We Proudly Don’t Serve…

06.04.2008 by Dan Dan the coffee man.

You have seen the sign hanging over an entrance “We Proudly Serve Starbucks”.  We want to state that we proudly don’t serve starbucks here @ journeys.  Now this is not to bash them as a company or the business that they once created.  We as journeys may not be here today if they or some other large national chain would have kicked off mass marketing of specialty coffee.  So why then the statement that we proudly don’t serve…?

journeys was created and is a third place for people to gather, connect, share, relate and let life happen.  The joys that go with being an independent third place is also that we are free to select the best of all aspects of what we do in our business and mission… that is right there is more to journeys at the end of the day then slinging coffee.  We have the great privilege of being able to fund causes with every dollar that journeys as a small business generates.  From the moment of of conception we knew that revenue from the sales would go to fund the mission or Jesus in this world through the faith family of Messiah Lutheran Church but we get to go beyond that.  All of the “tips” that we collect fund causes locally as well as globally.  If you have missed some of the past post that talk about these please dig back in and read the stories.  We have had the pleasure of reaching out locally to support local families during the holidays, around the world with support for children via Compassion in the region where our coffee beans come from to our most recent of collecting funds as well as physical tooth brushes to send along to missionaries heading to Guatemala for a medical mission.

To have an impact on eternity through a simple world class cup of coffee is an amazing thing and I am humbled to be a part of it all.  journeys will continue to connect people, raise up future leaders, fund causes that have an impact on eternity and simply be The Hands and The Feet that we have been called to be in the world.  And yes, we will state that, We Proudly Do Not Serve Starbucks.

God Bless
dl

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What is “the buzz”

05.29.2008 by Dan Dan the coffee man.

Okay a little play on words since journeys is a coffeehouse and all.  We have created a new mailing list for you to  keep up to date on current menu offerings, special events, drink specials and some promo items.  Sign up for the mailings and watch for the savings.

the journeys staff

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To the center of town

05.28.2008 by Dan Dan the coffee man.

journeys received a little press this month in a Leadership Network article.  The article summary is simply:

Today’s churches are strategizing in ways that are innovative, intentional and missional to reach a group of people who might not be churchgoers, but  who are attracted to a nonreligious venue for coffee,  lunch, play dates, workouts or concerts—where followers of Christ are also hanging out.

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Is it that hard?

05.23.2008 by Dan Dan the coffee man.

The answer is no.  What was the question then.  The question is/was is it that hard to pour latte art based on correctly textured milk?  Okay so that is a lot of “coffee techno babble” so what does it all mean.  If the milk used in a latte is correctly prepared (stretched and textured) then there should be no reason that one can not pour out latte art with every drink.  The picture below is from one of our newly trained volunteers after a quick little 20 minute session with the Sean man.  So this moves us to the next question then, that is why then does not every coffeehouse that has well trained baristas pour it every time?  I am sad to tell you we don’t have the answer to that one.

Awesome work Katie, you are only going to get better with each one you make.

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show HOPE

05.23.2008 by Dan Dan the coffee man.

Our hearts go out the Chapman family on their tragic loss of their daughter Maria.  The Chapman family has a heart for the Lord and heart for the orphans of the world. Please stand tall while you kneel and pray for the Chapman family and for the orphan. Go to God on behalf of orphans and waiting children. Go to God for direction as you seek to care for orphans. Go to God as the source of life, love and hope.

God’s Blessings,
dl

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Brushed Up

05.22.2008 by Dan Dan the coffee man.

I wanted to take a moment to personally thank everyone for the giving last month.  We were collecting funds as well as tooth brushes for an up coming dental mission trip to Guatemala.  Through your generosity we collected $450 as well as 24 dozen tooth brushes.  We continue to be amazed at the generosity of all of our patrons.  We kept setting the tooth brushes in the back room and not really counting them… 24 dozen that is amazing, thank you all. We have contacted a local dentist to have them purchase tooth brushes with the dollars that were donated as well, we want to maximize the reach so we are looking for their bulk and direct purchasing power.  The blessing is that we have several dentists right in the faith family who have a passion for Christ as well for this exact mission reach.

We just want to simple yet powerfully say thank you to everyone.

This month we are helping to raise funds to directly pay for the gas money to send the youth to and from on their summer mission trip.  If you would like to contribute please stop in.

God Bless,
dl

Update: Just wanted to give a quick update, we found out that Crest will be matching funds that we put up.  We also want to thank Dr. John for making the arrangments with Crest and picking up the overhead cost of the purchase.  Along with the 24 dozen brushes we received at the coffeehouse we are now going to be getting 2000 additional brushes from the collected funds.

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community creates

05.13.2008 by Dan Dan the coffee man.

As you may have noticed, almost all of the photos and graphics that we release and post on our flickr account we post via the Creative Commons license.  So what does this mean, we feel that what we produce can be used by the community just give us the props.  Today was the first of what I hope to be many more where someone used one of ours for his blog post.

God Bless,
dl

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Darken up the mocha

05.13.2008 by Dan Dan the coffee man.

For the mocha lovers out there we are now offering a dark chocolate mocha as well as the regular mocha we have been offering.  If dark chocolate is your game, just ask for the dark chocolate… hot or cold… make it dark.

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Kingdom Economics

05.06.2008 by Dan Dan the coffee man.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

This is another little bit from my time at WFX (Worship Facilities Expo) last week.  One nigh over dinner I was blessed to hear how the Lord is moving through Central and South America and the current rapid growth of the evangelical church in this area of the world.  This area of the world is known for having business deals that are not ethical and down right deceitful.  The churches of the area have no choice but to deal with the builders since there is no other option a high percentage of the time.  An acoustics / sound company based in the United States has been working with these churches to dramatically increase the usefulness of the audio and video that is being used.  Interestingly, these locals will trust an American Gringo more than they will the local contractors.  Okay, so why am I sharing this all with you all?  That is a good question and it comes down to one statement that was made about business and faith in the Jesus.  We need to operate in terms of “kingdom economics”, that is to place others values at or above our own and trust that the Lord will take care of us.  So weather we are talking about a business transaction or just serving another I challenge you to place the value of the one you are serving at or above your own and have the faith that the Lord will take care of you.

God Bless,
dl

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Third Place Vacation

05.04.2008 by Dan Dan the coffee man.

Three days last week I took a little vacation to head down to Indianapolis for the Worship Facility Expo where I rocked it out making drinks at the Aspen, Cogun, Third Place Consulting booth. I was there to help share what God is doing at the cafe at my home church, share how a third place at someone’s home church can be used to the Glory of the Lord and to make some awesome drinks. The conversation that took place and the people that I had the pleasure of meeting were well worth the time and investment. Who knows, I met get a chance to do it all over again in the fall. Now to figure out how to up my home espresso machine to a Nouva…

For what it’s worth.

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barista abroad

04.08.2008 by Dan Dan the coffee man.

I (Dan) am aboard this week. I traveled through Amsterdam and then onto Scotland. I have been seeking out cafes along the way and here are just some shots from the trip.

Coffee Connection in Amsterdam, NL	Dave @ Coffee Connection
Caffe Nero in Edinburgh, UK
Drink prep @ Nero	my latte @ Nero

God Bless and see you back in the states.dl

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Specials this month: April 2008

04.02.2008 by Head Barista.

Come in an try the new flavors of the Italian sodas and our new banana bread.

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Sharing the love of Christ

02.28.2008 by Dan Dan the coffee man.

am very pleased and blessed to write you all this email. Through the loving contributions of the patrons of journeys we are sponsoring a child through Compassion International. Our coffee supplier was open to let us know where they get the majority of their beans so we had Compassion find a child in that region.

Bryan is five years old and lives with his mother in Brazil, just northeast of Sano Paulo. He is responsible for running errands. His mother is sometimes employed as a laborer.

Soccer, playing with cars and art are Bryan’s favorite activities. In kindergarten his performance is average and he also regularly attends Bible class.

Please remember Bryan in your prayers. Our love and support will help him to receive the assistance he needs to grow and develop.

We will have opportunity to write to Bryan and receive letter from him. I will share all of the information as it comes in. We shall be matched up to Bryan for years to come.

God Bless,
Dan

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Salad anyone?

02.26.2008 by Dan Dan the coffee man.

It has been a long time coming, we are going to start rolling out food offerings @ journeys now. We are starting this week with a gourmet salad. We are going to have a couple made up and ready for those on the run and we will also pull them together on the fly if there is not one made up when you get arrive… we want them to be the freshest possible.

God Bless,
dl

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the ROCK

02.26.2008 by Dan Dan the coffee man.

the ROCK is this month’s special here at journeys. This is a coffee free blended drink that tastes wonderful and matches the month perfectly, come in for your touch of green this month.

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