My views have been shifting a bit for this reason:
...not to mention the ways that I see things through the eyes of my heart these days... my views are always changing and expanding.  I can hardly keep up.  I am growing and changing I feel like and sometimes it kind of leaves me feeling bent out of shape.  The roles and jobs I have found myself in, the relationships I am a part of are all tools that press and shape me to be who He has created me to be.  Having and savoring my experiences here with Jesus distinctly mark me each and everytime.  Some marks are more painful than others.  Some I do not notice and some I focus too much on.  What can I say? I am still growing, still learning, even after almost 20 years of being a Christian, the good news is we never "arrive" but there is always a deeper path to take with Him.

God intends our deeper, truer self, which he created, to blossom freely as we follow him.  God has endowed each of us with certain essential qualities that reflect and express him in a unique way.  Part of the sanctification process of the Holy Spirit is to strip away the false constructs we have accumulated and enable our true selves to emerge.
-Peter Scazerro in Emotionally Healthy Spirituality

If there is not the stripping away of the worldly ideals and ways of life then I miss out on expressing Christ, and here of all places I cannot afford to do that- I deeply desire for Him to show forth all His beauty that He may be made to look great.  I am amazed at how comfortable I was in my life before these days in Hong Kong, but I know He is not.  He knew all along that this would be a challenge and refining process for me and I accept it with gratitude (although it's not easy!)

If it is true that we belong to an UNSHAKEABLE KINGDOM then it's necessary that He remove all that's not of Him (as much as it makes me kick and scream) for the sake of what's best for us.  It is also an invitation... "The reason we need to stop and be with God is so we might creat a continual and easy familiarity with God's presence at all times-- while working, playing, cooking, taking out the garbage, driving, visiting friends, as well as during worship, prayer, and Bible study. This requires that we slow down to pay attention.  Our goal is to love God with our whole being, to be consistently conscious of God through our daily life..."-Scazzero

Whatever state you are in, I hope to can take a deep breath and remind yourself about His presence in this very moment, let His love seep in, and move forward into the glory He has for you to know in Him today. That is the reality I long for and the only way I can truly live.

Surely The only reason they put this up is because someone has done it before... saw this in the MTR (the Hong Kong subway) station...

I am trying my very best to skate-bike only in open areas.  We don't anyone to lose a limb, now do we?

I have some priorities these days... and obviously blogging hasn't been one of those.  As much as I love to have an outlet to write and share and especially connect with all 2 of you that read this, I sometimes just need to hold things in my heart, not to mention that I have been so busy that I can barely think of what to write at the end of the day!

It is a joy and privilege to be in this city with my Jesus as He leads me one step at a time.  So... obviously a lot has happened since Sept 4 when I last wrote.  (Sorry, Mom...)  I am a very thorough person, so it drives me crazy to just throw things up on here, but I think i have come to find that to be what blogging is... and I digress. To humor myself, I feel I need to catch you up... (I know hold on tight, some of it's pretty exciting!)

Since my last entry I have:
1.  Moved to another flat
2.  Painted 3 bedrooms a "moonlight sand" color (a welcomed change from rose, lavender, and mint green)
3.  Welcomed our final 3  U.S. team members to Hong Kong
4.  Attended a Beth Moore conference at a local church (only by video)
5.  Biscuet , one of my long time friends came to visit for the week on a work trip
6.  Survived a typhoon (but really it's not that big of a deal)
7.  Cooked spaghetti for the team
8.  Revisited the Chinese medicine doctor lady... tweaking the medicine... giving it one last chance, but it still tastes like dirt.
9.  On the search for some furniture... we are loving the air mattresses for the past few weeks, but furniture is better, and GOD HAS PROVIDED FURNITURE FOR OUR FLAT FREE OF CHARGE! (more to come on that later)
10. Led worship for a local youth group at ECC
11. Helped with an English class for students that are new to Hong Kong- made some fun friends
12. Relish in the puffy cinnamon roll that I discovered that we can buy at a bakery called "Das Gute" (shout out to my favorite German...)
13. Had our first staff meeting with the whole US team together in HK
14. Visited several campuses, met up with the the friends we met at class plus some more along the way-
15. Saw God work miracles among our teammates as He draws us together in unity and His love
16. Grew and gained a little more perspective about what's before us and praying and trusting He will bring clarity for what's next... He is so good to do that.  He brings just what we need, right when we need it, from furniture to reassurance in our hearts...

I leave you with this, as this is what I want to reflect in my life... I trust the process I am walking through in this season- one of redefining all things, laying down the knowledge and comfort of familiarity and skills I had honed to say I don't really have anything but you Jesus, so I'm free of those things (even though I had no idea they were holding me back) and I get to walk forward, starting anew as His grace shapes me to bring Him glory here... I want to love well. BOTTOM LINE.

1 John 4: 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. ¹⁰ This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. ¹² No one has ever seen God.

if we love each other,

God lives in us,

and his love is brought to

full expression in us. [my thought: and as one born of God, my new nature is to express, reveal, and manifest HIM thus bringing HIM glory! Lord, give me the grace anew to live this out!]  ¹³ And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. ¹⁴ Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. ¹⁶ We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.
   God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. ¹⁷ And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because...