
you don’t really love.”
Kevin Maguire

I have said many times that everyone has a story to tell. Each one of us has a lifetime of memories, experiences, and lessons learned which have the potential to be both beneficial and motivational for others. Pat Maguire, the founder and owner of Java Beach Café in San Francisco, has a powerful story to tell. Fortunately, he had the courage to write and publish it.

Writing and publishing books, especially books about our own lives, creates a substantial vulnerability which many are not willing to risk. Pat is well aware of this risk, yet he opened his mind and heart to share his story, knowing that this story will resonate with a wide variety of readers. 

My friend, Roland Merullo, author of Breakfast with Buddha, The Delight of Being Ordinary, Golfing with God, and a number of other novels, quipped that when a new book is published, it’s not uncommon for the author to look outside to watch for the celebratory parade going by his home. Well, rarely, if ever, does such a thing actually happen. Pat was informed today that his book, All Things Beautiful, was officially published yesterday, September 24, 2025. While he’s certainly excited about this, Pat is much too busy — and much too humble — to be standing around looking for accolades.

I mention Pat’s book here because it is good. Hard times fall on all of us at one time or another. Sometimes these situations are caused by factors outside of our control, while at other times, they result from our own decisions or actions. How we respond to these times of crisis in our lives is within our control. Victor Frankl, a holocaust survivor, wrote this: “The last of human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”

All Things Beautiful relates the challenges faced by the author, and reveals how Pat used his freedom, and his acceptance of the love of God, to cope with and overcome a variety of significant obstacles in his life. This inspirational story is one of trust, surrender, and a profound realization of God’s presence in our lives.

Pat’s book is available now from Amazon, and will be available at both Java Beach Café locations in the coming weeks. I highly recommend it.