Let sleeping packs of dogs lie

6am....the sky was slowly emerging from pink to blue. I tied my running shoes and decided to venture out around the beautiful quiet streets of Chiang Rai, surrounded by rice fields, overshadowed by bamboo trees. So peaceful........except for the dogs.

I had asked about running around the area where the base is at. No one seems to have as much of an enthusiasm for pounding out miles on foot as I do, so most people had no idea what it was like to run here. I was informed that the dogs will sound and look scary but are mostly harmless. Great. (did I mention I was bit by a dog as a teenager and still get a little nervous around them?).

I decided to "test the waters." I grabbed my iPod and a STICK. This is the first time I've ever run with a weapon in my hand and hoped I didn't trip and gouge out my own side or something. I ran through the little streets, past a little morning market getting geared up with curious Thai faces peeking at me as I jogged by, I ran past little houses (many with gates, take that doggies!) and then I rounded a corner.......

oh, dear God. I literally prayed. A huge pack of dogs just sleeping in the road. I walked. I breathed. I tightened my hand around my stick. Sure enough.....the eyes opened, the barking began. A massive GANG of dogs arose from their sleep, and came after me, towards my ankles. I breathed. I tensed. I breathed. "hey doggies.....I'm sure my tiny little stick doesn't scare you at all does it???"

Thankfully, the people at the base are right. The dogs barked, but did little more than come to me out of curiosity. I continued on my way, past the temple (where they keep dogs as well, I found out) and rounded a corner and came across the most breathtakingly beautiful scene. One of those moments you can't capture on camera (but I sure did wish I at least had one. no luck this time). In front of me lay vast rice fields, spotted with a straw-hatted worker here or there, a few Thai-style houses, and green lush mountains blanketed in misty fog over the tops of it in the background. There was chanting wafting through the air...not sure if it was from one of the many little golden temples I could see or from a radio. But it was eerily beautiful. So. Beautiful.

On the way back I ran by two monks in their saffron robes, receiving alms from a couple in front of their house. They had already had a table set out with rice and some other things. They handed them to the monks into their outstretched bowls. They then sat down in front of the monks as they chanted and blessed them.

The dogs still freaked me out, but I know I can brave a few more early morning runs the rest of this week--the scenery, the peaceful countryside and intriguing cultural moments are definitely worth it. I might take my camera (and a bigger stick) next time I go. But I'll leave a few photos just to at least give you a little glimpse into the beauty here.

Rice fields

The view from the base

Life's Intersections

Living an international life and being a "traveling teacher" isn't always as glamorous and non-stop fun as it sounds, or looks. In the traveling and teaching I'm doing this year, I've realized it can have some very lonely moments for this single young woman. It's hard to get up motivation to go check out a cool restaurant or landmark by yourself, take photos and then post them on facebook or a blog just to be able to share them with someone besides....yourself.

But, this post is actually not about loneliness, it's really about the fact that people join us on our path that we are walking. What a blessing it is to have a companion by your side, if even for a short walk. My time in Central Asia was just that, coming alongside some people who at some points in life have climbed mountains with me. As we walked the short path this spring together, we recounted harrowing tales of heights and depths and praised God for all he had done.

Coming to Thailand, to teach, to have a lot of alone time to read and catch up on emails and blogs while the students study and the staff work in between teaching times, I also had the chance to spend a few days with friends. The beauty of working in the organization I'm in is getting to meet so many incredible people from all over the world. The difficulty is 9 times out of 10 and often even 10 times out of 10, you say goodbye to everyone you have the privilege to meet. We've referred to it as the "revolving door"....but I think revolving doors are fun and these goodbyes are not so fun.

I got to catch up with two people who were in the SBS last year, people of high caliber, devoted to Jesus and world mission, and both pursuing the passion of their hearts in a way that challenges me, encourages me and makes me want to get up in the morning and keep doing what I'm doing. I got to meet my friends' fiancé....a woman that he has loved so much that he's embraced her culture and language as his own. That's beautiful. I also got to see another friend who our lives crossed paths briefly in the mountains of Colorado oh, so long ago. And both of us have gone through ups and downs, life and even death sometimes keeping in touch and sometimes keeping silent, but our paths crossed once again and I got to meet his special love of his life as well. To rejoice together with them with all God is doing in their lives is also a special gift of this trip.

As a single woman in my 30's, traveling a lot, doing the "hello-goodbye" thing with so many people, I often fixate on the times my path is a solo one. Those long stretches of quiet can scream at you sometimes, accuse you of deeply painful things: worthlessness, inadequacy, etc. But I don't want to be a woman who becomes embittered at the loneliness, but rather one who drinks in the multi-faceted companionship that God enables me to have in the life that he has laid out for me. This trip has made me realize how truly blessed I am to have friends literally all over the world. To have the problem of not having enough time to hang out with the people as long as I want. I have more friends I am catching up with in the city I'm teaching in as well. How truly, truly good God has been to me, and continues to be.

To those of you out there who read this blog and our paths have intersected many, many miles ago....who knows, God will hopefully allow us to journey together again. For those of you who trod down life's daily path with me in today's season of life, your friendship is a constant blessing and one that may bring pain to leave one day but makes my life richer and your presence in my life is worth the fact that it's painful to say goodbye. Friendships are worth the risk of investing your heart into, I'm convinced of that.

The Power of Food

35 Days.
35 days without sugar. 35 days without wheat. 35 days without dairy.

I finished my cleanse on Tuesday. My digestive system was a train wreck from all the international visitors that had taken up residence in my body. I did a parasite cleanse and a big part of that is ridding the body of sugars and yeasts (candida) because this is what parasites primarily feast on. This cleanse has also taught me, it's also primarily what most people feast on as well!

This has been a great exercise in discipline and eating healthy. But it wasn't easy. I've discovered truly how sugar is IN. EV. ERY. THING!! Not just deserts and ice cream and candy. But in sauces that we cook meat in, soups, chips, crackers, everywhere. You can hardly eat anything that isn't from a fresh food market that doesn't have a boat load of sugar. It makes me understand why it's so difficult to lose weight. Sugar is sneaking in and sneaking in all day, every day in most of our diets.

The fun thing about making a change in eating is the emotional issues that come with it. I'm willing to bet if you ask most women and they were to answer honestly, a lot of us have food issues connected to our emotional issues. (For an honest woman's writing about this, do check out my friend Adrienne's blog). For me, I realize I use food to fill my down time, to think while I study, as an excuse to get together with friends, for indulgence after a hard day.

So, after all this, I'm feeling much, much better. My stomach isn't embarrassing me in public with all its gurgling noises. And I've come to some conclusions after this:

• eating healthy is worth the extra effort of planning, cooking for myself, and buying the right foods. 
• I'm going to think about what I'm eating before I put it in my mouth. 
• I don't need food to hang out with friends. 
• It's okay to say no to something, even if everyone else is enjoying it. 
• Fresh foods are the best foods....the outdoor vegetable market has become one of my favorite places. 
• my body is worth taking care of, and it's not impossible. 
• and I'm going to keep most dairy and most wheat out of my diet and try to stick to sugar primarily found naturally (fruits, stevia, agave, honey). 

And as an added bonus, I lost 10 pounds over the last 6 weeks and got a good start and motivation for my half-marathon training that I'm getting into right now. To reward myself for all of this, I bought new running clothes and enjoyed a banana, oatmeal, yogurt smoothie and a piece of dark chocolate! 

Hanging with the weeping prophet

In about 2.5 weeks I'm setting off to Thailand to teach the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations in their School of Biblical studies (I was able to buy my ticket thanks to some generous friends!). I taught the book last year  so it's been a good time to review and go a bit deeper into the book.

Some confession time: I am now a Bible teacher, but I have to admit for much of my Christian journey I've struggled with loving the Bible. I found it dry and bits of it pretty irrelevant to my daily life (how the heck do you get anything out of geneologies and lists of how to chop up meat in order to offer it as a sacrifice?!?). The book of Jeremiah was one that I never really gave a whole lot of attention to...maybe some parts like chapters 30-33 (also called the "book of hope"...one of the only parts of the book that takes a break from intense pronouncements of judgment to speak of restoration).

Actually spending time in God's word, putting the work in to wrestle with it, study it, meditate on it, process it and always, always inviting the Holy Spirit to give revelation has helped bring me to a place where I truly love God's word. I can't imagine how I was so apathetic towards it in the past. I know many of us struggle with it because this is one of the most frequent questions I hear from others...how do I study my Bible, how do I actually enjoy my time in the word? It takes work....and I'd start by asking God to give you a hunger for his word, and then putting in the discipline to get to know his word more. The more you know it, the more you'll love it. It's like a relationship with people. The more you get to know your friends, your significant others, the more you fall in love with who they are.

But I have such a delight and joy in the book of Jeremiah. I remember last year as I began to read and study it for the SBS here in Taiwan, God told me that he was going to challenge me very personally through this book, that he had something very significant for me.

I feel like this book brought life to me last year....and God really challenged me in the area of commitment, specifically in my commitment to the Afghan people, to dreaming God's dreams and not settling for my own, to being willing to count the cost and not just live life according to my own comfort.

....then he led me on a journey to India, allowed me to return to Central Asia and I am spending a whole year teaching his word, opening up opportunities for teaching nearly every week. And as I ponder what God spoke a year ago, I once again find him true to his word.

I have some upcoming news and plans God has laid on my heart. I asked my supporters to pray for me through this month and many have emailed back and given words God has laid on their hearts. Jeremiah's life is again challenging me to not just live a life without fear, without pain, without discomfort but to truly LIVE, to go for something that is bigger than myself, something to which God stepped into my life and offered an invitation. I'll be letting you know more in the next month, and inviting you to join me in this invitation....whether you come join me physically, help partner financially, partner prayerfully and grasping God's promises in the spiritual realm, or just making you aware of the things God is doing on the other side of the globe, I'm thankful to have others on this journey with me. Jeremiah had Baruch. And I'm thankful to have you! 

Too ambitious??....Getting back to the Classics

I'm a firm believer of taking a Sabbath rest....and not just a sun up to sun-down, holy journey where I sit in a dark room, fasting and praying. But a day of rest that is devoted to time with God and time rejuvenating my soul from all the obligation that the regular work-week presses in on. I leave work alone, I try to step away from the computer a bit (because I usually get tempted to work...yes, my name is Danika and I'm a workaholic), and I enjoy the outdoors, creation, maybe some time with friends. But I try to leave guilt, obligation and work out of the picture on my sabbath. It's a time to be me as God created me to be, to enjoy him and to REST.

So, last week and this week I've had to take my sabbath in the middle of the week because I've had teachings every weekend. The nice thing (and the agonizing thing for someone a bit extroverted) is everyone else is working these days so I have to make sure to have good boundaries and find things to do that I can do alone.

The last few weeks I've started reading some classic literature again. I know some of you may sigh or roll your eyes and think "what a nerd" to yourselves. And that's fine. I'm embracing my nerdiness as I grow older where I tried to hide it for so many years when I was younger.

I love the classics. I love the "meatiness" of the written word in many forms of literature. I love Greek tragedies, I love reading a line of poetry and feeling like you could roll it around in your mind for another 20 minutes and still continue to discover its meaning. I love that it takes time. And I love that much of our Western Literature has helped formed our Western worldview and yet we are blissfully unaware of it, until we read where it first began.

So, I've begun to read the Iliad and admittedly, I've had to look to Google for a quick refresher on the Trojan war and to figure out all the different names of the characters and who is human, who is a god, who is a child of a god or a nymph. Believe it or not, I've enjoyed that process and taken abundant notes. Yep. I truly am a nerd.

Then I came across this little gem: 10 Essential Classics in Western Literature. This is a recommendation of a booklist that every person should read as these are foundations of the western worldview. I have to admit, it's tempting to read through all of these. Though, I'm only 1/4 of the way through the Iliad so this could take some time.

What are you reading these days? I have to admit, it's easier to pick up The Hunger Games  than to pick up some great classic literature, simply for readability and disconnecting the mind, but when is the last time you challenged your brain and your soul just a little bit?