A new take on your favorite indulgence

The popular "Pumpkin Spice" coffee is BACK!  Limited to our fall season, you don't want to miss your window of enjoying a cup of this yummy treat without all the extra "fuss".  It's like a dessert only without all the calories and fat to boot.

To contrast our 0 calories "Pumpkin Spice", I thought I'd show all of you Starbucks "Pumpkin Spice Latte" fans just what you are consuming when you stop in for your favorite fall drink.  Start making those resolutions early and think how you can still indulge without the bulge.

Nutrition info on a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte - 16 oz. grande

• 380 calories
• 13 grams of fat
• 49 grams of sugar

OR ... indulge and keep your fitness goals with our "Pumpkin Spice" without all those extra's.  

Go on over and order HERE today.

We also have a new "Fall for Flavors" Gift Box perfect for your family, friends, co-workers, clients.

• Pumpkin Spice Coffee
• Witch's Brew Coffee
• Football Frenzy Coffee
• $29.99 plus shipping
• Private Labeling Available

A sneak peek

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?

I see a new Coffee House looking at me.  

Thought I'd give you a sneak peek into our new facilities.  This building will be connected to and adjacent to our current roasting/packaging facilities ... and our roasters will be located in HERE.   What do you think so far?  

Missoni at Target

I've been seeing commercials lately for Target featuring a line called "Missoni".  All the same prints ... all different colors, on everything from picture frames, bath towels, make up bags, shoes, clothes and more.
Not thinking anything of it ... I walked into Target today.

Mistake #1

Apparently, I'm not only not friends of the "Jones's" but I don't even know who they are!  Fashionista, I am not.  Wondering into the store, I notice several woman walk by me with carts FULL of the print from the commercials I have been seeing.

Walking past the young girls section, I spie a cute little dress.  Something that looks like this (but I hope longer) ...

I look at the price.  More expensive than most Target items I buy, but cute and well, whimsical, just like my 9 year old daughter.  In the basket it goes.  Uh oh, did I just meet the Jones's?

Rounding the corner to the ladies department, I notice a large group of ladies clammering over the same rack.  Peeking in through the crowd I notice the same cute pattern. Hmmm ... "Missoni" it says??  

 What is all the fuss I think to myself?

Walking away I over hear a Target worker talking to another.  "Yeah, two ladies were fighting over rain boots this morning".  The other says "You should have seen the two fighting over a dress"?

Walking away I think to myself "Rainboots, aren't we in a drought and it's not expected to rain until like 2012"?

Meandering down the next isle, a young girl on her phone passes by.  I over hear her telling the person on the other end that she's on a "scavenger hunt" and they've hit "Every Target in Town"!!   Looking down at her basket, I notice the same inconspicuous print all over everything in her cart.  Hmmm?  

Upon arrival home, I decide to google this thing ... "Missoni".  O.K., so some Italian designer .. blah blah blah - really expensive - foreign.  I then see a link for "Missoni at Target".  Clicking on it, I read these words.

We are suddenly extremely popular. You may not be able to access our site momentarily due to unusually high traffic. Please stay here and we'll try to get you in as soon as we can!

On top of the post, I notice the same words "Missoni".

So here I sit.  Thinking.  Computing.  Wondering.  Observing.  And yes ... Judging! (I'll admit it)

I just walked into two Target's today.  I just watched ladies fighting over a "Name brand" item because it was "less".  I just saw them pass by me with carts FULL of clothes, towels, picture frames and more.  Apparently, waking early and CLEARING out every. last. item for what?

It makes me wonder what the Lord must think of us today.  It makes me wonder, what would it be like if our world wasn't so upside down?  If we didn't care about what "brand" we wore.  

What if those same ladies were waking up early and clammering to sponsor one of our children in Warancha?  What if the 34.00$ they spent on just ONE of their items, went to activating the sponsorship of a vulnerable and orphaned child?  What if, we didn't worry so much about keeping up with the "Jones's"?  What would my morning be like, if I had to call HopeChest and tell them "profile me more children ... they cleaned me out"!  

I suppose if that were so, the world would be right.  I suppose if that were so, their wouldn't be a need for all the ministries I loved because we'd all be spending far less time thinking about our "things" and ourselves and far more time, concentrating on others.  And well, If that were the case, I wouldn't have 83 children still needing a sponsor family.  

But it's not.  

Apparently, Target's next shipment will arrive at 8:15 am.  You should probably get their by 8:00 ... because if you don't, you'll be too late ... and it'll all be gone.

*A disclaimer.  If you bought yourself some "missoni" today ... or will, in the coming days.  No guilt.  No shame.  Enjoy your clothes.  They are definitely cute clothes.  The point of the post is simply to point out how crazy we can all get over "THINGS"*

Get a Life!

Tom Davis, author of "Red Letters", "Fields of the Fatherless", "Priceless" and "Scared" (all books you MUST read!) and President of Children's HopeChest  (the ministry to which our CarePoint is through) just posted an awesome blog post on his blog titled "Get a Life".    As usual, Tom eloquently puts into words why each of us should "GO" and see for ourselves the poor, the orphan and the destitute among us.  I so agree with what he says.  I can post pictures of sweet faces of the children of our Warancha CarePoint.  I can post stories from my own experiences.  I can tell you of the need amongst such precious children.  I can cry out to you to join us in being their "Hope" and "Future".   But, until you experience for yourself, no one can truly put it into words adequately, and you'll never quite understand it until you just "GO".
Tom shares about 3 up and coming trips all through an amazing missions sending ministry we love called "Visiting Orphans".  The "Ethiopia October" trip is the trip we've been sharing about.  What fun!

So, as Tom writes, "Get a Life".  As Jesus told the rich man, sell all you have and follow me.  Just COME and see what eternal rewards he has in store.

We can't wait to see just who will follow.

To sponsor a child in Warancha CarePoint (34$/month).  Please contact Cristie and cmartine@satx.rr.com.  She'll get you all set up and on the road to your own sweet relationship with a child.

To join our October mission trip into Addis Ababa and Awassa, Ethiopia.  You can click on the link on Tom's blog "Ethiopia Oct 6-16" (that's our trip!!!) or you can visit the  Visiting Orphans  website to fill out your application right there online.

Important Dates:
$200 deposit for the trip
Deadline for application:  August 31
$2,000 due on August 31
remaining balance due by Sept 15

A crazy grand adventure! JOIN US!

O.K. all you crazy, orphan loving, coffee drinking, G2C fans ....  It's time to get busy and get GOING! 

On June 17, your favorite Ground to Cup coffee launched the official partnership of G2C with Children's HopeChest, to take on loving a CarePoint community in Awassa, Ethiopia called "Warancha".  We've been chatting about that here for a while and we featured that CarePoint launch at our "No Double Yellow Line" event recently.  Our role in this partnership is to gather our community together to sponsor 150 plus children (giving them education, medical/dental care, discipleship) and begin to effect change in their community through capital projects and more.  To add, GOING would be an opportunity for anyone interested each year.  Little did we know, the Lord would say "GO" so quickly.

Through a stream of incredible events, one of your awesome G2C partners will be leading the first ever Children's HopeChest/Visiting Orphans mission trip into, count em', FOUR CarePoints (including the opportunity at ours) in Awassa, Ethiopia. 
The team will also spend the first few days in Addis Ababa loving some precious kids in orphanages there.

This trip is sure to be incredible as the team will get to see first hand the difference sponsorship makes on a community and the children within it.  Each CarePoint is at different phases of it's sponsorship and capital projects ...  including OURS ... Warancha ... which is brand new in the program. 
We have many children yet to be sponsored in this community (so please leave a comment/contact if that interests you and we will be in touch - $34/month) so the team will also get to meet the sweet faces of those children who still yearn the hope of a sponsor family.  AND ... for those of you who have already activated your own sponsorships, you can meet your sweet children in person! 

Time is of the essence in sign ups for this trip and so I would LOVE for any of your help.   FIRST, sign up yourself if you can go.  It will be life changing.  Next, promote it on your FB pages and blogs by sharing the link to this post!  Please oh Please share this with your friends, churches, and spheres of influence!  We want to fill this team and love big these children! 

Go to Visiting Orphans  and click on "Mission trips".  Click on "Africa", "Ethiopia" and then "2011".  You can read more about the trip there under "October 6-16".  You can fill out your application right there online and then, fasten your seatbelt for 10 days that will completely wreck your world and arrest your heart forever!   Come on friends ... let's put caring for these children's HOPE and FUTURE into action with our hands and feet by GOING and LOVING and SERVING!  

Some of the sweet faces of "Warancha"

Are you their hope?

Yabetse, Malawie and Letamo are just 3 of the many faces staring back at me looking for a family who wants to be a part of giving them a Hope and Future.  

Are you their Hope? For $34/month ... 1$ a day, you can help provide these precious children an education, medical care, discipleship and 2 meals a day at the CarePoint in Awassa, Ethiopia.

Will you say "yes"?  

Just leave me a comment and let's get you set up.  

Come on and Cross over with us!

On June 17th we were blessed to have an awesome event, "The No Double Yellow Line" where we officially launched our CarePoint Sponsorship "Warancha" in Awassa, Ethiopia.  We partnered our evening with the talented and incredible Cindy Foote as she debuted her new EP release of "No Double Yellow Line" that features 7 songs on adoption and orphan care.

The night was more than we hoped or imagined as Cindy blew our socks off and brought the guests to both tears and laughter as she shared the world of adoption through her own lens ... 3 times over.

Michael Vinson of Children's HopeChest , shared the vision of why we are doing what we are doing ... working to get 150 children of Awassa, Ethiopia sponsored and spurred us each to action as he shared the heartbeat of their amazing ministry ... YOU!  HopeChest couldn't do what they do to provide Hope for so many lives without each family who gives of their heart and time to a child sponsor.

Doug Martine of Ground to Cup called us from a place of complacency to action and asked us each to get involved.   The Ground to Cup team is so excited about this partnership with HopeChest and this CarePoint and truly we feel like our motto "bringing other's a Hope and Future" is exemplified through each family who joins us to love big this community.

Cristie Martine shared her heart for the orphan and personal testimonies of seeing first hand stories of children who have been sponsored in Ethiopia from her trip in February.  She shared the reality of what life for a child might look like when their is no hope for an education, meals, discipleship and medical care.  With a badge of honor, each child hold's your family, their sponsor family, close to their hearts.  Even from afar, your relationship is valued and worth far more to each child than any other worldly possession!

25 families picked up sponsor packets that night and so far around 13 of those families have followed up and activated those sponsorships.  We have many many more children looking for that hope that you can give.  Just think for $1 a day, you can change the future of a child forever.

So, come on, join us as we embark on this new adventure.  We're learning it all with you and excited to see what is in store.  For sure .... trips to love our children will be on the future horizon!

Special Thank You's for the night cannot go unnoticed.  Without these folks, this event would have never happened!

• Crossbridge Community Church - your willingness to step up and open your beautiful facility to us was a blessing!  Thank you Debbie Ashton for all you did!
• David and Billie Gill, Debbie and Paul Graff, Evelyn Demelio, Janet and Bill Gonser - the catering and kitchen team who cooked and served all 220 people that night!  Your hands of service were amazing!  
• Evelyn Demelio - your yummy cakes!  Thank you!
• Ground to Cup Coffee - Briskets, coffee, coordination of the event
• Billy and Cindy Foote and their amazing band!  Thank you to each of you for coming all this way to make this night a huge success
• Jennifer Verme - the amazing centerpieces that adorned each and every table.  You are talented beyond our imagination!
• Michael Vinson and Children's HopeChest for the opportunity to partner with you in Ethiopia!
• Our community; friends and family who joined the night and made it fabulous!
• Those who have said "yes" to sponsorship!  This is only the beginning to the rest of the story!