Heather Holleman's Blog, page 70

Noticing What Others Love to Talk About

Today I realized how much my older students love to talk about high school. Before COVID, they enjoyed the regular things high schoolers do: prom, graduation, socializing. When I mentioned my youngest daughter will mostly likely have a prom (while the oldest daughter didn’t due to COVID), all the girls immediately wanted to talk about their prom dresses from three years ago.

Out came their phones. Out came the photos. I enjoyed a parade of red, silver, black and purple gowns. I heard horror stories of white gowns and melting spray tans. Students told me all about the night whether they went in a group or with a date, in a limo or by other means of transportation. We had so much fun talking about their prom memories. I had no idea that red dresses were so popular!

I noticed how much my students love to talk about these high school memories. So I let them. I asked more questions. I saw more photos. I was so happy for them! I did consider how an entire class of students–the 2020 graduating class–had no prom and no graduation. They don’t have these memories to ever share.

But these college juniors and seniors do have their prom memories, and they loved talking about it today.

Always a Curious Cat Nearby

When I sit down at my desk, Louie Von Whiskers awaits. I love having a curious creature in my home, especially a cat devoted to observing the writing life.

Prayer of Consecration and Surrender

In the morning, we can tell God we belong to Him fully and without reservation. We can tell Him the day belongs to Him and we are available for His use. We can surrender and consecrate our lives. We can say, “Do what you wish with me today!”

And the Sun Shall Visit You

I love Zechariah’s prophecy about his son in Luke 1. I notice a strange capitalization when I look up Luke 1:76-79:

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
    for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
    in the forgiveness of their sins,
 because of the tender mercy of our God,
    whereby the Sunrise shall visit us from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.

I love what we’re told John will do. We will learn from him about the “tender mercy” of God and how Jesus will visit us as our “Sunrise.” How beautiful to remember this description of God. Some translations say “Dayspring”–another lovely word. Think about what the Sunrise represents here. Light! Clarity! Freedom from the fear of shadows! Guidance into peace!

I pray the Sunrise floods our hearts today. That light scatters the darkness, brings clarity to confusion, and offers peace to counter our anxiety and fear. Amen!

 

The Cold, Dark Morning of Joy

This morning, I woke up early enough to watch the sunrise from where I sat with my Bible and journal. I ventured out into the blue-black morning and saw the buttery light coming from underneath the trees far away. I bundled up and dragged the garbage can and recycling bin to the curb. I loved the sounds of it all: the crunch of me and bins on the icy snow, the one bird announcing itself, and the few cars starting their journey for the day. My slippered feet never sank into snow but stayed firm on the packed ice.

Most of all, I love the smell of a fresh morning in winter, at least in our woodsy neighborhood in Pennsylvania. It’s a crisp, clean, hopeful smell. I stood for a while beside the garbage and took deep breaths. What a miracle a new day is! And it’s always that revelation alongside the most ordinary of things: garbage cans and recycling bins. But that’s always been the point of Live with Flair: the divine traveling parallel to the mundane in every moment of life.

No Major Decisions

This morning I laughed when my friend sent me the wise words of a man who said something like, “Don’t make any major decisions in February.” Because it’s such a dreary month in Pennsylvania (often bitter cold, grey, and icy), we tend to give way to boredom, low mood, and isolation. So it’s possible we’ll make a bad decision. We’ll want to quit something we should not. We’ll want to end or begin something we should not. We’ll become irrational! We’re not ourselves. We’re seeing the world through a February mood.

I laughed about this. It’s true! Hold on till March. Hold on! Never make major decisions in February!

Structures of Support

When you want to reach a goal or make a change in your life, you need structures of support to help you. If you feel like you are unable to achieve your goals, think about where, when, and how you need support.

Some people need accountability so they check in with someone about their goal. Some people need to change their environment to help achieve their goal. Some people need encouragement several times a day.

I like troubleshooting what’s going wrong that prevents us from living like we want to or doing what we hope to do. Today is a new day to try a new structure of support to help you along the way. And you don’t need to live tomorrow yet. Just live today, and think about what you can do—just for today—to work closer to your goal.

2 Fresh Questions and a 2 Minute Stretch

I’m leading a seminar to help graduate students and faculty teach an advanced writing course I designed. Two of our guiding class principles involve building community and having fun. People learn better when they feel connected and happy. I love classrooms that foster a positive mood, laughter, and belonging. I also advocate for a daily attendance question to get people talking. While I provide a list of my favorite questions, I find that my instructors contribute their own favorite questions that I collect like fine chocolate. I just love a great question! Here are the two I heard about yesterday:

Ask: What do you genuinely like about yourself? 

Ask: What’s something you know a ridiculous amount about? 

The first question helps build confidence for interviews, but it’s a great question to ask a teenager. Try it! And answer it for yourself as well. I genuinely like how God made me an encourager and that I like to help others thrive. 

The second question will lead to so much laughter and connection. (I know way too much about grammar, Gilmore Girls, and pop culture in general.) I have students who I imagine know way too much about Star Wars, cryptocurrency, and, of course, Taylor Swift.

I also heard from a professor about a great activity to try during longer classes. It’s called the 2 minute stretch. At the halfway point of a long class, this professor invites a different student each day to lead the class in a 2 minute stretch or movement of some kind to get students to stand up and get out of their seats. I just love this! So far, I learned about a student bringing in a soccer ball for everyone to kick around and a student who led the class in imaginary hula-hooping for 2 minutes. People laughed and really got into it! I love this professor’s philosophy that we’re simply sitting too much. And it’s a leadership activity to challenge a student to lead others in a group activity.

I’m happy I have 2 fresh questions and a 2-minute activity to try next week.

 

Ice Is a Whole Different Story

This winter, we’ve dealt with more ice in Pennsylvania. Normally, an enormous snowfall won’t shut anything down, but ice is a whole different story.

It’s time to shut down. Icy roads and sidewalks could even delay Penn State classes–which rarely happens. As I anticipate the coming ice storm tonight and tomorrow morning, I expect the news of canceled or delayed school. I love hearing these messages because it’s as if we truly know our limits. We can’t overcome the ice, nor should we.

Sometimes, you admit you need to listen to the warning, the danger, and the risk. You know your limits. You know your boundaries. Snow you can do, but ice is a whole different story.

Good to Me

This morning, I kept thinking about an overlooked fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5: goodness. The Holy Spirit fills us with goodness. This means that our lives demonstrate the benevolence of God. We are good to others.

I love thinking about being good to others. I imagined the joy of being the type of professor, mother, wife, and friend described as good. Could you imagine if people thought this about us? Imagine someone describing you in these words: “She is just so good to me.”

We represent God to others and let His goodness flow through us. He is so good to us.