Nothing to Fear Day | JOY for Today

Fear is a common emotion. It either spurs us to act or inhibits us. What we do when we are afraid strengthens or stalls us. Be gentle with yourself. Develop actionable strategies for facing your fear and step out with confidence. Eventually, you'll realize you can move forward confidently even when you are afraid. That's empowering. What JOY there is in knowing you can look fear in the face and keep going.

Nothing to Fear Day | May 27th Annually

JOY for Today Offerings:

• Did You Know... Five facts about fear.
• Wolfe Stew Connects to fear's antidote.
• Bible Verses and Quotes About fear.
• Activity Suggestions: Abate end-of-year fears by letter writing, recording memories, taking tours, reading books, and inviting discussion.

UPCOMING HOLIDAYS: 

• Love Conquers All Day (June 3rd Annually)
• Hot Air Balloon Day (June 5th Annually)
• Sewing Machine Day (June 13th Annually)

Did You Know:

1. Never experiencing fear is unhealthy? Because fear is an automatic response, everyone feels it. In fact, not having a fear response likely indicates brain damage. Fearlessness is not about fear prevention, but fear management. (Psychology Today)
2. There are four responses to fear? After experiencing fear, we freeze, fight, flee, or experience fright. When we freeze, the fear overtakes us and immobilizes us from feeling or acting on anything else. Eventually, we either move forward by fighting or fleeing from the fear. Or we get stuck in fright, which is ruminating, but not acting, on the fear. (Psychology Today)
3. Humankind shares five fears? Every specific fear comes from these five general fears: fear of extinction (or death); fear of mutilation (having our body's boundaries invaded, includes insect phobias); fear of a loss of autonomy (includes social and physical implications); fear of separation (includes rejection and abandonment); and fear of ego-death (deconstruction of one's sense of personal approval including shame and humiliation). (Psychology Today and Exploring Your Mind)
4. Fear and phobia are related but different? A phobia is a persistent fear that detracts from your daily life. You can recognize it when you take extraordinary precautions to avoid the object of your fear. Fear, however, is a survival response to a perceived threat that starts a chain reaction which physically prepares you to protect yourself. (Northwestern Medicine)
5. Exposure therapy is effective in treating fear? Facing your fears really does help you overcome them. You start with small, safe exposure and build to normal levels. Additionally, identifying and implementing the use of safety signals - objects, sounds, and environmental stimuli that remind us we are safe - help lessen our fear response. (Psychology Today & Northwestern Medicine)

We'd Love to Know:   

Which fear fact was new to you?

Wolfe Stew Connects

"Nothing to Fear" sounds like a deceptive phrase to me. There are all kinds of things to fear. And we each fear different ones.

The Bible doesn't tell us we won't fear; it commands us to not fear. God knows we are fearful but tells us to reject fear when it overtakes us. Often the command is paired with a reminder of God's presence. He is our 'safety signal'. Nothing is more powerful than God - not even fear. When we remember that the Almighty is for us, it puts fear in its place. The antidote to fear, then, is to replace the vain things we fear with fear of God. 

We fear God by:

• Treating each other correctly. (Leviticus 25:17 and Mark 12:30-31) 
• Obeying what the Bible tells us to do. (Deuteronomy 8:6, Psalm 119:105-110, and John 14:15)
• Worshiping Him because of who He is and what He has done in spirit and truth. ( I Samuel 12:24, Psalm 89:7, John 4:22-25, and Revelation 14:7)
• Accepting that His judgment is eternal and righteous. (Daniel 12:2, Psalm 98:9, Luke 12:5, and I Peter 1:17)

So, how, you ask, might fear of God keep us from fearing other things? Let's examine some of the things we commonly fear:

• Rejection. Fear of rejection results in isolation and limits God's love from reaching other people. We hide, avoiding social interaction. We freeze, finding barriers more comfortable than vulnerability. We fret, imagining everyone thinks the worst of us and, in turn, build up bitterness and hatred toward them. We pretend, thinking we just need to play the part they want us to play and lose track of our true identity. When we replace fear of what people think of us with fear of what God thinks of us, it frees us. We now walk in our identity as a carefully-crafted child of God, realizing that His is the only opinion that matters, and live out our purpose of reflecting His glory to others.
• Change. This is common at the end of the school year. We don't know what next year will look like and we imagine worst-case scenarios. When we refuse to focus on our fear of the unknown and instead fix our eyes on fear of God who is known, it frees us to see the future as predictable. We walk forward in faithfulness, just as we have been doing. We worship His constancy, knowing He is who He always has been and always will be. We accept that He is in control, trusting that even in the worst-case scenario He will never leave me. He will always protect me. From this place of assuredness, we can respond to others' uncertainty with love.
• Failure. When there's a possibility of failure or struggle, we often choose not to engage, which inhibits growth. When we do fail, we feel shame and disguise the truth or refuse to talk about it, which prevents connection. We painstakingly protect our image. We want admiration and praise of others, work hard to get it, and become hurt or angry when we don't. When we replace fear of failure with fear of God, it frees us to live boldly in life-giving ways. We can redirect our energy from choosing what will put us in the best light to what will magnify God, from building up our own image to strengthening others, and from covering up our struggles and failures to sharing our testimonies of God's forgiveness, grace, and work in an imperfect, but in-progress, work of the Master's hands.
• Death. Death is certain. We have one life to live, and we want to do it right. We're led to believe success lies in financial security, meaningful relationships, benevolence, ingenuity, or mental acuity, and we strive diligently to pursue these goals. So that at the end of our lives, we know we have lived a life of worth. But, the truth is, success is only found when we die to self so that Christ can live through us. When we truly fear God, death loses its hold on us. We know we are one in Him. We are part of an eternity that He is even now preparing for us - an eternity without tears that radiates the glory of His presence. We know that treating others with love means leading them to fear God. Not only does fearing God add purpose, fulfillment, and JOY to their lives here on earth, but it will raise them to an eternity of unending JOY.

Ultimately, I know I'm still going to experience fear. But fearing God, gives me access to His peace. I can face my fears with confidence because I trust God. Fear of God is the antidote to every fear.

In response:

1. Commit to trying it. When next you are afraid, choose to trust God. Turn your fear of the vain (empty, meaningless, hollow) thing to fear of God, and march onward confidently.
2. Join us as we study Isaiah. Last week we read about how our souls crave God. And when we find Him, we seek His judgments because we know they lead to righteousness.

Bible Verses and Quotes 

Bible Verses 

• Isaiah 41:10 ESV: Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
• Psalm 23:4 KJV: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
• Matthew 6:34 KJV: Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. 
• Psalm 27:1 KJV: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
• Psalm 56:3 KJV: What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. 

Quotes

• "He who has overcome his fears will truly be free." - Aristotle
• "Everything you want is on the other side of fear." - Jack Canfield
• "Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present." - Marcus Aurelius
• "Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn't really matter." - D. L. Moody
• "The fears we don't face become our limits." - Robin Sharma

We'd Love to Know:

Which verse or quote inspires you toward confidence?

Activity Suggestions

Help your learners alleviate end-of-year fears with these activities.

Class Tours

Give next year's class a tour of your current classroom. The Mr.'s school calls this "Step Up" day. Teachers share expectations and preview learning for the following year. This year, the Mr. is crafting origami fortune tellers with his upcoming first graders so they can talk about precision, patience, and perseverance. He's pairing the activity with the book More-igami by Dori Kebler

Mementos

• Memory Book: 
• Make your own! Start by talking about memories you shared through the year. List one unique memory for each person in the classroom. Then, assign each person one memory. Or, have learners choose their favorite memory. Each learner describes their memory and illustrates it with a picture. Our draw and write paper would be perfect for this! Make copies and bind the memories together so everyone has a memory book to take home.
• Or, download this (free!) individual learner memory book from A Kinderteacher Life at TPT. Choose from 20 prompts with the option of intermediate or primary lined paper. Every page has room to draw and write. The download includes an autograph page and cover. Three prompts we'd be sure to include are: 1) Here's a letter from my friend; 2) Here are my goals for next year; and 3) Here's my favorite reading book.
• Memory Quilts: Each learner designs, signs, and dates their own paper square. Assemble to make a class memory quilt. See a family version at Craft Elf. You can use this template from Buggy and Buddy. Cut and tape together to make a whole class version, group learners in sets of 9 and have each learner design one square, or group learners in sets of 3 and have each learner design three squares. Take pictures or make copies so everyone can take one home.

Notes to Next Year's Learners

Have this year's learners welcome next year's learners with a note placed in their desks. Choose from an open ended lesson or fill-in-the-blank template.

• Open ended version lesson plan from Presto Plans. Includes a pre-writing activity.
• Fill-in-the-blank letter from Stephanie Rye - (free!) at TPT

Book Suggestions

• Pout, Pout Fish and the Mad, Mad Day by Deborah Diesen; illustrated by Dan Hanna. Perfect pairing for an end-of-the year discussion about emotions: "When you're hurt or feeling sad, Disappointed, scared, or worried, Those can channel into mad."
• Rescuing Mrs. Birdley by Aaron and Emma Reynolds. Mrs. Birdley is spotted by a student outside her 'natural habitat'. "Luckily, Miranda Montgomery had been preparing for this moment her entire life." After reading, explore the possibility of seeing your teacher out in the 'wild'. What will you do?
• I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal; illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. Last day read aloud to express for you your hopes for your learners. Favorite line: "I wish you more 'WOO-HOO!' than 'WHOA!'" End by sharing individual wishes for next year, possibly in the "I wish you more...than..." format.
• Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. A classic graduation gift! My sister had each one of her kids' teachers write an end-of-year note in it to remind them: "[You're] off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So...get on your way!" Have students imagine the places they might go in 1, 5, 10, and 50 years.
• And Then Comes Summer by Tom Brenner; illustrated by Jaime Kim. Explores summer activities poetically: "When daylight pushes back bedtimes, and crickets crick-crick in the evening air, and bugs as big as thumbs bang against windows...THEN play hide-and-seek until darkness wins." Spark a discussion about summer activities. Make a bucket list (with prompts from The Teacher Bag or open-ended from Printabulls) or write and share poetic descriptions of favorite summer activities.

Discuss "Would You Rather..." Questions

• Go to school the first day with your best friend or with your family?
• Give a tour of your classroom to next year's students or take a tour of your classroom next year?
• Write your list of worries about next year down or talk about them with a friend?

These questions are unique to this post. If you would like three "Would You Rather...?" questions for every May day, download this Wolfe Stew PowerPoint or get it (for free!) at our TPT store.

Take on the Family Challenge

Wrap up the school year by sharing favorite memories and writing future hopes for next school year. Set personal learning, social, or emotional goals and brainstorm ways to develop them over the summer. Work together to compile a summer bucket list.

We'd Love to Know:

What's your favorite way to end a school year?

We’re excited to share one more day with you and wish you JOY for Today and HOPE for Tomorrow. 

Your Partners in JOY Finding,

Sample these related posts:

To start back-to-school planning.

To browse more fear-related learning activities and book suggestions.

To consider fear of snow by studying Proverbs 31:21.

To face your mountains.

To remember that love does conquer all.

Find even more JOY for Today in our monthly calendars, holiday, and seasonal posts.

*Image credit: The Rays of Sun on the Water by Larisa Koshkina at Public Domain Pictures.