Heather Holleman's Blog, page 157

Learn From Those You Lead

Today I remember to learn from those I lead. In my teaching seminar, instead of lecturing the entire time, I’ve learned to ask the participants, “How would you teach this? or What’s your best tip on teaching this?”

In a larger sense, I love to believe that every person I meet has something to teach me. It fosters a curious mindset, a hopeful expectation, and a certain joy. Over the years, the belief continues to build humility to fight arrogance and a sense of having already arrived at wisdom.

Every person we meet has a unique story, beautiful dignity, astonishing complexity, and insight just because of who they are.

Get Up. Walk Around. Then Get Back to It.

I’m in the thick of my Monday / Wednesday / Friday writing schedule (I teach on Tuesday / Thursday and stay on campus all day.) The writing schedule looks like this:

8:30 AM-9:30 AM: At my computer to write. Coffee or nice beverage nearby. Cat sleeping close. 9:30-9:45 AM: Break for folding laundry, emptying dishwasher, and walking around the block. Maybe a snack. 9:45-10:45: Write. Drink water. 10:45-11:00: Break to walk. Fix lunch if I’m hungry. Fold more laundry or any other chore on the list. 11:00-11:30: Answer emails or any phone calls. 11:30-12:30: Write. 12:30-12:45: Get up and walk around.

You get the idea. The point is to work for about an hour and then get up and do something for 15 minutes or so to stretch and move your body.

Normally, around 1:00 PM, I’ll pause to reflect and write a blog (like I’m doing right now!). By 1:30, I’ll have been working 5 hours, so I’ll sometimes take an hour walk or switch to grading papers or preparing lesson plans. I normally never write for more than 4-5 hours a day.

I find that scheduling writing helps keep me focused. And scheduling those walking breaks helps keep me healthy. So for all of you writers who have been sitting too long, now is your cue to get up, walk around, and then get back to it!

When All Else Fails, Bring Chocolate

I love my “writing workshop” days with students. I typically bring some kind of treat. I take seriously Proverbs 18:16 (NLT): “Giving a gift can open doors; it gives access to important people!”

When I want to open the door of someone’s heart or mind, I bring a gift. I think of a little treat as a gift that opens doors and grants access. It’s become a hallmark of my teaching philosophy to bring unexpected treats. It’s part of my professional life, too. I’ll give the lecturers in my seminar on teaching a new pen or a treat when they least expect it. I’ll also have treats or little gifts in my office for anyone stopping by. You’ll find chocolates, flavored waters, packages of almonds, and all sorts of little treats.

A gift opens the door.

Try giving a gift when you want the door to open for you.

Growing in Curiosity

I love asking questions to learn from other people. I truly believe God places people in our lives to teach us, to bless us, or reveal more of Himself to us. I love gleaning wisdom, elevating others, and asking the kinds of questions that lead to unique stories. Here are my five favorite questions:

What do you love about your work?

What brought you to this decision you’ve made?

What have you been learning lately?

What shows have you been watching or music have you been listening to? Why do you love it?

What lingering questions do you have about anything?

The Words From Another Kingdom

I spoke with a wise woman about why she’s still using the spiritual language that so many people think is “churchy” “outdated” “confusing” and too “Christian.”

She’s talking about words like saved, lost, salvation, sanctification, justification, eternal life, sin, repentance, the flesh, or any other word you see in scripture that helps explain the gospel and the Christian life. It’s not Christian jargon to her.

She exclaims, “Those words were given to us by God! It is Kingdom Language!”

It is indeed a foreign language these days, a tongue from a distant kingdom that’s slowly slipping away. But my friend argues that we should keep using these words and revive them, not change them or use different and more relevant words.

She’s right. We have kingdom language given to us by the King we serve. So it’s not only OK to speak the language, but we might expect outsiders to need the translation. That’s normal, too. But we don’t stop speaking simply because the words sound strange in an increasingly biblically illiterate culture.

Treats Along the Way

I love observing demonstrations of God’s love and goodness when I travel far from home. During my trip to Kansas, I loved the nature surrounding the retreat center that included finding a Kansas ornate box turtle.

My host also treated me to something special: a trip to my birthplace in Fort Leavenworth!

What a fun weekend!

Headed to Kansas

I’ve discovered one of the best parts of traveling to speak: meeting new people! I love experiencing true fellowship with those who love Jesus. It’s a taste of heaven.

Please pray that God’s word comes alive this weekend for these ladies in Kansas!

A Fun Moment: Asking Group Members to Discover the Most Bizarre Thing They Have in Common

I love this “Name Game.” When students group up for a peer-review session or any kind of activity, I often use this challenge. I’ll say, “Introduce yourself to your group. You then have 5 minutes to discover the most bizarre thing you all have in common.”

(The game also develops the professional skill of building rapport, of finding common ground, and of making connections with someone you do not know.)

It’s a joyful, funny, and telling kind of game. I learned today that two students who might have nothing in common discovered that they both cut their heads open and needed stitches after walking into a stationary object in third grade. Over the years, I love seeing the lit up faces of students discovering they were both at the same concert or both once rode a camel. Some learn that they all dressed up as the same character for Halloween or brought in the exact same thing for show-and-tell. We learn about similar emergency appendectomies, tattoos, and even exact same dog names. Once, a group of students all shared the exact same embarrassing moment: throwing up in the lunchroom at school! How relieved to hear them say, “You, too?”

We’re not so different from one another after all.

18 Years Later: I Remember

Sometimes on the anniversary of 9-11, I go back through the whole morning beginning at 8:45 when I woke up, when I answered the phone to hear my friend Jamie crying, and when I turned on the television. I remember calling my husband who knows I exaggerate who didn’t seem to believe me at first. Then, when Pfizer sent everyone home, he did. I called my dad who wasn’t working at the Pentagon that day (although he could have been). We watched the news the entire day. We put out an American flag. We worried over everyone we knew in New York City

What I think about today, however, is that overwhelming feeling of both awesome togetherness as a community and nation and horrific dread that the world would never be the same, that it was perhaps ending, that we were no longer safe. The love we all felt as we comforted both friends and strangers mixed with the horror and the fear. I learned a new feeling on September 11 that means all of these things. The images burned in my mind along with that feeling of communal strength that rises against fear. The contrast is as strong at that perfect bright blue sky that held the smoke and ashes.

The Painted Acorns

Facebook reminded me of this photo, and I recall with joy a traditional craft of gathering and painting acorns to display in a festive autumn bowl. You can read the history beginning with 2012, read the 2013 account, continue (with photos) from 2014, and even read our report from 2016.

I remember that I can gather acorns! I can paint them! If you need a wonderful autumn craft with all your old nail polish, I hope you’ll try this one.