What about in the fight against human trafficking? Yes, a few big organizations will make a mark… but what if millions of individuals joined them in small ways? How much sooner can we bury human trafficking and make it a thing of the past?

Love is one of those poorly defined words that we love to throw around. We call it a feeling. We say it is an action. Some confuse it with attraction, and others affection. Love has been and will be so many different things to so many.

So by now you’re thinking, “why don’t you just tell us what you say it is then?” Fair enough. I will.

Love is a choice.

Seriously? Yes. Seriously. Even people who have never read a Bible in their lives have probably heard part of 1 Corinthians 13: “Love is patient, love is kind…” These are action words! Actions are done by choice.

When you boil it all down, all of those other things (affection, attraction, emotion) help us make that choice. For example, I love my wife. Why? The reasons are too numerous (and some just too cheesy) to list here, but one of the biggest reasons is the affection we share for each other. That affection sparked the beginning of my choice to love her, and I show her love through it.

But affection is an emotion that comes and goes. I believe that love is more clear during the times when affection is all but gone, but the choice is still made. The actions still speak love. Hypocrisy you say? Commitment I say.

Now consider our love for victims of exploitation. Are we committed, or do we love based on our emotions at the moment? The choice is ours.

Let’s make it based on compassion.

Let’s make it in spite of our apathy.

Unfortunately, there were no entries to our Vday blog contest. That means if you didn’t enter because you didn’t think your writing was good enough you missed out big time! That’s ok, though, we’ll be running more contests very soon. Keep you eyes open.

The Model Beverage

To understand the touch that coffee has had on civilization let me put in writing the résumé for the beverage that dominates the world’s pallet.
          First refined in the quiet monasteries of Yemen in Arabia, coffee made her entrance into the world that she would someday have vital influence over, from Arabia, to Europe, to the America’s. Spreading slowly but surely, she would be a transgression to the cults, a crime to nations, and an iron fist in menacing insurgence, in music, the “inspiration” of Bach, in literature, the “restless energy” of Balzac, in philosophy, the “poison” of Voltaire.
          Frozen or boiling, Dripped by the English, pressed by the French, or simply covered by her rich cousin cacao theobroma [chocolate] ,coffee’s powerful taste and intense impact  on the 21^st Century makes her the vice of vicars, and the stimulating swallow of the starving artist.

-Daniel Bacon ^{February 6, 2010}

Sources:

Allen, Stewart Lee. Devil’s cup coffee, the driving force in history. New York, NY: Soho, 1999. Print.
Rhodes, Dr. Ron. Challenge of the Cults and New Religions, The. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001. Print.
“SPRESSO MONDIALE.” Spresso.com. Web. 06 Feb. 2010. http://www.spresso.com/flash/coffeelover.html .

1. Your blog entry should be roughly 100 – 500 words long.

2. Coffee must play a major role in your writing, but it’s up to you how. Be creative!

3. Keep the language clean please .

4. The deadline is Saturday, Feb 6 at 11:59pm Eastern time.

When you’re finished you can email your entry to contest@greeleyroadcafe.com with “GRC Coffee Contest” in the subject, or post it on your own blog and email us the link at the same place with the same subject.

We’ll determine the winner and contact that person for their choice of coffee and shipping info Sunday, then post for all to see!

A couple months ago the Greeley Road Cafe crew met with Rob Morris, co-founder of Love146, for lunch and (of course) coffee. During the conversation Rob told us about a man who spends his days riding his motorcycle from village to village warning them about child traffickers and their methods. The result? People recognize the traffickers by their actions and sometimes even chase them out of town! All it takes is some knowledge.

We believe that everyone can be a part of prevention, simply by raising awareness. No, we don’t have to go buy a motorcycle and ride from town to town to do it. Our motorcycle happens to be an online store. What’s yours?