Fighting the Natural Urge to Protect Our Wounds

So blessed this morning by a book excerpt by Kristen Strong on Dayspring.com (affiliate link). Just read the title, and you'll understand: "When Wounds from Women are Hard To Forgive." Kristen relates how a conference with another child's parent about a bullying situation went wrong and the hurt she felt from another woman's words.

This part stood out to me:

"You find yourself picking those slights and slanders up one by one with your hand and stacking them like firebricks around your heart. With one brick you say, 'This will teach me not to open up to friends.' And then with another you say, 'Lonely is better than looking like a loser.'"

Haven't we all been there? I know I have. It happens in teaching situations and in our lives outside our jobs. It even happens in churches.

Kristen's answer to the urge to build up a firewall to protect our hearts is forgiveness.

In a recent situation, I felt hurt by something another woman said to me. My natural inclination was to protect myself, to defend, to defy, to prove. But I believe fundamentally that Christ-likeness demands a humbler response. It demands a heart that forgives. Right now, I'm still in a conversation with God about it all. "Help me forgive," I'm praying. "Help me lay aside pride so that I can be an example of the believer in Jesus. Help me be a channel for your spirit to work healing on both sides."

Dear Lord, work in our hearts and keep them tender to your leading. Don't let us build walls around our hearts to protect ourselves, but let us remain open to loving and forgiving as you have loved and forgiven us. Amen.

For further reading:
Showing Compassion
Coming tomorrow, Amy Ballard guest blogs on Carry Fancett Pagels's blog; she'll give away a free copy of her poetry chapbook, Landlocked.
Find Amy's poem "A Feather" on p. 18 of the newly-released Winter Poetry Issue of GNU Journal

Guest Blog Post and Poetry Giveaway Hosted by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Landlocked: Poems by Amy Ballard

What's the antidote to four snow days in a row? A visit to another great blog!

Next week, I'll be guest blogging about my new poetry chapbook, Landlocked, on Carrie Fancett Pagels's blog. Carrie is an inspirational fiction author you may know from titles like The Blue Ribbon Brides Collection from Barbour and The Substitute Bride, a Christmas novella. Carrie has also agreed to guest blog here on Christian Teacher, Public School in March and share with us about her fun novella, The Fruitcake Challenge.

Poetry is close to many a teacher's heart, so grab some friends and swing on by Carrie's blog on Monday for a chance to win a copy of Landlocked, my first poetry collection. I'll share why I think everyone secretly likes poetry and how God is still transforming me as a Christian woman living in the West.

What's a chapbook? It's a short book or pamphlet (mine is 34 pages) containing poems or fiction, usually on a single theme. The theme of Landlocked is my feeling of being uprooted when I moved from Maine to Idaho as a newlywed and the ways God is still teaching me contentment. Other motifs in the book include postcards, water (and sometimes the lack thereof), and specific flowers that grow wild in Maine and Idaho.

For more information about Landlocked, please visit my Web site, www.amyballard.com.

Let your friends know about the free book giveaway Monday!

Tweet this:
Enter to win Landlocked: Poems by Amy Ballard at https://cfpagels.blogspot.com Jan 16 #BookGiveaway #Poetry

Thanks, and blessings upon those of you who aren't snowed in and have to teach today!

Using Mentor Texts to Teach Writing and Enhance Creativity

"Mentor text" is a buzz-word in education circles, but what does it mean? How can teachers use mentor texts effectively in the classroom to teach reading and writing?

Free PD Presentation on Using Mentor Texts

I recently had the opportunity to explore the topic of mentor texts and create a professional development presentation for my Idaho Coaching Network class. The result is "Using Mentor Texts to Enhance Creativity," and it's free to you from Christian Teacher, Public School for educational or PD use.

This presentation focuses on teaching writing using mentor texts such as "Four Eyes" by Nikki Grimes, "April Rain Song" by Langston Hughes, "Hope is the Thing with Feathers" by Emily Dickinson, and "The Rainy Day" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The grade-level examples are approximately third-sixth, though the principles for using mentor texts extend lower and higher.

It's twenty-four below here in southern Idaho, and the snow is reaching record depths, but my mind turned toward spring when creating this Google Slides presentation. Hence the rainy-day, umbrellas-and-rubber boots theme. I hope you enjoy!

Know of a great strategy or resource to use with mentor texts? Have a favorite mentor text that you use in your classroom? Share in the comments!

More teacher resources:
Free Ninth Grade Vocabulary Presentation with Lots of Images to Help Kids Learn Words
Visit Brevity on Teachers Pay Teachers
Freebies from Dover Publishing

Encourage a Teacher by Sharing Christian Teacher, Public School

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:9

There are days when we all need a word of motivation and encouragement to keep us going. In this new year, build someone up by using the social media buttons to share this blog with a teacher in your life.

Let's pray today that God will guide and bless us

• in our personal walk with Him
• in the use of our time
• in our lesson preparations
• in our classroom management
• in our communication with colleagues, students, and parents
• in our skill as teachers
• in our continuing professional education
• in our vision for the future.