Here I am, LORD

A few weeks ago it was Abraham and Isaac.  This week, it's from Isaiah.  The message from God, that is.

• Sunday - A guest pastor visiting our church from Eastern Europe sings "Here I am, LORD" as part of his message.  This isn't a song that we normally have as part of our worship selection, and is more often found in Catholic churches.  It speaks to me, then my best friend turns around and shares how it is a big part of God's story for her.  As I'm singing it, I know that I've sung it before, heard it before, but can't place where.  Was it at my parents' church growing up?  Maybe, since it was a UCC church, but I can't really recall.  Was it during my brief Catholic stint in 94-95 out in Arizona?  Very possibly, but I truly don't have any recollection.  At the church I attended in Phoenix in '04-05?  Maybe  . . . again, I don't remember.  Probably not important.  :)

• Monday -  I open up my email and find a daily encouragement that concludes with Isaiah 6:8, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” Isaiah 6:8:    http://www.incourage.me/2011/06/when-your-answer-is-yes.html   Remembering my friend's story, I forward it to her.

• Tuesday - Again, I open up my email:  http://www.incourage.me/2011/06/how-to-follow-when-youre-called-to-stay.html    This time the hymn from Sunday is referenced: 
  

Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?

I have heard you calling in the night.

I will go, Lord, if you lead me.

I will hold your people in my heart.

The article concludes with: But I’m slowly (so very slowly) learning that for me, for now, right here IS my mission. It IS my calling. He IS sending me, and I CAN follow Him. Even without a jungle or a moving van full of boxes or a passport full of stamps, He has called me. And I can serve Him by staying. I can follow Him right here.
Have you been called to stay for now? How are you following the Lord, right here, right now?
I forward this one to my friend, but begin to wonder if there is a message there for me, too.  This particular message is very timely as I prepare a talk for Thursday.

• Wednesday - Reading the book One Million Arrows, the story of Papa included his hearing a message taken from Isaiah 6:8:  "Whom will I send?  Who will go for us?"  when he was twenty years old that was followed by the Holy Spirit speaking to him that night.

• Thursday - I speak at children's camp, telling them my story of how God used kids like them to reach me, and challenge them to look for ways to be missionaries at home, right here, right now.   After a day filled with speaking and meeting and praying with friends, I visit one of my favorite blogs:  http://aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/2011/06/unbelievable-news-from-distant-land.html         This time she was relating how her daughter was trying to convince her daddy to go with her to Africa, and as part of it she pasted pictures of African children all around the house with a scripture verse at the bottom.  Yes, you guessed it - Isaiah6:8!                                                                                        .
• Saturday - Picking up my Bible, I realized that I hadn't finished Friday's scheduled reading.  The plan  is chronological and many days I'm skipping back and forth between 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles.   So I work my way through the jumps back and forth and then turn to the very last one listed for that day.  The assigned chapter of Isaiah started off as he sees the Lord sitting on a throne and the seraphim above him.  I turned the page, and only as I got to the verse, realized where I was reading:   And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"  Then I said, "Here am I!  Send me."  Isaiah 6:8  
• Monday - A friend on facebook posted Isaiah 6:8 as her status update this morning, so it showed up in my newsfeed.

So LORD, I don't know exactly where this is going or how (or if!) it ties in with Abigail.  But it is definitely from You.   I am here, Lord.  Send me.