The Letter

Have you ever seen "The Bells of St. Mary's"? It's one of my favorites.

If you haven't, then stop what you're doing right now and watch it... look! it's even on youtube! Fine, maybe not right this second, but you should definitely give it the time of day when you have the time of day. Its cute, funny, and in black and white and everyone knows that B&W movies are just plain awesome sauce!

Ok anyways... if you HAVEN'T seen it, and you don't have time for Bing Crosby & Ingrid Bergman awesomeness, then let me 'splain. No, there is too much, let me sum up. The catholic school is old. A business man is building a new building next door. The nun has great faith that the man will give it to the school. Bing sings. Some boys fight. Some girls wear white dresses. and finally the rich man gives the building to the school. Ding-dong, ding-dong.

Do ya see where I'm going with this?

No, I'm not a nun... but there is this building.
No, it's not for a school... but I do think it would bring life to our community.
and I do know how to sing and ring bells! ;)

Back to the point. I've written a letter. My daughter happened to read it and said it was inspiring. 0.0 Some might call it crazy, or a long shot, or just plain incredulous... but i'll go ahead and stick with inspiring, ha! Either way, it's typed, it's printed, it's in black and white and I think I have a stamp somewhere.

So if you happen to be a nun, or you sing like Bing, or you just have great faith for the impossible to be accomplished... would you remember this letter in your prayers? thanks! :)

So What Now?

So I feel like this crazy dream resembles... a shell... and it's just eagerly awaiting to be filled with all the things that are needed to make it a reality.

but then reality gets in the everyday way. 

I realize some people dream and plan and bleed and sweat for years before something bears fruit, so I'm not expecting to just snap my fingers and presto, here ya go. I think I'm just at a weird, unfamiliar crossroads of "do I go for it and just start raising money and asking for help and do whatever it takes to make this happen" or "do I wait patiently and let opportunities present themselves".

how do you find the balance of "keep living your life" and "wholeheartedly pursue an idea" while trusting the Lord to lead and direct all along the way.

I see so many examples in the Bible of people who were given a glimpse of vision, or a promise, only to get in the way by trying to make it happen in a way that made sense to them at the time.

so I must ask myself, "am I ok with the Lord's timing?" or rather... "am I willing to submit to the Lord's timing?" such an arrogant question, as if i can actually make anything happen that the Lord hasn't willed. As if my lack of surrender would ever yield anything worthwhile.

so my brain wants to plan and scheme and organize (aka control the process). but my heart says to wait on the Lord. Meanwhile, love God. love others. So I must offer what is in my hands to give right now. and what is in my heart to speak right now. what is in my time to invest right now.

so I'll keep them, these dreams, in my care, actively waiting until the Lord brings the fruit to bare. and I believe that someday in the future, I will look back in amazement at the working of the Lord's hands.

Big Dreams. Li'l Dreams. Big Dreams.

The kids have already been a significant part of the dreaming process. Mostly cause they're home all day and you can't hide anything from them... ya know, like when you try to sneak a tiny piece of chocolate... BOOM, there they are haha! but also because I ask them questions, ya know like "what dya think about this?" or "whadya think about that?" and also they came to look at the building with me...

one word of advice, if you ever feel discouraged about wanting to try something that feels completely crazy and impossible, take a kid or two along. Tell them your dream and watch the dream grow before your very eyes. They see the world of possibilities and are a great reminder that its good to dream and imagine and explore and hope and dream some more.

My 10yr old has had a sore throat for a couple days. She grabbed our "essential oil" reference book and was looking through it and found the recipe section. She liked the recipes and asked if I was gonna have food at the tea house and then decided that she would just go ahead and open up a bakery and serve these recipes. She's going to call it The Essential Cafe. She's already working on a menu. :)

Sometimes I'm afraid to dream big. Part of it is the fear of wasting time dreaming when I could be getting something else done. Sometimes I want to make sure that I'm not just chasing after a selfish dream, I want to make sure I'm investing in something that is actually pleasing to the Lord. There are a LOT of good ideas out there, but I don't want to chase after good ideas, I want to chase after God-ideas... the best ones... the only ones that will be worth anything in the end, the ones that are completely God-focused and will bring Glory to His name and enable me to love others and point them to Him.

And above all I want whatever comes about to be so unbelievably amazing and effective that its obvious it was solely the hand of God leading and directing it and not anything I brought to the table other than my willingness to be used.

The Dream Board

I have so many ideas and visions bouncing around in my head... and it's a bit hard to convey those ideas when there isn't anything in the area like what I'm wanting to do. So I've been scouring the inter-webs to see if there are at least things that are similar and there are, so that's good (means I'm not entirely crazy!) so without further ado, here are some basic concepts that I'm envisioning, and maybe you can begin to catch the vision too!

Very colorful, organic, artsy and fun... It'll feel like a home with something new in every room.

A place for quality fun-time with family and friends playing board games...

and actual face to face conversations...

A room for vintage tea parties... the perfect way to celebrate a birthday, bridal or baby shower...

A place to unwind and relax in a calming atmosphere with a hot cup of tea in hand...

A place to study on your own or with a small group...

A creative space for local artists and students inside...

and outside...

a Community Garden out back...

and of course great TEA!

sounds like a lot in one place, huh? well the building I'm looking at is over 5,000 sq ft

:)