“Where there is love, there is God.” –Leo Tolstoy

With Valentine’s Day almost here, we can count our blessings because of those whom we love. In some countries, such as Mexico, it’s also a time to celebrate our families. Whether you are honoring friends or family on Valentine’s Day,

I want to give honor to you as a parent and/or teacher of children and teens. Thank you for all the times you count to ten silently and forge ahead with the right things to do for the young people in your lives! Your love and constructive guidance are certainly appreciated by our Heavenly Father and most likely by your young ones, too. Please be encouraged to keep going with the good graces of God! Your wise teachings make such a difference as your children grow, and please take comfort in knowing that when they are adults, they can also claim a grateful understanding when they look back on how you taught them.

God has blessed me with many opportunities to teach hundreds of children, as a teacher in public and private schools, in churches, and as a mom, homeschool teacher, workshop and camp leader, Bible club leader, and swimming instructor.

I have had the added pleasure of getting to know children from different cultures and socioeconomic levels, as I have lived in New York, Colorado, the Philippines, Germany, Chile, Tennessee, Virginia, and Maryland, as well as traveled far and wide throughout our wondrous world. All the while, I have had a heart for Jesus and a heart for children.

NewSong Press can help parents and teachers guide tweens and teens to write with a Christian worldview that is personal and true for them.

I invite you to come along as we build the NewSong Press ministry to help children and teens write with a Christian worldview. Future blog posts are to help assist you in writing techniques, to enrich your teaching both nonfiction and fiction writing skills to young, budding authors as well as those children and teens who secretly want to discover that writing doesn’t have to be a grind!

My journalism training (BS with Honors, from the University of Colorado) has bounced me into many successful nonfiction writing and editing jobs with magazines, journals, and curricula publishers. My recently released fiction book for tweens, Victor Survives Being a Kid, has earned an international book award. For many years, my classroom experience as a teacher has given me great opportunities to help children with their writing.

To help you in teaching language arts (reading and writing) to your children or students, I am available for in-person and virtual workshops, presentations, and podcast and radio interviews. Recently I presented Writing Tips for Teens at a Christian teen writers conference (done virtually) and was interviewed by Cynthia L. Simmons on “The Heart of the Matter” on how to help children with adjusting to big changes. This program is scheduled to be aired starting March 3, 2022. This spring I will be teaching in-person Writers’ Workshops to homeschoolers ages 10- up. In 2021, through the Washington county, Maryland public library system I led Meet the Author workshops.

Also, in 2021 I team led LightLab Church Camp Facebook live presentations for children, one of which is on YouTube—Lightlab Church Camp July 5, 2021. We also had in person hands-on science lessons with Bible lessons to explore the nature of light and how Jesus is the Light of the World. (See lightlabetc.com for more information about this awesome program and book you can use with children.)

I wrote Victor Survives Being a Kid to help children experience God, good humor and courage, and the love of family even while going through major changes.

​It’s a high adventure novel particularly for boys and girls ages 9-12, is set in Colorado, and told through the eyes of Victor Ortega when he is in middle school, looking back over his fifth-grade year. Children delight in the Spanish (with translations) sprinkled in the story. A free, in-depth activity and discussion guide for Victor Survives Being a Kid is also available on newSongpress.net. The paperback and eBook for Victor Survives Being a Kid is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Christianbook.com.

As Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:38-39, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord…neither height, nor depth… When I stood on the support bar of a small airplane wing, ready to jump with my parachute, God, in His infinite love was there. When I stared at a large black-tip reef shark one hundred feet deep while scuba diving in Mexico, God was there, too.

Maybe you are going through some mind-numbing, scary times as you muster the courage to teach and lead the children in your lives. God, in His infinite love, is with you no matter where you are. As said in Isaiah 41:10 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” (KJV)

It is my prayer that you know this powerful love from God as you live each day and celebrate St. Valentine’s Day.

NewSong Press can be a source for you as you guide and help young people to improve their writing in ways that can bless them and others.

Please feel welcome to contact me via my contact form if I can help you further and may you be blessed by future blog posts on this site to help and support you with your teaching language arts to children and teens.

 As soon as I climbed out of my vintage Montego-blue Miata, and smelled late December rain, my eyes caught the large white lettering spread clear across the side of the maroon SUV next to me--Christ is King. Who could miss this great encouragement? My tooth ached and I soon would be tilted back in the dentist’s chair, but this car made me actually eager to go in the dentist’s office. Whose car was it?

The waiting room was typical 2021 for small town Boonsboro in the Maryland Appalachian highlands. Half a dozen of us sat in a circle, suited up with our masks. Not a peep. Polite. Minding our own business. But I knew someone behind these mystery masks had to have a strong faith. So, as a sometimes-unreformed New Yorker, I broke the silence.

 “So, who has the car that says Christ is King in big lettering? It looks great!”

 A much younger lady across from me smiled. These days we detect hidden, masked smiles when the eyes brighten and brim up from raised cheek muscles. “It’s mine.”

Then the intriguing story--
“I wouldn’t go out with this guy, so he keyed my car. Then I got the biggest Christ message I could find and put it across the scratches.”

Impressive! “I didn’t even notice the scratches.” Trust me, they are there; I checked later. Long, selfish, full-of-anger scratches. But the Christ is King message is healing the situation and stands out way bigger than any damage. He always does.

How about you? I bet you have a story to share. We all have a time we can share where Christ came and stood mighty as King in our tumult. Here are some tips to help you capture your thoughts in writing--

1. Use an exciting title and opening sentence that grabs your readers’ attention.
   
   
2. Make it clear from the start where and when your story is happening, and help your readers sense your special message or topic so they want to know more as they read along.
   
   
3. Give sensory details to help your readers feel they are there with you in your telling. Draw them in by remembering to share how all your five senses came alive, as well as thoughts, questions, and perhaps quick prayers you had in those moments. Show your personality, which in writing is called Voice. Like snowflakes, God made us all different and dear, so let your readers see you. Don’t strain to be someone you are not. Instead, make your "faith walk" real for them.
   
   
4. Pose questions and make statements that appeal to your readers. Aim to help them smile or feel deep chords playing in their souls.
   
   

When we write, it’s a gift to our readers. Make them happy and grateful they took the time to read your story. And who knows! Maybe you will motivate them to share theirs!

​Many blessing to you in your writing journey! 

​Heidi Vertrees
Author and Educator

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​Have you read my new book Victor Survives Being a Kid? If not, ask an adult to learn more about it with you by visiting my book page HERE!