Heartlifters for Teachers: Surprising Stories, Stirring Messages, and Refreshing Scriptures that Make the Heart Soar - Hardcover

Weiss, Leann

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1582291586 ISBN 13: 9781582291581

Publisher: Howard Books, 2001

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

As a child, Liz was a bookworm, reading everything from Dr. Seuss to Nancy Drew to Kurt Vonnegut. Her childhood scrapbooks are stuffed with illustrated stories, poetry, and short stories she authored. By fifth grade, she finished writing her first full-length book.

A year later, Liz had grown to 5'6" and was one of the tallest kids in her sixth-grade class. Her height, plus a desire to earn a coveted varsity letter, prompted her to try out for Lititz Elementary School s basketball team.

After surviving the first cut, Liz spent extra time practicing, dreaming of becoming a basketball star. She was great at jumping and learning the fundamentals but lacked speed and coordination.

She ll never forget the day her coach pulled her aside and said, Child, you have so much talent but not in basketball. I ve read your stories, and they re good, really good. I m going to have to drop you at the next cut, but I wanted you to know why: You need to be writing, not dribbling a basketball.

At first her heart broke. After all, the school had no writing team. But it later became her first clear memory of being encouraged to write. Liz reflected, What a blessing to look back and see God s hand at work way back then, nudging me through this teacher s honest direction. It takes a special kind of courage to sit a child down and disappoint her, even while you re trying to steer her toward something better.

Liz took a leap of faith and showed one of her handwritten mystery novels to her sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Smith. Instead of pointing out mistakes, Mrs. Smith challenged her with positive suggestions for future books, urging her to keep writing. Liz wrote ten more books (mostly mysteries and love stories) before she turned seventeen, hoping to become a published author.

Liz recalls, Give me anything to do with words grammar, literature, drama, creative writing and I was in heaven!

Sally Watkins, Liz s eleventh-grade English teacher, honed her skills and consistently praised her writing. Liz remembers, Something as simple as a three-word comment This is great! on my term paper meant the world to me.

By 1977, Liz transitioned to college radio, leading to a full-time career as a popular commercial radio personality. After marrying her husband, Bill, in 1986, she started speaking across the country and writing more. In 1990, with two children (ages one and three) and a very supportive husband, she graduated from Bellarmine College at age thirty-six.

When Liz signed a three-book contract with Thomas Nelson Publishers in 1992, she realized her basketball coach had done her a favor by redirecting her efforts to writing.

After authoring fourteen best-selling books, including her Gold Medallion winning Parable children s series, Liz returned home to Lititz, Pennsylvania, in April 2000 for the release of her second novel, Bookends (set in Lititz). Spotting Sally Watkins at her book signing, Liz waved toward her wide array of books and said, Mrs. Watkins, it s all your fault!

Liz notes, What a blessing it was to see my teacher and to let her know finally what a difference her encouragement made in my choice of careers.

Being an encourager has become Liz Curtis Higgs s trademark and ministry. Since seeing Sally Watkins, she s finished two more projects: Really Bad Girls of the Bible and one of three novellas in the anthology Three Weddings and a Giggle, adding up to more than one million books in print. Her humor-filled books encourage women that they are beautiful, loved, and valuable as is in God s eyes.

You, as a teacher, have a truly unique opportunity in this world! You re a light bearer along the paths your students will follow throughout their lives. Each day, you re handed the gift of observing and influencing the future in the making!

You may not realize it and they may not always recognize it until years later, but the words you impart today may be the spark that lights the flame of a child s ultimate destiny!

Someone once said, Do not sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate. Your wise counsel and advice today may possibly be the beacon that keeps a child from veering down a dim path of momentary aspiration tomorrow.

Your classroom is more than an educational facility for reading, writing, and arithmetic. It s a place where young minds are given guidance for developing their strongest traits and where your perceptive heart dispenses insightful answers to silent pleas for help.

Each day, these children provide you with unique opportunities to motivate and illuminate their view of themselves, the world, and their contribution to the future.

The Bible is your textbook for life and provides a road map so you won t become misguided or disillusioned on your journey. God s Word is a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path (Psalm 119:105). He loves you just the way you are. But He loves you too much to leave you that way! You are valuable to Him, and He promises that even as you make your own plans, He is ever directing your paths (Proverbs 16:9). He sees your potential in a greater light than you do!

Dear teacher, your profession is not a coincidence, but a God-ordained profession. The lamp of your calling will not grow dim with time, but will remain a shining example and guiding light for years to come in the hearts and lives you ve touched along the way.

Edition details

• Publisher: Howard Books
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1582291586
• ISBN 13: 9781582291581
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 66