here am i

preface-i really LOVE the things going on in my life right now and i REALLY, REALLY love my friends here...but...

tonight the gathering was all about sending and going. And i knew it was going to be a rough night. i thought i'd be ok. i was wrong. pretty much there isn't a day that i don't think about being overseas, or think about my friends, or even the things that drove me insane. I didn't love china when i first got there. it was really hot and really smoggy and the long term workers were really weird, that lasted about a day. then i loved it. For the 9 months i was there there was only one day that i wanted to be back in america. one day. out of 270-ish.

the week i left we had a little house church with the students we'd been meeting with all semester. they called it their tuesday get together group. There were about 15 students and 3 workers crammed into a small apartment in the middle of the blazing summer without air conditioning. think about everything you've heard about chinese underground house church...that was it. All the students went around the room sharing how they came to know christ. they were speaking in chinese, so i only caught like every 3rd word, and my name. it was beautiful. MY name was in their stories. beautiful and humbling. i looked at their faces, and it was a montage of my time there. remembering their journies and mine. I left two days later. it was the hardest thing i've ever done. walking away. believing that i was being led back to america, but definately not feeling it.

and understand that He reigns. and that He's moving. I might not be there to see it, or tell the stories but He is continuting to show His glory in the dark places. He doesn't need me. that's really hard too. He's bringing His salvation to that city through those 15 students who get together on tuesdays. who risking future jobs, higher pay, class status, and respect continue to share his love and grace with all those around them.

so here i am. knowing that he's called me to kc for now. and being ok with that. just not knowing the "why". and daily dealing with that. daily laying whatever plans i have for myself on the altar. releasing them. letting go. and that's really hard. but i have to understand that God is in control of this moment. and be obidient to that.

little of me

here's some more tagore for you. i figure he's a nobel laureate poet, we'll let him do the words...


Let only that little be left of me
whereby I may name thee my all.


Let only that little be left of my will
whereby I may feel thee on every side,
and come to thee in everything,
and offer to thee my love every moment.


Let only that little be left of me
whereby I may never hide thee.


Let only that little of my fetters be left
whereby I am bound with thy will,
and thy purpose is carried out in my life---and that is the fetter of thy love.

the weight of glory

stop. feel the weight of this moment. it's my arms around you. pressing you-guiding you. feel my touch-feel my hands on your back "do not fear for i am with you". you must walk to the edge-don't run or you might miss it. don't look back-that's not for you to worry about. i will guide you. i will continue to push you when your feet sense the edge and instinctively don't want to take one more step. trust me! but this is real. do NOT treat it lightly. Are you sure? I will continue to push you because I believe in this. I need you to believe in me me. Believe IN me. Believe me. Let go and believe me. the closer you get the harder I'm pushing. Not to force you but to let you know how much I believe in you. You can do this. You can. Why are you scared-I know the plans-you don't have to.

sometimes when God speaks you grab the nearest thing and start writing. in this case it was a paper napkin. beautiful!

a little too close for comfort

this was the view of the chem plant from the camera on top of our building this afternoon. it was a little eerie driving out of the city tonight and seeing the city scape with a backdrop of thick black smoke. gave me chills. because they didn't evacuate us (statestreet is 2.3 miles away from the plant) we had to continue pricing funds (i guess it would cost a lot of people a lot of money if we didn't send the right prices to NASDAQ). so when i was telling becky about it, it had gone into the no big deal category, "so they're was a chemical plant that exploded in north kc, no big deal, we're ok". needless to say, when she got outside and saw the smoke, she immediately called to check up on me. :) thanks friend!