A new adventure! Won't you join me?

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Lambs and paint

What is going on?  So many people have stopped by our new store(not yet opened) called 'Inspired...A Gathering Place.  It's fun to show them around, share the dream and all of the projects still to come.  What they see are lively colored walls, green and raspberry and purple.  They hear about how 'this is where the coffee bar will be and this is where we hope to have a small kitchen.  This is our someday Secret Garden area and these old chairs are going to be transformed into awesome sittin' chairs! '  I must confess that even as I say these things, I'm not always sure how all of this will happen. 
  One more thing that you need to know is how we have gotten this far and how we will accomplish the rest.  It isn't a nice bank loan or a padded savings account that are doing this.  THIS is a faith walk, from our first conversation with the landlord to where we are currently, trusting that God will bring the rest of our needs to us as we work diligently to make this happen.
  Inspired began just like the name....by inspiration, which I call a "God thing".  Many agree that God works this way, some are sceptical and that's ok.  For me, it was very clear that God had this space in mind for me to use.  Use for what?  To bring women together, to give us a place to share, learn, grow, relax, laugh and encourage one another.
 A friend encouraged me today to share some of my God stories....the way this project is coming together.  It is almost uncanny at times, how when we pray about something specifically, it comes to pass. 
Let me share a quick story about the fabulous colors that are in our store.
A dear friend of mine stopped in the salon one day carrying a cute little stuffed lamb.   She dropped it off and said, 'I saw this, loved the colors and the lamb(Jesus is the lamb of the world) idea is cool.  God told me to buy it for you."   ....ok....what do I do with this wildly colored little fella?  I thanked her, thought, hmmmm...whatever....smiled.   I took the lamb home and set him on my desk.  Ok God, seriously?  What am I supposed to do with this.  Do you really tell people stuff like this?   A few days later I took my little 'friend' to the paint store and put together some paint chips matching the colors of the lamb.  Bright green, raspberry, purple and blue.  Next, I met with another friend who is a designer and she did color placement for the walls.  It is GORGEOUS!!  Would I have ever painted those colors otherwise?? doubtful.  i agonized over what to do with all of those walls.
One of the first comments I hear is about how awesome the wall color is...YAY GOD!
  This is just one short story of many regarding the ways that things and people are coming across our path that I could only dream of.  We have a lot to do yet and many items needed, but I'm having fun just asking God about these things and watching how He is working to bring it to pass.  It just doesn't get much better than this! 
Blessings, Diane