Building an Altar: January Update

A month away, 

a month at home. 

I have been back for nearly a month now - possibly the best month to be in NCW. I mean - come on! Snow, sledding, Christmas, New Year's, not to mention the opportunity to do my way-more-complicated-since-I-rented-out-my-condo income taxes. 

Plus, I got a trip to San Francisco out of it (to go to the Spanish consulate - remember?). Granted, I was alone...and super stressed a majority of the time (more complications with the visa)...oh, and slightly fearful for my life, walking through some pretty ghetto parts. As it turns out, being alone and being disappointed are actually really good ways to grow in faith and trust. Go figure!

(You've got to understand - I'm choosing to treat that subject lightly so as not to spend too much time on it. In truth, I was ugly-crying in my San Francisco hotel room, pleading with God for answers as to why nothing seemed to be working out. But I'm telling the truth when I say God did work all this for good.)

To those who have been reading my blog posts these past months, do you sense a theme? Because I sure do. I wouldn't say I ever thought I needed more or bigger faith. It's always been pretty easy for me to see things in black and white. Either it's of God or it isn't. If He says to do it, I will. If not, I won't. If I pray, He'll answer...sometime. I never wasted much time asking God why something happened, or doubting His sovereignty.

But this whole process has opened up weaknesses I didn't know I had. For instance, did I really believe it was God who allowed me to graduate college debt-free? Or did I kind of credit it to my mad money management skills? And did I really think God was the one who gave me a teaching job? Or did I chalk it up somewhat to my endearing qualities and connections in the district?

Oh, I've known the pride in me. I just never saw before how pride affects my faith in God. 

For the first time, I know what it is like to do everything right... yet fail. Repeatedly. And it shook my faith a bit. Because, all along, my faith had been partly in God, and partly in myself, my efforts, my merits. When my efforts weren't enough to produce the results I wanted, I could either despair or deepen my faith in the God who is faithful to His promises.

The Biblical Abraham, often referred to today as the Father of Faith, was called by God to "leave [his] country, [his] people, and [his] father's household and go to the land [God] will show [him]." (Genesis 12:1) Abraham left as God had instructed. Later, when God confirmed His promise to Abraham (that his offspring would inherit the land), Abraham praised God and built an altar. This was a practice that all of the patriarchs observed - building an altar, often to commemorate an encounter with God. Sometimes, they even named the altar based on the nature of the divine encounter.

[Fun fact: God used Genesis 12:1 to confirm my Spain trip to me.]

So, this Friday, as I leave my country and go to Madrid for another 6 months, I leave behind a figurative altar that I have named "God is faithful to His promises." And I praise God that He has placed me in disappointing and frustrating situations to help me see His faithfulness.

As always, feel free to ask questions or comment below! And, if time permits, enjoy this song👇

Hasta pasta, 

Dahlia

To view previous posts in this series, click on the links below:

July: The Comeback
August: While I'm Waiting
October: An Exercise in Trust
November: Spain-bound!
December: Wanted

Wanted: December update

Hello, all!

I have been in Madrid for just about three weeks now.

How has it been? (you may ask)

In fact, you wouldn't be the only one to ask me that.

Various people I have met here have asked, "Y cómo te ha ido? Qué piensas de Madrid? How has it been? What do you think of Madrid?"

I fumble around for a "Muy bien!" or a "Me gusta," while puzzling over why it's such an awkward question to answer.

Not until now did I understand why. Remember why I came to Madrid?

(Oh, this is a good segue into posting a link to all my previous posts on the matter! See below:

July: The Comeback
August: While I'm Waiting
October: An Exercise in Trust
November: Spain-bound!)

I came not for the city, or even for the country, but to serve God and serve people.

So, ask me how I like the city? Yeah, I like it! There are some cool things about it. But I'm not here for the sights.

Ask me how I like what God is doing? I'm very, very pleased!

Allow me to take a few moments of your time to share a hodgepodge of notable things about my stay so far. This is going to be a long one, so feel free to skip to the heading that draws your attention the most!

1. So what have I been doing?

My schedule is still taking shape, but my duties are primarily split between two masters: Jaz & Arnold.

Jaz is a worship leader here at Amistad Cristiana, and she also heads an online discipleship school, Cultura Real, and co-leads the adolescent-aged youth group with her husband. So, I have been active in the youth group activities once a week, tutoring a few Venezuelan refugee youth in English twice a week, and other odds and ends.


Arnold is the children's pastor. I'm gearing up to start assisting with the pre-teen Sunday School come January, and to help create a digital training course for children's ministry volunteers. Currently, Arnold has assigned me the task of organizing the children's ministry supply closet :)

Maritza, as my landlady and roommate, also has dibs on me. She's taught me a bit of the basics of video editing, so I can help out with publishing sermons to Youtube each week. Plus, she (along with Arnold and several others from Amistad and surrounding churches) is involved with a street-preaching ministry called ontheredbox (also in Spanish), which is primarily a school of evangelism. She's taken me with her to ontheredbox twice now, and I'm considering taking their evangelism course.  (Check her out here - she's awesome!)

I've been so thankful to be wanted and - dare I say? - needed, right from the start.

2. The biggest differences between Spain & USA:

Toilets. Schedule. People touching my face (with their face)!!! 👀

Okay, the toilets aren't really THAT different. It did take a few minutes, though, for me to realize that the button on top of the toilet in my apartment needs to be pulled (not pushed!) Add to that the confusion I experienced when I pulled the button on the church toilet...only to have it pop off. Ahh..this is a push one. *Facepalm*

The schedule I had been warned about. Everything starts later and ends later. For example, a typical work day may begin at 9 or 10 AM. There is a lunch break usually from 2-4ish (many small businesses close at this time, as well. And dinner is at 9 PM. Then, bedtime is around midnight. (Also, they use 24-hour time here. Thankfully, it seems that, colloquially, people still say things like "at 2 in the afternoon.")

And probably the biggest culture shock is the kissing. My understanding is that, in some parts of Mexico, they greet with a kiss, but I have never been to an area that does that. With my Mexican family, we greet with a handshake or a hug. For first-time greetings between strangers, always a handshake. With my American family, it's similar. Here, it's 2 kisses. Right cheek first, then left. Thankfully, they aren't real kisses. It's just cheek-to-cheek business, but, for some strange reason, you're supposed to make the kissing sound anyway. Let's just say I'm still getting used to this one. 😘

3. The biggest challenge:

Social situations. Here's an excerpt from my journal:

You know how, when you're at a social gathering where you know few people, you just smile and try to be friendly to everyone, knowing that some of these strangers might one day be friends, but you're also not very witty or skilled in making conversation, and, on top of that, they all speak words and accents that sometimes you don't fully understand, and you're expected to respond in a language you often can't openly and freely communicate in?

I don't particularly like classifying people by personality types, because I think we can all grow and change in any area. But, go ahead - call me an introvert! Social gatherings do make me a bit anxious or uncomfortable, especially when I don't have a friend in the group. Now, don't feel sorry for me! #1, I chose this, and #2, I am making friends. But I do have to pray a lot before social gatherings so I am in a giving mode, not a getting mode, and so I am confident in my identity. When it's over, I just breathe and thank the Lord for kind people.

4. The greatest pleasure:

The people. Jaz has taken me under her wing since before she had even met me. Maritza makes me feel at home, and it's around her especially that I feel free to be myself. Arnold and his wife Nidia have already had me over to their home twice, along with Rebecca, the pastor. And my roommate Kate, who is also from another country, made sure to explain the essentials of Spanish life to me on my very first night here (among other things, she's the one who taught me the kiss-greeting custom! Life-saver!)

It's only been three weeks, but already I am forming some strong attachments to these lovely people.

5. What God is speaking to me:

I feel a pull to evangelism. I recently heard someone say or quote something to the effect of: "Without evangelism, we will always feel like there is something missing in our lives." And I'm feeling that "something missing." I've been feeling it for years now. What good is Good News when it's kept to yourself? And it's not that I haven't wanted to tell others about Jesus; it's just that I've let concerns like "the right timing" or the fear of man keep me from doing so. During my time here, I want to become more confident talking about God with others.

6. Final thoughts:

You know those moments when time seems to stand still, and you see yourself as through a window, and you get nostalgic just thinking about how, in the future, you'll feel nostalgic remembering this very moment?

I've had a few of those moments here:
- sitting on a bench with Jaz, under the chilly night sky, watching through a fence a group of guys playing soccer
- sharing a blanket on the couch with Maritza and Kate, laughing almost to tears over a cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie
- Dimmed lights in Galileo Galilei, the camera to my right, Luisa and Luz to my left, arms raised high as we join with a hundred others in song, singing up, up, to the God who, I imagine, is smiling down at the sound

I am so grateful for the opportunity to have this slowed-down time, when I am not so rushed or tired that I miss these treasured moments!

Thanks for reading, and, as always, feel free to ask any lingering questions below!👇

Hasta pasta, 

Dahlia

Spain-bound! - November update

This is a portion of the chronicles of my year-long adventure. To read previous installments, please click on the links below:

July: The Comeback

August: While I'm Waiting

October: An Exercise in Trust

About a week ago, I watched the highlights from the MLS western conference semifinals, between Houston and Portland. I already knew the result of the game before I even watched the highlights. I knew that Houston would defy the odds and beat Portland 2-1. What I didn't know until watching the highlights was that Portland scored first. It was interesting to see the Houston goalkeeper's reaction after that first goal.

I said to him (probably out loud - not gonna lie) - "Hey! Stop that! You're not defeated! Don't you know you're going to win this game?" But he didn't know.

Throughout life in general, but, more specifically, during this effort to get my feet in Spain, I can relate to that goalkeeper! (What's his name, anyway? Looking it up...Joe Willis!) I can relate to Joe Willis. I could not understand why three times I had to cancel my visa appointment due to one thing or another. But someone out there (God, obviously) is standing outside of time, seeing me in my moment, but also seeing me in that future moment, probably saying to now-me, "Hey! There's no need to fret! Everything will work out yet!" (Don't ask me why God is speaking to me like Dr. Seuss.)

That soccer highlights video turned out to actually be very encouraging!

(By the way, that was my first time creating a gif 🙌 )

As you may have guessed by the title of this post, I do have some news to share:

Now, it may not be as you think. I don't have a visa yet. I'll be going for just a month. (You can travel as a tourist for up to 90 days). After a month, I will be flying back home for the holidays, and for my *newest* visa appointment. Once I have my visa, I will be returning to Madrid.

This is a short post, because I don't have much else to share right now! I'll be packing this week, and making other necessary arrangements.

Oh, I did want to say one more thing - thank you for your interest, for the occasional texts just to check in, for the coffee dates, phone calls, conversations, and the prayers. I am blessed to have a solid bunch of family and friends who care about my well-being and are interested in what I do. Here's to the continuation of an adventure ✈

Hasta pasta, 

Dahlia

All the single ladies talk about...Marriage!

Most of us feel called to the vocation of marriage...but what is it exactly that I'm attracted to?

I have undergone so many distinct attitudes toward marriage that you wouldn't believe it. Or maybe you would!

In high school, I read Elisabeth Elliot's biography of Amy Carmichael, a missionary to Japan who never married. I was so inspired by Amy's devotion that I vowed to be like her -- not to be a missionary, OH, no! -- but to never marry. Jesus and Paul's words and examples seemed to support my decision. 

Paul:

To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. (1 Corinthians 7:8, 9 ESV)

Jesus:

Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” (Matthew 19:12 ESV)

Perhaps you can understand, then, why I was offended the year after high school, while attending a church that was new for me, when one of the leaders made this comment, "Most of you will be married one day." 

'Why?' I thought. Why this expectation for us to marry? Why all this emphasis on the holiness of marriage, when Jesus Himself, the Holiest of Holies, never married?

But there are two ways to look at Jesus, aren't there? He was both fully man and fully God. As man, he never married. As God, He is betrothed.

That same year, I learned a whole new side of God, and of myself. The heart of a mother awakened within me. I know you can have spiritual sons and daughters, but I truly believed I would have sons and daughters of the flesh.

The next thought naturally followed: "If I want to be a mom, I have to first be a wife." That was what "turned me on" to marriage. 

Over the 6 years since that heart change, marriage has held several other attractions for me - some most definitely false! (Like when I think that everything will just be BETTER once I'm married!)

As things stand right now, I'm just excited to be a part of a forever, covenental partnership - where we can share a vision, consult each other on important decisions, see the best in each other while speaking the truth in love, seek God together, minister together, raise children together, go deeper together.

It's what we all want, isn't it? Whether from a husband or from our closest friends and family, we long for togetherness. 

But, until marriage knocks on this girl's door, my plan is to live out my calling anyway. Be a daughter to my parents. Be a mother to my students. Be a mentor to the teenage girls at my church. Form covenental relationships with close friends and family. Seek God with them. I can't just sit around and wait until marriage to do these things. My calling is for now!

So this is a truth that I am constantly being reminded of and working out. When Loneliness comes knocking at my door, her sister Longing tagging behind with their cousin Discontent, God is always so faithful to intervene. 

"No," He says. "She's mine! And I am all she needs."

So, cheers, ladies! Whether we marry soon, later, or never, until then and forever, He is all we need!

Linking up with Jen at Jumping in Puddles

My Favorite No

Teachers are always looking for ways to turn a mistake into a learning opportunity.

And this is not just teachers of school stuff. It's teachers of life stuff, too. (Duh!)

My colleague has recently shared something with me that I tried for the first time today, and that I feel I'm going to LOVE.

It's called "My Favorite No."

So here's how it works (in 5 super simple steps):

1. Give the students some sort of quick exercise (I'm using this with exit tickets, but the teacher in the video I'll post uses it with the opposite - warm-up activities).
2. Either right in front of the kids, or while they are working on something else, quickly separate the student work into 2 piles: a "Yes, they got it!" pile, and a "No" pile.
3. Pick your favorite "no" - the answer should be wrong, but it should also show some good work, and/or a really common mistake.
4. Either copy the student work onto a blank sheet in front of the class, or put the original work under the document camera, with the student's name covered.
5. Have the class help you analyze the work, identifying both the good work and the mistake.

And there you have it!

With a class mix of perfectionists, embarraseds, deniers, and cluelesses, this daily or almost-daily activity has the potential to remove those insecurities, remind kids that everyone makes mistakes just like theirs, and teach us that we can learn something from every mistake.

Life application:

For those non-teachers of school out there, for you teachers and students of life, how can this apply to you, to us?

It's simple: We remember that our mistakes are not the only "no"s out there. Our mistake is in a pile of so many others of similar variety. And, who knows? Maybe we're God's favorite "no." Let Him pick us up, search us, tell us why He loves us so much, and then tell us what He's going to do to make us right.

Doctor

Um. Wow. Time sure passes quickly. How many days since I last posted?

I'm posting now because...well, here's the run-down:

1. Yesterday was "The Day of the Doctor." It was Doctor Who's 50th anniversary, so they put on an anniversary special. It was simulcast all around the world. (Stick with me. This post is NOT all about Doctor Who.)

2. The show was broadcast on BBC America, which I don't have...so I researched, but there was really no way for me to watch the show until BBC released it to iTunes, Amazon, and all that. So, instead, I watched some background videos and the first episode of the show, "An Unearthly Child." I liked it.

3. This morning, I woke to see that "The Day of the Doctor" was now available for me to watch. So I watched it. I watched the Doctor(s) combine their efforts to live up to their name and save some people. He, the Doctor, is always saving people. It's what he does. It's who he is.

Now that you've got the necessary background information, on the the point of this post.

After watching, I said to myself, "Alright, now on to real life" and opened my Bible app.

Luke 19:10

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

Okay, immediately I thought of the Doctor...quickly followed by, "Wow, too much Doctor Who." He goes to other worlds to seek and save the lost.

But it's fiction.

How many stories, though?

How many stories are based on this same idea: a rescuer?

However many there are, they are all patterned after the greatest story ever told, the non-fiction Doctor Jesus who really and truly, in physical form, came to search and rescue. Seek and save.

That's the BEST sci-if story ever!

I mean, really? The son of God coming to His created planet, in the form of one of His created creatures.

(And God is the ultimate Time Lord, so who knows why He even chose the time He did to live upon the earth?)

It's not just sci-fi. It's romance, adventure, fantasy, mystery, all at once and yet not at all. Because it wasn't fiction.

It was real.

That's why it's the greatest story ever told.

Because our Doctor, Lord, Master, God, Jesus really and truly came, in physical form, to search and rescue. Seek and save.

Thoughts on a rainy Wednesday

Some thoughts to share with you on this rainy Wednesday:

- I love how, now that school's out, I can post more than once a month! 

- I love how, now that school's out, I get to use my iPad! (As opposed to leaving it in my classroom every night, functioning as an  MP3 player... Thankfully, I now have a school-owned iPod to use for that.)

- I dreamt last night of my students, and the last day of school all over again....they say you never forget your first class. I sure hope I don't. They were a special group of kids.

- I was impacted by the following words this morning, from A.W. Tozer:

“It is because of the hasty and superficial conversation with God 

that the sense of sin is so weak 

and that no motives have power to help you

to hate and flee from sin as you should.”

Isn't that so true? I had to ask myself -- do I HATE sin? Do I flee from it? The answer was...no. I don't.

That led to a prayer from the heart, a Psalm 51 prayer.

And I was reminded what it is to have a conversation with God that is not hasty or superficial.

And I was reminded of what a good, good Father we have.

These are some thoughts from me, for you, on a rainy Wednesday.

Timeline thoughts

I created a timeline of my life this morning. (Do you spend time doing stuff like that?)

It wasn't an extensive timeline, just major events since 2007.

And, I just want to say that it's amazing how quickly time passes. I think I'll be saying this more and more as I get older, but, at 23, I already feel, as my friend Bek put it last night, that I need to shave my long, gray beard.

It's been 1/2 a year already since I graduated my teaching program and was hired on as a teacher...

June, 2012

2 1/2 years since I graduated community college with my AA...

[Okay, this photo is actually from my birthday party that year. It's as close as I could get to the time of my graduation] June, 2010

4 1/2 years since I graduated Master's Commission...

August, 2008

and 5 1/2 whopping years since I graduated high school.

June, 2007

I feel ready for a high-school reunion already! So much has changed since then.

Why does it seem, the older we get, the faster time seems to go, I want to know?

What do you think?

As I look back, however, I also think - wow! God has been at work in my family all these years!

According to his will, we have gained two brothers:

Oliver, through adoption...

Christmas 2008

And Jared, through marriage.

December, 2011

We are also expecting a new addition to the family - my brother & sister-in-law's little Brynn Loree [pictures pending].

I'm not sure why I'm sharing all this, except to say that - wow! God works in mysterious ways to bring about His will! I won't go into all the details of how He's done that in my family, but I'm sure you see it in yours, too. He has brought about people, events, transitions, even tragedies, and it's all a part of His grand design.

What's next, Lord?

Nostalgia

I love the part
In fairy tales
That's very near the end
When all the kingdom cheers for their new Queen

And all is well
And all is good
And everyone belongs
And happily they're ever-aftering

But when I enter the kingdom of dreams
And face the promise of all I can be,
Will they see me as a heroine?
Tell me, will they let me in?
Won't someone let me in?

- Let Me In, Rigoletto

I'm feeling very nostalgic, and I started singing this song.

Maybe because I've been looking through old photos, like the one you see above.
Or the one you see below.

I've generally been very aware of change.

[But who isn't?]

And so much has changed.

Like this.

And this.

And this.

And I'm not sure if what I want is for all the change to be un-done, or for nothing else to change, or for something to change.

Have you ever felt like this? It's like you're caught in a limbo between the past and the future, and you're not quite sure how the present fits in.

It's moments like this that I become so aware of my need to cling to God.
He is stable -- my Rock.
His purposes are eternal -- my Guide.
His love is unchanging, and His joy is unfailing -- my Strength.