Teaching and teaching prep

Yesterday I taught my first day of Exodus. The more I teach, the more I love teaching. I am quite the academic nerd in that I love the WHOLE process...I love studying. I love learning new information. I love when I come across facts that takes me to a deeper level of understanding about something. I love it when people ask challenging questions that make me dig deeper. I love studying current events and cultures and history and literature. sigh...I'm such a nerd. But it's who God made me so I will continue to be that.

I'm also very thankful that God took me on a non-traditional route of education. I could have studied and worked in a university (when I went to undergrad, my goal in studying English literature was to become a lit professor at a university!). But, I love that my academic passion has been an area that I've been able to used in the nations. I love that I got to work with training teachers in schools in Afghanistan....as a 25 year old young punk. I love that I'm getting to train future missional leaders in Taiwan as a 31 year old, not quite as young punk. I love that studying the Bible just doesn't bring about a head full of knowledge but it challenges the way I live, the way the students live, the way we see and know and love God.

Anyways, can you tell I love what I do?

When I was an SBS student I used to romanticize the studying/teaching prep process. I pictured the staff the few days before they are teaching sitting at a desk with a Bible open and God is just pouring out revelation on them, they are weeping and getting brilliant ideas for words to share in class.
Well, guess what I did the day before I taught?
Made cookie monster cupcakes:

I found the recipe online and I just couldn't resist! My small group got to enjoy these little guys....and it happened to be my dinner last night after I got done teaching too.

So, I thought I'd post a few photos from class yesterday so you can get a bit of a visual of what life in the classroom looks like. It's where a lot of my time is spent and each and every one of those people in that room has come to be so precious to me. I'm so proud of them as they put in very long hours to know God's word and to ultimately know God more. Please pray for them this week (and as you think of them through the middle of December) as they study through the Old Testament...some have never even read it before so this is going to be a deep and eye-opening season for them. Pray that they'd be following God's lead as to how to give out to others what they are receiving in this season. And pray for me as I finish out teaching tomorrow. Thanks for being a part of my journey!

(ha ha! Can you tell I have a common hand gesture when I teach?!)

What probably won't be included in my Exodus lecture.....

Tomorrow I teach Exodus.
Tomorrow I will stand in front of a classroom full of people and wax (semi-)eloquently for two and a half hours.
Tomorrow all of my prep is summed up in a few brief hours.

It has been such a privilege to be studying and teaching the Bible full-time. And I'm even more amazed that I feel like I am growing and being impacted by the book and my teaching time than the students most likely are. I'm walking away from my journey through Exodus extremely humbled by the process.

I've put my lecture together, my powerpoint is ready to go and I have things to talk about but I feel the things of the heart, how God has REALLY touched my life through this book will not be the primary content of tomorrow or Wednesday. That's probably a good thing though...this lecture is not about me and my transformation, but about God and what he did throughout history to love and care for his people.

God's really been speaking and teaching me a lot about "being" lately...and I have to admit that I tend to roll my eyes at people who feel like God is teaching them this. They get all over-emotional and just spend "soaking" time with God and slack in their responsibilities because God is teaching them it's okay not to be perfect all the time. So, if you're rolling your eyes at me, no worries friend, you're in good company.

But he truly is...and it's not so much about stopping and laying on the floor with my arms stretched out listening to praise music for hours while my lecture notes sit neglected on the table. But, it's more about allowing my heart to grapple with the fact that God chose to make his dwelling place with man. You know...he is perfection itself and he chooses to dwell with imperfection and sin...and not only that but to have relationship with people who reject him and do their best but always fail. God chooses us. God chooses me, Danika.

The students have read through Exodus in preparation for class and studying this week already and I've heard that the "part on the tabernacle is boring!"...which yeah, I don't really care how many cubits the curtains were either. But the tabernacle is touching my heart and moving me to tears at times because God dwells....God resides, he created this picture for the Israelites that expressed a spiritual reality for all time. God dwells with his people. God is not far off. He is not hidden. He is with me.

And because God chose to make his dwelling place with man, I don't earn anything from God. Who I am is who I am and God is with me. Yes, I want less sin in my life. Yes, I want to be less selfish. Yes, I want to be better at what I do and able to connect with people in a way that God is honored and I can go deeper with people. Yes, I want to do well at my job. But all those things don't define the personhood of Danika. I am who I am and I am the temple of the Holy Spirit.

I don't even know how to put these things into words today....which is probably good I'm not spending my six teaching hours talking through all of this. But, I am amazed today. Amazed by a dwelling God. We make a big choice when we choose to live together on this earth, whether roommates or living with family or the ultimate choosing to live together: marriage. But the fact that God pursued humanity and is present with us, though we reject him and question him and misunderstand him and for some even hate him, this humbles me.

If this concept moves your heart, take some time to meditate on Rev. 21. This is our eternal destiny with God. Amazing.

Emerging from the Wilderness

Wow...long time, no write.

My family has come and gone. I had a GREAT time having my dad and my grandma visit. We ventured all over the place...spent time in Taipei, went to the night market, hung out with my English class, had a bbq with my staff, and then spent a few days at a gorgeous hotel in Hualien, a city on the east coast of Taiwan, with an ocean view room. It was good to reconnect, hang out, introduce them to my life here in Taiwan and my friends, and just BE together. This is the one thing that is very limited in living life overseas, just BEING with good friends and family. It's something I treasure so greatly now that it happens so rarely.

This photo was taken on top of Taipei 101, the second tallest building in the world.

Since they've left, life continues to be full and busy as always. It's been a great season of life thoughtI'm still learning the balance of everything that is currently on my plate.

This is a photo of my English class that I work with on Thursday evenings here. I'm getting to know many of them much better and have really enjoyed the growing friendships.

And here is another class I am involved with every day, our SBS!!!

Next week, July 25 and 27 I will be teaching the book of Exodus. So, pretty much every day since my grandma and Dad left I have been studying, thinking, preparing, typing, reading and getting ready to teach the book. I've been blown away by what I've learned from Moses' life and the things God does among the Israelites. It's a book whose story most of us are familiar with and it's been a joy and a privilege to be able to study it more in-depth. I'm excited about teaching so ask for your prayers as i finish my final prep work, as I teach and as I interact with the students as they themselves study through the book in about a week from now.

One thing that really challenged me was how intentionally God makes himself known in this book. It's caused me to reflect on my own journey of knowing God and realizing that God does all things in our lives so purposefully and his goal is knowing him and relationship with him. So, my question to you is, in what ways has God intentionally made himself known to you? How has that impacted how you live?