Sought out

Anxious,
laying my life at your feet
to see your eyes,
what expression meets me?

I wait, to see

Loving kindness
patient, tender care
to be sought out
and loved
more than I dared
to hope...
that's how you love me.

Anxious,
yet again,
the troubles of this life weigh heavy
tragedy, devastation, and weeping
who can lift the burdens of this load?

(Only one)
Only the Son of Man
Only the Son of God
Only Jesus

Lord, you give rest to the weary
Lord, you seek out the lost and the lonely
Lord, you carried our griefs and bore our sorrows
Lord, you provide hope for tomorrow

To be sought out
and loved
more than I dared
to know...
that's how you love me...
that's how you love me...
and you love me
and you love me
that's how you love me.

I give it all to you, trusting.

Feeling on one end like I've been cut open and stuffed with straw. Made to be a scare crow, to stand up tall, an emblem. And yet my stuffers were shaming me for being filled with straw. You know, if you are filed with straw you could catch fire. Wouldn't you be happier if you had a different plaid shirt? Here, let me help you. Follow this scare crow list and you'll surely be a success at crow scaring. You volunteered for this position, didn't you?

Yes, the idealist-mediator-scarer not only suggested, but curated and led a brilliant charge-
icy awkwardness, phone checking, crunch, crunch, umm...good guac....the strain was heavier than the air 17 floors up, the coldness between former friends more bitter than the air. Oh, apart from the great reconciler, we are unreconciled, and unwilling. And the "idealistic," "kind," "naive," and yes, single, scarecrow can't help anyone.

"We never need doubt the love of Christ. We have plenty of solid evidence. But there may be times when we might wonder just how much Jesus delights himself in us. It is true that bearing the Father's wrath on the cross was the ultimate test of how immense Christ's love is, but our soul wants to know more. I want to know how passionately, how intensely he feels about me. Did Jesus desire to come to earth? Or was it a matter of fulfilling divine duty? The question is answered in blood. There is a word that marks the love of Christ and that word is, "excessive." His love for you overflows all reason, all expectations, all your HOPES and DREAMS...Christ's love emanates powerful emotion. For him to die for you, is for him to be delighted in you" -Joni Eareckson Tada, God's Precious Love

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.