Back to the dream, the matter

It has been almost 2,5 years ago that I wrote a post about a dream I have for the building on the top of the hill on the peninsula in Caracasbaai.

The reason was that I had other dreams that took the place of this one, and my prayers and focus shifted to those. As one of those dreams came thru and others didn't, this dream for this building still remains. It only got a bit sharper! Which is good. Hence I should continue to pray for it, but also seriously write down the concept and then leave a link for that here on the blog.

I remember at first I wished this place would be a place where all sorts of creative disciplines would take place: a place for artists to do an artist-in-residence program, workshops for ceramic, for wood, a cinema and an art library. An organic folk garden and an organic restaurant. But in a way just a small group of the population would benefit from this case. I want larger groups of local people to use this building on a regular basis.

Then I thought it would be a great place for churches to have retreats, a place churches would rent to get away from it all and to meet with God again, a place to awaken, to refresh. Above would be dorms and below a large hall where the group gathers, a dining room, and a well equipped kitchen to prepare large meals. The hall is also equipped with a sound installation, a beamer, a little corner with great Christian literature and games.

I still love this idea.
But now I'd love to see this building, still as  retreat place, as a silence retreat place.
There already is a catholic monastery  on the island for this purpose, which is of course run by nuns. But I'm not a catholic nun and in the future neither is the staff. So that's the only difference: the denomination. This silence retreat place has again the same purpose as it always had: to restore, to gather new energy, to heal. The only difference is that the treatment is individual and not for groups. So individuals come for, for example a week, and stay in a room in total silence. No phone, no internet, no books to read, no music, nobody to talk to, nothing. They only get a special detox diet for food (food from the organic garden and restaurant).  Which each meal they get a Bible text, food for thought. (the spiritual food). Each day they are allowed to write down prayer request to the staff (who is Christian) and they will pray for them. So a bit like a catholic nun's job. At the end of their week they can follow in silence yoga exercises (optional) and at the last day of their stay they can take a boat trip, there will be minimum of talk, just to get back into the normal world. Then they return to their lives.

a picture of the design of the bathrooms, connected with the dorm:

The rooms have a feeling of openness and the only thing you see is the ocean, the only distraction you have.

I think the old quarantaine hospital can have 2 new functions in one: the retreat place for groups, by having just bunkerbeds in a one dorm, and in other seasons, the rooms are just for 1 person. It depends of the season and how many churches (groups) book, next to how many single people book for a silence retreat. In any case the purpose of the old building is crystal clear: a place of retreat, of renewing the body and mind and of healing. I want this place to become a place where God truly breaks thru in lives of people, because they allow Him. They are open for the idea to listen and hear Jesus Christ speak into their lives. The rooms can have names that are attributes of God. For example room "Jehova Rapha". The room God heals. Also God comforts or God the Creator etc. Individuals who come for the silent treatment can choose a room in advance. This building, as run by Christians like myself, is a ministry of course, but it is for everyone. Also for people who are into angels, or into Universalism or into 'the Light' and do moonlight mediation sessions. So basically these people are looking for the spiritual and as the staff doesn't preach, they are always ready to share the gospel and pray the prayer requests for the guests. Because the desire for this building is that people can meet and encounter God the Healer and get restored.

Prayer

Prayer is the only entryway into genuine self-knowledge.
It is also the main way we experience deep change—the reordering of our loves. Prayer is how God gives us so many of the unimaginable things he has for us. Indeed, prayer makes it safe for God to give us many of the things we most desire. It is the way we know God, the way we finally treat God as God. Prayer is simply the key to everything we need to do and be in life. We must learn to pray. We have to.

- Timothy Keller

This God of Ours

I can't help but share about this God we serve.
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. This God.
This God who once said: Let Us make people according to Our image.

This God shares like EVERYTHING with those who love him and at one point entrusted their lives in His hands.
Really, the Bible is full of beautiful things God just shares with us. Everything He wants to do together.
People who say that God created us, but left us, have no idea what they are talking about.

God wants us to be there when he will reign on earth for a thousand years. He wants us to take part in the reigning.
God has a seat for us already in heaven. He is designing/preparing a place for us for when he comes and get's his Bride, the church.
He gives his Holy Spirit. We can do whatever He did during his 3-year mission on earth 2014 years ago. He says we can do even more, because He already left.
All the plans God has for the future he includes us. It's crazy!

Not even the angels are promised so much, that I know of!

He even slaughtered his own Son on the cross for humanity. All this trouble for us, people.
He pursuits people, he goes after people to show them His love, His message of salvation.
A God who reaches out to people.

People never really look for God first, like really search for Him. People have their own version of righteousness which is not even close to God's righteousness, which is hard to grasp because we never see the whole picture.
They first put themselves as priority and their dreams and desires. True or true?

Nevertheless, this God pours out His love for each individual soul that lived, lives and will be born.

You must be daft or your heart has grown cold that His love has no affect on you or whatsoever.
Like a Belgium guy I once met he told me: This whole God thing I can't picture it. I can't picture it at all. I live complete cut off from this idea of a God.

Totally spiritually dead.
Also for example these academic atheists that are so full of themselves, having science as their religion. Saying things like people don't even have a soul. It's just a collection of experiences and memories that have shaped you. We are just soulless beings. That doesn't even sound right. But it's dead people talk.

I pray for a revival for Belgium as a country. And for the Netherlands too. And I have faith that God might feel for that.

God enlarges the heart

An exposition of the Bible by Gill
I will run the way of thy commandments,.... Not only walk but run in it; which is expressive of great affection to the commands of God, of great readiness and cheerfulness, of great haste and swiftness in the way of them, and of great delight and pleasure therein;
when thou shall enlarge my heart; with the knowledge of God, his word, ways, worship, and ordinances; with his love more fully made known, and with an increase of love to him; with the fear of him, and a flow of spiritual joy and peace; and when delivered from straits and difficulties, from weights and pressures, and everything that may hinder walking or running; and being in circumstances which may lead and encourage to the one as to the other

Psalm 119:32
New American Standard Bible
I shall run the way of Your commandments, For You will enlarge my heart.

The verb to encourage and courage

Means to strengthen the heart. To give strength to the heart. Cour is the french word for heart (cœur)
it's a french verb ORIGIN Middle English (formerly also as incourage): from French encourager, from en- ‘in’ + corage ‘courage’. ORIGIN Middle English (denoting the heart, as the seat of feelings): from Old French corage, from Latin cor ‘heart’.

To have courage: to have a heart with strength. A strong heart. Your heart won't faint :) Your heart stays intact and you just go for it.

We as believers are no whuzzies.  But we do need to be encouraged every day. Who will encourage us today? Who will you encourage today? Ask God!

according to His

My prayer today is that all my dreams and desires are according to God's will.
I have lists of my own of course. Like some things I would love in a husband, or how many kids I would like or to start this art ship dream and this retreat building for missionaries. And I would like to have a way to just travel the globe making art. But sometimes I kill the dreams to be able to know what God wants first, kinda to clean up, and also so I can hear better and obey.
So the dream ship according to His will.
The husband according to His will.
The quarantaine hospital building if it is in His will.
The traveling by profession art ministry according to His will.

The ball is on His side.
I say this but on the other hand,  I must listen and act :) Maybe the ball is on my side?
Is there any disobedience or sin clogging the path God directs?
Am I perhaps lingering, i don't know really what to do, so perhaps I don't listen carefully or I just don't listen or just God's timing is not now, I do experience God's love every day. While the thinking big and dreaming big already took place and now we trust the big God to give specific instructions, yes, I do need specific instructions.

I will continue to promote a new small group I start with 2 other people called I am Second group. I had no time, but today I will pick it up again, so we can have people joining this group.

This is what an I am Second group is about

Restless...

Restless... Because You Were Made For More | FaithGateway

Check out this link above.  And this I'm combining with some teachings i got a week ago from Charles Stanley about God's guidance...

I prayed and told God I will kill off some dreams, letting them completely lose.  Some dreams that are on themselves very cute, but might not based on God's plan (that I know).

One is for example:  getting a triplet. I actually had a dream years ago, I was still in high-school, that I had a triplet boys and I was super tired and super happy. I was in a huge bed resting with my 3 newborns in my arms. Then my husband came into the room, the father of the kids. He was a guy I was in love with in high-school. A couple of years ago I began to fancy this sleeping dream into a day dream, to have 3 boys, while I always wanted daughters. But come on! it's nice, but it was a dream that I had. I always dream about having babies when I'm in love with someone. Like really in love.

I'm killing off this dream and let God fill in the blanks.



One dream I killed off a while back already was to one day marry a carpenter. It's just that I wanted to marry someone super handy and make stuff together.  My wish to marry a captain is still active, but I had yet another dream (not being in love or anything) that I might end up with a business man. And in the dream I thought: So this is it. I really love this guy and he is totally not my type. But here I am, living a city live again, being totally content, even being a mother to his kid. He had a blond 2 year old boy. We were driving in his Porsche in some business/industrial area and he  was wearing very expensive design clothes, like these Italian suits (not my cup of tea) but I watched him and only felt a deep love for this man, who was darkblond/reddish Caucasian. (again, no.) The only thing I took out of this dream was that I might end up with someone God guides me to and I end up loving anyway, that I normally would not fancy at all. But the fact is that I have always fallen in love with guys that are totally not my types and the ones who did have the looks were so shallow that I lost interest immediately.



But drifting off... my point is when I kill off some dreams I have, I allow God to refill with His reality for my life which is very much cooler then my dreams. I have had dreams come true and then I still feel restless, knowing that it was what I wanted all along. But not feeling all that super satisfied with it. So then...why so intensely hold on to my dreams? they might come true, but even if they did, i was not all that content. Thing is: when it is God's dream that is being realized, I am very content and excited because it feels so RIGHT. If totally FITS. I taste and see that it is good. That's why I look forward to see God making things real.

Meanwhile I scandisk for sins that hinder, I try to have more a prayer life, I obey him and try to stay 1 with Him by refocussing and try not to get too distracted. That is my weakness: getting distracted and filling my days with social life that are not really a priority.



Please Lord, guide all of my days, make my schedules.

How we control

Normally visions or drams that are big stuff you ask if it is God's will. But I should also ask God's will for like everything, really. 

We still control most of our lives. And then we wonder why we still are at the same stage in life?

Check out the story of the man God called 'fool'. If God calls you a fool, you are really in trouble because God normally doesn't call people names like that.

 

The Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12. NIV)

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
¹⁴ Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” ¹⁵ Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
¹⁶ And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
¹⁸ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. ¹⁹ And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
²¹ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

 

The rich man God called the fool actually had exactly everything the way he wanted it to be. He thought he had it made. He had everything he worked hard for. Actually, he was taking decisions in life totally without considering God. He had no need and no space for God. God wasn't necessary in the process of things in his life.  He was rich but not rich toward God.
Although... that same life he had can be gone that same night.
Next to that: there is still sooo much insight about God to discover. Sometimes we get so close, and this is when you feel rich. When the Holy Spirit illuminates you. 

Anything in  my life that hinders me from relying upon, thrusting and obeying God becomes a god in my life. Now you know what slows you down or holds you back or makes you bored with your christian life. But anything that actually makes me need to rely more upon him, thrust him even more and make me obey Him more are fine. They work, because God is involved.
I just need to make a list of things God can require of me to give up. He knows what works best for me.

I think God will continue to lighten my path and make me stronger and move me towards His plans. I believe so. I'm excited for this and what I DO like about a beginning of a new year is that you can start out well. In the course of the year it goes backwards again, but at least you start out well, let's see how far in this year we can take it.