Heavy and Weighty

Do not fret over your heavy troubles, for they are heralds of weighty mercies. Charles Spurgeon

Pillars for Flourishing Transboundary Coordination

James K. Gasana wrote about "Governing TCBAs"- Trans-boundary Conservation Areas. That's an area of land between two countries that is important for conservation. It is challenging for single entities to protect areas- and it becomes very layered and complic
ated between countries. His example centers on Cambodia, Laos and Thailand "The Emerald Triangle". He notes it is a process that must be built through partnerships. It can't flourish without these items. I just wanted to keep a record of these items because they seemed highly relevant in many other partnership contexts.

1) Political will- from national and sub-national governments

2) Political vision- to address trans-boundary issue of shared interest through coordination of policies, institutions and management

3) Joint structures and synergies- with clear mandates at national levels, inter-institutional coordination, and stakeholder participation mechanisms that include Indigenous Peoples, local communities and municipal authorities

4) A mixture of financing mechanisms - funding from national budgets, private, bilateral and multilateral donors, the private sector, whenever feasible 

Reflective Learning

As I progress in my career (it sounds very adult to say that!) I've now done one professional presentation and one guest lecture. Woohoo! I want to keep doing a better job, so I jotted some notes for future use. Asking students/participants to reflect will enrich their experience...so here goes:

Describe: describe what you experienced
Interpret: what you experienced, what does it mean?
Explain it to others: explain how it applies to you

What surprised you?
What scared you?
What made you feel good?
What inspired you?
What will you remember?

Now I can recycle this note to myself: do not forget these questions and strategies! I only have to remember I blogged it here ;)

your way is like water

your way is like water 

fresh to my mind 

it heals my heart again
-Aaron Strumpel

Rugby's song

I stood arm in arm with my brother.
My hand on his shoulder, his hand on my waist,
surrounded by a chorus of manly voices singing
this bar song, and soon my laughter gave way.
I could not contain the joy
of their exuberant frivolity
singing a bar song, "i went to the corner..."
so melodically.
I understood more about my brother then,
with the passion and the silliness,
how could you not want to belong to this?
Burly men, being men,
joined in brotherhood!

I will not forget how we did not simply disperse
after the Iphones were finished capturing the crowd
behind two men, beside, and before
we were surrounded by their sound,
that choir of strength,
bonded by bruises,
a taste of heaven, a holy infusion
of belonging in song,
of enjoying the moment
God gave to be.

May these voices
will be part of the throng
that's song goes on and on and on.

To be Revived

Yesterday I scavenged some plants from the garden club's plant exchange at my workplace. I brought home a wilted plant, with one main stem about two feet tall, with tiny yellow flowers that looked just right for humming bird beaks to drink from. It needed to get some water and room for roots to expand, immediately! I picked a spot in our front garden and happily dug a nice hole, excited to plant and let it be established.

It's morning now, I'll go see how it did over night. Did the soil and watering revive it? I hope so. But it may take time, it was without nourishment for a few days.

So I see my soul, shriveled and wilted, weak and wanting. Apart from the Word and time seeking in His Presence, I was weary and could not pray or sense His presence. I was on auto-pilot. I was on empty and surviving.

This morning I drank. I drank water about endurance, about One who did not come to continue the system of sacrifices to earn forgiveness, but the one who came to be THE sacrifice. The One who came to do the Father's will, who ate that as his bread and breathed it as his breath. Who was satisfied in giving over himself to the One who loved him and knew him and led him.

Make it so, plant me so I do not wither. Sustain me and drive me to the waters to drink. Let me not stray far from your shepherding hand! Prone to wander, oh I feel it, prone to leave the one I love. Take my heart, now, and seal it. Revive my heart in your love and goodness and I will praise your name! Beautiful One. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Rather than

“I conclude that repentance involves believing God,” proclaimed the preacher, “rather than Satan’s claim that more joy can be found in sin than in obedience.” Repentance, the preacher continued,

is a “being persuaded” about the danger of impenitence and the way of escape through repentance for the forgiveness of sins. It involves grief over past sins and present sinful tendencies. This is the significance of the sackcloth and ashes [inLuke 10:13 and Jonah 3:5]. And it involves turning from evil ways.

So faith and repentance are not properly two separate things. The turning of repentance is a turning from trusting in other things to a trusting in God. And with a new trust in God as counselor and protector and provider, there is also a turning to a new life of joyful obedience.

-John Piper, 1988.