Teaching by Jenna Vick Silliman

Teaching Children to Dance, Spring 2012

I am a teacher. I know that now. I am finally ready to admit it. After all these years of hiding behind the spiritual gift of encouragement—which is still a part of me—I am willing to say that my spiritual gift is primarily teaching. It is a huge responsibility to be a teacher. However, it is what I do. I just automatically start teaching. I go to Scandinavian Folk Dance (for adults) on Sunday nights at the Sons of Norway Lodge. One evening I tried to teach a young man how to do a certain dance and he said, “What are you, a school teacher or something?” (I don’t think he appreciated the lesson.)

December 2011 I volunteered to teach a children’s Scandinavian Folk Dance Class. February to June I taught the class once a week and I loved it. The class will begin again in September and conclude at Christmastime with a dance performance. I enjoy inspiring, enlightening, discovering, revealing, demonstrating, informing, communicating, and learning. I also love kids. They all seemed to love my class and were sad to see it end for the summer. One little girl cried when she found out it was over.

Dance class performance, May 19, 2012.

In high school when I took those surveys or questionnaires of what you would be good at doing for a career, mine came out teaching every time. I thought about public school teaching at the time. (I got married and had eight children instead.) Now, I’m sure I could have done that, but it wasn’t my destiny. I am a dance teacher. This summer I am going to Germany and will be helping to teach a dance workshop there!

Everyone's Favorite--The Teddy Bear Dance! Spring 2012

I enjoy writing and have the dream of writing a book and getting published. I am writing a book on dance. I have been housesitting for the past few days and I was happy to find out the Internet doesn’t work there, so I could not get distracted. It has been a perfect time to focus on writing. I really wrote up a storm—13,073 words! That’s about 25 typed pages, so far.  I already have a cover for my book too. It is a beautiful, original piece of art created by an artist I met over Facebook. When I asked him for permission to use his painting he immediately created a book cover with my title and subtitle and my name on there. It is beautiful! The colors are blue, gold, and white. It is print ready! All of this has happened in one week. At this rate I may be a published author by the end of the summer. What really got me excited was the thought that published authors get asked to speak. That excites me more than the book! Here is my book—a sneak preview. Anyone want to volunteer to proofread?

The cover of my new book--not published yet! Art by Todd L.Thomas.

Pastor Joyce the Teacher

I have taken a lot of spiritual gift inventories in my life.  I am one of those people who love to take these type of inventory things, it doesn't really matter whether they are true or not.  It's also pretty easy for me to be able to manipulate them.  I usually can figure out where it is going and skew my answers.  Now why I do that? I don't know. Perhaps it is the challenge of it.

I usually end up on spiritual inventories with one of my strengths being pastoral ministry.  I also end up high on the teacher scale as well.  All that makes a lot of sense I suppose and seems to fit me.

Those of you who are my friends in real life, or on Facebook, know that I have been very frustrated that no one seemed to accept or receive my gifts.  I had a LONG talk with God a while back. Oh it was a talk all right.  I cried.  I argued. I sort of told God just how I felt.  I said God - this is just not right.  You've given me these gifts and yet You open no doors for me.  I went on with how I did everything I thought He told me to do.  I went back to school.  I'm a very well prepared unemployed, unused but willing vessel.  I really just want to serve and when the one giving out the assignments doesn't give you one, what do you do?

I've found that it is one thing to reach the end and it is another to reach the end and tell God what you think.  Okay, for those of you who have never wrestled with God and wonder if it's okay to do, let me tell you this. I've found that sometimes it is the only way to get the answer.

It wasn't long after this "conversation" with God that I got an email from the Pastor of the church to which I belong.  He wondered if I would teach the Book of Acts to the Adult Bible study on Wednesday night.  I was like HUH?  Really? Of course I would.  That's like asking a kid if they want candy.

Finally, a place to use my gifts. I love it!  I love teaching.  I love digging through the scriptures and getting all nerdy - then I have to work to break it down so I don't bore the folks with all my nerdiness...The folks seem to like it. I'll miss them tomorrow night while I'm at my summer residency at school.  But a few weeks has turned into the end of August. Woo-hoo!

Not only am I teaching but I'm actually beginning to feel a part of this little church I belong to... that's a plus!  And, I get to preach for them on an upcoming Sunday - I think I love preaching as much or probably more than teaching.

In two weeks, I'll start a job.  I haven't had a job in years.  I'm going to get paid for what I love to do - okay, it's not a full-time pastor job - but it's a close second.  I'm going to teach at a Technical College - they'll even pay me!

And last, but certainly not least - pastor ministry.  Now you don't have to have a church, or a title, or a paycheck to engage in pastoral ministry.  Every day I find opportunities to minister to people.  It happens on line a lot.  Sometimes I wonder - where are the pastors?  Perhaps they are too busy to be with the people who hurt and have needs - so they find me.  And that's just awesome!