Recharge With Purpose: Christian Encouragement for Teachers This School Year
Whether you're already in the classroom or still prepping for the year ahead, this message is an invitation to realign, refocus, and refill your spiritual cup. You were never meant to pour from an empty place. God has strength, joy, peace, and strategy waiting for you—and today we’ll talk about how to walk in that truth.
In This Episode You’ll Hear:
- Why starting with God matters before teaching anything else
- How to recharge in His presence—even when life feels busy or loud
- What it means to teach from a place of overflow instead of exhaustion
- How alignment with God fuels clarity, joy, and peace in your teaching journey
📝 Reflection Prompt: Where do you need to pause and let God refill you—emotionally, spiritually, or mentally—as you prepare (or continue) this school year?
✨ Join the Teaching With Jesus Membership — where faith meets your classroom and support meets your heart. 👉 Join today. Your journey matters. God is with you — and I’d love to walk alongside you.
✨ Join the Monthly Pause + Pray Call for Teachers- We meet every first Sunday at 6:30 PM EST. Click Here To Sign Up!
📲 Connect with Me: DM me your takeaway or prayer request—I’d love to hear from you! Instagram → @thetransformationalteacher
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💌 Know a teacher who needs this? Send it their way and bless their day.
Transcript
Hello and welcome back to the Transformational Teacher Podcast.
Speaker A:I am your host, detoya, and we are at the heart of the Back to School season.
Speaker A:Whether you've already stepped foot inside of that classroom or you're still preparing to walk through those doors, I want this episode to be a moment where you can breathe, recharge, and align your heart with God's word.
Speaker A:And if you're feeling weary, excited, somewhere in between, I want you to always remember you are not alone.
Speaker A:God is with you.
Speaker A:Allow him to strengthen you every step of the way.
Speaker A:Today I'm sharing five reminders that you can carry with you throughout this school year.
Speaker A:These truths will help you to stay anchored in God, encouraged and walking in your kingdom.
Speaker A:Assignment Reminder number one let's lay everything at the foot of Jesus.
Speaker A:Those cares from the past, those burdens, those things that may have happened five years ago, that you may still be holding on to life.
Speaker A:Let those things go and allow God to do what he wants to do in and through you.
Speaker A: Isaiah: Speaker A:Do not dwell on the past.
Speaker A:See, I am doing a new thing now.
Speaker A:It springs up.
Speaker A:Do you not perceive it?
Speaker A:I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the Wasteland.
Speaker A:Then Philippians 3:13, 14 says, Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.
Speaker A:But one thing I do Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Speaker A:Whether last year was filled with wins, challenges, or moments you wish you could redo, it's time to release it all.
Speaker A:Lay everything at his foot.
Speaker A:The burdens, every regret, lay them at Jesus feet.
Speaker A:But don't just stop at letting go.
Speaker A:Step forward with him at the center of this school year.
Speaker A:Let your goals, your decisions, your classroom atmosphere, the classroom management, even your daily mindset be rooted in Him.
Speaker A:When Jesus is at the center, you won't just get through the year, you'll grow through it.
Speaker A:Seeing his hand in every lesson, every conversation, and every breakthrough as we step into this new school year.
Speaker A:Remember last year, challenges don't define you.
Speaker A:And the things that may happen this year that are not what you want to see, they don't define you.
Speaker A:God defines you.
Speaker A:You're not starting from scratch, you're starting fresh with God at the center.
Speaker A:This is a clean slate for you and your students.
Speaker A:And God is doing a new thing in you and through you.
Speaker A:So now we've laid those things at his feet.
Speaker A:Our next Reminder is to pray the Word and stay anchored in it.
Speaker A:So as you go through this school year, remember, your greatest strength will come from staying anchored in God's Word.
Speaker A:Let His Word be your foundation.
Speaker A:Let it guide and direct your footsteps.
Speaker A:Let it be your daily source of renewal.
Speaker A:Before this school year gets too busy, I even encourage you to ask him, what is your vision, Lord, for this school year?
Speaker A:What is your vision?
Speaker A:For myself as a teacher, what is the vision for my students, my classroom overall?
Speaker A:What scriptures should I stand on?
Speaker A:Then write them down.
Speaker A:And don't just read them one time, pray over them.
Speaker A:Meditate on them daily.
Speaker A:Declare them over your classroom, your students and yourself.
Speaker A:When you pray God's Word, you're not just praying your feelings, you're praying His Word.
Speaker A:And His Word cannot return to Him.
Speaker A:Void.
Speaker A: We see that in Isaiah: Speaker A:Then Jeremiah 1:12 says, it reminds us that God Himself watches over His Word to perform it.
Speaker A:That means every promise we pray in line with his will that it'll be carried out.
Speaker A:If it's a promise that he's promised to us, we have to mix our faith with it and we have to stay the course.
Speaker A:Joshua 1:8:9 tells us to meditate on the Word day and night so that we may be careful to do everything written in it, and then you will be prosperous and successful.
Speaker A:But we have to meditate on it day and night.
Speaker A:And as you meditate, you're strengthening your spiritual foundation so that when challenges arise, you remain steady.
Speaker A:You won't focus on the problem, you'll focus on on the solution.
Speaker A:You will focus on what His Word Sundays.
Speaker A:And John 15:5 says, I am the vine, you are the branches.
Speaker A:If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.
Speaker A:Apart from me, you can do nothing.
Speaker A:Staying anchored in God's Word keeps you connected to the vine.
Speaker A:Don't unplug this year.
Speaker A:Make space for him daily, because every bit of strength, wisdom and peace you need will come from Him.
Speaker A:And as we stay anchored in the Word that we're going to go into number three.
Speaker A:Keep your eyes and thoughts fixed on Jesus, not on the things that may not be going the way you know you thought they would go the way the vision that God gave to you, let's say they're not going that way.
Speaker A:Don't keep your mind on the problems you're seeing.
Speaker A:Keep your mind on the vision God gave to you.
Speaker A:Keep your mind on the solutions.
Speaker A:Keep your mind on the One who never changes, and that is our loving Heavenly Father.
Speaker A:So in the middle of the busy school year.
Speaker A:It's easy sometimes to let distractions stress unexpected challenges.
Speaker A:Paperwork pull our focus.
Speaker A:Doing progress reports, report cards, testing, all of those things can try to pull our focus.
Speaker A:It can try to distract us.
Speaker A:But Hebrews 12:1 2 says it reminds us to strip off every weight and sin that entangles us and to run our race with endurance.
Speaker A:Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.
Speaker A:He is our starting point, our finishing line, and everything in between.
Speaker A:Isaiah 26:3 promises us that God will keep us in perfect peace, the One whose mind is steadfast, committed, and focused on him, because that person trusts in him completely.
Speaker A:So here's the thing.
Speaker A:God's Word is true.
Speaker A:We have to do our part in order for His Word to come to pass in our lives.
Speaker A:So we have to comply with what the Word is telling us to do.
Speaker A:So in order for his peace to be ours, that perfect peace to be ours, we have to keep our mind steadfast on Him.
Speaker A:We have to stay committed and focused on him, and we have to trust in him completely so we can have his peace.
Speaker A:So this means our peace isn't tied to how calm our classroom is.
Speaker A:It comes from being anchored in who God is.
Speaker A:It comes anchored in being in His Word.
Speaker A:So we have to stay in His Word.
Speaker A:We have to focus on Jesus.
Speaker A:Our hearts can remain steady no matter what's going on around us if we keep our eyes on Him.
Speaker A:So this year, when you feel the pool of worry, fear, or distraction, lift your eyes back to him.
Speaker A:Choose to refocus on his promises.
Speaker A:Every time you do, you will find renewed peace, fresh perspective, and the strength to keep running your waist race with joy.
Speaker A:And the one way that we keep strong focus is paying attention to what comes out of our mouths.
Speaker A:Because our words carry power.
Speaker A:That that brings us to reminder number four.
Speaker A:Watch your words speak life over yourself, over your students, over your classroom.
Speaker A:What you say matters not just to us, but what we say to others.
Speaker A:It matters.
Speaker A: Proverbs: Speaker A:This means that the words we speak over our classroom, our students, even ourselves, are seeds that we're either planting life or we're planning death.
Speaker A:And we want to plant life.
Speaker A:So choose the words that you say wisely.
Speaker A:Ephesians 4:29 tells us not to let any wholesome talk come out of our mouths, but only what is helpful for building Others up according to their needs.
Speaker A:That's the kind of speech that benefits everyone who hears it and including us.
Speaker A:One verse that has carried me throughout the last few years is James 1:19.
Speaker A:This has helped me so much in my response, and it says, let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
Speaker A:This scripture reminds me to pause before I respond to be a careful listener, choose my words wisely and keep my heart steady.
Speaker A:When we slow down, we give the Holy Spirit space to guide our speech so that our words become a source of peace, encouragement and kingdom impact.
Speaker A:And do I always get it right?
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:But I'm keeping my eyes focused on him.
Speaker A:And even when I don't, I repent and I move on.
Speaker A:And I say God, okay, that means I got to get it in me even more.
Speaker A:I got to continue to pump the word of God inside of my heart.
Speaker A:So now we are going to move on to reminder number five.
Speaker A:You are not alone.
Speaker A:Yes, teaching can be challenging.
Speaker A:Life may feel heavy at times, but you're not carrying it by yourself if you're walking with God because you were never meant to.
Speaker A:So if you're walking with him, allow him to help you along the journey.
Speaker A:Be humble enough to ask those in your community for help.
Speaker A:That doesn't make you weak, it makes you wise when you ask for help.
Speaker A: Isaiah: Speaker A:Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
Speaker A:I will strengthen you.
Speaker A:Be assured I will help you.
Speaker A:I will certainly take hold of you will with my righteous right hand.
Speaker A:A hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation.
Speaker A:You don't have to figure it out on your own.
Speaker A:Let God go before you lean on the people he's placed in your life to support you.
Speaker A:Ask him for his wisdom.
Speaker A:He tells us that he will give us wisdom, but we have to ask him for the wisdom.
Speaker A:And remember, when you walk into that classroom, you're never walking alone if you're walking with Jesus.
Speaker A:So we are going to wrap this up.
Speaker A:We're going to quickly revisit the five things that we are going to carry throughout this school year.
Speaker A:And again, these are things that we're not just carrying for this week or this month.
Speaker A:We want to carry these truths throughout the school year.
Speaker A:Number one, lay last year cares cares from years past.
Speaker A:Lay them at his feet.
Speaker A:This is a fresh start.
Speaker A:Number two, pray the Word and stay anchored in the Word.
Speaker A:Let Scripture be your guide.
Speaker A:Let it guide you along the pathway and allow God to strengthen you for the journey.
Speaker A:Number three, Keep your eyes and thoughts fixed on Jesus.
Speaker A:He is your peace and your focus.
Speaker A:Number four.
Speaker A:Watch your words, speak life over yourself, your students, your classroom, your co workers and so on.
Speaker A:Number five.
Speaker A:Remember you're not alone.
Speaker A:God is with you and he's placed people in your life to walk with you.
Speaker A:And you don't have to walk through this school year alone.
Speaker A:Again, God is with you and I would love to walk alongside with you and inside of the Teaching with Jesus Membership.
Speaker A:It is a space filled with encouragement has spiritual and practical strategies to help you teach with joy, peace and kingdom confidence.
Speaker A:Inside, you will receive our monthly Pause and Pray toolkit.
Speaker A:We'll have a monthly live workshop starting in September.
Speaker A:You will have teacher prayer cards that are already inside of the membership, teacher declarations and a community of teachers who truly understand your journey.
Speaker A:And so go ahead and head to the Show Notes and join us inside the Teaching With Jesus Membership and also you will find the link to join our Pause and Pray monthly calls.
Speaker A:And if you missed the call for August, the replay link will be there also.
Speaker A:And I hope to see you inside the Teaching with Jesus Membership and at our next Pause and Pray call again.
Speaker A:Continue to keep your eyes focused on Jesus as you go throughout this school year.
Speaker A:You.
Speaker A:You are not alone.
Speaker A:I am cheering you on.
Speaker A:God is cheering you on.
Speaker A:We are in this together.
Speaker A:Let's do it.
Speaker A:Let's make the Kingdom impact God has called us to make inside our classroom, inside of our schools.
Speaker A:We want to do God's will wherever we are.
Speaker A:Well again, thank you all so much for listening and I will speak with you all soon.
