About the Book

Book: It’s a Good Day to Be a Teacher: 52 Devotions to Equip and Encourage Educators

Author: Gretchen Huesmann

Genre: Devotional

Release Date: Febuary 25, 2025

Refresh and Refocus Your Teaching Heart

Today’s educators face unprecedented challenges in and out of the classroom. Teachers, paraprofessionals, administrators, and special education teams need more than a few words of encouragement and a pat on the back.

Divided into four terms—fall, winter, spring, and summer—It’s a Good Day to Be a Teacher targets the trials and joys educators encounter year-round. The weekly devotions provide:

Spiritual insights and inspiration
Courage to continue the calling
Practical steps for application
Additional suggestions for deeper study

Teachers who use the tools of God’s Word and prayer will be encouraged and empowered as they witness God at work in their students, classrooms, and schools. This book helps educators teach from a place of purpose and peace and provides hope and strength to teach another day.

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"It’s a Good Day to Be a teacher" by Gretchen Huesmann is written for teachers, and the devotions deal with topics such as the start of a new school year, dealing with assignment changes, tough classes, holidays, end of a school year, and more. Each devotion is a short read and has a scripture passage, a devotional, a prayer, application and more titled extra credit. As I have written the devotions deal with school topics but some of the prayers could be said by all of us, such as these two, (Gracious Lord, keep a guard over my mouth today that I may not say anything to thwart your work. Let my words be filled with love and grace and my actions reflect my faith in you. Amen), and (Jesus I want to learn more about you and grow in my faith. Speak to me through my daily Bible reading and strengthen my prayer life. Amen)

The devotionals are divided into the 4 terms of a year (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer). There is a topical index that lets you read about a subject as it comes up such as Spiritual physical and mental health and strength and protection from God and others.

It’s a Good Day to be a teacher: 52 Devotions to Equip and Encourage Educators would make a great gift for any Christian teacher.

I love this title and how I believe it was inspired by a four-old who said this phrase one day during free play (I don't know for sure if this was where the title came from, but I got this idea from the first sentence of the introduction). I was surprised to learn that more than three hundred thousand teachers have left the profession since 2020.

I receive a complimentary copy from the author and Celebrate Lit and these are my own opinions.

About the Author

Gretchen Huesmann comes from a long line of educators, including both parents and grandparents. Her three-decade teaching career, in private and public schools, spanned seven states. Today, Gretchen enjoys mentoring and encouraging educators, ministry workers, and women’s groups. She is also a tutor and substitute teacher. An award-winning author, Gretchen is a member of Word Weavers International and serves as president of the Pensacola chapter. Her e-book, Teachers’ Prayer Companion: Prayer Guides for Education Teams, can be found at GretchenHuesmann.com. Gretchen and her pastor husband have raised four children, three of whom are teachers. Their empty nest sits near the gulf shores of north-west Florida.

More from Gretchen

Before I wrote the devotional for teachers, the focus of my writing had been for children. As a semiretired teacher and empty-nester, I’d hoped to fulfill my dream of writing picture books by investing in webinars, workshops, and resources to hone my craft. Then I was called back into teaching.

Three years and a pandemic separated my time in the classroom. The discrepancies in children’s abilities and behaviors appalled me. I experienced firsthand the added pressures I’d heard from colleagues. Three of my adult children, also teachers, shared similar struggles. Now I faced those challenges, too, so I sought the Bible for help and support.

Looking back over my teaching career, spanning more than thirty years in and out of the classroom, I discovered God was with me through every challenge. I wrote out a few of my experiences and applied Bible verses to those scenarios, uncovering valuable lessons.

As I compiled the devotions, common subjects emerged, such as staff relationships, pupil concerns, and dealing with parents. Yet, when I organized the book, I felt uneasy emphasizing the negative issues. Laying out three quarters of the printed devotions on my dining table, I prayed over the topics and asked God to reveal the structure that would attract and encourage educators. The answer was revealed as I recognized a progression through the school year, thus determining the structure of the book: Fall Term, Winter Term, Spring Term, and Summer Term. Each section includes relevant topics for the school year, including the all-important recovery during the summer season.

I hope teachers, administrators, and special educators will be not only encouraged by the devotions geared especially for them but also empowered to teach another day.